Free Play Podcast
Bubba, Matt & Kate
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The Free Play Podcast, a conversation between a Southern Baptist, a hippie emo father of millions, and a retired Disney princess about the Love Thy Nerd community, the games they play, and the world of gaming culture at large. Part of the Love Thy Nerd Podcast Network.
Available episodes
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May 30, 2023
Free Play 176 | PiiU-S5 (Season 8 Finale)
In the season finale of Free Play, Matt & Bubba talk about the PlayStation Showcase - and the Handheld that is much more reminiscent of the WiiU controller than the Switch.
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May 23, 2023
Free Play 175 | TOTK First Impressions
Tears of the Kingdom is out and making waves in the gaming world. Matt & Bubba give you their first impressions in the penultimate episode of this season.
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May 9, 2023
Free Play 174 | Twitter Blues
Many odd things have happened since Elon Musk took over Twitter. The latest has been the upheaval of the verification system which had really helped in separating the trolls from the rich and famous. Now…. not so much. When you have verified accounts tweeting about Russia/Ukraine bombings and celebrities trying to get rid of their blue checkmarks, you know things are going off the rails. Is verification something really worth having? What was the point before Elon and what’s the point now?
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May 2, 2023
Free Play 173 | Deep-Faked Drake
What if I sent you a link to an awesome song that was just released on Spotify by Drake and The Weeknd. It sounds just like their voices and just like their production. Turns out, it's a song created by an AI who has been trained to emulate music by the two artists and Universal Music Group is rallying to get it removed from the interwebs. If a song is created completely by an AI, then who owns it? The people it’s “inspired by” even if it’s not them singing?
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Apr 25, 2023
Free Play 172 | Zelda Hype
Tears of the Kingdom is releasing in a few short weeks and Free Play is discussing Matt’s hopes, dreams, and fears about this long awaited experience. There are so many theories about what this game will mean for the Zelda franchise when it comes to story, gameplay, and beyond and no one wants to miss out on the hype. Kate also put together what she thought would be a fun segment at the end of the show that she will never repeat: Zelda trivia.
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Apr 18, 2023
Free Play 171 | Mario Movie: Better Than It Had Any Right to Be
With Matt out of the office for the day, Bubba and Kate chat about reading people’s texts over their shoulder in airplanes, if deviled eggs are good or not, and most importantly: their thoughts on the Super Mario Movie and the brilliantness of Jack Black. Also, do critic’s thoughts matter about the movie if they literally have no idea about anything Mario?
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Apr 4, 2023
Free Play 170 | Super Nintendo World
There is a lot happening in the world of Free Play this week. Matt recaps PAX East and his disappointments with Nintendo’s lackluster Zelda presence. E3 is canceled. They’ll talk about the new Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios and throw together some ideas for a Zelda theme park that are pretty dang good. Matt and Kate also introduce a new segment about celebrity coffee orders that blew Bubba away.
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Mar 28, 2023
Free Play 33 | Lost Episode | Game of the Year 2018
In this lost episode from the earlier days of the Free Play Podcast, Bubba, Matt & Kate discuss the contenders for Game of the Year for the 2018 VGA's. The likely reason this never made it to the podcast feed was due to the length, coming in at just under 17 minutes, recorded after multiple failed attempts from computer issues.
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Mar 21, 2023
Free Play 169 | The Last of Us: Season 1
Season 1 of the HBO adaptation of The Last of Us wrapped this past week and as fans of Naughty Dog and Sony’s original games, Bubba, Matt & Kate wanted to chat about it. HBO really set the bar high for future gaming IPs turned into live action shows and movies. They cast some ideas for seasons 2 and 3 of the show, the possibility of a Last of Us Part 3 game, and how much Pedro Pascal is TOO MUCH Pedro Pascal. If that’s even a thing.
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Mar 7, 2023
Free Play 168 | LTN Turns 5
We’re celebrating LTN’s 5th birthday and can’t believe how fast the time has gone. So much has happened in the past five years and looking back brings up a lot of memories. Kate took the time this week to come up with some hard hitting questions to interview Matt, Bubba, and herself about LTN’s future and some things that they hold near and dear to their hearts from the past five years. HBD Love Thy Nerd!
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Feb 21, 2023
Free Play 167 | Netflix Tabletop Games
Every once in awhile, Bubba sends something Kate's way that she's actually interested in. This week, it was a link to The Last Kingdom Board Game Kickstarter from Gamelyn Games. The Last Kingdom Netflix series is one of Kate's favorite shows, so she was super pumped to see this even though tabletop games aren’t her area of expertise. That got them curious about other Netflix IPs that have been turned into tabletop experiences.
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Feb 14, 2023
Free Play 166 | E3 Without the Big 3
E3 has had a rough time the past couple years with cancellations and the event held online. 2023 marks a return to in-person for both the press and the public but Nintendo, Sony, and Xbox won’t be attending. Without E3, these big companies have figured out that releasing their announcements on their own schedule without relying on a once a year expo probably works out way better. What will E3 look like without the Big 3? Is this marking the end of this expo as we know it?
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Feb 7, 2023
Free Play 165 | Non-Linear Streaming
Welcome to Season 8 of the Free Play podcast! During the break, Bubba, Matt & Kate watched Kaleidoscope, Netflix’s non-linear streaming experience where you can watch the episodes in any order, except for the last one. Netflix automatically randomized the episodes based on viewers location. Engaging in non-linear storytelling isn’t exactly new to us as nerds, so what makes this experience different? Plus, catch up on what's been going on over the break and what they've been playing and watching.
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Dec 6, 2022
Free Play 164 | Nerds of Christmas Past
Free Play’s “cut-man”, CJ Burroughs, suggested Bubba, Matt & Kate chat about some of their memories about nerdy Christmas gifts that they received as young nerds way back when. They also want to cover the 2022 Game Awards Game of the Year nominees and throw their guesses out ahead of the award show next week. This is the Season 7 finale!
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Nov 22, 2022
Free Play 163 | Who Doesn’t Love Killer Microwave AI?
Some people, like Bubba, look upon the impending era of our AI overlords with excitement and joy. Others, like Kate, are a little unsure. And stories with headlines like “Someone turned their imaginary friend into an AI microwave and it wanted to kill them” do little to change her opinion. This story was submitted by community content producer Ryan Eighmey and sparked a conversation about whether or not the experiment was real or a cautionary tale about our AI focused future.
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Nov 15, 2022
Free Play 162 | Our Biggest Gaming Disappointments
Have you had a disappointment in the game space that really bummed you out? Never fear, the Free Play Podcast is here to help you recover and move on. After Kate had an underwhelming God of War Ragnarök release day, they’re talking all about gaming disappointments they’ve had and how we can all get to a better place.
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Nov 1, 2022
Free Play 161 | LTN Con 2022 Recap
LTN Con is one of our favorite weekends of the year here at Love Thy Nerd. It’s a time of coming together as a community, playing games, and learning how to love and serve our nerdy neighbors better. We had some incredible keynote and breakout sessions, vendors, and opportunities to extend our online relationships into real life. Bubba and Kate were there, had an absolute blast, and wanted to recap the weekend with all of you. That’s what they want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Oct 11, 2022
Free Play 160 | The Super Mario Movie Trailer
Nintendo finally reveals a teaser trailer for the Super Mario Movie at New York Comic Con. Fans are protesting online about Chris Pratt’s performance (even with barely a sentence uttered). Bubba and Kate nerd out about what we loved from the trailer, what they’re looking forward to with the movie, and speculating about what some of Nintendo’s goals are along with the partnership with Illumination and Universal.
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Oct 4, 2022
Free Play 159 | Did Twitch Mess Up?
Twitch has taken creators by surprise in a bad way with their latest announcement. They stated how revenue splits for bigger streamers will go from 70/30 to 50/50.This information has the Twitch community up in arms. As it should because this information isn’t exactly fair.
Will Twitch’s mistake be the first step in leveling the playing field for competition and innovation for streaming platforms?
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Sep 27, 2022
Free Play 158 | Tearz of the Kingdom
Well nerds, it’s the moment Matt has been waiting for. For 6 whole years. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will allegedly be released on May 12, 2023. It’s it TEARS of the kingdom as in crying? Or tears of the kingdom as in ripping? The internet debates. We cover what we know so far about the new game and Matt rants about how Kirby got an anniversary party while the Zelda series got the cold shoulder.
