Homebrew Game Club
by Homebrew Game Club
A podcast about new games for old consoles. We're three friends exploring brand-new, original, aftermarket games for retro systems, as well as the quirky communities that create them. Each month we pick a game to play and discuss our experiences with it, on consoles like the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Atari 2600, Sega Genesis, Game Boy, and more. Play along with us and discover these great new old games for yourself!
Episodes
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Gumballs and DoomKnights: Live at MGC Part 2
Hey hey, it's a second helping of Nick's short interview series from Midwest Gaming Classic 2026. This is Part 2 of a 2 part series. Adam Lewis Graf is a host of the Pocketeering podcast, and creator of Gumball in Trick-or-Treat Land for the GameBoy Color. Find it online at Itch.io or Steam, or…
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BioCreeps, Dizzy Sheep, and the Sole Goose: Live at MGC Part 1
Nick is back from Milwaukee with short interviews from Midwest Gaming Classic 2026. This is Part 1 of a 2 part series. Nate Ehlers is the creator of the NES homebrew game BioCreeps. Find out more about the game at BioCreeps.com. Sarah Parker is the creator Dizzy Sheep Disaster, a game for the...
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Game Club 23: Sam's Journey
Nick and Conor welcome an all-star panel of guests for an episode 10 months in the making. Can E.C. Meyers, JordiGH, and Matt Hughson (cue fanfare) help Sam get home safely? Still need to play the game? Get the C64 version here. You can find the NES version here. Check out E.C. Myers' website…
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Hacks, Game Tanks, and Japanese Flip Phones: Live from PRGE 2025
Nick returns from Portland Retro Gaming Expo 2025 with several short interviews featuring some very neat people. Optomon (Chris Lincoln) is a ROM hacker and the developer of the NES homebrew game Rollie. You can find his work at Optovania.com. Clyde Shaffer is the creator of the Game Tank. Find…
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Justice Duel
The gang reviews Justice Duel, a Joust-inspired arena combat game for the NES from 2017, set in a techno-dystopian America dominated by unhinged AI presidents riding giant eagles. Or something like that. Wait, is this still satire? Physical versions available from Mega Cat Studios. Download the...
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Indie Game Design and Publishing with Chris Totten
The gang interviews Chris Totten, Associate Professor of Game Design at Kent State University and the creator of recent Game Club pick Kudzu. This far-ranging conversation touches on GB Studio development, game design as a field of study, publishing indie games, introducing Gen Z students to…
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Recap: 2025 Midwest Gaming Classic
Nick and Bart discuss their trip to the 2025 Midwest Gaming Classic in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a convention that's surprisingly become an annual destination event for homebrew fans. After the break, a special guest returns to the podcast (with a slightly deeper voice than last time). Cover image...
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Game Club 22: Inspector Waffles: Early Days
Bart, Conor, and Nick don their detective hats for Inspector Waffles: Early Days for the Game Boy Color. Tune in as the gang solves the paw-some mystery of just how many cat puns three grown men can handle. Can they make it through with their wits intact, or will it be a cat-astrophe? Still need…
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Game Club 21: The Storied Sword
The gang takes on The Storied Sword for NES and Dreamcast, a Princess Bride-inspired tribute to Ninja Gaiden and Sunsoft's Batman. Is "NES hard" too extreme for modern gamers? Inconceivable! Still need to play the game? Get links to all physical and digital versions (including a free demo) at...
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Game Club 20: Kudzu
After a long, unscheduled break, the Game Club grabs their gardening hats and Birkenstocks to take on Kudzu, a top-down Game Boy adventure set among the vines. Also: Should Nick get another Switch? Or a Steam Deck? A short discussion with an obvious conclusion. Still need to play the game? Find...
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Off Topic: Bart and Conor Fill Dead Air
Bart and Conor seize the mic to fill dead air with topics suggested by the HBGC Discord audience. Enjoy the ride as our mutinous hosts chat away in the spirit of "We can say whatever we want, because Nick's never going to post this." This episode has chapters, so feel free to skip any of it. Or…
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Game Club 19: Courier
In this episode of the Game Club, the gang takes on Courier, a cyberpunk adventure for NES by Khan Games. There’s also a half-baked conversation about AI-generated art that should be inconclusive enough to irritate our entire audience. After the end credits, please enjoy Bart’s short and sticky...
