The Dice Tower

We kick off 2026 by looking back 20 years to 2006. What were we up to, and what were we playing? Plus, a question from the mailbag, and a new collection of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
00:50 - Busy January - SupportDiceTower.com
03:07 - 2006 Memories
05:09 - Where Were We In 2006?
18:50 - The Games of 2006
27:44 - Which Games Are We Still Playing?
31:30 - Listener Question: Game Replacement
42:07 - Add to Playlist
47:06 - Galactic Cruise
48:06 - Zooloretto
50:47 - Merry Murdle
53:52 - Unmatched Adventures: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
57:10 - Heroes of Timeline
Questions? Tales of Horror? [email protected]

It's time for our look back at the games of 2025. Highs and lows, heavy and light, thorny and rosy and hoopy.
01:20 - Top Tens on Video
01:51 - Year as a Whole
07:49 - Convention/On The Go Game - Hot Streak, Light Speed Arena, Ghost Lift, Ito, 1AM Jailbreak
12:07 - All-Day-to-Play - Regicide Legacy, My Father's Work, Elder Scrolls: Betrayal of the Second Era
14:48 - Best Theme - Luthier, Flow, Storyfold: Wildwoods
20:06 - Guilty Pleasure - Deep Regrets, Moon Colony Bloodbath
24:38 - Favorite Classic - Race for the Galaxy, At The Gates of Loyang, Sentient, Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, You're Bluffing
27:22 - Stand-Out in Our Favorite Genre - Bohemians, EXIT Advent, Threads of Fate, Rove
32:48 - Hoopiest Hula-Hoop - Spooktacular, Oddland, Zenith
37:05 - Thorniest Thorn - Feel Like a Fool, Lynx, Donald Duck in Happy Camper
41:38 - Rosiest Rose - Vantage, Formaggio, Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread
47:42 - Looking Forward to 2026 - Use Up All Your Sick Days, Vegan Cafe, Sail Legacy, Floe
50:35 - Announcements: Gamefound, Dice Tower Cruise, East, West
Next Episode: January 13, 2026
Questions? Tales of Horror? [email protected]

This time, we continue our discussion of RPGs by suggesting Role Playing Games that share popular boardgaming mechanisms, as well as giving Tom tips for getting a game started. Plus, we have a new Tale of Boardgaming Horror, and we close the show with some Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
00:50 - A Story About Mail
02:22 - Eric at PAX Unplugged (inc. Hot Streak)
06:50 - Gift Guides, Dice Tower West and East
08:02 - RPGs for Boardgame Fans (detailed notes below)
37:55 - Tale of Boardgaming Horror
43:03 - Formaggio
48:35 - Gnomic Parliament
52:13 - Carnuta
54:49 - Magic Number 11
56:54 - Insurrect10n
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Julie's Notes
Where to go to get core book pdfs?
DriveThruRPG https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/ 
Itch.io https://itch.io/ 
Cooperative play (yes the overwhelming majority of TTRPGs are cooperative) some extra cooperative leaning 
Heckin' Good Doggos https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/405426/heckin-good-doggos 

Teatime Adventures https://www.snowbrightstudio.com/teatime-adventures 

Dice rolling - Also many many many ttrpgs use dice. Here are some examples
D20 - D&D/Pathfinder https://www.dndbeyond.com/?srsltid=AfmBOorCdKoS-xSfI4e05Us81YGA4tHt8CmmaOWNN-9VTcnsAfXS5pBS, https://paizo.com/pathfinder 

d100 (percentile): Call of Cthulhu https://www.chaosium.com/call-of-cthulhu-rpg/ 

Symbol-based dice: FFG Star Wars. https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/starwarsrpg/ , Fudge dice: Fate  https://evilhat.com/product/fate-core-system/ 

 
Area control
Beak, Feather, & Bone https://possible-worlds-games.itch.io/bfb 

Faction/War
Song of Ice and Fire RPG http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/101026/A-Song-of-Ice-and-Fire-Roleplaying-A-Game-of-Thrones-Edition 