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Sep 13, 2022
Free Play 32 | Lost Episode | Right-Out-of-the-Box Games (with Justin Bowers)
In this lost episode from the earlier days of the Free Play Podcast, Bubba, Matt & Kate welcome Justin Bowers to discuss games perfect for family gatherings - ones that you can play easily right out of the box.
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Sep 6, 2022
Free Play 157 | Facebook Gaming's Downfall
When both social media and nerd culture have placed an emphasis on live streamed gaming content, what happens when an industry giant like Facebook/Meta begins to shut down its connection to gaming bit by bit starting with it’s Facebook Gaming App? Do we even need Facebook in this aspect of gaming when we have industry giants YouTube and Twitch?
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Aug 30, 2022
Free Play 156 | Recast or Nah: T'Challa
Bubba, Matt & Kate discuss the internet argument over whether T'Challa should just be recast or not, following his death in 2020. Plus, what we've been playing AND we don't know how to count.
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Aug 17, 2022
Free Play 155 | It's Our 200ish Episode Party!
This might shock some of you, but Matt, Bubba, and Kate have been co-hosting a podcast together since 2017! Before the Free Play Podcast with Love Thy Nerd, they hosted the Arcade Podcast with GameChurch, the place where they all met and started this crazy journey. Over the course of these two shows, they’ve done just over 200 episodes together! In this show, they share some favorite memories from the past 200 - and some of yours too.
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Aug 2, 2022
Free Play 154 | Outwit. Outplay. Out-Nerd.
Survival shows have become super popular with a specific demographic of folks. Bubba and Kate just happen to be in that group. What is it about these shows that makes them nerd out on people’s suffering? Do shows like Survivor and Alone take what is supposed to be a game way too far? That’s what they want to talk about this week on the Free Play podcast for the Season 7 premiere.
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May 31, 2022
Free Play 153 | Season 6 Finale
E3 used to be the summer’s most exciting time for video games with all the press conferences from the biggest developers, but over time it’s slowly gone downhill with this year having no E3 at all. From going from an industry only show to one that’s completely open to fans and having some disappointing announcements, it seems like companies just didn’t want to be a part of it anymore. Who will fill the vacuum that the show has left behind? What are we hoping to hear more about this summer?
That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast season finale.
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May 24, 2022
Free Play 152 | What’s Your Reason to Play?
Why do people play games these days? What’s their motivation and reason? Community Content Producer FrostByte4 sent in a topic about how games like Halo used to drop with no updates, DLCs, or things to grind for and everyone loved it. Now, people NEED something to keep them coming back. Is there reasoning in nerd psychology that can explain some of this?
That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play podcast.
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May 3, 2022
Free Play 151 | Bad Bunny, Bueno Muerto?
Bad Bunny, reggaeton superstar and WWE wrestler, has been cast in the lead role in Sony’s Spiderman universe stand alone movie, El Muerto. Who is Bad Bunny and who is El Muerto? Why make a movie about a character who’s been in two comic books with someone who isn’t an experienced actor? We take a look at the info available on this upcoming project and that’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Apr 19, 2022
Free Play 150 | Warner Bros. Buyout
When the Kate is away, the boys will play and this week we do just that with our good friend, chef, artist, maker, and fellow streamer, Asiathegirl. What does she think about bento boxes, name changes and what might be in store for Discovery’s buyout of Warner Bros. Media? Well, that’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Apr 12, 2022
Free Play 149 | iFreeplay
Apple has announced so many attempts to competitively get into the gaming space with many of those either never happening at all, not living up to expectations, or falling through as Apple moves onto the next idea. What’s happened in the past, and where does that leave us with the next big ideas of Apple VR and Apple Glasses? That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Apr 5, 2022
Free Play 148 | The Free Play Oscars
We don’t often delve into this side of pop culture, but the Oscars this year ushered in a new level of... Chaos. Something we can relate to here on the Free Play Podcast. We submit our own nominees for random Oscar categories (picked by me) which you can vote on this week on our Twitter account @freeplaypodcast. As long as Kate can remember to post it. That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Mar 29, 2022
Free Play 147 | Playstation's Answer to Game Pass
Playstation’s subscription service is supposed to launch really soon (it could even be out now) and we’re curious about what benefits and services it’ll offer. Will there be PS5 exclusives available? Or will they just combine Playstation Plus and Playstation Now under one name and call it a day? We make some guesses and predictions.
We wrap up this week’s show with a story that blew our minds: spinach can send emails when they detect explosives. That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play podcast
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Mar 23, 2022
Free Play 146 | Review Bombed
Community Content Producer Andy - aka Prodigas - asked us our thoughts on review bombing, why people feel the need to score games 0 out of 10 that haven’t even been released or give 0 or 1 scores to balance out the ratings of popular games with high ratings.
Horizon Forbidden West is one such game that got hammered by negative reviews before it was even out yet. What about the idea that art is subjective? And can you share your experience with something in a review in a constructive way, even if it wasn’t necessarily a good experience?
That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play podcast.
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Mar 15, 2022
Free Play 145 | Games That Teach us Things
There is massive potential for games to be able to teach us new skills, especially as technology gives developers and designers new ways to be creative.
Community Content Producer Kyle Matthews sent us Overisles is a tabletop RPG currently on Kickstarter to teach sign language and promote deaf awareness. The game is developed by Hatchlings Games along with the deaf community and a high school D&D team. We dig into the details about Overisles and other games that can teach valuable skills this week on the Free Play podcast.
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Mar 8, 2022
Free Play 144 | Non-Gaming Partners
If you know us here at Free Play you know we don’t normally do big brain topics that require thinking. But we got a topic submission asking about what it’s like to have a partner that doesn’t play games as much as you do and if we had any helpful tips/tricks. We asked our community to share their thoughts and experiences and talked about our own lives. That’s what we want to talk about this week on the FreePlay podcast.
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Mar 1, 2022
Free Play 143 | Live From TantrumCon 2022 With Moviga
Hold onto your butts because this week Free Play is teaming up with Moviga to bring you a cross-promotional, 2-part episode LIVE from Tantrum Con 2022. So get ready for laughing, media coverage and a boat- load of inside jokes this week on the Free Play podcast.
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Feb 23, 2022
Free Play 142 | Netflix's Nerdy Plans
Netflix makes a move into the mobile game business with games we’ve never heard of like Bowling Ballers, Asphalt Xtreme, Krispee Street, Dominoes Cafe, and Hextech Mayhem Netflix Edition. Why are they getting into gaming? We chat about this, experience Netflix gaming in real time, and turn from haters to believers. That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Feb 15, 2022
Free Play 141 | When Kickstarters Go Too Far
This week Matt found a Kickstarter for Marvel Zombies - A Zombicide Game and the highest tier that included ALL the good stuff was over $600. He was crushed. The Kickstarter was also finished, so he had no chance anyways. But it made us think: is there a price limit to Kickstarter FOMO? Is a $600 ask a good business decision for the developers and reasonable for the consumer?
That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play podcast.
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Feb 8, 2022
Free Play 140 | Digital Versions of Physical Games
Tabletop games have been making a move to the digital world through Tabletop Simulator and digital versions of tabletop games you know and love.
Physical games offer the benefits of in-person experiences and the ability to use the cards and pieces the developers created, but digital games have an advantage of letting people play together during the time of COVID and the ability to demo games in a cost effective way. What do we think about these two approaches to tabletop gaming?
That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Feb 1, 2022
Free Play 139 | Microsoft's Acquisition and Gaming's Future
You’ve probably heard all about Microsoft’s in-progress acquisition of Activision/Blizzard where Microsoft could come to own franchises like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Overwatch. We wanted to take a look at what this could mean for the video game space as well as the effects of gaming turning into a push for content over consoles. That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Season 6 premiere of the Free Play Podcast.
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Nov 23, 2021
Free Play 138 | Free Play Game Awards
It’s that time of year again where everyone starts picking their best games of the year so we thought we’d hop on that bandwagon and put together an even BETTER award show with BETTER categories. Trust me. Hear what we picked as our favorite video games and table top experiences this week on the Free Play Podcast Season 5 finale.