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Game Club 18: Flea and Tapeworm Disco Puzzle
The Game Club takes on Flea! and Tapeworm Disco Puzzle for NES and Dreamcast, two entertaining games about adorable parasitic vermin. You can find links and information for both at the Lowtek Games website. Our next Game Club pick is Courier for NES. Get it here. Check out Nick's livestream...
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Live at the 2024 Midwest Gaming Classic
In the first-ever live HBGC show, the gang interviews NES developers John Vanderhoef and Greg Caldwell. John is the Byte Off Award-winning creator of the Orebody series, including Hunt the Wampus, Orebody: Binder's Tale, and Oratorio. Greg Caldwell is a member of Retrotainment Games, developers…
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Game Club 17: Full Quiet
Special guest host Chris (aka Deadeye) joins Conor and Nick for a deep dive into Retrotainment Games’ brilliant but baffling Full Quiet for NES. Conor reveals his new game design concept (the F.A.R.T.W.A.L.K.), Nick dusts off his memories of Russian literature, and Chris… probably isn’t used to...
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HBGC Answers Your Questions!
In this extra special bonus episode, Conor, Bart, and Nick scour the "Ask the Podcast" channel from the HBGC Discord server to catch up on unanswered questions over the last year. Questions like: How long should a homebrew game be? What's your favorite video game movie? Is Atari still Atari? And...
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Courier for NES - Now on Kickstarter!
The Game Club whets their appetites for cyberpunk cool with the demo for Courier, a hackeriffic new adventure for NES from Khan Games. Courier is available on Kickstarter until January 31, 2024. Grab your copy here.
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Game Club 16: Shmups!
The gang takes on three very short but action-packed shoot 'em ups: Omega Blast for the Mega Drive, Dangan GB2 for the Game Boy Color, and Flight of Pigarus for the Master System. We also reveal the winners of our 2023 shoot 'em ups high score competition! Still need to play the games? All are...
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Game Club 15: Doodle World and Kubo 3
The Game Club takes on Doodle World and Kubo 3, two NESmaker games created with contributions from children. But are we the right audience for this type of game? We invite some guest experts on the show to discuss. Still need to play the games? Find Doodle World here. And here’s the link to Kubo…
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Game Club 14: Anguna
The Game Club takes on three iterations of Nathan Tolbert's Zelda-inspired Anguna series on the Game Boy Advance, Atari 2600, and Nintendo Entertainment System. Conor attempts to define the "walkie-pokey" genre, Nick has a question about where those arrows are coming from, and Bart shares a...
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With Twitter's Decline, What's Next for Indie Game Developers?
Twitter, now rebranded "X," has been an important avenue for homebrewers and other indie game developers to connect with each other and promote their work. Tech industry veterans Conor and Nick discuss the decline of the app under Elon Musk, the rise of alternative platforms, and what it might…
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Building "The Machine" with Ben Jelter
Game Boy developer Ben Jelter joins the gang for a wide-ranging discussion on… Lots of things. Things like: Game design, GB Studio, his favorite homebrews, how to stay productive as a creative professional, hacker movies, the illusion of choice, Just World Theory, and what retro console he’s...
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Game Club 13: The Machine
The Game Club takes on The Machine, a dystopian sci-fi dark comedy for the Game Boy Color with surprising depth. Conor theorizes on how to keep hippies from turning into cannibals, Bart clarifies that we’re not watching a completely unrelated movie, and Nick embraces ethically compromised…
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Interview: Kevin Hanley
Kevin Hanley, creator of NEScape! and co-host of the Assembly Line podcast, joins the Game Club to talk about his history as a developer, what he’s working on next, and why he thinks we’re in a “golden age” for NES homebrew. Our NEScape! livestream from March 2022: https://youtu.be/xnHryQBMcyE...
