The Download's tracks

The word is bunnies because baby bunnies have been spotted again in Keith’s yard and he tells us all about them. Tangents include the differences between rabbits (and bunnies) vs hares and also rock vs. stone. Then they get into a big discussion of fictional rabbits and their favorite bunnies, first discussing serious bunnies (most notably those in Watership Down) and then, the many funny bunnies. Keith wonders why, as a society, we seem to like bunnies more than squirrels. Next the nerds discuss their plans for GenCon, and Andy mentions a couple of conventions he and Kristin will be guests of honor at this fall. Keith talks about his new card game, The Banjo King, and talks about changing the name of the Night Market to the Ghost Market. Lastly, they discuss the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, which they are both in the middle of reading (or rather, listening to) and how it’s similar to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. They will be continuing to discuss DCC in future episodes.

The word is franchise and the nerds start by discussing various franchise operations, both real and fictional. Specific topics include a boardgame called Fast Food Franchise, those paper food service hats, the current Bricks & Minifigs scandal, the details of mundane healthcare in a fantasy RPG world, and this week’s “favorite thing” discussion, which is about restaurant franchises. Then they each report on recent events they’ve returned from, with Andy going to Origins where he was debuting his new game, Seven Islands, and Keith going to a bluegrass festival, where he was previewing his newest game, The Banjo King. Other topics include the game designer’s problem of what to do with old prototypes, a world where everyone is named Phil, and a classic Top Ten List from David Letterman. Lastly, they extend last week’s “Dream Crew” discussion to add an Ensign and a Starship.

The word is Crew and the nerds spend most of this episode discussing their dream Star Trek crews. They each choose a favorite character from any of the shows to fill these ten positions: Captain, First Officer, Science Officer, Doctor, Engineer, Helmsman, Security Officer, Communications/Counselor, Wildcard, and Visiting Alien Who Happened To Be On The Bridge At The Time. Moving on to media, Keith talks about seeing The Backrooms (and not yet seeing the new Star Wars movie), Andy mentions the Wreckless Ben Lego scandal. Lastly, Keith gives an update on the Night Market.

The word is Danger! The nerds discuss various dangers, including a new game Andy is working on called Danger Star. Then they spend a lot of time talking about their favorite robots, with Andy first providing a detailed recap of episode 160, in which they discussed the topic informally. Then they break it down into sub-categories including favorite Star Wars robot, favorite real-life robot, and the differences between androids, cyborgs, robots, and smart vehicles. After discussing some old business, Keith talks about playtesting his new Daggerheart campaign, and how the system is fundamentally different from D&D. Meanwhile, Andy reports on playtest #13 of Starbase Armstrong, for which he dusted off his programmer hat to write some much needed score-calculating software. Moving on to media, they talk about a book they’re both reading, called 253, and after dropping the Spoiler Curtain, they discuss the first few episodes of Taskmaster season 21 and a few other things including the UK Celebrity version of The Traitors.

The word is Artemis because the nerds were watching the live broadcast of the launch of Artemis 2 while they recorded this episode. They also discuss the space program in general and various moon-related topics. Then they discuss their favorite (and not so favorite) fictional AI entities, with a lot of side discussions about robots with notable artificial personalities. After they drop the spoiler curtain, they discuss season 2 of Paradise, of which they’ve seen all but the final episode, about which they have predictions.

The word is Party! The nerds talk about various parties, starting with a party of adventurers catering a dinner party, which was the concept for a D&D scenario which Keith had fun running at GaryCon. Next they talk about their favorite parties of various types. In old business, they discuss again the Deck of Many Things. Then they discuss upcoming events before moving on to media. They discuss the announcement about a new, animated Firefly series, Andy mentions a book called 253, and Keith talks about the Dungeon Crawler Carl books. Lastly, they discuss The Hail Mary Project a little, and the first season of Starfleet Academy at length.