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Nov 17, 2021
Free Play 137 | Disney+ Day 2021
Disney Plus Day 2021 was this week and the amount of content was… overwhelming. We had Bubba blind react to some of the biggest and most interesting shows that Disney announced like the continuation of the X-Men 90’s animated series, the Star Wars: Obi Wan Kenobi series, and more. That’s what we’re talking about this week on the Free Play podcast.
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Nov 9, 2021
Free Play 136 | Skyrim the Board Game
You know that here at the Free Play Podcast we love both video and tabletop experiences. So what happens when these two things collide to make board games based off of popular video games? We take a look at the massive Skyrim - The Adventure Game that’s currently being funded on GameFound.com to see how it holds up to Skyrim the video game and think up some other games we’d like to see turned into tabletop games. That’s what we’re talking about this week on the Free Play podcast.
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Nov 3, 2021
Free Play 135 | How About Some Halloween Booritos?
Halloween in-game events always make our games a little more festive. With spoopy activities or limited time skins and items to earn, there’s usually something to be gained during this season. What if we told you that you could get a free burrito? In real life? Chipotle is hosting a massive free burrito giveaway digitally this year on Roblox of all places. And that has us discussing the Boorito event itself, other Halloween events in games and most importantly, sandwiches. That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play podcast.
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Oct 26, 2021
Free Play EP 134 | Hot Takes & Zombie Survival
We’re mixing it up a little on today’s episode with our new segment, HOT TAKES, where we dig into random gaming related dilemmas off the internet. And we answer a chat submitted question about which one of us would live the longest in a zombie apocalypse which turns into a heated discussion. We also talk about LTN Con that’s happening Oct.15-17! That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Sep 28, 2021
Free Play 133 | It'sa ME... a STARLORD!
Everyone has been talking about the moment where Nintendo announced that Chris Pratt was going to be the voice of Mario. Yes, MARIO! And reactions have been mixed. We did not see that one coming. With Chris Pratt joined by a host of other A-list celebrities, what do we think this movie could look like? That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play podcast.
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Sep 14, 2021
Free Play EP 132 | Playstation Hot or Not?
Playstation held their September showcase this week and 2 out of 3 of us were pretty excited by what we saw. If you think about it, you can probably guess who was less than enthused. Between announcements of new Marvel games, a Star Wars remake, and a look at God of War Ragnarok, the showcase proved to be pretty exciting overall, and that’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play podcast.
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Sep 8, 2021
Free Play EP 131 | Gaming Gets Banned
This week, China implemented a new ban on online games. This means that everyone under the age of 18 is only allowed to play for ONE hour on Fridays, weekends, and special holidays. Why would they do this? Besides parents complaining about gaming addiction are there bigger reasons for the ban? What do gamers think of this restriction and what does it mean for the future of gaming in China?
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Aug 31, 2021
Free Play EP 130 | Online Concerts
Have you been to one of those concerts in games? You know, the ones in Fortnite and Travis Scott or Marshmello? Minecraft is also no stranger to hosting concerts in-game either and Roblox is having Lil Nas X perform in November and is including some limited edition emotes and items. Are video games the future of live music? Also, Kate flys into a rage as we discuss it all, this week on the Free Play podcast.
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Aug 24, 2021
Episode 129 | Google's Super Secret Plan
Does Google have a super-secret plan? Throughout the course of the Epic Games vs. Apple lawsuit, a 70-page document from Google about a grand dream of the “world's largest game platform” was discovered and shared. While some of it was redacted, there were still some interesting things to be learned from the leak. Is this plan even a possibility? Even if it's possible, is it a good idea? That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play podcast.
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Aug 17, 2021
Free Play EP 128 | Nintendies
Guess what nerds, Kate is back from her wilderness exploring. Just in time for some exciting news from Nintendo! The Nintendo Indie World Showcase brought some interesting games to the table. From the weapon dating simulator Boyfriend Dungeon, to Eastward: the pixel-esque puzzle game, to Kate’s personal favorite, Garden Story where you play as a grape trying to unify a community, the showcase brought something for everyone whether they’re into indie games or not. That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play podcast.
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Aug 11, 2021
Free Play EP 127 | Is Warzone Dead?
There is a lot going on over at Blizzard/Activision and we have to wonder if it is effecting Call of Duty Warzone. Hackers. Low content flow. Hackers. Who picks up the pieces? Well, that's what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Aug 3, 2021
Free Play EP 126 | SEASON 5 PREMIERE!!!!
On the season 5 premiere of the Free Play Podcast, Matt and Bubba hold down the fort and catch up on what they have been up to over the summer break. Also, Scarlett Johansson is suing Disney over Black Widow. All that and more this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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May 25, 2021
Free Play EP 125 | Season Finale with FrostByte IV!
It’s our Season 4 finale! Matt is out of town and we have a special guest! Luke aka FrostByte IV joins us today as we share a wild story that includes Mass Effect Legendary Edition, an epic battle for a PS5 that ends with friendships put to the test. We also have questions about EA’s latest patent for a new battle pass system and what that could mean for games like Apex or Battlefield. That's what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play podcast.
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May 18, 2021
Free Play EP 124 | Jacked Up Journalism
Games journalism often seems to be hyper focused on instances of crunch and negativity in game development. But what happens when a story comes out that is completely taken out of context that forwards something that’s not true? And what happens when a developer comes forward to try to correct what’s been written? We tackle some hard hitting journalism this week on the Free Play podcast.
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May 11, 2021
Free Play 123 | Make Your Own game Awards
What does it take to give awards out to tabletop games? Do you have to be some kind of legit thing or….. Can anyone just do it? We take a look at the American Tabletop Awards from the categories to the winners and nominees of this year and years past. Which led us to coming up with our own ideas for the Love Thy Nerd tabletop awards and that’s what we’re talking about this week on the Free Play podcast.
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Apr 28, 2021
Free Play EP 122 | Backlog Intervention
We know some people who have some pretty hefty game collections. But what about 25,000 games? All on Steam? Patch notes in a recent Steam update mentioned a fix for libraries of 25,000+ games. If you didn’t do anything else it would take approximately 3 years to even test out that many games. What are some theories behind who owns these libraries? That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play podcast.
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Apr 20, 2021
Free Play 121 | It Remakes No Sense
Rumor has it that the Last of Us is getting a remake. Not a remaster, they already did that. But a remake. For a game that came out in 2013. We have questions. Questions like… WHY, WHAT FOR, do we need this? Bubba and I try to get to the bottom of this remake idea that makes absolutely no sense.
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Apr 6, 2021
Free Play 120 | Games in the Time of COVID
It’s hard to believe that it’s been about a year since COVID really began to take over our lives. How has the pandemic affected the video and board game industries? Some games have released well during this unprecedented time and some games just.. Didn’t spark joy.That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Mar 30, 2021
Free Play 119 | The Future of Discord
Microsoft has had several failed acquisition attempts of other companies like Tiktok and Pinterest as well as the flop of their streaming service, Mixer. But Microsoft isn’t giving up and is trying to expand its reach by acquiring Discord for the small sum of at least $10 BILLION dollars. Yes. BILLION. Do we think Discord would be a Microsoft exclusive service? Would Discord be better off partnering with Amazon? That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Mar 18, 2021
Episode 118 | Scat-egorical References
What’s the best way to get nerds up and moving? Giving them free games in exchange for steps. The new app Hero Trainer rewards your steps by giving you gift cards to the Playstation Store, Steam, Nintendo eShop, Google Play, and tons of other nerdy places. I also share a story of an… experience I had at the doctor’s office. That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play podcast.
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Mar 9, 2021
Episode 117 | Two Ways To Do Kickstarter
It is obvious how much communication between a campaign and its backers can impact the overall success of the Kickstarter itself and we dig into it this week on the Free Play podcast.
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Mar 2, 2021
Episode 116 | State of Lame 2021
We’re used to seeing some seriously big game announcements in press conferences held at E3 and other conventions. With COVID and the lack of large conferences, the focus now more than ever has been delegated to shorter online broadcasts like Nintendo’s Treehouse, Playstation’s State of Play, and Xbox Showcase. We had high hopes for week’s Playstation State of Play, and…. It just wasn’t what we expected.
