Stop, Hack, and Roll Podcast
Pushing Pen and Paper Games to their Limits
Encouraging Incentivization

In this episode Brandon and James chat about incentive structures in games. James proposes a taxonomy for mechanical incentives and Brandon, a trained behaviorist, pokes a lot of holes in that theory. They come around to a solid conclusion. ...

The Show: The Game

In this episode Brandon and James follow up the previous episode by talking about James’s new mission: create a tv show creation game - tentatively called “CW The Show The Game”. They walk through the work James did in the last two weeks...

Spectator Sport

In this episode Brandon and James talk about if we really need to have random number generators as a resolution mechanic. Could you replace dice with a live studio audience? James accidentally stumbles backwards into a table larp with an audience...

A Very Special Module

In this episode Brandon and James talk about how modules and other self contained game content can still be useful in the narrative game scene.

Reading with Hacking in Mind

In this episode Brandon and James talk about reading new and old games in a way that helps to unmask design choices.

Rethinking Fantasy Races

In this episode Brandon and James dig into an old world building conversation they had while trying to extract a moral from it. Reskinning is hacking and thoughtful reskinning can help lead to cool plot hooks, character drama, and maybe even mechanics.

Bacon and Bathrobes

In this episode Brandon and James are joined by John Adamus of game editing, panel-talking, Noir World-creating fame. We’ve been meaning to come back around to talk about how to hack genre into a game system and the release of the Noir World...

Gotta Go Fast

In this episode Brandon and James take their foot off the breaks and shift into overdrive. Starting only with what they had worked out in episode 18 for their racing game they work through the framework for a game that might just might be able to play...

Hack to the Future

In this episode Brandon and James make a lot of corny flashback jokes. They also talk about adding flashbacks, montages, and time leaps into your games. These common cinematic elements are often overlooked in tabletop games so Brandon and James...

Narrative Controllers

In this episode Brandon and James talk about dice mechanics and the narrative role mechanics play in a game. They also chat about talking with folks on the Discord and how they can talk about how the first couple weeks of the Stop, Hack, and Roll...

Stop, Hack, and Roll Podcast