Get fresh NerdWallet data on what your points and miles are really worth in 2025 — and why the answer might change how you book travel. Should you take a $650 flight voucher or 32,500 miles? How much are your points and miles actually worth? Hosts Sally French and Meghan Coyle break down the latest NerdWallet valuations to help you make smarter redemption choices. But first, they cover the week’s biggest travel headlines, including Southwest Airlines’ new partnership with EVA Air, Frontier’s companion certificate promotion and status match, and JetBlue opening up award bookings with Condor Airlines. Then, travel Nerd Craig Joseph joins Meghan to discuss NerdWallet’s latest airline, hotel, and credit card point valuations, with tips and tricks on comparing loyalty programs, maximizing transfer partners, and deciding when cash is more valuable than points. They also discuss the impact of devaluations, how close-in bookings can save you points, and why premium cabins can sometimes offer outsized redemption value. Plus: Craig’s hot take on airport lounges. Card benefits, terms and fees can change. For the most up-to-date information about cards mentioned in this episode, read our reviews: Is the Frontier Airlines World Mastercard Worth Its Annual Fee? https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/is-the-frontier-airlines-world-mastercard-worth-its-annual-fee Citi Strata Credit Card Review: Solid Rewards for No Annual Fee https://www.nerdwallet.com/reviews/credit-cards/citi-strata Citi Double Cash Review: A Solid Choice for Everyday Spending https://www.nerdwallet.com/reviews/credit-cards/citi-double-cash Citi Custom Cash Card Review: Low-Maintenance 5% Cash Back https://www.nerdwallet.com/reviews/credit-cards/citi-custom-cash Citi Strata Premier: Big Rewards Across Top Spending Categories https://www.nerdwallet.com/reviews/credit-cards/citi-strata-premier Is the New Alaska Atmos Summit Card Worth a $395 Annual Fee? https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/is-the-alaska-airlines-atmos-summit-card-worth-its-annual-fee Resources discussed in this episode: Airline Miles vs. Cash Calculator https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/calculator-should-you-book-a-flight-with-cash-or-miles How Much Are Travel Points and Miles Worth in 2025? https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/airline-miles-and-hotel-points-valuations Want even more tips and tricks to get the most out of your travel dollars? Subscribe to TravelNerd , our free newsletter designed to help you crack the code on spending less on your travel. In this episode, the Nerds discuss: points and miles valuation, airline miles value, hotel points value, credit card points value, Southwest EVA Air partnership, Frontier Companion Certificate, JetBlue Condor award booking, Citi American Airlines transfer, Amex Membership Rewards value, Capital One points value, Bilt points value, Hyatt points value, Hilton points value, Marriott points value, Wyndham points value, IHG points value, Alaska miles value, JetBlue points value, American Airlines miles value, United miles value, Southwest points value, Virgin Atlantic miles value, ANA miles value, Avianca LifeMiles value, best way to use Amex points, best way to use Citi points, best way to use Capital One points, use cash or points for flights, last minute award flight value, premium cabin redemption value, economy flight points value, airline devaluation, hotel point devaluation, cash vs points travel booking, when to transfer credit card points, how to maximize travel rewards, and NerdWallet points and miles calculator. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Ween closes out with a bang, as we discuss a game designed to cover *cough* a wide variety of different Slasher movies that may or may not have specifically launched the genre in 1978 or so. Check it out, it's 1978 (The Night They Came Home)! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Oh man, I don't know if I should just put a bunch of movie quotes here (nah, the book already made me sick of them) or a bunch of Ween stuff. Let's go with that one. It's Army of Darkness as we start a look at horror movie RPG entries in a little sequence we're weenly calling WEENS ON FILM. Weenjoy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Sorry it's been a while friends! This episode is special and it took some work to get it working. We're interviewing Sean Ellis and Kira Woodmansee, two of the major names involved in getting Tales from the Floating Vagabond off the ground. Because we wanted to! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Part of this job is getting to hold extremely weird things in our hands, things we never expected to be real, and this is certainly one of those times. Three hundred and seven episodes ago we discussed Tales from the Floating Vagabond. Between then and now the author, Lee Garvin, passed away years ago. Now we have the second edition ANYWAY, and it's neat to hold. Let's talk about it! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Yeah yeah, we did the thing. God knows there was plenty more content. James is still here to help us process all this stuff. Thanks James! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This is almost certainly the largest product we've ever attempted to review! As a result there are some gaps in coverage here. We may yet revisit this game just to do a deep dive on the setting, if there's interest. Otherwise, welcome to the whimsical world of not quite wizards that is Invisible Sun, recorded twice for various reasons, and featuring our network president James D'Amato, because we like that guy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Let's lay out what we're discussing here this week. It's three games (in four books) comprising Clever Girl, #Flirt Squad, and Anyone Can Wear The Mask. We love checking in on micro games from time to time, they're a refreshing change from the elderly tomes we normally peruse. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
More TV sci-fi! More TV sci-fi! Actually wait, hold on, this one is based on the books. No TV in here, which is probably for the best, because you guessed it, neither of us watched the show. Is this relatively modern relatively hard sci-fi space game fun? Well let's find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Who loves Doctor Who? Specifically and exclusively any Doctor Who made before 1991? Not us it turns out, though this game is pretty fun! It's got some neat design ideas and good advice and writing, and also a lot of information about old Doctors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