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Feb 23, 2021
Episode 115 | Nerdom on the Small Screen
We’ve seen nerd dom make its way to the big screen through the Lord of the Rings, the MCU, and much more. But recently we’ve seen a shift in nerdy adaptations of things that we love arriving on the small screen on platforms like Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, and Amazon Prime. What are some of the best examples that we’ve seen? Are there any negatives to this shift? We discuss this and more this week on the Free Play podcast.
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Feb 18, 2021
Episode 114 | CD Projekt Wrecked
The latest in video game news this week once again concerns CD Projekt Red who had source codes for Cyberpunk 2077, The Witcher 3, an unreleased version of The Witcher 3, and Gwent the card game stolen and held at ransom. In a… somewhat poorly written ransom note, the thieves demanded payment to which CD Projekt Red refused. And a few days later these source codes ended up at an auction on the dark web. What does this mean for the games industry? That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play podcast?
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Feb 9, 2021
Episode 113 | The State-ia of Stadia
The news media was quick to declare the end of Google Stadia only two years after the launch. With the studio head stepping down and developers looking for new jobs, things just don’t look good. But is that all there is to this story? Just another end to another platform? What about Google’s claims that Stadia will still go on using third party releases? We talk about the future of Stadia and more this week on the Free Play podcast.
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Feb 2, 2021
Episode 112 | Tesla and The Witcher 3?
Tesla is known for being an innovative brand, with Elon Musk constantly coming up with new ideas for infinity and beyond. Literally. This week a story on Tesla boasted that the Model S and Model X vehicles come equipped with gaming hardware powerful enough to power The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Can this be? Is it even safe? And what other in-car tech ideas can we come up with? That’s what we want to talk about this week.
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Nov 27, 2020
Episode 110 | 2020 Game of the Year
2020 has been a trip of a year, and the annual Video Game Award nominees are a testament to that. Did we agree with the list or could it have been altered just a little? Well, that's what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play podcast.
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Nov 19, 2020
Episode 109 | PS5 & Xbox Series X Review
With Matt and Bubba finally getting their hands on a PS5 and an Xbox Series X, we delve into the pros and cons of each console that they’ve noticed this week. Kate has not made the leap to the PS5 yet, but she has Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, so you won’t see Kate complaining. After 8-13 hour days of streaming with their new consoles to share their experiences with the Love Thy Nerd community, Matt and Bubba are ready to discuss the new current-gen consoles.
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Nov 13, 2020
Episode 108 | Best Games of the Current Generation
The age of the current-gen consoles is coming to a close with the release of the PS5 and the Xbox Series X. We saw some truly amazing games come out on these platforms: Red Dead Redemption 2, Overwatch, God of War, Fallout 4, Spider-man, Destiny 2, and so much more. What made our list for the very best games on the Playstation 4 and Xbox One? That’s what we want to talk about today on the FreePlay podcast.
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Nov 5, 2020
Episode 107 | Cloud Gaming & Cyberpunk 2077
Control on the Switch is now available, but on launch day there was a queue to even play the game that boasted instant streaming. While the queue is no longer, it raises questions about the streaming potential of the Nintendo Switch for graphically demanding games that otherwise couldn't run on the diminutive console. Also, Cyberpunk 2077 was delayed......again and this time even the rank and file developers were caught off guard by the announcement. Oh, and Matt shaved his head!
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Oct 29, 2020
Episode 106 | Console Wars and Overrated Games
The arrival of the new PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S alongside the stalwart Nintendo Switch gives fresh fuel to the ever-burning fire of the console wars. Brand loyalty and identity crisis fuel the cycle with every console generation with new twists. Technological advances with streaming, 4K, subscriptions, and more make this new cycle even more interesting. Bubba, Matt, and Kate talk about their views on the nerd rage along with their most overrated games which will surprise no one. All this and more on the Free Play Podcast Episode 106.
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Oct 22, 2020
Episode 105 | Zelda's 35th Anniversary, Mango Jaw, and Fables
Zelda's 35th Anniversary is coming up next year in 2021. Our resident Zelda expert Matt Warmbier speculates on what might come as part of the Zelda anniversary. Will we get a Breath of the Wild 2 release alongside a collection of the 2D or 3D games on Switch in the same way Mario received the 3D All-Stars treatment. All this along with Kate's "mango-jaw" ailment and her foray into the comic world of "Fables" on this episode.
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Oct 15, 2020
Episode 104 | Uncooked Games
You know those games that just….. Don’t seem ready to be played? You know, the ones that get released with bugs like you wouldn’t believe? Yeah. Those are what we call “undercooked” games. The ones that need a little more time in the oven before they’re ready to be played and enjoyed. Do all these games lead to more games being developed in a rush and cultivate a lack of quality over quantity mindset? That’s what we want to talk about this week on the FreePlay Podcast.
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Oct 10, 2020
Episode 103 | LTN Con Online 2020 Recap
Well… we did it. We held our very first online con, and we think it was pretty dope. We had great speakers from some of our favorite people in nerd culture missions, played a metric ton of games both in-person and online and I’m pretty sure I ate my body weight in beef sticks. How was LTN Con Online received and what were some of our favorite moments? Well, that’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play podcast.
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Sep 25, 2020
Episode 102 | Next-Gen Pandemonium
There has been so much chaos and pandemonium surrounding XBOX and Playstation’s latest announcements. We discuss why there are such small amounts of consoles available for pre-order, try to figure out what system we’ll be picking up and when we’re getting it, touch on Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda, and Matt shares how he managed to successfully pre-order himself a Playstation 5. And that’s what we want to talk about this week on the FreePlay podcast
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Sep 18, 2020
Episode 101 | Cats, Chickens, and Bent Backs
After the excitement of our 100th live episode, we update you all on what really matters: Matt’s sick chicken, new cat, and Bubba’s bent back. And trust us, Kate hasn't laughed that hard in a while. We catch up on the latest that we’ve been playing, what we’re looking at playing, and MORE this week on the FreePlay Podcast.
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Sep 1, 2020
Episode 100 | EPISODE ONE HUNDY (LIVE!)
Free Play turns 100! Bubba, Matt, and Kate record this monumental achievement live on Twitch with you, our loyal listeners, and backers. Kate talks about her walkabout vacation visiting a lot of dead people's graves and walking horses in circles. Matt reminisces back to the 1st episode and how they learned to quit planning for things, and Bubba tries to keep it all together for one spectacular centennial celebration.
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Aug 14, 2020
Episode 99.5 | The 100th Episode Stop Gap
Bubba, Matt & Kate are scattered to the winds before their 100th episode! That means you get the B-team of Jonathan and Aaron but fear not we will be talking about what games we’ve been playing, Epic and Apple throwing their billions of dollars of PR firms around, and a spoiler-free reflection of Death Stranding and Last of Us Part 2. That and more on Episode 99.5 of the Free Play Podcast.
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Aug 7, 2020
Episode 99 | Gen Con Online recap
Gen Con Online was crazy. We played a ton of games and streamed every last second of that experience. We know and share the sentiment that we “Would rather be at Gen Con”, but when life gives you lemons, you stream those lemons on twitch.tv/lovethynerd. But how did it go? Was it worth the time and effort to put it all together? Well, that’s what we wanna’ talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Jul 31, 2020
Episode 98 | Ghost of Tsushima Deep Dive
Matt, Bubba, and I are ALL playing Ghost of Tsushima and we wanted to chat more about our in-game experiences. But first, we answer our good friend Frost’s question: what did Kate (aka me) do with Disney? I share some random stories about that time before we dig into what we’ve been loving (and also complaining about) Ghost of Tsushima. And that’s what we want to talk about this week on the FreePlay podcast!
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Jul 24, 2020
Episode 97 | Ghost of the Expanse
We’re stoked about the latest hotness to hit the shelves: Ghost of Tsushima and have finally got copies in our hands. Well.... almost all of our hands… I.. made a mistake. I’ll tell you about it later. Anyways, this game is a masterpiece so far from what we’ve experienced and we chat about what stood out to us and why we think this game is getting such high ratings across the board.
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Jul 17, 2020
Episode 96 | Podcast Pants
There are few things a person needs in 2020 during a global pandemic more than a reliable internet connection. Maybe a solid pair of podcast pants and to remember how to make a halfway decent cup a joe. What does any of that have to do with Love Love Thy Nerd? We’re so glad you asked because that’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Jul 10, 2020
Episode 95 | Shark Week
Bubba is gone in some dark void where there’s no internet. Matt and Kate, the ever-loyal hosts, are still here bringing you hard-hitting content on the best way to make iced tea, fiddle contests, shark facts, and even some discussion about games. All that and more on this week’s riveting episode of the free play podcast.