The word is tarot, and the nerds spend a lot of time talking about tarot decks: what they like about them, which tarot decks are their favorites, etc. Other topics they discuss along the way include other divination systems, the Chronicles of Amber, the Looney Oracle, Rekon-3, the Deck of Many Things, Persona, Last Call, and Oblique Strategies. Then they get into a very long discussion about Zarcana, the pyramid game you play on a gameboard made out of tarot cards. Lastly, Keith talks about an unpublished game called The Nightwood Society.

The word is Haggis, since Keith just said goodbye to his beloved cat of that name. Keith talks about what a great cat he’d been, and how empty the house is now, without both Haggis and Ping. To cheer themselves up from this somber topic, the nerds talk at great length about ice cream — their favorite flavors, manufacturers, parlors, etc. Moving on to work stuff, Keith talks about his new project, The Night Market, and Andy talks about his newest game, Seven Islands. Lastly, they talk about media, mostly focusing on Star Trek’s Starfleet Academy.

The word is Academy, since the new Star Trek series about Starfleet Academy just debuted. They discuss the show at a high level, saving the spoilery details for the final part of the show. Then they discuss their favorite schools in various categories. Moving on to life stuff, they each report on current work stuff they’ve been working on: Keith talks about a zany Daggerheart scenario he ran, and some details about the system, and Andy talks about how well the first use of the Looney Labs GameTracker worked out at CodeMash. Lastly, they drop the spoiler curtain to fully discuss the first few episodes of Starfleet Academy.Spoiler Warning: Contains spoilers!

The word is Song, since the holidays just ended and Christmas songs were in the air and on their minds. They discuss their favorite holiday songs in various categories at length. Then they each talk about their upcoming travel plans, Keith going to DM University, and Andy going to CodeMash. Then Keith talks about his recent trip to film another season of Legacy of Worlds. Moving on to media, Keith talks about a show called From. Lastly, after the drop the Spoiler Curtain, they discuss the first season of Pluribus.Spoiler Warning: Contains spoilers!

The word is Dejarik, since this year’s holiday gift from Looney Labs is Looney Dejarik, which Andy explains at length. Then the nerds talk about their favorite calendars, with Keith talking at length about advent calendars in particular. Next, Keith talks about the launch of Jerry Garcia’s Cosmic Journey, and plans for the third season of Legacy of Worlds. Moving on to media, they discuss Pluribus, Welcome to Derry, Stranger Things, and Wicked For Good.Spoiler Warning: Contains Spoilers!

The word is Costume, since it was just halloween. The nerds discuss their favorite costumes, from childhood to LARPing to what to wear when answering the door for Trick or Treaters. Moving on to work stuff, they discuss their plans for PAX Unplugged, and Andy drops a few hints about his newest game. Lastly, they discuss media stuff, including Pluribus, Taskmaster season 20, Predator: Badlands, and Death by Lightning.

The word is Pets, since Keith is mourning the loss of his dog Ping, while Andy is celebrating the adoption of two kittens. Speaking of cats, they finally tell the story of their visit to a cat cafe in Osaka, which they mentioned repeatedly in episode 351 but never got back to. This leads to other reminiscing about their great Japanese adventure, including discussions of their favorite high-points in various categories.

The word is Tokyo, because Keith and Andy recorded this episode during their trip to Japan! The show begins with a discussion they had on their second day, while waiting at the Tokyo train station, then jumps ahead to conversations about their day at Expo 2025 in Osaka. A couple of days after that, they recorded their thoughts after returning from Tokyo Disneyland, and the show concludes with a conversation they had at the airport, while waiting to go home the following Sunday morning.

The word is Konniccichwa, because Keith and Andy are preparing for their big trip to Japan. But first, Andy talks about his recent trip to Burning Man, which somehow leads to a big discussion of their favorite wizards. Then Keith talks about his aunt, who’s just moved from near Portland Maine to his town of Portland Oregon. He talks about showing her the Chapman Swifts, a local natural phenomenon. Next they talk about work stuff they’re working on, including Andy’s decision to take over the cartooning work himself. Moving on to media, they discuss the start of the Alien: Earth series, and after dropping the spoiler curtain, they discuss the last few episodes of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Spoiler Warning: Contains spoilers!