This is one of the venerable old giants of the fantasy gaming industry. Avalon Hill producing Chaosium's Runequest. Couldn't be more classic. But how does it read 40 years later? Let's all find out together. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
By all account, this is the first ever superhero RPG, but don't let that fool you, it contains virtually nothing you'd recognize as a superhero game. In fact, it's wild what it contains. You'll see. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Okay the rumors that we like every supers game are scurrilous, devious, and increasingly accurate. This is Capers, and it's a supers game set in a slightly less socially shitty 1920s, which is a neat thing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Hi folks, let's start up another 300 of these, what do you say? This one is about The Arcanum, an early 80s game that sure seems similar for some reasons (the same reasons they always do? Probably!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Well that certainly was 300 times we did a thing, I tell you what! Let's take a little victory lap by cracking open a cask we've been saving for a special occasion, a feisty little 1983 vintage called Palladium Fantasy that definitely isn't just dust and vinegar by this point, right? Right? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
We're hard at work on our giant pile of weird old box sets, and that means it's time for Bleeding Heart, a game that Jon assures me is loosely based on something called the Corman Poe film era of the mid-sixties, and he's a total horror nerd so I gotta go with him on this one. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
I really hope you're enjoying this string of very old games, we're doing our best to get back into them quickly (ever since I found one of my old box sets fully eaten by bugs and had to fumigate). In this case, it's a game about real old timey cowboys! Like Boot Hill but not TSR! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Can we review an 80s Star Trek game without our pacemakers exploding? What if FASA made it? We're looking at the Star Trek RPG from roughly 1983, which means (if you're counting) that it's based on the original series, the animated series, and the first three films. Is it okay or does it have to go home and copy 10 pages out of the K section of the dictionary? Let's find out! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Finally someone bought that game that advertises on Facebook, and it was us. It's a fantasy adventure game with some sex-themed rules, but honestly I don't want to spoil anything here because it's a tiny wee little game that could never possibly satisfy any REAL gamer. Damn it, still with the jokes. It's a sex RPG and we read it. That's for sure. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
A very quick little modern game designed to be played solo or with a small group but no GM, in which you rebel against something. What do you rebel against? Whattaya got? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
It's what it says! Though it's adding a lot of stuff to the venerable old combat engine of 3.X OGL, it's an OGL game where you play as primarily Greeks and Egyptians from antiquity (you can get a Scythian or someone from Thessaly in if you want, it's just not a great plan). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
This is a little recent for our usual stuff, but Jon was really interested after the Fastlane review to keep looking at games that utilize classic casino games as RPG randomizers, and this one's a doozy! Combining Blackjack and Tarot stuff, no less! Right in Jon's very wheelhouse. The game is neat too! There's a ton in here, it's definitely one of those big rocks that rolled down a Kickstarter success story and accumulated content as it went, so we made some calls on what to focus on that we'll explain within. At the end of the day, this is pretty dang neat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Back to basics, some game you probably never heard of that we didn't like. That's the basic essence of the show, right? It has to come up sometimes. I'm talking about the show here because honestly I can't think of much to say about this sort of generic "There are secrets in the world that you can't learn about without going crazy" type game that isn't already in the episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Oh buddy you better believe we love it when the game has a weird alternative randomizing mechanic, and this thing is all about roulette. Yes, it straight up tells you at the start that you can use a digital one or even a dice based approximation, but for max results, you should get a roulette wheel. What else? Well, it's a generic system besides the ruleset, so we go all in on that. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
As we bring Sweater Weather to a close we are faced with the realization that we accidentally double-themed this month, since both of these games are explorations of civilizations over time, and in fact would make a pretty good double feature game night played together. Weird! Anyway, this is a little box set where you make a dice tower. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Hey folks, welcome to Sweater Weather. We're going to keep things light and distracting here for the next few months, sweater weather or not, so don't worry about heavy topics. If you're looking for a getaway, we got you. Also, this book is about impending change and possible doom. So. You know, we'll figure it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