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Jul 3, 2020
Episode 94 | LTN Arcade Weekend Recap AND MORE!!!!
Hey, everyone. It’s been a bit. We miss you. Pull up a chair and let’s hang out for a bit as we catch you all up on the LTN Arcade weekend, Kate’s shoe addiction, and how good Matt is at video games.
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Jun 12, 2020
Episode 93 | The Last of Us Part 2 State of Play
Well, here we go… The Last of Us 2 is a thing and its happening sooner than expected. And that’s okay! Sony released a state of play opening up a little bit more about the story and sharing some never before seen gameplay with us and that’s what we want to talk about this week on the free play podcast.
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May 29, 2020
Episode 92 | Tony Hawk Nostalgia
If this podcast had an origin story… Tony Hawk would be the genesis of that story. Matt, Kate, and I all played a lethal amount of this game, and it’s sequels, growing up… and cannot wait to play the upcoming Tony Hawk 1+2 remake bundle coming out in September! So, sit back and enjoy some stories about how this game shaped our growing minds in the early 2000s, this week on the Free Play Podcast!
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May 22, 2020
Episode 91 | Steven Speaks
Apologies for not having a show last week as Matt's computer decided to not record any audio at all. We may do something special with what we have, so stay tuned. This week we have a special segment where Steven Kadawoki speaks to us about his version of Animal Crossing, Spintires: Snowrunner, and Matt encounters a WoW player in the wild.
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May 8, 2020
Episode 89 | Assassins Creed: New Horizons
Bubba's internet (or lack thereof) has broken his stalk market experience in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Kate is beyond excited for the new Assassins Creed and will here no words against in, and Matt staves off grumpiness from having to go back to work.
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May 1, 2020
Episode 88 | Truths, No Lie: A Game
It’s been an interesting week in the world. There have been a lot of ideas and questions asked of so very high ranking officials… but none as important as the ones that we tackle in this episode. So, if you’ve ever wanted to know some of the deepest darkest secrets that we have… you’re gonna be pretty disappointed, but probably entertained. So, sit back and learn some random facts about us this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Apr 24, 2020
Episode 87 | Nookazon and the Turnip Exchange
Animal crossing is hard. You have to catch bugs, shake sticks out of trees, and make friends. Lucky for us, the internet is here to rescue us from the burden that is "responsibility" in-game. We share a few helpful services on the old online that make life on an island a little more bearable… oh, and both Kat and Matt had birthdays this week. All that and more this week on the Free Play podcast.
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Apr 17, 2020
Episode 86 | Ask Us Anything Part 2
Bunny Day has come and gone… and most of us would be just fine with never seeing another one of those water eggs ever again. Pointless crafting aside, today we get down to the nitty-gritty as we answer some of the hard-hitting questions that you, the listeners, asked our opinions on. What wisdom do we have to bestow upon you? Well, that’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play podcast.
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Apr 10, 2020
Episode 85 | Trash Room & WrestleMEHnia
The self-isolation descent into insanity continues as Bubba, Matt, and Kate continue to document their activities (or lack thereof). Kate organized a video game hostage handoff that involved Whole Food bags in a parking lot, Matt continues his Star Trek: The Next Generation binge with his wife as well as hunting for the money his child hid on his Animal Crossing: New Horizons island, and Bubba gets sucked into the redneck cousin of Making of a Murderer: Netflix's Tiger King.
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Apr 3, 2020
Episode 84 | Puma Momma Drama
Bubba, Matt, and Kate return this week to take our minds off the state of the world. Instead, they talk about Matt's disgusting backed up bathtub, Kate's news report tells a sordid and twisted tale about a community of pumas that rival Game of Thrones in its scandalous aspirations, and Bubba's love for Picard on CBS all access has convinced Matt to binge Star Trek: The Next Generation while in quarantine...all 7 seasons.
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Mar 27, 2020
Episode 83 | Animal Crossing: Pillage the Village
It's another week of quarantine for Bubba, Matt, and Kate as they all set sail for deserted islands in Animal Crossing: New Horizon. The trio talks about their experiences in exploring the island, some of the more frustrating elements of gameplay, how Kate completely pillaged her best friend's island, and how Bubba will eventually cave and let chickens into his house. All this and more on this episode of the Free Play Podcast.
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Mar 20, 2020
Episode 82 | Quarantine is on the Horizon: Zero Dawn
Well, here we are. The entire world in the midst of a global pandemic. It crazy, really. We’ve all seen 100 post-apocalyptic movies and played through games like The Last of Us and Fallout more times than you could shake a radioactive stick at, but I’m not sure that anyone really ever thought we’d be here having to deal with something like this. I hope you’re all stocked up on toilet paper and bottle caps because they are 100% the new currency. All that being said, nerds are on the rise as the internet becomes everyone’s new place of refuge and that what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast!
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Mar 13, 2020
Episode 81 | Live from PAX East 2020
Bubba and Matt are at PAX East 2020 with Love Thy Nerd's Editor-In-Chief Drew Dixon. The trio reflects on the games they have played and where they feel Love Thy Nerd can be an influencer amongst the gaming community. Also, Matt plays with the new soundboard and chaos ensues.
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Mar 6, 2020
Episode 80 | Free Play AUA
Bubba, Matt, & Kate take your questions in this Ask Us Anything episode along with Matt and Kate's "free range posse" escapades in Red Dead Online.
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Feb 21, 2020
Episode 79 | Test Your Friends
Kate wants to go into scary mines with her Switch while re-enacting scenes from Red Dead, Matt shames Bubba and Kate into joining his posse, and Bubba introduces a new game, "Test Your Friends" by seeing if Kate or Matt can identify iconic video game themes played backward.
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Feb 14, 2020
Episode 78 | Ghost Towns & Gloomhaven
This week on the Free Play podcast, Kate reads yet another entry from her Red Dead Diary, Matt plays his 41st play of Marvel Champions, and I catch you up on the adventure that is playing Gloomhaven… well… starting it, anyways. Thanks for spending just a little bit of time with us this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Feb 7, 2020
Episode 77 | Red Dead Flea Market
Bubba, Kate, and Matt are back for season 3 in a free for all episodes where there is no plan, any game they have been playing is up for discussion, and introductions to Free Play insider lingo for the noobs.
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Jan 31, 2020
Episode 76 | Jennifer Graham-Macht of Parks Memories from Keymaster Games
Jennifer Graham-Macht of Keymaster Games joins Bubba for a sit-down interview about her background as a local game store owner, the board game Parks, and the upcoming Kickstarter from Keymaster games for Parks Memories.
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Dec 27, 2019
Episode 75 | Top 8 Tabletop Games of 2019
Well, we did it. This is the last Free Play episode of 2019 and Matt and I are in the same room to record it! With all of the games that came out this year, we thought it would be a good idea to do the most creative thing we would think of, so we came up with what we thought were the top 8 tabletop games released this year and that’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Nov 29, 2019
Episode 74 | The Free Play Holiday Gift Guide
The holiday season is in full swing, and chances are you’re probably out shopping for that special someone in your life… even if it’s you… which it probably is.
What should you get them? Is it going to be worth your time to pick it up and their time to open it? Well, fret not, nerd, because the Free Play Podcast is here for just a time as this. We’ve created a little holiday shopping guide and that’s what we want to talk about this week of the Free Play Podcast!
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Nov 22, 2019
Episode 73 | Too Many Streaming Services?
Are there too many streaming services? I mean, who doesn’t love a good binge-watching session with their favorite streaming TV show, but it seems to be getting harder and harder to get everything we want in one place. Mickey Mouse just released his mega streaming service and even Disney + doesn’t have everything on it.
Where do services like Hulu, Netflix, Prime video and the new Apple TV + fit into the mix? Should we be spending our hard-earned doll-hairs on multiple services? Well, that’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play podcast.
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Nov 15, 2019
Episode 72 | Should RPGs Be Shorter?
Who doesn’t love a 400 hour story mode? I mean, when you are in a world that you love playing a game that lets you escape the one that you actually live in… you don’t really mind the extra time spent chasing bottlecaps and crafting mats just to spend a little more time with your favorite characters.