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Game Club 12: The Cursed Knight
The Game Club takes on The Cursed Knight, a well-made Mega Drive game that really wants to give you a wedgie and stuff you into a locker. Bart defends his Nintendo bias, Nick rages about passwords, and Conor tries to stay positive. Bonus topic: What's your favorite food item in a video game?…
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Interview: Francesco Bacchelli (Studio Loading)
Nick talks to Francesco Bacchelli, the creative mind behind Game Boy developer Studio Loading. They discuss his inspirations, his approach to retro game development, and the positive aspects of working with a limited platform like the Game Boy. Hot on the heels of his first game Flying Arrows,...
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Game Club 11: What Remains
Grab your tweeter and channel your inner pirate radio broadcaster as the gang covers What Remains, a walkie-talkie* adventure game for the NES. Conor digs the 1980s vibes, Bart gets duped by a false ending, and Nick brings back the beeps... or, at least, one big one. *Copyright 2023, Homebrew…
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What Else We're Playing (2022 Recap)
Conor seizes control of the host mic to send the Game Club on a long, rambling, lightly edited conversation about several titles we played in 2022 that deserve more attention. Old games, new games, indie games, mobile games, AAA games – everything is up for discussion. (We even throw some…
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Game Club 10: L'Abbaye des Morts
Bart, Conor, and Nick head to 13th Century France in this deceptively compact tribute to ZX Spectrum platformers. We check out the original PC game as well as ports to the Spectrum, Mega Drive, NES, and Commodore 64. Sorry, Amiga and Ouya fans -- we tried. Still need to play the game? Find the...
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We Played 67 NES Demos and Now We Are Tired
It’s a NES demo extravaganza as Nick, Conor, and Bart check out all sixty-seven 2022 NESDev and NESmaker Byte Off III competition entries. Assuming they were able to figure out the spreadsheet first. NESDev Competition results (with links to demos): https://itch.io/jam/nesdev-2022/results…
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A Rant About Twitter
Does Elon Musk have entrepreneurial brain worms? Tech industry veterans Conor and Nick discuss.
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Game Club 9: Traumatarium and Phobos Dere
The Game Club gets spooky with two GB Studio titles for Game Boy: bite-size dungeon-crawler Traumatarium and glitchtastic platformer Phobos Dere. Still need to play the games? Get Traumatarium here: https://horatiunyc.itch.io/traumatarium And here’s Phobos Dere:...
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We're Doing a Giveaway! (Two, Actually)
Happy birthday to us!
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Game Club 8: Dungeons & DoomKnights
Nick and Bart crush some undead 8-bit skulls in Dungeons & DoomKnights, a "Zeldavania" action adventure for the NES. There's also a conversation about barbecue on the menu, and Nick finally reveals the origins of his cryptic internet handle, Dvertov. Still need to play the game? Grab it here:...
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Interview: Jordan “Raftronaut” Davis
Nick and Bart talk with Jordan Davis about adapting his NES game Space Raft for an arcade setting, and what it’s like to get a homebrew game published on the Nintendo Switch. This interview was recorded live at the Midwest Gaming Classic in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on May 1, 2022. Raftronaut on...
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Game Club 7: Alfonzo’s Arctic Adventure
Bart, Conor, and Nick head to the tundra with Alfonzo’s Arctic Adventure, a puzzle platformer for the NES. There’s also a lengthy debate about the ethics of using save states on emulated games, and an even longer, highly skippable (but hopefully entertaining) examination of the regional cuisine…
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Review: Ruby & Rusty Save the Crows
Conor and Nick discuss Ruby & Rusty Save the Crows, a charming platformer for the Game Boy Color that may or may not concern workplace discrimination and chronically traumatized birds (it doesn’t). Get the full game here: https://www.bitmapsoft.co.uk/product/ruby-rusty-save-the-crows/ Play the…
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Game Club 6: Xeno Crisis
The Homebrew Game Club takes on Xeno Crisis, a twin-stick shooter for the Sega Mega Drive. And loses, spectacularly. Get the game here, or on your platform of choice: https://shop.bitmapbureau.com/ The next game club pick is Alfonzo's Arctic Adventure for the NES. Get it here:...