The word is Pallet, because Keith and Andy have pallet-related stories to tell about their recent adventures at GenCon. Then Keith gives a few hints about the new world he’s creating for the Daggerheart RPG system. Moving on to one of their Favorite Things, they discuss their favorite vampires. Lastly, after dropping the spoiler curtain, they discuss the first 5 episodes of season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Spoiler Warning: Contains spoilers!

The word is Goodloe, which is the first name of the guy who’s been drawing the doodles that illustrate this podcast for the past 347 episodes. Sadly, Goodloe is stepping down as our cartoonist, so the nerds discuss their favorite Goodloe cartoons. Then they spend most of the rest of the show discussing the new Superman movie, and the new Fantastic Four movie.Spoiler Warning: Contains spoilers!

The word is Rewatch, and the nerds start by discussing classic shows they’ve been watching again, including their favorite shows to watch over again. Then Andy invites Keith to join him for a trip to Japan, which they are planning to take this fall, along with Andy’s brother and his wife. Then Keith talks about a new game he’s been working on for a while now and is finally able to talk about: Jerry Garcia’s Cosmic Journey! He talks about how that started and how it’s going. Then Andy talks about the latest in Fluxx news and mentions a new promo card they’ll be giving out at GenCon. He also talks about dismantling a piano. Moving on to media, they discuss Murderbot for a bit, and after dropping the spoiler curtain, they talk about Season 19 of Taskmaster.

The word is Cones, and after some discussion about the different types of ice cream comes, the subject of the Cones of Dunshire leads to very long conversation about fictional tabletop games and their favorites in that category. After dropping the spoiler curtain, they review the end of season two of Andor and the start of season 19 of Taskmaster.

The word is Smartypants. The nerds talk about a web series called SmartyPants and being a smartypants in general. Then they discuss their favorite coins (and also their least favorites). Moving on to media, they spend a lot of time speculating about the upcoming Fantastic Four movie based on the trailer, then Keith gives us spoiler-free reviews of Thunderbolts and Sinners. Other media topics include Legacy of Worlds, Taskmaster, and Flow. After dropping the spoiler curtain, they discuss the first few episodes of Andor season 2.

This week the word is Jeopardy and the subject of favoritism is game shows. They have a lot to say about game shows, including fictional game shows and the issue of various game-show-adjacent forms of competition. Then Keith recounts a few tales from his recent D&D in a castle travels.

This week the word is snacks, so the nerds discuss their favorite snacks. In quite a bit of detail. Eventually, after dropping the spoiler curtain, they discuss various versions of the story, Button, Button, as well as Season 1 of Paradise.

This week’s word is surplus, and the nerds talk about surplus stores, their favorite leftovers, unfinished business from the Twilight Zone, air fryers, Kzinti chow, They Might Be Giants, Hundreds of Beavers, Flow, Wander to Wonder, Disneyland rides that are being phased out, upcoming travel plans, Homeworlds, Paradise, and (after dropping the Spoiler Curtain) Severance season 2.

This week the word is Twilight, as in the Twilight Zone, which is the subject that dominates most of the episode. They compare notes on their favorite episodes from each incarnation of the series. Other topics include twilight in general, the Twilight Zone pinball machine, TZ books, movies with a zoney feel, the Over the Edge RPG, and the first half of season 2 of Severance. Spoiler warning: contains some very old spoilers

This week the word is Trekkie and the nerds spend the entire episode discussing their favorite episodes from each of the 11 different Star Trek series.

This week the word is Biscuit so the nerds talk about biscuits (and cookies and scones). Then Keith reports on his recent travels, including to London (where he did a cool Taskmaster thing and visited the Bodleian library) and then Toronto (where he filmed another season of Legacy of Worlds). Then Andy talks about reorganization work he’s been doing in the Looney Labs office, and future plans for the space. Next, they discuss their favorite cookies. Lastly, they talk about the season finale of Lower Decks.

