Animalball Games

08:00 pm: Animalcast 107- Kyle's Surgery... ON HIS BALLS!
In Episode 107 of the Animalcast, the guys wanted to let the listeners get a chance to pose their best F/Marry/Kills and Mike and Kyle would answer them. Circumstances intervened, however, when Kyle had to rush to the hospital for emergency surgery the weekend before the recording. As a result, the entire episode gets sidetracked with the detailed and gory discussion of Kyle's surgery on his balls. Not wanting to shortchange the listeners, the guys decide to defer the listener-proposed F/Marry/Kills until next week and instead continue to talk even more about Kyle's balls.

Link to the show.

05:58 pm: In Time for Christmas: Animalball's Free Games
Many of you already know about this, but at Animalball, we decided a few years ago to give all our games away for free download. So just a reminder, if you want to, feel free to download and enjoy any of these games:

Instant Game, by Mike and Kyle Jones: Instant Game is the completely random gaming system through which the players and gamemaster determine the genre, setting, location and plot of the game at the beginning of each session. Years in development, the full version of Instant Game comes with all the rules for creating and playing a campaign, and has the full charts for creating every aspect of your game session, including optional tables for villains, major NPCs, personality traits and more.

Animalball Melee, by Mike Jones: Animalball Melee is a simplified d20 combat engine for quick and easy gladiator fighting. While it can be used for a full-fledged roleplaying campaign, Animalball Melee is intended for one-shot, pick-up-and-play combats. An homage to the Fanatasy Trip's original game, Melee, Animalball Melee is takes the d20 combat system and boils it down to its bare essentials to streamline combat.

Sandbox Hill, by Kyle Jones: Sandbox Hill is an 18 page simulation/wargame of the simplest variety. Get your army men, get your rubber bands and be prepared for a fall-down drag-out war that may take the whole weekend.

50 Random Bar Encounters, by Mike and Kyle Jones: Developed under the OGL, 50 Bar Encounters is exactly what the name says- 50 encounters to use in your D&D or fantasy campaign. Each encounter is a brief, short encounter to throw into your existing campaign, so short and entertaining, others deadly serious which can be expanded into entire sidequests if desired.

The Steadfast Shield, by Caz Granberg: Developed under the OGL, the Steadfast Shield is a 32 page, beginner level adventure for four to six characters. With full maps and descriptions, the Steadfast Shield is a great intro-level adventure for use with 3.5.

These are just the most popular games, as discussed every week on our podcast, there's even more free games on our games page.

09:35 pm: Animalcast 106- Would you, could you, with a Yak Folk?
The Animalcast is back in a big way in Episode 106. The guys get down to real hardcore gaming talk. REAL hardcore. This week's subject is, "How hard would you give it to (blank)?" The blank being filled in with a different D&D creature or race. Seriously, dude, how hard would you give it to a lamia? A lamia! The guys also read several emails from listeners and then pose some pretty difficult F/Marry/Kills to each other. Seriously, this is hardcore.

Link to the Show.

12:29 pm: Animalcast 91- Fresh Grind Part I
In Episode 91 of the Animalcast, the guys try a different angle on listener participation. Last week they asked listeners to post up questions or show topics they wanted the guys to talk about. Mike and Kyle didn't look at the thread or read any of the posts until they started this episode. It's the Fresh Grind! The listeners suggested a variety of important topics: how do you tell your co-workers that you're taking time off from work to go to Gen Con? How stupid is Shadowrun? If Mike and Kyle had to pick any celebrity to play them at the Ennies Award show win they win best podcast, who would they pick? What about that story about how Kyle played a prank on a co-worker that was so bad she locked herself in the bathroom crying for half an hour? And of course, where are the missing 23 minutes from the drunk no-prep episode? The questions and more are answered in the Animalcast's first installment of Fresh Grind.

Click here to listen.

04:45 pm: Animalcast 89- Be the Best Player Ever
In Episode 89, the guys introduce the second installment in their ongoing educational game series-- The Animalcast's Guide to Better Gaming. The topic this time: how to be a better player at your game table. From how to make the perfect "game-oriented" character to how to raise the level of discourse amongst your fellow players, the guys cover the spectrum and provide unique insights and advice for players of every game genre. No matter what game you play, every RPG player will be able to take something from this episode and make their gameplay better.

Link to the show.

07:36 am: Animalcast 88- Gaming News
Proving that their gaming cred is unmatched, in Episode 88 of the Animalcast, the guys talk about current gaming news. As longtime listeners would expect, the conversation devolves into criticisms over WotC's poor decisions and failed opportunities with D&D 4th Edition. They also talk about Free RPG Day, the recent press release accusing the guys of being insensitive racists, and the announcement of several new games being launched. In non-gaming news, both Mike and Kyle giggle like 10 year old girls over the news that Dollhouse would be renewed. The guys also discuss how Felicia Day stars in the final episode of Dollhouse, and then in a truly gratuitous bout of self-congratulation, they brag about their interview with Felicia Day in Episode 70.

