Normalcy is usually overrated, but not this time. The 13th North Texas RPG Con is happening June 3-6, 2021 and the goal is a return to normal con-gaming. As ever, BadMike/Satan is here to regale us with details: the food trucks, an open bar and Starbucks, and most of all gaming! Listen as your Halflings find out the skinny on the con, its Virtual track for those stuck at home, and a promise that his brother won’t be wearing speedos...

School’s out…of its mind? It sure seems that way as your Four Halflings take a dive into one of the oddest RPGs from the early 1980s; that of Alma Mater. Classes, teachers, social cliques, and other hazards for your freshman PC await you in this episode of the podcast. Oh, and a few tables to roll on. Just a few. No Losers were harmed in the making of this podcast, despite the game’s constant encouragement to do so!...

Friend of the show (and author) Jon Peterson joins the Halflings in a wide-ranging discussion of fanzines, RPG theory, and…oh yeah, his new book from MIT Press called The Elusive Shift. When did Dungeons & Dragons stop being a fantasy wargame and become a roleplaying game? Who contributed to the shift? Did they know what they were doing? Was it a smooth transition, or fraught with controversy? Will we ever stop asking questions...

No, it’s not a Spielberg movie. It’s the board game sensation of the 1970s adventure gaming industry, Cosmic Encounter by Eon Productions. A simple yet innovative system lets each of the alien races a player chooses change powers and goals to ensure no two games are the same. Your Fab Four totally normal humans from Earth review the game, how it’s aged, and what inspiration 21st century gamers can find in its mechanics....

Space, the final frontier — or the first, as far as RPG space gaming went. Gamescience’s Space Patrol beat Traveller to the punch in 1977, but was lost in the shuffle of its better known rival’s little black books. But this little game has some good points to consider, even for today’s jaded gamer. Listen in as we cover aliens, planets, a startling lack of starships…and equipment with no cost? No Kzinti were harmed...