This week the word is Santa, since Keith and Jenn got Santa to work in their booth with them at Pax Unplugged. Then they get into a very lengthy discussion about their favorite holiday shows and movies, including favorite adaptations of A Christmas Carol and holiday episodes of regular shows. Later Andy talks about inventing Kickback, a new game for the pyramids, based on ideas that came to him in a dream. Lastly they talk about Star Trek Lower Decks and a vintage series called Dusty’s Trail, among other things.

This week the word is tragedy, since Andy lost two close friends recently (Amber Cook and Kory Heath). After discussing the concept of tragedy for a bit, the nerds lighten the mood by pivoting to comedy, and spent awhile discussing their favorite comedy movies and TV shows. After this, Keith talks about some of the games he’s been playing, including at AmberCon, then Andy talks about work he’s been doing, first on pyramid game stuff, then on Fluxx game stuff. After those things, they discuss Star Trek Lower Decks and related Star Trek stuff, Bluesky, and Keith’s daily Eberron report.

This week the word is horror. The nerds discuss different aspects of the horror genre and why it’s appealing (or not). They also discuss their favorite horror stories in various categories. Moving on from these horrors, Keith talks about playing The Devil’s Dandy Dogs and other games at GameHoleCon, and chocolate Jenn brought back from Japan. Then Andy talks about Word Fluxx, which just went to the printer, and Keith talks about playing an auto-gnome called The Observer.

This week the word is canal, because Andy just had a root canal. The nerds tell stories about both teeth and canals. Then they discuss their favorite dogs! These topics take a lot of time. Toward the end they each report on work stuff and talk a little about TV they’re watching, specifically Rings of Power, Time Bandits, and Agatha All Along.

This week the word is Western. The nerds discuss the elements of a classic western, and Keith talks about his new western-themed Eberron book, Frontiers of Eberron. They also discuss their favorite westerns, in various categories, and Andy muses about the idea of making a Wild West Fluxx. Then Keith reports on his dog’s health and the release of WayFinder. Moving on to media, the nerds discuss topics including Star Trek Center Seat, and the new Time Bandits series, Rings of Power, and others.

This week the word is hoard. The nerds discuss the differences between a collector and a hoarder, and various hoards they each have. Then the guys talk about travel, first Andy's trip to Burning Man, then Keith's trip to DragonCon. Next, since a fan at GenCon requested that they discuss their favorite dragons, Andy & Keith talk about their favorite dragons! Lastly, Keith talks about the latest Alien and Deadpool movies.

This week the word is delay because Keith recently had some serious travel delays, which he tells us all about. Andy also talks about a few things delayed, including the Looney Oracle and Hundred Acre Wood Fluxx. then Keith reports on GenCon and D&D stuff. Moving on to one of their favorite things, the nerds discuss their favorite dream-related stories. Lastly, they discuss recent media, including the Star Trek: Prodigy.

This week the word is horse because Andy has decided to learn to ride a horse, since his friend Firefly just happens to teach horseback riding. Keith & Andy then spend a lot of time talking about their favorite horses in various categories. Other topics include Islandia (the old “multi-user dungeon” they both played in long ago), Medusa in cake form, Ithaca, and Keith’s D&D campaign. After dropping the spoiler curtain they talk mostly about Dark Matter, with minor discussions of the Acolyte and Manhunt.

The word is Car and the nerds discuss their favorite cars, in various categories, including real-life cars, sentient cars, and versions of the Batmobile. Then Keith talks about his experiences at Origins this year, and discusses the idea that D&D is actually one of the earliest cooperative games. Then Andy discusses lessons learned from playtest #8 of Starbase Armstrong, which was the most successful yet. Lastly, they dive into several media topics: The season finale of Star Trek: Discovery and the first few episodes of Apple TV’s Dark Matter and Star Wars: Acolyte.

The word is Eleven and the nerds start by discussing things they like about the number 11. Andy also mentions 11 Fluxx ideas he’s been working on. Then they get into a discussion of their favorite time travel shows which takes up most of the show. After that, Keith talks about his new campaign on Patreon and gives an update on Wayfinder. Lastly, they talk slightly about recent media include Star Trek: Discovery, Star Wars: Acolyte, and Dark Matter.