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Review: Diamond Thieves
Conor returns to the podcast as the gang takes a look at Diamond Thieves, a new game for the Mega Drive and Genesis. Developed by Mangangá Team, Diamond Thieves is available through a joint collaboration between Mega Cat Studios and Video Game Sage. View the Diamond Thieves Official Trailer:...
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Game Club 5: Space Raft
Nick and Bart discuss Space Raft for NES and its remixed semi-sequel, Space Raft Arcade. Bart has no regrets about taking over the Discord with Atari 7800 talk, and Nick builds a badass flight simulator. Also: Hey, did those Beanie Baby collectors ever make money?? Still need to play Space Raft?...
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Midwest Gaming Classic 2022 Recap
The 2022 Midwest Gaming Classic is over, and Nick and Bart are tired. For more on the Midwest Gaming Classic: https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/ Hair of the Dogcast: https://hairofthedogcast.libsyn.com/ Warren Davis' Q*Bert Book:...
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Game Club 4: NEScape!
The Game Club talks NEScape!, an escape room game for the NES. Conor makes the point-and-click connection, Bart is happy he finally figured out Morse Code, and Nick's just glad to have had help on this one. View the HBGC full livestream playthrough on our YouTube channel:...
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Interview: Matt Hughson
The Game Club talks with Matt Hughson, developer of NES homebrew games Witch n' Wiz and From Below, as well as the upcoming From Below Pocket for Game Boy. While the discussion focuses on previous Game Club pick Witch n' Wiz, this is a great conversation for anyone interested in creating and...
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Game Club 3: Witch n' Wiz
The gang talks about Witch n' Wiz, a puzzle platformer for the NES. Nick tries in vain not to swear, Conor confesses to a terrible mistake, and Bart has a particular room in mind where he'd like to play this one. There's also a bit about Reddit movies. Finally, Nick has a cautionary tale about...
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Retro-Inspired Indie Games
Nick has a story about losing his car keys. It's long, sorry. Eventually, Nick and Conor talk about some of their favorite retro-inspired indie games. Let us know which ones we missed by yelling at us on social media or emailing [email protected]. Games mentioned in this episode: Streets...
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Game Club 2: Deadeus
The Game Club takes on handheld homebrew horror with Deadeus for the Game Boy, a great Halloween title we're talking about in January for some reason. Warning: Spoilers abound. The guys wrap up with a discussion of their favorite non-homebrew games of 2021. Got a different take? Share your...
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HBGC Extra: The [Retracted] List of NES Homebrew Games
In this totally bonus, eminently skippable episode, Nick and Conor address a couple of wild days in the NES homebrew scene. Do you devour internet drama like it's hot popcorn? This episode is for you. Seth Abramson's Top 100 NES Homebrews (archived version): https://archive.is/QCi8s Response to…
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Game Club 1: Lizard
The Game Club kicks off with enigmatic platformer Lizard for the NES, and contentious takes abound. Conor is perplexed by the soundtrack, Bart is scared and confused, and Nick wonders if his favorite homebrew game is an existential crisis simulator in disguise. Got a different take? Share your...
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Bart Elfrink on Drinksgiving
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the U.S., and the Game Club's own Bart Elfrink made a movie about it! Here's a short, totally-extra bonus segment featuring Bart and Nick talking about Drinksgiving, a film Bart co-directed back in 2016, now available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video and Paramount+....
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Episode 0: Introductions
Meet your podcasters! The gang discusses what they mean by “homebrew games” and why they’re different from “hacks” before outlining plans for the podcast. Bart examines what he looks for in a game, Conor reminisces on video games in 1990s Ireland, and Nick reveals behind-the-scenes tales from a...
About this show
A podcast about new games for old consoles. We're three friends exploring brand-new, original, aftermarket games for retro systems, as well as the quirky communities that create them. Each month we pick a game to play and discuss our experiences with it, on consoles like the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Atari 2600, Sega Genesis, Game Boy, and more. Play along with us and discover these great new old games for yourself!
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Homebrew Game Club
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