Click here to listen.

07:30 am: Animalcast 84- Women and Gaming
In this episode, the guys decide to shift gears from their normal wacky antics and examine the issues and obstacles related to women and the roleplaying game culture. The guys explore why tabletop roleplaying games are overwhelmingly dominated by males, and whether the limited participation of women is an actual phenomenon or just a perceived one. They discuss the potential failings of the gaming industry itself and whether large gaming companies have done enough to include all players, including women, into their most popular lines of games. Finally, the guys advise both male and female gamers about things they can do to make gaming a more inviting and enjoyable experience to women players.

Click here to listen.

01:11 pm: Animalcast 83- Hey! Whatcha Playin'?
In this episode of the podcast, Mike and Kyle introduce answer the ever-burning question-- Hey, dude! Whatcha playin'? And they spend the hour discussing all the various and sundry roleplaying games that they've experimented with over the last several weeks. But as it turns out, they've both only played Paizo's Pathfinder. Specifically, they both only played the Rise of the Runelords campaign. But they love it, as loyal listeners well know. They spend time talking about problems that have arisen and how they've adapted the campaigns to the particular problems with their groups.

Enjoy the podcast and, as always... you're welcome.

Click here to listen

02:28 pm: Animalcast 82- Animalball Roundtable II
That's right, faithful listeners, this episode is our second Animalball Roundtable! In the Animalball Roundtable, we invite our listeners to join us on the recording to answer all the important geek questions that matter. Which Brady Bunch family member was the monster? Supervillains aren't evil, they're just misunderstood, right? If your life depended on you LARPing, which genre would it be in? The Roundtable is NOT a closed invitation event. Any listener that wants to participate simply calls into the conference call and... BOOM... they're a part of the show. Why didn't you participate in these high-stakes shenanigans? I suppose only you and your insecurities can answer that question. Just because we're pointing the shame finger at you doesn't mean we judge you.

Click here to listen to the show. And as always... you're welcome.

02:36 pm: Animalcast 81- Actual Play of Instant Game
In this episode, the guys finally wade into the shady territory of actual play. If you have listened before, you know that the guys regularly deride other podcasts for having "actual play" episodes where they simply record their gaming session. Long time listeners will now that Mike and Kyle find this lazy and self-indulgent. But once they recognized that they also were lazy and self-indulgent, they decided it was time to change the world of actual play podcasts forever.

And what better game to showcase than the single greatest pick up and play game ever, Instant Game-- Animalball's free downloadable game. Mike rolls on the random setting, tone and plot charts at the beginning of the episode, and then they play out an entire Instant Game session in the span of this one hour episode. Are you a fan of actual play podcasts? Are you a fan of pick up and play games? Have you always wanted to try Instant Game but were frightened that your parents would shun you because of its rebellious and unpredictable nature? Then this is definitely the podcast for you.

Click here to listen. And once again, you're welcome.

09:02 am: Animalcast 78- RPG Pitch II
Before concluding their RPG Pitch session, the guys point their listeners to a friend of theirs, Jeff Preston, who does excellent fantasy art (and did much of the art for some of Animalball's free games). He's currently offering character portraits for a bargain. Then the guys get into the pitches. Kyle offers a unique look at Let's Kill John McClain, Karma Police and Messiah Complex. Mike pitches a cool angsty Disney idea and something cool called The Undertakers. Once again, faithful listeners... you're welcome.

Link to the show.

09:28 am: Animalcast 77- RPG Pitch Show... for Real!
In Episode 77, the guys talk briefly about Mike's homebrew scout camp horror RPG (more details here) and Kyle talks about how much he loved playing Unexploded Cow (more details here). Then the guys really do the RPG Pitch show they've been promising for weeks. Without giving too much away, here's just a few titles-- Suburban High School Zombie Apocalypse: The Musical (80s Edition); Scrapworld; Gratuitous; Instant PB3; Zombie: The Masquerade; Everyone is Highlander (a Game of Decapitation); and BOARDROOM! Absolutely brilliant. You're welcome.

Link to the show

05:30 pm: Animalcast 76- Stat Yourself and RPG Pitch
In Episode 76 of the Animalcast, the guys invite all their new listeners to try the Animalball Stat Yourself Quiz. While it has been copied many times, the guys' Stat Yourself Quiz is the original and a pretty good approximation of what someone's statistics would be in D&D. Please note, this is a 3.5 version quiz, but the guys are working on the new 4E version. In the rest of the podcast, the guys engage in yet another RPG Pitch episode, in which they each pitch new game ideas to each other that they haven't shared before. Without giving away the results, the guys are confident that you'll find they have some really cool and really surprising things to say.