So these aren't really furries, but hey, I think this was just called Hairy Ween, right? Like that sounds more like a dick joke anyway. Anyhow, this book is all about playing as vile, disgusting, brilliant little rats trying to retake the world from the foul humans that don't deserve it. It's a mixed bag! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Blessed Ween everyone! This year we're focusing on animal inside of us all with a Furry Ween! Or a Hairy Ween! I dunno, whatever, we just wanted to read Mutants in the Now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oh, oh no. We thought all the worst stuff was going to be in the fluff and descriptive section. We were wrong. If you're a fan of angry Jef and Jon, well, you probably already noticed the 84 minute runtime of the episode and got your hopes up, correctly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Well, this might be divisive, if we hadn't spent years discussing how we feel about ol' John Wick and his famously terrible advice. But what about his games? Well, let's look at Orkworld, a game about Orcs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Travel through time at the behest of a futuristic society at the end of time? Sounds familiar! But before you break out the Wyld Stallyns shirt, let me burst your bubble by saying this actually has a weird war game at its weird core. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Hi everyone! You'll never guess that now the other one of us has COVID. This stupid planet and country. Anyway, this game is about people learning lessons in a primordial garden from the animals that live there. Cool, right? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Part of wallowing in weird old stuff unfortunately is that it's hard to keep abreast of what's going on in the last decade or so of gaming, but Jef still pretty much orders any superhero thing if he sees it on sale, and that's what happened here! This time it paid off even, as Spectaculars turned out to be in a form factor neither of us expected but both of us enjoyed, so let us tell you all about it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Pssst, hey buddy, wanna buy a superhero game from 2002 that was pretty clearly written prior to 1999? How? Oh, let us explain. It's Modern Knights! At least we know that much. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Hey who likes lesbians what have swords and powerful yearnings related to the other sword-bearing lesbians they encounter on their wild adventures? You I bet! Let's review this game for the end of Pride Month, because we were in a hurry and this one has a big old gay word right there in the title. Nothing's gayer than swords! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
This one is close to home, we both sorta like this game, used to play the wargame, and wish it all was still good. But times change. But hey, what do we think of this game now? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Is it too late to call this a theme month? Because it turned out to be a theme month. Cool minimalist projects by designers we like. Weird! The Skeletons is a thoughtful game about playing as skeletons guarding a tomb, by Jason Morningstar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Who says we can't do cool modern design reviews? Or interview the cool working designers of today that make them? Whoever said that, lemme at 'em! Today we're discussing For The Queen, a game we both enjoy enough to also want get Alex Roberts (already our expert dog correspondent if you're in the Patreon) to join us to talk about her awesome game and the new edition of it that will be out the same day as this episode! (that's synergy) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Who would have thought this weird little collaborative storytelling shared narrative exercise game could be so divisive? We discuss Muse, a game that uses cards and tokens and lots of paper to help you and your group tell a story and definitely not make everyone hate each other, at all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Fine, we finished it. This was truly just an awful thing to keep reading through, I think it's been a while since we've both been this angry. Anyway, if you come support us on Patreon to hear the bonus content, we couldn't be assed to make Aria characters. They suck. So we made characters in the game LIFTS instead, which doesn't suck. This is your update on that topic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Yeah yeah, we hit pause on Aria, we just couldn't deal with that noise anymore. Instead, it's time to dive into the ever-generous well of dumb OGL titles, with this bizarre 2002 Fantasy Strike classic, in which the authors really really want you to know about beach lifeguards and how important and cool and... military they are. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Show update first, everything's been a bit late because of travel and the deadly scary norovirus, which isn't pretty. Sorry about that. Show news on this episode? The sound a shudder that indicates a man has seen too much, written down, thank you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Gather up, all you various tankers, scrapper, controllers, uhhh... that healer one... I'm just kidding I loved this game. It's City of Heroes, sort of! Insofar as it's a Unisystem take on the popular superhero MMO. Some of one. This is just an old playtest doc. We talk about why and what and all the rest today! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
This was a tough read. Active Exploits is more of a toolkit than a game, but despite basically having every possible tool any kit could ever have, especially for a diceless engine, we still just aren't seeing how the numbers line up. But hey, who knows, right? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
I think... I think this is all of them? If you count the review of the Multiverse pre-test (we've skimmed the final version, it's pretty close), then yeah, this is the last of the Marvel licensed RPGs we hadn't covered yet. Saga edition, with the card deck and one of the two diceless systems. Is it cool? Will it Marvel? Do we have to start tracking down DC games now? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
