Ken And Robin Talk About Stuff

In the Gaming Hut we spitball ideas for GUMSHOE One-2-One scenarios enterprising listeners might turn into self-published PDF products under the auspices of its Creative Commons license. We enter the History Hut to find rocker Frank Black prompting beloved Patreon backer to ask us about the Llano del Rio commune of the 1910s. The Cinema […]

In the Gaming Hut we ask when a historical event the players can research might also be a spoiler. Ripped From the Headlines allows beloved Patreon backer Chris Lydon to discover the hidden significance of Las Vegas’ political hat wearing pigeons. Our round of Yellow King Roleplaying Game Belle Epoque biographies shifts to the Culture […]

In the Gaming Hut, beloved Patreon backer Peter McAveney asks how to set up a Night’s Black Agents game as if it is, at first, some other less vampire-infested game. The Tradecraft Hut goes to 50s Canada, a tale of a KGB mole turned double agent and the corrupt RCMP officer who gave him up […]

In the Gaming Hut, beloved Patreon backer Trung Bui asks us for tips and tricks on running open-ended games without interfering with player agency. The Food Hut remains just as crispy, with a fraction of the calories, as Robin discovers air fryer cooking by way of the Breville Smart Oven with Air Fry. Our tour […]

In the Gaming Hut beloved Patreon backer Gray St. Quintin asks us to expand on our past fleeting discussion of the various voices and modes used in a roleplaying session. The Tradecraft Hut has no choice but to address recent reminders that Boston mob boss Whitey Bulger, whose story is already wild enough, was subjected […]

Look out for dirigibles as the Gaming Hut looks at the process of selecting your tech level when building an alternate timeline. The Aftermath sequence of The King in Yellow Roleplaying Game serves as our case in point. In Ken and/or Robin Talk to Somebody Else, we chat with game designer and writer Sarah Saltiel. […]

Longtime listeners know that “Start with Earth” is a Thing Ken Always Says. But in the Gaming Hut, beloved Patreon backer Nicola Wilson wants to know exactly where. In the Conspiracy Corner estimable Patreon backer Steven Roman seeks bookshelf recommendations for all things recent and conspiratorial. The Consulting Occultist continues to wear suspiciously Robin-like facial […]

In the Gaming Hut we come to the rescue of beloved Patreon backer Keelan O’Hea, whose players have conceived the inexplicable desire for a version of GUMSHOE with more die rolling in it. The Food Hut, of all huts, contains the first of this episode’s two Yellow King Roleplaying Game shout-outs, as we savor the […]

They tried to suppress it. They tried to contain it. They left it for months on a loading dock in Estonia. But now The Yellow King Roleplaying Game has made its final crack in reality by heading to retail. We celebrate with an all-Yellow King edition of Robin’s ambitious new game. In the Gaming Hut, […]

In the Gaming Hut, we show you how to turn otherwise inert scenes in a sandbox game into prompts for activity. With the Academy Awards creeping up on us yet again, it’s time for us to sashay into the Cinema Hut to list our favorite films of 2019.  Finally the Consulting Occultist returns to matters […]

That knife you smuggled into the Gaming Hut will finally pay off as we provide tips on playing the secret assassin character. Patreon backer Tom Abella provides us a story Ripped From the Headlines, in which a baffling GPS-spoofing technology deployed on the Yangtze at Shanghai might be a cover for sand thieves. Or, you […]

With a wave of his chainsaw hand, Patreon backer Walter Manbeck summons us to the Gaming Hut for tips on running comedy horror games. Inspired by a recent New York Times Magazine piece, the Tradecraft Hut examines the implications of the OSS’ impact on graphic and industrial design. Patreon backer Marc Kevin Hall asks us […]

In the Gaming Hut beloved Patreon backer Tom Shaw asks us to even the odds when strong PCs fight weak opponents. A gruesome find in the History Hut prompts estimable backer Polydamas to seek guidance on portraying the Sandby Borg Massacre in a game. In Ken and/or Robin Talk to Someone Else, Robin chats with […]

Pull up a comfy chair and get your fireballs back in the Gaming Hut as we look at the timing of resource refreshing. In the Tradecraft Hut we peer into the espionage activities of William Playfair, now better known as the inventor of the pie chart, not to mention most of your other favorite charts. […]

In our final episode of the year, we unwrap the annual Christmas present that is our episode recorded live at Dragonmeet in London. Join us for the nerdtroping of the Norman Conquest and Hindu mythology, this podcast’s alternate timeline, writing to drink by, annoying tannoy interruptions, and the real intervention in the 2016 election. Want […]

Freshly home and invigorated, or perhaps exhaugorated, by our annual trip to Dragonmeet in London, we issue a Travel Advisory for the William Blake exhibition at Tate Britain. Rocketed by the power of recording technology back to the day before Gen Con, Ken and/or Robin Talk to Someone Else finds us in conversation with Colby […]

In the Gaming Hut we figure out what people are really talking about when they take sides in the system matters debate. The Tradecraft Hut peers into a classic tabloid spy scandal, 1961’s Profumo Affair, to see what one might make of it in The Fall of Delta Green. Beloved Patreon backer Timothy Coram steps […]

Join us not midway through but at the top of the podcast as the Gaming Hut finds ways to introduce a new player to a long-running series. In the Television Hut beloved Patreon backer Jeromy French asks Robin to expound on the problems of the series finale. Ken and/or Robin Talk to Someone Else features […]

In the Gaming Hut beloved Patreon backer Elias Helfer asks us how to invent great magical artifacts. The History Hut exits pursued by a bear, and also flying bricks, as we look at New York City’s 1849 Shakespeare riots. Phil Masters leads a cane-toting pack of his fellow Patreon backers into the Horror Hut, demanding […]

, We show up in the Gaming Hut with our usual punctuality to look at ways of handling player absences. Crime Blotter looks at video games as a platform for money laundering. Beloved Patreon backer Steve Dempsey invites us to the Food Hut for a bowl of chili, or at least some palaver and history […]