But is all of that time worth it? Would it be better if you could just play for a shorter amount of time and then move on to the next best thing? Well, that’s what we want to talk about this week of the Free Play podcast.
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Nov 8, 2019
Episode 71 | What is Death Stranding Even About?
After what feels like a thousand years of waiting, we finally had a chance to see what Kojima has up his sleeve. Is it another Silent Hill? What about something similar to Metal Gear? Well, take those two hands, mash them together, add a baby and a bunch of fetch quests and you got yourself a snazzy new game featuring everyone’s favorite motorcyclist, Norman Reedus exclusive to your Playstation video game console! But is it any good?
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Nov 1, 2019
Episode 70 | Spoopiest Moments in Games (Community Edition)
Just because Halloween is over doesn’t mean that we can’t keep the spoops rollin’! We polled our Facebook Community and asked them about a few of the more memorable times when they got a little more than scared playing games. And that’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Oct 25, 2019
Episode 69 | Gaming's Weirdest PR Stunts
Well… Fortnite broke itself… and the internet. In what can only be described as a pretty great PR stunt for epic games, they literally obliterated the game. Like… all the way, dead.
It’s fine... I mean, it came back… but was it worth it? Were there other off the wall PR stunts that the gaming industry has tried? That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Oct 11, 2019
Episode 68 | LTN Con 2019 Recap
LTN Con has LTN Come and LTN Gone, and it was good! Nerds from all over the US and Canada came to learn what exactly Love Thy Nerd is, who runs it and why it’s important. We had sessions on our three pillars, raffled the night away and gave away over 200 games! But was it worth it? That what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Sep 26, 2019
Episode 67 | The Legend of FreePlay: Matt’s Awakening
We’ve been excited about the Link’s Awakening remake since the day it was announced and, ladies and gentlemen, IT IS FINALLY HERE. Is it everything we hoped it would be? And should you pick it up for yourself if you don’t have it already? That’s what we want to talk about today on the Freeplay Podcast.
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Sep 20, 2019
Episode 66 | How Much Money is Your Game Time Worth?
Games cost money, and we’ll gladly hand over all the pennies that we’ve got for them. But how many plays or hours do you expect to get out of a game to make the financial investment “worth it”? How many dollars are you willing to pay or do you expect to pay per play to make it worth the financial commitment? That’s what we want to talk about this week on the FreePlay Podcast.
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Sep 12, 2019
Episode 65 | Buy All the Nintendo Things!
We got another major update from Nintendo last week about the upcoming hotness for Switch. And they did not disappoint, as usual. Updates that included everything from Super Nintendo Games finally making an appearance to an Animal Crossing update to Overwatch coming to the Switch has us hyped. Aaaaand wondering how we’re going to buy All The Things. We’ll figure it out. Right? Anyways, that’s what we want to talk about this week on the FreePlay Podcast.
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Aug 30, 2019
Episode 64 | Bye Bye Spider-Guy
Some things are too good to be true and aren’t made to last. Spider-Guy in the MCU falls well within that category. Why didn’t it work? What will we do without him? Are we finally going to get to see that real-life into the spider verse with toby McGuire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland that the internet wants so much or will Sony see that sometimes its better to have your big brother with you on the playground? Well, that’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Aug 15, 2019
Episode 63 | Loving Nerdy Neighbors at GenCon 2019
If you’ve ever wanted to know what it’s like to be in a confined space with 70,000 of your closest friends nerding out over board games for four days in Indianapolis, Indiana… then you should go to Gen Con. Because that’s exactly what it is. Over 600 games were shown and sold this year and we basically played and or bought all of them. There were more than a few that stood out to us and that’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Jul 26, 2019
Episode 62 | Marvel's Spider-Man and Stranger Things 3 SpoilerCast
This is it… buckle up, kids… we are doin’ a spoiler cast. This week we are talking about Playstation’s Spider-Man and the hit Netflix original, Stranger Things. You’ve been warned… so do what you have to going forward, but we have all kinds of ideas about both of those and that’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Jul 19, 2019
Episode 61 | Nintendo Switch Lite & Pro Rumors
Nintendo has officially figured out that nerds love the Switch. We keep asking for every game to make its way to the console and they have answered our cries by ignoring them and offering us the Switch Lite.
This console is a simplified version of it’s predecessor and, we think, it’s geared towards a completely different audience than current Switch owners.
But who needs it? Who is the actual target market? Are we planning on picking this thing up? Well, that’s what we wanna talk about this week on the Free Play podcast.
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Jul 12, 2019
Episode 60 | The Future of Augmented Reality
Sometimes reality isn’t all it's cracked up to be. If I want to travel to the moon or lift a car over my head it’s a whole lot easier to do it in digital space than to go through the trouble of exercising and all that.
Augmented Reality, or AR, is on the rise and making both our gaming and actual lives a little bit more fun than they may have been otherwise.
But is it all about spotting pokemon, casting spells and catching ghosts, or is there more that AR has to offer this ever-growing technologically expanding world? Well, that’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Jun 28, 2019
Episode 59 | Are Loot Boxes Ethical?
Who doesn’t love being rewarded for playing a game? I mean, when you look at all that hard work and dedication that we put into honing our craft it only seems fair to get a little something something on the back end. But it doesn’t always go as planned. Loot boxes have made their way back into the news and players are again talking about the ethics of both loot boxes an microtransactions as they pertain to video games. Are they gambling? Are they fair? Are they robbing us of the joy of playing these games that we have all come to know and love? Well, that’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Jun 21, 2019
Episode 58 | E3 2019 Coverage Part 2
It’s been a crazy whirlwind of dope announcements with this year’s E3. We covered the first half of press conferences on last week’s episode. Today we’re talking all about Nintendo, Square Enix, Ubisoft, PC Gaming Show, and the Kinda Funny Games Showcase and that’s what we want to talk about in the second half of our E3 coverage this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Jun 13, 2019
Episode 57 | E3 2019 Coverage Part 1
If there’s one thing nerds like, it’s learning all of the things about new games and consoles coming out in the now to near future. Microsoft, Bethesda, EA, Devolver and Google have all had their press conferences and we couldn’t be more thrilled about some of it and that’s what we want to talk about in the first half of our E3 coverage this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Jun 6, 2019
Episode 56 | Pokémon Dreamin'
In 1996, we were introduced to three lovable characters named Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Pikachu. These pocket monsters would change the gaming world forever. Fast forward to 2019, over 20 years later, and they are no longer content with consuming our every waking hour. Now, they also want the sleeping ones. The Pokémon company released an app and a companion device that trains your Pokémon while you sleep. If that doesn’t make sense to you either, then you are in good company and that’s what we want to talk about this week on the free play podcast.
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May 31, 2019
Episode 55 | Leveraging Fun and Games
Wether you're crushing your friends in Super Smash Brothers on the Switch, or eradicating flesh eating bacteria in Pandemic, games are fun or at least they are supposed to be. They offer rest from the things of life that weigh us down while allowing us the opportunity to build relationships with the people around us. But is there a way to leverage both the fun and relationship building aspect of gaming within the context of the local church? That's what we want to talk about this week.
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May 24, 2019
Episode 54 | Game Analysis Paralysis
Do you or someone you love suffer from Gaming Analysis Paralysis? Do you find it difficult and sometimes downright impossible to find a game to play when there are dozens to choose from in your console backlog or on your shelf of shame? If so, you are not alone and we at Love Thy Nerd are here to help.
Though we may not have a cure, per se, we do have some helpful tips to get you over that hump, and that’s what we want to talk about this week on the FreePlay podcast.
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May 17, 2019
Episode 53 | Sonic and the Future of Video Game Movies
Fandoms are the lifeblood of the nerd world. Mess with them and you’ll probably get cut. Hollywood knows that… right? Like… they should at least be able to learn from past experiences like Street Fighter, Doom and Super Mario. Yet we still have our childhood’s altered every time a new video game movie comes out, and Sonic is the latest in a long line of artistic freedoms taken with beloved icons and that’s what we want to talk about this week of the free play podcast.
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May 10, 2019
Episode 52 | Is Kickstarter Killing Creativity?
We’ve all been there. It’s 2 am and you’re trolling around on the internet when a force beyond your control stops your scroll dead in it’s tracks. That force’s name: Kickstarter. Suddenly it’s 4 am and you have backed dozens of things you never knew you needed.