Link to the Show.

10:25 am: Animalcast 74- Zombie Cinema and Instant Podcast
In this episode the guys talk about their newest roleplaying game discovery, Zombie Cinema. It's got zombies, brains, desperate people trying to escape the apocalypse- what more could you want? Simply put, they think it's awesome. Next the guys experiment with the next wave in audio entertainment: Instant Podcast. Instant Podcast is 120 different topic ideas listed on fancy charts. Mike randomly rolls and then... BAM! Instant Podcast. If you're thinking, "Whoa, awesome" then you get the idea. If you don't understand, then maybe you should be listening to Keith and the Girl.

Link to the Show.

06:53 am: Animalcast Ep. 71- Felicia Day Interview
In episode 71, the guys interview Felicia Day, the writer and star of the hysterical geek web-series, The Guild. The guys talk with Felica about shooting Season 2 of the Guild, what it was like working on the set of Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog, and they argue with her over the merits and failings of D&D 4.0. Knowing she has a degree in mathematics, they find out if she's ever talked math with Winnie Cooper, and they also talk to her about her work on the web-series, The Legend of Neil. Finally, Felicia undergoes the gauntlet of the Animalball Hotseat and answers the dreaded five questions.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

07:56 am: The D&D Monster Tourney
What's the best D&D monster? Is it the powerful beholder that makes players quake with fear? Or is it the clever goblin that proves so versatile in every campaign? There's no definition for what's "best"-- that's something only you can answer.

Here's the rules:

1) We'll post up monsters. Make them from a D&D sourcebook- not some weird shit you saw in Dragon once- and you can only post one monster per post. You are not allowed to post again until 2 other people have posted. Once we get to 64 monster races, we'll close the pool.

2) Then we'll randomize the order of the monsters and place them into 16 groups of four races. A poll will be held in each group (we'll do one a day and the polls for each group will stay open for 48 hours) and only the top vote-getter will move on to the tournament.

3) Then we'll randomize again and pit each monster race against each other in a standard single elimination, 16-team bracket. The top vote-getter moves on and the loser goes home crying. Ties will be determined by a coin toss.

Polls will remain open for 48 hours and will close automatically when the time expires. People that don't follow the posting rules will have their posts deleted. People who vote using puppet accounts will have their votes not counted (from any account).

If you want to comment or espouse the greatness of your favorite monster- feel free to do it in the post when the polls open.

There can be only one.

The tourney has already started and you can currently vote in the first three Qualifying Groups! But the polls for Group 1 close this evening, so vote quickly:

Vote in Qualifying Group 1.

Vote in Qualifying Group 2.

Vote in Qualifying Group 3.

11:20 am: Animalcast Ep. 67: A Retrospective
In episode 67, the guys get sentimental and sappy thinking back about their favorite and least-favorite episodes in the past year and a half. The guys give details behind specific episodes, which you can easily link to in the episode guide in the Animalcast forum. The guys also solicit listener input on the best and worst episodes and whether there is interest in another voicemail line or viewer mail episode.

Click Here to Listen.

09:15 pm: Animalcast 65- The Drunk No-Prep Episode
In Episode 65, the guys do another no-prep episode, something they haven't done in a year. But this time they are doing it with a twist. They're also taking shots of alcohol every 15 minutes. Needless to say, things get out of hand. This episode originally was recorded at one hour and fifty-four minutes. It has been significantly edited, mostly removing the "I'm so drunk" commentary that pervades the last half.

Link.

10:01 pm: Animalcast 64- Animalball Roundtable I
In Episode 64, the show gets interactive. Very interactive. In the inaugural episode of the Animalball Roundtable, the guys are joined by ten listeners in a rapid-fire question and answer session that Mike and Kyle pose to the various fans. How would Cazmonster escape a Zombie apocalypse? Does Akiva have a better option? Other Guy and Mimekiller take issue with some superhero matchups and Crazy Elf is obsessed with Ewoks and everything Lucas did wrong in the Star Wars movies. And everyone loves the Ironman movie. This is only the tip of the iceberg, though and the discussion also turns to cannibalism and other topics. The listeners did a great job and made an awesome show.

Click Here to Listen.

10:08 pm: Animalcast 62- Steve Kenson Interview
In Episode 62, the guys interview Steve Kenson, the creator of everyone's favorite supers game, Mutants and Masterminds. The talk to Steve about everything from his history with Shadowrun, Earthdawn and working for Green Ronin. Steve discusses some of his recent projects, including the Wild Card Campaign Setting for M&M. As their resident superhero expert, the guys pose some of the most controversial superhero battles that fans have longed to know who the ultimate victor would be. Finally, Steve submits to the gauntlet of the Animalball Hotseat, giving some of the most well thought out answers of any previous guest.

Click here to listen to the podcast.