Mutant: Year Zero https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/139453/MUTANT-Year-Zero--Roleplaying-At-The-End-Of-Days 

Numenera: Destiny https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/240655/Numenera-Destiny 

Coyote and Crow https://www.allplay.com/board-games/coyote-and-crow-the-roleplaying-game/ 

 
Action points - 
Level Up
D&D

PbtA 

Using Action points
Feng Shui https://atlas-games.com/fengshui 

C&S: Rebirth 

Mythras 

 
Deck builder/Bidding
Ok not really but Redigo is "Hand Management"  https://letsplayredigo.com/ 
Games using a standard deck of cards
Castle Falkenstein https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/2370/castle-falkenstein 

Games using a custom or proprietary card deck - mostly they are being used instead of dice
Dragonlance: Fifth Age https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/186462/dragonlance-fifth-age-dramatic-adventure-game-saga 

Clockwork Dominion https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/489608/courier-repacked 

My Closest Pick
Torg Eternity:A Thousand Faces of Adventure http://torg-gamereference.com/ 

 
Pick up and Deliver
Solo/journal:
Courier https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/489608/courier-repacked  

Delivered! https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/441018/delivered-a-solo-journaling-rpg 

One shot
Delivery Dragons https://shardsofblue.itch.io/delivery-dragons

 
Worker Placement?
Become a GM
Questions? Tales of Horror? [email protected]

This time, we go fishing for Role Players, linking some popular aspects of RPGs to our favorite boardgames. Plus, our latest collection of Roses, Thorns, and Hula Hoops.
00:47 - Getting Cold
01:45 - Eric at Pax Unplugged
03:47 - Games at Tom's Daughter's Wedding?
05:10 - BGG Con, Dice Tower East, West, Cruise
06:37 - Fishing for Role Players
14:58 - Stat-Heavy Games: Pathfinder ACG, Mage Knight
17:48 - Character Building: Origin Story, Elder Scrolls, Too Many Bonews, Artisans of Splendent Vale
20:12 - Story-Based Character Progression: Call to Adventure, Tales of the Arabian Nights, Near and Far
22:17 - Campaign (Descent) vs. Combat: Wrath of Ashardilon, Wander the Cult of Barnacle Bay, Massive Darkness, Monster Hunter
27:36 - Silly: Dungeon Fighter, Dungeon Quest, Cora Quest, Munchkin, Talisman
30:31 - Exploration: Mansions of Madness, Clank Catacombs
32:57 - Storytelling: Mice and Mystics, Stuffed Fables, Tainted Grail, Oathsworn, Agemonia
35:03 - Video Games: Elden Ring, Bloodborne, Skyrim, GWENT
37:38 - Improvisational Storytelling: Freelancers, Wandering Galaxy, Adventure Party, Aye Dark Overlord, Once Upon a Time
41:22 - Teasing Next Time: RPGs for Boardgamers
42:27 - Rove
46:08 - Night Soil
49:04 - Mezen
52:50 - Gingerbread House
55:37 - Severton
1:00:35 - Spot It Catan
Questions? Tales of Horror? [email protected]
Julie's Tales of Myth and Legend Preorder: https://gamefound.com/projects/van-ryder-games/tales-of-myth-and-legend-preorder?refcode=tMZTh1PtbUec1Vko4OGdaw

Tom, Julie, and Eric are back from Germany and ready to talk about games, food, crowds, and everything else they saw at Spiel 2025.
00:44 - Tired
01:50 - Official Numbers/Crowd Flow
07:09 - Travel Adventures and Weather
08:46 - What Was Different for Eric
11:31 - Food
13:35 - Eric's Birthday
15:44 - Julie's Author Signing
21:16 - Tom's Live Show
25:22 - Big Games
31:14 - How To Stand Out
35:51 - Limited Stock and How To Deal With It
40:17 - What Did We Go Home With?
44:12 - A Carnivore Did It
47:25 - Flow
50:50 - Ghost Lift
54:48 - Formidable Farm
58:22 - Leaders
59:52 - The Old King's Crown
Questions? Tales of Horror? [email protected]