The word is Chrononaut and the nerds are here to discuss their favorite time travel movies. But first, they have to discuss terms and edge cases like time loop tales and alternate reality stories. Then they discuss a long list of time travel movies as they each struggle to decide which to call their favorites. Next Keith talks about being a Guest of Honor at BatesCon #1 and other work stuff, then Andy talks about the new Chrononauts expansion, changing the name of the Winnie the Pooh version of Fluxx, and playtest #7 of Starbase Armstrong. Lastly they discuss media including the new Doctor Who, a couple of time travel books, and after the Spoiler Curtain, the Whistespeak episode of Star Trek Discovery.

The word is castle because Keith just got back from running 9-days of D&D games in an actual castle. Next the nerds talk about their favorite castles. Then Andy talks about his recent travels, to Washington Indiana to see the total eclipse of the sun. Moving on to media, they talk a little about a bunch of new shows they haven’t watched much of yet. Keith talks about Hot Chocolate Cafes in Edinburgh, and Andy gives a report on Playtest #6 of Starbase Armstrong. Looking ahead, Keith talks about the upcoming Kickstarter for Glim, Andy talks about ideas for a Patreon, and they make plans to discuss Time Travel movies on the next episode.

The word is breakfast and the nerds talk at length about their favorite breakfast foods, with particular focus on their favorite breakfast cereals. Then Keith talks about his most recent adventures, including running games at back-to-back conventions and the upcoming kickstarter for his new game, Glim. Then Andy reports on his recent trip to MidSouthCon. Other topics include Baron Munchausen, Tennessee Tuxedo, and Six Sides of Gaming.

The word is movies and the nerds talk at length about the movie-going experience, categories of movies, and in particular, their favorite science fiction movies. First they deal with the heavy-hitters, discussing their favorites from within the most well-known franchises, then they discuss their personal all-around faves. They also talk awhile about what favorite thing to discuss next time. Then they discuss some old business (Waking Life, The Killing Joke, and Hot Ones) before dropping the spoiler curtain to discuss Oppenheimer and the Dune movies.

The word is bars, in particular candy bars. The nerds spend a lot of time talking about their favorites, including limits on what counts as a candy bar, discontinued favorites, and recent trends. They also touch on bars, coffeeshops, and cafes. Then they discuss what topic of favorite stuff to discuss next, and debated the issues involved in naming a favorite movie. Next Keith talks about work stuff, including his patreon RPG that featured a special guest star, and his upcoming appearance on D&D in a castle. Andy mentions that the Looney Oracle just went to the printer, and talks a little about what the Oracle is. Lastly, Keith talks about the You Tube interview show Hot Ones.

The word is videogames, and the nerds spend a lot of time talking about their favorite videogames, breaking the subject down by type, era, and platform. Then Keith talks about his recent travels to Toronto to film more Six Sides of Gaming adventures, and Andy talks about the disappointing misprint in his new release, Camping Fluxx. They discuss media slightly, including Barbie and the new season of Rick & Morty, but then go back to talking about videogames. After dropping the spoiler curtain, Andy talks about the ending of the videogame, Stray.

The word is favorite and the nerds give their own answers to five “What’s your favorite…?” questions which it’s essential for every pediatrician to have ready answers for: Dinosaur, Insect, Superhero, Animal, and Princess. (Unsurprisingly, they spend quite a bit of time on a couple of those.) Moving on to other topics, they discuss Keith’s next video appearances as well as scrambled eggs. Media topics include Fargo, The Peripheral, Scott Pilgrim, For All Mankind, and Silo. After dropping the spoiler curtain, they discuss a couple of videogames, namely Wayfinder (which Keith worked on) and Stray (in which you are a cat).