As great as kickstarter is, it’s taken a strange turn this past month by suspending several projects… some of which had fully funded to the tune of $200K. This left us all asking… “but… why?” and that’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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May 3, 2019
Episode 51 | What's New In The News
It’s been a while since we’ve really proven our validity as a gaming media outlet. So long, in fact, that we actually almost didn’t do this one… but too much has happened in the nerd world to not talk about at least some of it. We have a few thoughts about things like Disney +, Ubisoft and the PS5, and that’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play podcast.
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Apr 26, 2019
Episode 50 | Phoenix Fan Fusion Pre-Show Coverage
Part of what we do here at Love Thy Nerd is go out into the world of nerddom and meet new people, make new friends, and love on every nerd as best as we can.
We’re kicking off convention season this year with Phoenix Fan Fusion, the first “comic con” type convention we’ve been to, and we can’t wait to experience it and tell you how you can get involved. That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play podcast.
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Apr 19, 2019
Episode 49 | A Lost Episode with Horpens and Bread Slime
Bubba, Matt, and Kate are out this week because that’s what happens when two of you work for a church and it’s Easter week.
So they’ve decided to treat you, beloved listener, to an unreleased episode from Season 1 featuring Love Thy Nerd supporter Justin Bowers as well as dark confession from Matt Warmbier about his departed horse Horpens and Kate getting distracted by bread slime. Enjoy!
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Apr 12, 2019
Episode 48 | 90's Nostalgia
The 90’s were a seriously tubular time in history. Everything about the 90’s was loud and cutting edge. The colors, the synthesizers, and more importantly… the games. Vanilla Ice wasn’t the only cool thing to hit the shelves during this decade. Games that have shaped the way we interact with the media came from the 90’s and that’s what we want to talk about this week on the Freeplay Podcast.
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Apr 5, 2019
Episode 47 | We Tried Our Best
Games are a big part of our lives for those of us that really really love them. When you love something, people know about it. We at the FreePlay Podcast are Christians who love games. And we’ve had experiences, both good and bad, with how they’ve affected our faith and relationships with other Christians.
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Mar 28, 2019
Episode 46 | Google Here to Stadia?
Times are a changin’! Things that were once thought impossible are becoming a reality. Technology is moving us forward at an alarming pace, and Skynet is imminent… and we, at the Free Play podcast welcome our new robot overlords.
For real though… the video game scene is constantly changing. Carts to discs to downloads… and now to streaming. Enter: Google Stadia, a brand new gaming platform from the tech giant responsible for just about everything you consume on the internet.
Is it possible to have a seamless, high end gaming experience across almost any gaming device? That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast!
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Mar 22, 2019
Episode 45 | Games DIY
Playing games is a big part of the hobby. Some would say that the other part of it is collecting games. Looking at you, Backlog… but there is a side of the hobby that we may not think about nearly as often. A side that makes playing these wonderful games possible. I’m talking about game creation. Whether it’s board games or video games, these things take time, creativity and passion to see the light of day. There are ways that you, the average joe, can go from idea to table or console, and that’s what we want to talk about this week on the free play podcast.
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Mar 15, 2019
Episode 44 | What's Up Birds?
This past week, Stonemaier games’ retail release of Wingspan wasn’t met with the response they might have hoped.
Only 5,000 English copies of the game went out to game stores worldwide with far more than that pre ordered by nerds who didn’t get their copy. Though part of the story, supply and demand isn’t the main character.
Jamie Stagemaier’s response to the public outcry is a master’s class on public relations… and that’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play podcast.
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Mar 8, 2019
Episode 43 | You're Not Hardcore Unless You Game Hardcore
You know what they say… “They just don’t make them like the used to.” For us… that thing is “games.” They used to be harder, you know? It used to take you WEEKS to beat a game. Now, you can get a game from RedBox and have it beat and back in the machine faster than you can say, “Cattails. Woo ooo.” Why is that? What’s changed in the gaming industry and sub culture? Well, that’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Mar 1, 2019
Episode 42 | Git Gud Kate
Games have all kinds of inherit value that they rarely get credit for. They can help us understand the best way to act in any number of situations… one of which would be when not to throw a flash bang… the answer is into a door frame… at your team mates.
There is really no end to the things we have and could learn from both video and tabletop games and that’s what we want to talk about this week on the free play podcast.
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Feb 22, 2019
Episode 41 | Nintendogs Direct
Sometimes, our bros over at Nintendo know what they are doing when they drop things on us during their YouTube directs. Other times they completely miss the mark by not giving us the Metroid and Animal Crossing we so rightfully deserve.
Nintendo had one of those directs this past week with all of the ups and downs we’ve come to expect and that’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast
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Feb 15, 2019
Episode 40 | Horse Stories & Groundbreaking Games
Matt is still in mourning over the loss of his Red Dead horse, Horepens and is also frustrated with the lack of common sense of his replacement mount, Dude. Despite the emotional vulnerability, Matt continues on along with Kate and Bubba to talk about the games they have played this week. Kate also leads the community discussion about what games can be considered "groundbreaking" and why.
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Feb 8, 2019
Episode 39 | Gaming in the Workplace
As members of the nerd community we are sadly not strangers to the negative press that our favorite past tends to get. "You are wasting your life!", "You will become violent!" are just some of the criticisms we hear on a regular basis. However, what if we could help people understand that video and board games are not wastes of time, but can actually make you a better person to be around at work and a more productive employee? There is compelling research that lends validity to this and that is what Bubba, Matt, and Kate talk about on today's episode.
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Feb 1, 2019
Episode 38 | The Free Play Behind The Scenes VIP Demo
Podcasts are funny, right? You get a chance to listen in on a conversation you’re not a part of and for whatever reason… it’s not weird. We want to make sure that you feel as not weird as possible by telling you a little bit about ourselves and letting you get to know us.The hyped Iron Man sim “Anthem” also had an interesting VIP Demo fall into players’ hands this week that wasn’t received nearly as well as Bioware would have hoped, and that’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Jan 25, 2019
Episode 37 | Retrospectives At PAX South 2019
We can't think of a better way to kick off a new convention year than at PAX South 2019! Bubba and Matt are on hand with Chief Content Nerd Drew Dixon to talk about the games they've played and the developers, attendees they've loved on, and look back on how far Love Thy Nerd has come in a short year!
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Dec 21, 2018
Free Play 36 | LTN: Year One (Free Play Finale)
2018 is almost over and that means so is the first year of Love Thy Nerd. It’s been a crazy 10 or so months and we’ve seen some amazing things happen. Our community has grown to over 1,300 people, we’ve done 2 recon trips and our website, podcasts and social media presence are all killing it online! We were also able to use our new show model to continue to develop relationships with our friends, new and old, in the gaming industry.
God is truly blessing what we are doing and we are glad that if even only by listening to this podcast, you are a part of how we are changing gaming culture.
Love Thy Nerd: Year One was great, and that’s what we want to talk about this week on the season one finale of the Free Play Podcast.
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Nov 16, 2018
Free Play 31 | Nintendo Sixty Foooooooooooour Classic
It’s finally allegedly happening! We will definitely probably get the Nintendo 64 Classic just in time for Christmas 2018… if the leaks are true, which they are… because I read them on the internet.So, in order to prepare our hearts and minds for what has the potential to be the Turbo Man of this holiday season we are throwing out all of the games we would like to see on this throwback classic. No game or franchise is off limits as we speculate wildly. Did we affirm or throw shade on your favorite game from your youth? More than Likely, both… and that’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Nov 9, 2018
Free Play 30 | Red Dead Reflections
I scream you scream. We all scream for games. We scream with joy because of how great they are and also scream in empathetic agony for what it cost the creators in time, money, relationships, and sanity just for you and I to have a few hours of fun.
What is it that drives our need to bash the very thing we find so much joy and rest in? If we boycott is it honoring to those who sacrificed so much to create it?
I believe it was the famous philosophers, the Wu-Tang Clan, who said it best by drawing our attention to the simple fact that Cash Rules Everything Around Me. Turns out, even when we say we are on the other side of things, the numbers don’t lie, and that’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Nov 2, 2018
Free Play 29 | Staying Current
Let’s face it: There just isn’t enough time or money to do all of the things that we need or want to do. A real-life example, happening right now, is that I’m trying to play through Spider-Man as I edit this podcast. We can’t play all the games, watch all the movies and tv shows or read all of the comics. We have to do things like: work, eat sleep bathe, etc.