This one is a little near and dear to us, we've used it to run Blimpleggers content in the past! Strike! is an RPG that sort of combines the very abstracted narrative structure of a FATE style game with the tactical grid combat of a 4e D&D style game, and for the most part, it works. Let's talk about how! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Starting the year off the right way, with a shovelware-style OGL game about playing as real cops. Real boring cops. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Whoa, the art and layout in this thing is cool! What about the rest of it? Is it also cool? Can love bloom on the retroclone-style battlefield? Well, let's read it and find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Welcome to a charming little community where the townsfolk are all made up and the real world doesn't matter. It's Cozy Town, a game that we figured could not have a better title to fit the Sweater Weather time here at the show. Make a whole adorable village, populate it and plan their year of events and charming happenings. It's cute, basically. Super cute. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Oh boy it's time for Sweater Weather! You know, our now two year running thing where we review specifically non or low-combat games, helping folks learn that there's more out there than the traditional "sword goes into orc" model (you'd be amazed at what people on the forefront are putting into orcs these days), and we're starting this year with Monster Care Squad, a neat game about rescuing wounded monsters in a world that's evolved past some of the worst instincts of humankind. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Okay, I do have a few more books with Witch in the title, and yes the urge to do Strike Witches was fairly strong, but we've been wanting a good excuse to talk Monsterhearts for a while anyway and there's a witch skin in there so you know, you get what you get. It's the first edition of one of the biggest PBTA games, in which your high school gets all monster-fied and everyone's out to mess with everyone else! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
It's witches aplenty this ween, and that means more than just crooked triangle hats, as we see here in a multicultural witch festival including witchy types from all over the world. The game is a little bit White Wolf and a little bit rock and roll, relatively recent, and we're covering the 1st edition (my understanding is that a second also exists). How powerful are these witches? Let's find out! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
What's that upon the roof I hear? Could it be the pitter-patter of seasonally appropriate witch feet 'pon my shingles? Why, 'tis! Blessed Ween to each and every! This year, it's Ween 3: Season of the Witch, and yes I know this isn't the third Ween, thank you very much. We're starting our witchy run of RPGs with Witch Hunt, a game about Salem in 1692, so you know it's gonna just be super tasteful, right? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Let's examine a post-apocalyptic game with a penchant for low-budget outre 90s cinema styles, and a fairly simple core mechanic to boot. It's octaNe, and it's pretty interesting, even if I personally never wanna read about Six String Samurai ever again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
And I said GO! If you're wondering if we liked this game, We liked this game, It's mostly fine, But it could use some work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sold to us as the first ever sci-fi RPG (a claim we have learned is dubious), Starfaring is basically Tunnels & Trolls, but with some Star Trek jokes and moving the racism largely from the spell titles to the art. It's still Ken St. Andre, it's still like maybe half a game, and it's still sort of important just because of the era (1977!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Allow us to introducing our game... It's finally here, the box set that sat on my shelf for four years while we waiting for GenCon to be a thing we were willing to do again, and it's still not a live recording, because GenCon was a thing but they forgot to give us a room wired for recordings. What's in this thing? How do you play it? How will our heroes get out of this one? Find out in today's episode of System Mastery OOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRR a different funny title you came up with because I already did that gag in the recorded intro. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Apparently what we have here is often considered to be the first stab at a DM-less RPG system! It's from 2003, and boy is it unusual. How does it handle GM-less play, or many of the other things it's stated to handle (such as being an overlay over your current RPG!)? Well, that's what we're here to find out, isn't it? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
This one is interesting! It seems to be a compilation of two books, but is largely a single game about steampunk furry anime fantasy guys that also have airships and cool guns. The character builds can actually be pretty dang satisfying, but does it make any sense? Let's find out! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
It's rules, for horror. From the DTRPG files, we've read a 2003 horror game with some neat ideas, some snarky stuff, and a slow burning lingering sense that there's a lot of Christianity stuff in here (in retrospect, the fact that it's from Crucifiction Games might have been a big hint). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
And now to take a look at Savage Worlds with a game world overlay. We love Rifts anyway around here, and want to see it in all the formats. What do you think of the model for reviewing sandbox games that sell campaign settings? Should we keep doing it this way in the future? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
So we might be a bit off schedule but that's okay, because we spent the time stuck in various airports and cities reading Savage Worlds so we could talk about it with you! A somewhat new game, Savage Worlds is a toolbox system similar to GURPS or the like, except it has an eye towards fast heroic play instead of accurate simulation stuff. Does it hit the mark? Well let's talk about it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Well well well, if it isn't a Palladium game. And one of those weird ones where Simbieda didn't write it or pretend to have written it! Valley of the Pharaohs came out in 1983, making it the first ever Palladium game published, and boy does that age show! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Jon's special blend of DrivethruRPG search criteria has kicked us up a truly interesting and unusual blend of superheroes, afrofuturism, strong Christian undertones, and Poser art that is definitely connected to a webcomic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Well I suppose it was about time. Let's dive into the world of world creation by taking a hard look at GURPS, one of the earliest examples of the "Do anything at all" RPG model, from Steve Jackson Games. If I can post this right. My tech level is pretty low. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Happy April Fools! Well, sort of. We were busy. We actually were hosting a quiz show thing on April 1st proper. So this early April episode will have to serve. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What is this, some sort of generic universal role playing system? Some sort of master book to rule them all? It's Infinite Domains and it arrived on the scene in 1996 to throw a new hat into the ring of "do anything" RPG systems, starting with a fantasy set of trappings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Set in the far future on the other side of a brutal and deadly war on Earth, Fractured Kingdom is concerned with folks rendered extraordinary by exposure to a world of dreams and power beyond and suffusing our own. It's from 2013, but it drinks like a 2003! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