The word is character so the nerds talk about their favorite characters, what makes for a fun character to role-play, who’s really the main character, and what’s important in being a person with good character. Keith talks about appearing on the next season of Legacy of Worlds. Andy talks about being Frank, the person everyone knows (and his friend, Anthony’s sister) in a game of Over The Edge. They also talk about the importance of good sportsmanship in leadership. They talk about the holidays and gifts they each got, and Andy talks about how the biggest Christmas stories are actually time travel stories. They discuss their favorite versions of a Christmas Carol. After the spoiler curtain, they discuss the Peripheral a little and season 2 of Loki at great length.

The word is calendar and the nerds talk about calendars, in particular Advent Calendars and Andy’s Y2K Calendar T-shirt. Other holiday related topics include Keith’s lil RPG, Snow Globe, his favorite Christmas tree ornament, and a disappointing pop-up Santa bar in Portland. Keith talks about the next D&D game he’ll be running and gets a couple of suggestions about it from Andy. He also talks about playing Wayfinder on his new PS5. Andy talks about his awesome shoulder-riding cat and updating the rules to old pyramid games. Media topics include Bodies, Loki, The Flash, and Fargo.

The word is paradox and the nerds have many thoughts about paradoxes and time travel and alternate realities. Topics include Zeno’s paradox, the grandfather loop, and of course, Andy’s game Chrononauts. Media they discuss includes Bodies, Loki, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, the Terminator 1 & 2, Back to the Future, Star Trek, Marvels, and Alien 1 & 2. Andy has a lot to say about the JFK assassination, and Keith has some opinions to share about the new Scott Pilgrim series.

The word is charcuterie, so the nerds start by sharing their thoughts on charcuterie boards. Andy announces that Leila is taking over the job of doing the sound editing on this show, then they talk about Hearts and Whist and Icehouse and Magic. Keith reports on GameHoleCon and shares his spoiler-free thoughts about Bodies and Loki Season 2. After dropping the spoiler curtain, they discuss the finale of Season 4 of Lower Decks, with a few added thoughts about the Fall of the House of Usher and The Last of Us.

The word is camping. The nerds discuss their love of camping trips and Andy mentions that Camping Fluxx just went to the printer. Then they talk about Keith’s latest appearance on the Six Sides of Gaming livestream, and Keith talks about games he plans to run at GameHoleCon. Andy then talks a bit more about his big Across America road trip and the living souvenir he returned with: a new kitten, named Neko. Then the nerds start talking about Star Trek and Star Wars, again. Keith gives his high-level thoughts on Ahsoka season 1, then after they drop the spoiler curtain, they talk at length about Season 4 of Lower Decks. Keith also talks about Loki, Bluestar, and Byzantine History.

The word is remix. The nerds recorded this episode live when Andy visited Keith during his big Across America road trip, and they start by continuing discussions they were having over breakfast about alternate-timeline-20-years-later remixes for Battlestar Galactica, Brooklyn 99, Rick & Morty and Firefly, all inspired by this Breaking Bad 2 video: https://www.cbr.com/breaking-bad-2-fan-video/. The word being remix, Andy plugs Fluxx Remixx, and provides updates on his Across America Fluxx Roadtrip. Keith describes his livestream GaryCon character, how he found real giant silver wings, and reviews the Switch game Disco Elysium. Haggis the cat sits on Andy’s lap. They chat about Ashoka, how much we love our phones, and how disappointed they still feel about the Star Trek musical episode. Lastly, they duck behind the spoiler curtain briefly to discuss the cliffhanger of SNW season 2.

The word is musical. The nerds talk about special musical episodes, musicals in general, and the new musical episode of Star Trek. Then Keith mentions the sad news that his mother passed away, and spends some time eulogizing her and celebrating the many ways she encouraged his creativity. One example they both get nostalgic about are the giant Icehouse pieces she made out of cloth & stuffing back in the 80s. This also leads to an extended story from an early LARP game called Recon-5. Then Keith reports on his experiences at GenCon. After dropping the spoiler curtain, they discuss Star Trek SNW S2 Ep 8-9 and also Guardians of the Galaxy 3. Spoiler Warning: Contains Spoilers