Ken St. Andre Part 1 - Episode 288 - 3/8/2026

Historic RPG designer Ken St. Andre (Tunnels & Trolls, Starfaring, Monsters! Monsters!, Stormbringer, more) joins for this episode. The game that shall not be named. Is it wise to go into dungeons as an adventurer, or do you just need luck? The practicality of six-siders versus Platonic solids. The most powerful buttons in the universe. Who's tougher, the Romulans or the Klingons? Marbles were the collectible card game of their day. Diplomacy variants. Gary Gygax's first introduction to Tunnels & Trolls. Dave Arneson's contribution to Flying Buffalo Games. Ken's impressions of Dave. Ken's opinion on whether OD&D was an actual RPG. Ken told TSR's lawyers, and I quote, "go piss up a rope." Ken's advice to game designers. Clever solutions in dealing with a Balrog. What is "stunting" in an RPG? Tunnels & Trolls on the MetaArcade app. Ken and Shane's predictions about AI's effect on the RPG industry. Mata Hari. Ken was a pioneer in solo RPG adventures (which Shane feels is important). What game of Ken's does he think is better than Tunnels & Trolls? Some Elric discussion. The secret brotherhood of librarians (or lack thereof). A brief diversion into chicken psychology.  Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #288 - 3/8/2026 Like what you hear? Support Shane Plays Geek Talk on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/shaneplays Listen to the Shane Plays Geek Talk podcast on YouTube, SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play Music, Amazon Music, Podbean and Stitcher (and other fine, fine podcast directories). Hey, you! Yeah, you! Buy cool stuff, support Shane Plays Geek Talk with these affiliate links! Humble Bundle https://www.humblebundle.com?partner=shaneplays DriveThruRPG.com https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?affiliate_id=488512 SHOW NOTES Ken St. Andre on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_St._Andre   Trollgodfather Press (Ken's Publishing Company) https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/publisher/9559/trollgodfather-press   Tunnels & Trolls https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunnels_%26_Trolls   Starfaring https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfaring   Monsters! Monsters! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsters!_Monsters!   Stormbringer RPG https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stormbringer_(role-playing_game)   Dungeons and Desktops: The History of Computer Role-Playing Games 2nd Edition Shane's book! Co-authored with Matt Barton of Matt Chat https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Desktops-History-Computer-Role-Playing/dp/1138574643/