You know you read about this in some message board or listicle article years ago. And you know you've always wondered what the heck it actually is. Well wonder no longer, friends! Answers await you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Night falls on Darkest Vancouver. Will you be ready to draw your coolest anime sword and battle the eternal dancefight against the other forever-walkers like yourself? Today's episode is a comedy game that sort of uses Highlander rules to make fun of White Wolf. It's neat! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
A lightweight anime-inspired comedy game from... 1987? Damn, Mike Pondsmith must have been one of those guys that bought unlabeled anime VHS tapes from trenchcoat weirdos at comic cons when they still had walking room in them. Whatever the case may be, this is a fun, weird read. But a good game? Well let's find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
No no, not Saga Edition, the other one. This is OGL shovel-ware Star Wars. It's got a real prominent author all right, but these "Just change the names on D&D stuff" versions of OGL content are so hard to fit to anything, let alone something as demanding and iconic as Star Wars. Did they do it? Well, check it out! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
To close out our year we've decided to take a little look at a couple of very little games, because we just had a lot of family business going on around this time. We discuss a solo game about surviving a zombie apocalypse in the dead of winter, and another one about being word wizards exploring a lexicon library. Merry festive times to all! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
No more Sweater Weather? Guess it's time for edgy fucked up December. Who wants to be nice to people and solve teddy bear ouchies when you can cram a firecracker in a frog or whatever as a member of Satan's grimiest little volunteer militia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
If you haven't played as a bear with a clothes hangar for one arm that has to help solve the mystery of where Starscream's left wing went, have you really lived? Threadbare is a PBTA game in the stitchpunk genre (more on that within) all about survival, adaptation, and purpose, and it can be played with absolutely no combat so hey, it's perfect, because Sweater Weather isn't over yet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
Sweater Weather just will not let up as we take a tour through the non-combative games that are just so hard to find in RPGs. Today we discuss The Play's The Thing, a Shakespeare altering game where you play as actors changing the story as the story goes along. So will the game be twice blest? Or is Hell empty and all the devils are here? Also, just up front, we don't know the first goddamn thing about Shakespeare. Be warned. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
We couldn’t get enough theme months! Welcome to a brand new thing here at System Mastery, Sweater Weather! Reviewing the games that make you feel as cozy and comfortable as a good bowl of stew and a blazing fireplace. Today, we’re discussing Golden Sky Stories, a game with a nearly microscopic focus on small, simple slice of life interactions, where you play as little animal children with whimsical powers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
As we draw this festive Ween to a close, we continue the project of a brief examination of newer space horror (Yes, that last game was a heist thing, but c’mon, you were working for the literal Devil, right? That counts!), this time with the most recent offering in the Alien franchise, a comprehensive and enormous RPG with a lot of modern design sensibilities and a commitment to getting every bit of the fairly sprawled franchise some inclusion (except Resurrection, apparently no one likes it). Announcement Masteries! The Adventuring Party: theadventuringparty.net A weekly gaming podcast with an Irish bent (because it is Irish and made in Ireland). Discussions about RPGs, CCGs, and pop culture in general with all the calm and sober tones you’d expect from a pub brawl. Valhalla Hobby: valhallahobby.com (Use this link! It applies our code!) 5% off all manner of excellent hobby products, shipped direct to your door! Get the coolest and newest hobby stuff from a wide variety of ranges including Crisis Protocol, Malifaux, Star Wars: Legion, and more! They’ve even got our books, which you know, definitely buy those! (must spend $100 for discount, shipping exclusively in the US) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
The customary three great blessings of Ween to each and every one of you! Okay, so this game isn’t especially scary. By now you should have recognized that we may or may not give a fuck about tradition from one day to the next. In this case, we’ve decided to harness the power of ween to focus on a few newer games for the season. Any chance to dodge another OSR retroclone or D20 shovelware, am I right? Today we discuss Stealing Stories for the Devil, which is a heist game written by Monte Cook, so that’s two new things! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2022/09/system-mastery-235-ray-winningers-underground.mp3 Hurray, one of those edgy 90s games where people have superpowers but aren’t superheroes! You know, like the other ones? This one at least has an interesting angle of entry by being more about society failing veterans, but is that enough to help it shine beyond it’s fairly timeworn genre? Well, let’s find out! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2022/09/system-mastery-234-apocalypse-world-2.mp3 Wait, from Psi World to Apocalypse World? Two worlds? One network family? Oh right, I should probably mention that because we both have been down for a bit with the old Covid-19, James stepped in to help record this one, which turned out useful because Jef was just plain too sick all the past couple weeks to even read. But he got better! And he came to join the fun anyway! Just, you know, without reading any of the book at all. Special thanks to our guest host James D’Amato, check out his fine works at some weird place we never heard one called Oneshotpodcast.com . Double special thanks to our Announcement Mastery sponsor https://www.twitch.tv/goblincavetv , a great place to watch non-WOTC streamed tabletop actual play content! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2022/08/system-mastery-233-psi-world.mp3 Back to the old psionic grind! This game has almost exactly two whole paragraphs of story. Everything else we’ve had to glean from the margins and unusually informative rules. Wanna… I guess be a psychic refugee in the near future of 198X? That’s pretty much what’s going on here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2022/08/system-mastery-232-leaked-6th-ed-dd.mp3 Hell yeah, we got some leaked documents up in here! Shame we gotta do it to them. But such is the rule of law here on the wild internet frontier. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2022/07/system-mastery-231-kevin-kell-rpg.mp3 A rare occasion where the “How the hell did this even happen” question seems fairly obvious (some company wanted a furry game in their line and this was close enough) but hot damn is this ever the weirdest thing we’ve seen in a long, long while. Strap in folks, this episode is extremely long, and not all that much of it is about the rules to the Action! licensed engine it runs on. Kevin & Kell is a weird, weird comic strip, and mainlining the lore of it in a long week without actually reading the strip at all is a weird, weird way to interact with it. Just a friendly warning! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2022/07/system-mastery-230-white-box.mp3 Let’s GOSR! This here is one a them retro-type clones where the goal was extremely straightforward: The author liked Sword & Sorcery White Box and wanted another edition, so here it is. Wanna play as a Dwarf? That can be up to level 6 as a thief(optional)? Well you an probably buy about three million other games. Or this one! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/system-mastery-229-underworld.mp3 Ever had dreams about the world deep below the world you know? A world where magic and madness swirl, where animals may just speak aloud, a world where the ancient myths of the surface are terrifyingly true? Did you recently read Neverwhere? Okay okay, I kid. This isn’t exactly like Neverwhere. It’s set in New York! A 2000 LARP (dear god thank you for that being the year) or tabletop game of adventure in a fantasy landscape deep beneath the big apple. Announcement Masteries Fortified Niche – A podcast about the wargames not made by the juggernauts of the wargame industry. Whether it’s trying and reviewing indie skirmish games like Carnevalle or Zona Alpha, or just commenting on the state of the industry (why so many cheesecake sculpts? Why so little delicious cheesecake?), Fortified Niche covers it all. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fortified-niche/id1591399738 Nerdhaus Games presents Heist: Masterminds – “Your rivals issued a challenge: Who among you is the biggest name in international thievery? You have to gather a crew, get moving, and make a name for yourself. Without risk, there can be no reward. Keep in mind: “Honor among thieves” is really more of a suggestion. Nerdhaus Games is heading into card games with this crowdfunding campaign, built off what they’ve learned from years of RPG and tabletop development. Come on down and Find Your Story.” Website: nerdhausgames.com Heist: Masterminds Campaign: gamefound.com/projects/nerdhaus-games/heist Nerdhaus RPGs: nerdhausgames.itch.io Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/system-mastery-228-star-wars-age-of-rebellion.mp3 Well, FFG was sort of driven off this project (it’s a really sad story) so the most recent line of Star Wars games is now in our wheelhouse, I guess. And who better to help us tell the story of the strangely high on narrative AND crunch FFG Star Wars engine that network owner and our good friend James “The Accomplishment” D’Amato, star of screen and pod? No one, that’s who. Buy James’ book, The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide: Expanded Genres Edition at bit.ly/rpgbackstory2 or wherever fine books are sold. Oh and the Patreon bonus content is FREE this week (thanks again to James) so go check that out as well! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/system-mastery-227-wizards-gunslingers.mp3 Ooh, it’s one of those cowboys and also a different thing games! You know, like cowboys and ninjas, or cowboys and dinosaurs, or cowboys and the slow crushing onset of modernity… this one is wizards though. It’s mostly percentile, it’s written very strangely, and more details can be yours if the PRICE IS RIGHT (the episode is free). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2022/05/system-mastery-226-star-munchkin.mp3 Uh oh, someone better stop us before we get to level 10. It’s Star Munchkin, the RPG! Did you know there were RPGs of these games? You should have guessed. Munchkin has the same marketing team as KISS. It’s obviously a comedy game, secretly (seriously, it’s amazing how hard they work to hide it) an OGL game, and generally all about space. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2022/05/system-mastery-225-marvel-multiverse-rpg.mp3 Reviewing a playtest? That doesn’t seem right! Well, it certainly isn’t in our usual bag of tricks, but hey, this is a rare situation where someone writing a modern game ASKED for our opinion (sort of, they asked for opinions in general) and we can be constructive and nice! Will we? Maybe! Also this is our THIRD review of a Marvel game (with a fourth on the horizon) and so you’ll just have to forgive us not putting a bunch of Excelsiors and No-Prizes and stuff in the writeup. Except shoot we just did. Last thing. We didn’t mention one thing during the review that we both wanted to, which is that the game has a rule stating that you never accidentally kill anyone, you can always choose to knock them out instead. This is progressive and laudable, but has the funny side effect of turning all the game’s sermons about how “real Marvel heroes would never use guns” into an even sillier thing to bother with. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2022/04/system-mastery-224-fiasco-classic.mp3 Mea culpa time (Jef version): This is one of those games where I knew exactly what it was and have been recommending it for years for any RP session that needs to be about spiraling into failure… but I’ve never read it til now. So hey, were all my recommendations justified? Let’s find out, shall we? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2022/04/system-mastery-223-tephra.mp3 Ooh, a steampunk one! You can tell because of the brown and the gear and the goggles and all. Oh, I guess it also says steampunk on there, in retrospect I suppose that was a dead giveaway. Anyhow Tephra is definitely drifting in the fantasy direction on the old -punk continuum, with neat races and a whole fantastical path to airshippery, plus it’s all D12 based, which is always fun. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2022/03/system-mastery-222-umlaut.mp3 Uh oh, every once in a while a time comes in which we are commanded to rock, and that time has come again. We’re discussing a game in which every play takes the reins of an entire metal band, and seeks fortune, glory, and thrown up horns from loyal fans. Is this Sabbath? Or is it Winger? Listen along and let’s find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2022/03/system-mastery-221-santas-soldiers.mp3 Happy Christmas in July in March! It’s time for some holiday cheer, because we were looking for a different game but ended up with this one (it’s explained in the show). Suit up as an agent in Santa’s elf army and go forth to do battle with a bunch of holiday monsters. Or at least hear us talk about it! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2022/02/system-mastery-220-the-secret-fire.mp3 This is a pretty bog-standard “Recapture the D&D I remember when I was 11” moonshot game, where the lessons learned about what D&D used to be like seem to be that it was awful but we loved it. Does it promise to be all about player empowerment and then immediately strip almost any tools they might have used away from them? You’ll have to listen to find out, but it’d be weird if I asked that question and the answer was no, wouldn’t it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2022/02/system-mastery-219-the-lawnmower-man-rpg.mp3 How often do we get to do theme weeks? This is great! We have the Lawnmower Man RPG, which is set immediately after the events of the movie, as the Southern Gothic horror gives way to … troop team simulation as described by the company that made Phoenix Command. What? Why? How? Anyway, here’s a whole review for your ears! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2022/01/system-mastery-218-silver-age-sentinels.mp3 Oh boy another supers game! You know how we love those! SIlver Age Sentinels is from the Big Eyes, Small Mouth folks, so you better believe it shares the insane customizability, tri-stat system, and more with that anime simulator. But how does it do as a superhero engine? Well, let’s all find out together. Announcement Mastery Solo But Not Alone 2 Grab a ton (101!) solo RPGs for yourself for only 10 bucks while supporting a vital cause at the same time. Help people in real need by joining Jasper’s Game Day in their needed efforts preventing suicide. It’s a win win and it can be yours to support or just get games you want at https://itch.io/b/1227/solo-but-not-alone-2 . Act fast, this fundraising event will end March 2022! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2022/01/system-mastery-217-conspiracy-x.mp3 What if everything you thought you knew was actually all evidence of a secret conspiracy? Deja Vu? Real psychic powers. Men in Black? Lizard people in black. That’s the premise of Conpiracy X, a late 90s secret agents vs. everything game with a surprisingly complex combat engine. Oh man. Surprisingly complex. Announcement Mastery Solo But Not Alone 2 Grab a ton (101!) solo RPGs for yourself for only 10 bucks while supporting a vital cause at the same time. Help people in real need by joining Jasper’s Game Day in their needed efforts preventing suicide. It’s a win win and it can be yours to support or just get games you want at https://itch.io/b/1227/solo-but-not-alone-2 . Act fast, this fundraising event will end March 2022! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2021/12/system-mastery-216-psychosis-ship-of-fools-1.mp3 Post-Show PS: Turns out there is at least one more of these, Jef’s on-air googling failed to turn up Psychosis: Solitary Confinement . Cool? Cool. Well, when the name of the mental disorder is right there in the title you know you’re in for something at least a little iffy. Luckily this is so far removed from reality regarding how far everyone is removed from reality that it mostly comes out okay in the wash. It’s a game where you never quite know what’s going on, and the entire story is a spoiler alert. From the decade that brought you Steal My Sunshine, it’s Psychosis: Ship of Fools. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2021/12/system-mastery-215-blue-rose-2.mp3 Let’s dispense with the obvious question first. This is the OGL version. Now before that gets too depressing, note that this is one of the most modified OGL games we’ve come across, going so far as to do that one thing everyone always says you should do with D&D stats (not get rid of them, the other thing). It’s got some good ideas! But do we like it? Well, let’s find out. You know, again. Announcement Mastery! Roar to Heaven is an anime inspired sci-fi AP podcast where the heroes fight an invading angel army with battlesuits powered by music! They’re currently kickstarting to pay their staff and cast, and your support will help! Plus also definitely listen to their cool show. Links to follow: Show Page: https://www.peachgardengames.com/about-roar-to-heaven Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/peachgardengames/roar-to-heaven Itch.io Link for Those With Understandable Kickstarter Concerns: https://peachgardengames.itch.io/blazing-hymn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2021/11/system-mastery-214-mystic-forces.mp3 Heck yeah, one of those weird games so little known I couldn’t GIS the cover and had to take a picture of our copy! Mystic Forces is a 2000 RPG about light vs. darkness featuring some very unique ideas (though Jon has some ideas as to where a lot of them are coming from), and a world that doesn’t have elves, dwarves, or even humans. Are they contained in a probably somewhat too complicated engine? Well yeah, obviously. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2021/11/system-mastery-213-the-book-of-vile-darkness.mp3 Just because Ween is over doesn’t mean we can’t stay spooky! Or at least one would hope. This is more evil by way of edge than anything else. Jef sought out a list of historically terrible supplements for us to look at in the future, and this one just kept floating to the top. Evil races, prestige classes, and so, so many terrible spells. Dare you enter this edgelord realm? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2021/11/system-mastery-212-outbreak-undead-1.mp3 Okay so maybe it’s November, and maybe we forgot when October started this year, but that won’t stop us from delivering our yearly load of horror ween stuff! Here’s Outbreak Undead. It’s 460 pages long and is a fairly generic zombie horror survival type thing. Announcement Mastery Looking for game and fantasy editing? Or just need a short form RPG or adventure in a variety of genres? Go support ATypicalFaux.com, today’s Announcement Mastery Sponsor. Jordan is a multi-published editor with a proven track record and a desire to work on your RPG (while designing his own!) Website: ATypicalFaux.com Games available at: https://atypicalfaux.itch.io/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2021/10/system-mastery-212-all-flesh-must-be-eaten.mp3 Behold our triumph, the ZombieWeen! It’s alive! Well, sort of alive. This ‘Ween around we’ll be focusing on zombie RPGs, investigating games about surviving short infestations and full-blown apocalypses. This time, it’s All Flesh Must Be Eaten, which means it’s also our first time talking about the Unisystem Engine in eight years. Should all flesh must be eaten? Should all zombies be in your head? In your head? Zombie (Ween). Announcement Mastery Crimson Gold Agonies! in the world of 197X, superheroes fight against the two imperial powers; they are champions of the Third World and heralds of an alternative path for democracy and socialism — the Heroes of the Cybernetic International! Check out this new AP and a whole completed series of additional AP podcasting that rotates games as needed to tell the best story possible with the Crimson Gold Agonies actual Play! Links: Show | Twitter | Showrunner Twitter | Spotify Games Used on CGA: L5R | Sentinel Comics RPG | Pasión de la Pasiones | Yokai Hunter | Flying Circus | Night Reign Eventide! Available today on DrivethruRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/359061/Eventide How and why the world as we know it came to be changed forever has long been forgotten. It’s been hundreds – maybe even thousands – of years since anyone even spoke of the Cataclysm or the time that came before, and the memories of that world that once was, faded into dust. To the people inhabiting the world of Eventide, this isn’t a post-cataclysmic world, it’s just the world that is. And the world that always was, as far back as anyone living in it can remember. – From Frenzy Kitty Games, the studio that brought you KARMA, Something Wicked, and Children of the Fall comes EVENTIDE , a game of apocalyptic survival horror in the wasteland. This lavishly illustrated book contains everything you need to play, including: Fast and dynamic rules for roleplaying in the apocalypse Robust classless character-creation Optional Tribe Creation rules for group play Full campaign setting including many detailed settlements and NPCs Dozens of inspiring adventure seeds 17 Tribes complete with unique beliefs, structures, affiliations, and NPCs A bestiary containing 35 ruthless and terrifying enemies Hardcore Mode: rules variants for brave players in search of a brutal challenge. Lone Wanderer: Solitaire rules for solo adventures in the wastelands Apocalypse Toolkit: Tools and generators to assist GMs in running their games dynamically Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2021/10/system-mastery-210-amber-diceless.mp3 Oh geez, this one is gonna get us some letters. Lemme just warn you in advance if you’re as hot on this property as everyone on the internet seems to be for Moorcock stuff, you might wanna just go check out a Movie Mastery or something. Otherwise, welcome to Amber Diceless, a game that has rules it would probably just be better off without. Announcement Mastery Eventide! Available today on DrivethruRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/359061/Eventide How and why the world as we know it came to be changed forever has long been forgotten. It’s been hundreds – maybe even thousands – of years since anyone even spoke of the Cataclysm or the time that came before, and the memories of that world that once was, faded into dust. To the people inhabiting the world of Eventide, this isn’t a post-cataclysmic world, it’s just the world that is. And the world that always was, as far back as anyone living in it can remember. – From Frenzy Kitty Games, the studio that brought you KARMA, Something Wicked, and Children of the Fall comes EVENTIDE , a game of apocalyptic survival horror in the wasteland. This lavishly illustrated book contains everything you need to play, including: Fast and dynamic rules for roleplaying in the apocalypse Robust classless character-creation Optional Tribe Creation rules for group play Full campaign setting including many detailed settlements and NPCs Dozens of inspiring adventure seeds 17 Tribes complete with unique beliefs, structures, affiliations, and NPCs A bestiary containing 35 ruthless and terrifying enemies Hardcore Mode: rules variants for brave players in search of a brutal challenge. Lone Wanderer: Solitaire rules for solo adventures in the wastelands Apocalypse Toolkit: Tools and generators to assist GMs in running their games dynamically Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2021/09/system-mastery-209-supplement-spectacular-3.mp3 Well how about one of these? It’s only the third one in 209 episodes, so I hope they sort of feel special by now! It’s Supplement Spectacular, where we dig through our surprisingly ample library of followup books to games you’d never think would have them, and talk about how those games expand and change. This week, it’s Chill: Voodoo and A.C.E. Supers, so you’re getting a little horror and a little superhero stuff. Together at last! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…
مرحبًا بك في مشغل أف ام!
يقوم برنامج مشغل أف أم بمسح الويب للحصول على بودكاست عالية الجودة لتستمتع بها الآن. إنه أفضل تطبيق بودكاست ويعمل على أجهزة اندرويد والأيفون والويب. قم بالتسجيل لمزامنة الاشتراكات عبر الأجهزة.