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Welcome back to the Zatu blog for our latest board game podcast recap. Boy, do we have a treat for you. Bush’s Board Game Thing Episode 7 features a Hollywood cameo, among our usual board game goings-on. Bush’s Board Game Thing sees Andy Bush celebrating the wonderful world of board games and the experience of gaming with friends Jess Temby and Brian Murphy. Each week, expect passion, enthusiasm, and multiple trips through gaming wormholes. This podcast is powered by Zatu – we’re making sure the board game cogs keep on turning. Every week, I’ll be bringing you the best bits here on the blog and letting you shop the podcast! Today, we’re looking back at Bush’s Board Game Thing Episode 7.
Last week’s episode was all about sci-fi games. You can check out the previous recap right here and catch up on the podcast itself on any streaming service. From last week’s futuristic theme, we’re going a little more old school this week. Bush’s Board Game Thing Episode 7 is all about adventure games, chiefly, Dungeons and Dragons! Make sure to listen to this episode to enjoy Bush’s attempt to run a D&D game for Jess and Brian. Plus, don’t miss out on our chat with Hollywood star Keala Settle, star of The Greatest Showman and Waitress the Musical!
Get in Touch
Stu Wilson got in touch to show us how he listens to Board Game Thing and inspired us to ask: how do you listen to the Bush’s Board Game Thing podcast? We also found out that podcast producer Ross has two sausage dogs called Lottie and Dottie, so Bush and the team are also asking you to send in pictures of your dogs too! Go to @boardgamething on Instagram to get involved. Your four-legged friend could even be featured in next week’s podcast!
Dungeons and Dragons
Without further ado, let’s get onto the main topic of this week’s episode. Bush’s Board Game Thing Episode 7 is all about Dungeons and Dragons. In fact, D&D was Bush’s way into the world of board gaming, and look at him now!
Dungeons & Dragons was created way back in 1974 and has had a huge comeback thanks to Netflix hit Stranger Things. Dungeons and Dragons is the perfect game for lockdown because all you need is your imagination… and a pencil and paper… and maybe a few dice. It’s great for playing online over Zoom too. So, our intrepid trio decided to give it a go. They used the Dungeons and Dragons Starter Set, which includes an adventure campaign, a simplified instruction guide, and some ready-made character sheets (plus the option to create your own characters if you’d like).
Roll Initiative…
With Bush as their Dungeon Master, Brian and Jess created their characters. Hoovo, Brian’s “fella with hooves” (Andy’s words, not mine) was the party’s cleric, while Jess’s character Carrie (who has been in a coma since 2003) decided to be a sorcerer. Then it was time to start their adventure, The Lost Mines of Phandelver. We’ll leave it up to you listeners to decide how you think our party got on.
RPGs from A to Z
While Dungeons and Dragons might be the most well-known roleplaying game, it is by no means the only roleplaying game out there. We asked you for your favourites on Instagram.
Matt suggested Call of Cthulhu. This is a horror RPG based on H.P. Lovecraft’s iconic story of the same name. It’s set in the 1920s and sees players investigating paranormal events while trying to hold onto their sanity.
Meanwhile, listener Ricky loves the Fighting Fantasy books, which brings us nicely onto our next topic.
Choose Your Own Adventure
We know that, for those who are new to the world of RPGs, playing your first game can feel more than a little daunting. Choose Your Own Adventure books are a brilliant gateway into the world of role-playing games. Brian and Jess both spent this week checking out a Choose Your Own Adventure book.
Jess had Secret of the Ninja and absolutely loved it! Meanwhile, Brian has been playing Citadel of Chaos, which he remembers reading as a kid! Bush even recommends taking a Choose Your Own Adventure book as some reading material on the train. If it requires dice, as some do, just download a free dice-rolling app on your phone. There are plenty available.
The Greatest Podcast
Now, the moment you’ve probably been waiting for. Bush and co. had the chance to talk to Hollywood and Broadway star, Keala Settle on Bush’s Board Game Thing Episode 7! Keala played Letty Lutz in The Greatest Showman and originated the role of Becky in Broadway musical, Waitress. She’s been listening to Bush’s Board Game Thing as a bit of escapism during the pandemic, alongside come classic British telly. Just like Bush and co, Keala has been playing board games since childhood. She’s also, somewhat controversially, a massive Monopoly fan!
Keala told us that one of her Greatest Showman co-stars also has a board game obsession. Hugh Jackman (we’re not kidding) has a years-long backgammon tournament with his wife. Keala even had time to sing Jess a belated happy birthday before getting back to work on her latest project – all she could say was that she’s working on a video game… Keep your eyes peeled for more announcements in the future!
Tough Act to Follow
After our chat with a Hollywood star, Brian’s got a tough act to follow. Here’s Brian’s Board Game Fact of the Week for Bush’s Board Game Thing Episode 7. Naturally, this week’s fact is Dungeons and Dragons-themed.
In 1994, the makers of D&D released the Encyclopaedia Magica, a four-volume series which details every magic item in the D&D universe. For this book, the publishers decided to change their terminology. From now on, a ‘mage’ would be referred to as a ‘wizard’. The editors decided to do a quick ‘find and replace’ to remove all instances of ‘mage’ from the text. However, they clearly didn’t have time to proofread the final document. The book went to print with references to “dawizard” instead of “damage” and “iwizard” instead of “image”, causing a huge headache for publishers and editors! So, what’s the lesson here, kids? Always, always, always proofread!
This week, Andy even chimed in with his own D&D fact. Did you know that Vin Diesel is a massive Dungeons and Dragons fan? I certainly didn’t!
Take a Short Rest
And with that, we come to the end of Bush’s Board Game Thing Episode 7. We’d like to say a huge thanks again to special guest, Keala Settle! Make sure you tune in next week for Episode 8 of this brilliant board game podcast. In the meantime, you can browse all of the games that Andy, Brian, and Jess have been talking about right here on the Zatu site. Click here to shop our podcast-approved collection.