Overview

2Legs and Pooz dive deep into the psychology of tabletop gaming! This episode explores why we play games in the first place, what draws us to tabletop (vs video games), and how we choose our factions and models. The dynamic duo discusses their gaming journeys from War Machine to Shatterpoint, debates the merits of different dice systems, and reveals their personal motivations for miniature gaming. Expect philosophical musings on the nature of play as practice, confessions about painting courage versus detail obsession, and plenty of tangents about everything from Polish trains to Critical Role's innovative dice mechanics. Plus: the eternal struggle of finding time for games as a grown-up, husband capital expenditure, and why 2Legs wishes he could stick with one game forever.

Key Moments

2:25 - Painting Dollies: Grand Inquisitor, red armor, and base coating the 13th Custodies

12:46 - Take your Kid to Work List: Luke and Vader refinement

27:27 - Why Do We Play Games?: Motivations for tabletop gaming versus other hobbies

35:18 - Pooz's Play is Practice: Always so serious

41:35 - Social Gaming vs Digital: How tabletop communities self-select for better social experiences

57:47 - Army Size Preferences: Skirmish games versus big army battles, time constraints shape choices

1:07:30 - The Rule of Cool: How aesthetic choices drive faction selection, but is only the start of models that stick

1:29:15 - Dice System Deep Dive: Comparing War Machine's 2d6, Judgment's capped 3-dice, and Shatterpoint's combat trees

1:37:55 - Wait, what RPGS? WTF are we talking about now?!

Highlights

• Pooz shares perspectives on play as practice for real-life, leading to an impromptu therapy session for 2Legs
• Pooz comparing his painting style to “vibe monkey" energy while envying detail-oriented painters
• Judgment is the all time favorite game of the crew, both feeling like it was "the one that got away"
• Epic bathroom coordination strategies during tournaments play because alternating activation games never let you leave
• Husband capital as a finite resource requiring careful budgeting for game nights