So… how do we do as much as we possibly can to stay current in our favorite areas of nerdom while still acting as a responsible, well-functioning adult that contributes to society? That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Oct 27, 2018
Free Play 28 | Spoopy Games
You may be wondering if you’re too old to trick or treat. A good rule of thumb is: if you have to ask… you probably are. But who needs trick or treating? Why not just head on over to the grocery store, grab a bag of candy and play some games at home?! We’ve compiled a list of tabletop and video games to tie you over this Halloween, and that’s what we want to talk about this week on the free play podcast.
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Oct 19, 2018
Free Play 27 | Let's Get Digital, Digital!
If you’re old enough to remember the feelings of both frustration and relief when your Nintendo Entertainment System cart wouldn’t play but blowing on the contacts… letting it hang over the lip of the system and pressing down always seemed to do the trick, then you grew up in a great time.
Now, we have digital downloads. No more dragon breath required, but you do find yourself at the mercy of the game’s servers when you want to play.
Which is better, physical carts or digital downloads? Which has the stamina to go the distance and come out victorious in the game wars? That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Oct 5, 2018
Free Play 26 | Easter Eggs
Hunting Easter eggs is equal parts rewarding and frustrating. But the pay off always seems to be worth it. We are conditioned to look for things in peculiar places from a young age with books like Highlights and Where’s Waldo? And who can forget, Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego? To this day I have no answer to that question.
Easter eggs in video games can be either a long journey or a complete accident. We think that each has its own merit, and that’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Sep 28, 2018
Free Play 25 | A Sad Telltale
In 2012, Telltale’s “The Walking Dead Season 1” received several game of the year awards as well and single-handedly brought back a genre of video game that lay dormant for almost 30 years.
So, what went wrong? How could a company, doing so many things right, end so abruptly? That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Sep 14, 2018
Free Play 23 | Escape Rooms
Have you ever done an escape room? Various scenarios designed to stretch your mental capacity and force you to solve inane riddles and puzzles by thinking outside of the box… sometimes literally. Are they all they’re cracked up to be, or is the most challenging puzzle, “why are we still paying for these things?” That what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Aug 31, 2018
Free Play 22 | Conquering Nerd Rage
Due to the graphic nature of this week’s content, listener discretion is advised.
Sometimes gaming just isn’t fun. People can make you feel like you’re not good enough, or it may just be that you don’t meet your own expectations. Either way, feelings of anxiety and inadequacy can make you act in a way that is either uncharacteristic of your normal self or in a way that is not socially acceptable.
Dealing with the emotions caused by the games we play is a very real problem, but we at Love Thy Nerd exist, in part, to offer hope, peace and a positive way to manage the pressure of life that we all feel, and that’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Aug 25, 2018
Free Play 21 | To Not Be Continued
Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words. Logic would dictate that thousands of moving pictures spread out over upwards of 18 movies are easily more words than anyone will ever be able to follow or remember, and that's what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Aug 17, 2018
Free Play 20 | Not-So-Violent Video Games
Did you know that there are games without a single shred of violence in them? Scout’s honor, I looked it up online just to be sure. Turns out that contrary to popular belief, not every game culminates in a chicken dinner.
Passive, peaceful games are a thing, and you can build farms, climb mountains, solve puzzles and farm goop on every major platform.
Though there are a time and place for Call of Duty, there is also more to gaming than KDs and headshots ant hats what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Aug 10, 2018
Free Play 19 | The Best of GenCon 2018
GenCon 2018 is in the books! And oooooo weee, there were so - many - games this year. If you had a week to walk the expo hall you still wouldn’t have been able to even see all the games, let alone demo them. This week we sit down with Chief Content Nerd and host of our very own Humans of Gaming podcast to figure out what we thought was the best of the best from GenCon 2018, and that’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Aug 3, 2018
Free Play 18 | GenCon 2018 Preview
If you love tabletop games, conventions, and repurposing super jocky sports venues to fulfill nerdy needs, then you’re gonna’ LOVE GenCon. 4 days chocked full of way more board games than you can throw your wallet at.
All of the biggest review sites will be there to check out the latest and greatest the industry has to offer this season and I’m happy to report that Love Thy Nerd will be there as well. There is so… so… so many games to see that there’s almost no way to really see them all while you’re there
Have no fear, Nerds. Free Play has your back!
We came up with a non-definitive top 9 games to check out at GenCon 2018 and we want to talk about it this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Jul 27, 2018
Free Play 17 | SDCC 2018
San Diego Comic-Con is the best of the best. All of the new things in the nerdy movie, comic book and small-screen are shown at this convention. We watched a few trailers, so I think that makes us experts, and we want to give you our thoughts on what went down.
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Jul 20, 2018
Free Play 16 | The Retro Revolution
This week on the Free Play podcast we're talking graphics. With all of the advancements that we are making with technology, why is it that the graphics in video games seem to be trending backward?
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Jul 13, 2018
Free Play 15 | Streaming Vs. Single Player
On this week's episode, Bubba and Kate talk about the state of rich, single-player experiences in video games. Is it worth it to go buy a game if you've already had it spoiled by watching it online? Do you think that there should be some sort of compensation paid to the developer if you decide not to buy the game yet watch an entire playthrough online? Matt would have loved to be a part of this conversation, but he was busy being a super dad.
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Jul 6, 2018
Free Play 14 | Music in Video Games
We all have that one song from our favorite game that floods our minds during the silent parts of our day. They make you think and feel certain things during the game and that's what we in the biz call "manipulation by design." Bubba, Matt, and Kate talk about their favorite video game soundtracks this week on the Free Play Podcast.
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Jun 29, 2018
Free Play 13 | Nintendo's Success
With the Switch, Nintendo is winning in every sense of the word. We know that this isn't always the case, but for the time being... Nintendo is doing pretty well. We want to celebrate that this week on the Free Play podcast.
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Jun 22, 2018
Free Play 12 | E3 Pt. 2
On the chopping block in this week's episode are Sony, Nintendo, Square Enix and PC's E3 2018 conferences. We look at the good the bad and the ugly as well as let you know who we feel did the best and worst this year at E3.
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Jun 15, 2018
Free Play 11| E3 2018 Part 1
E3 is a media circus... and we want to ride the elephant. In this, the first of a two-part series, Bubba, Matt and Kate look at the EA, Microsoft, Ubisoft and Bethesda press conferences.
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Jun 8, 2018
Free Play 10 | Communal Gaming - DEEP DIVE
Stepping outside of the normal week-to-week nonsense, Bubba, Matt and Kate take a look at the importance of the gaming community as well as a few of the problems it may cause. They also leave you with a list of a few games, both video and tabletop, that you can pick up and get a community game night going with little to no lead time.
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Jun 1, 2018
Free Play 9 | Console Hardware Flops
This week, Bubba rants about how good Starbucks is at handling pressure, Matt rants about how good Starbucks is at listening to reggae, and Kate rants about her grandpa who rants about Starbucks policy on leggings. They also look at some of the biggest home console flops in history... and boy... are there some doozies.
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May 25, 2018
Free Play 8 | UFOs and XACs
With the band all back together for this episode, it doesn't take long before they are swapping stories about UFO sightings and the possibility of time travel. If you manage to make it through all of that nonsense, there is actually a bit of useful information hidden in episode 8 as Bubba, Matt and Kate talk about the importance of Xbox's new Adaptive Controller (XAC for short).
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May 18, 2018
Free Play 7 | The Back Row Baptist
In this week's MASSIVE episode (it kind of got away from us...) Bubba catches up with longtime friend and Founder/Ministry Leader of the Back Row Baptist. If you're an avid listener of the BRB Podcast, you've heard the first part, already. Go ahead and skip to 35:45 for our interview with Matt Coker about why he makes games and the barriers he sidesteps to make his dreams become reality. Matt Warmbier and Kate Kadowaki get the week off, but that doesn't mean there isn't plenty of Free Play in this week's episode.
For Bubba's interview on the Back Row Baptist Podcast use the link below. https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/back-row-baptist/id1095179866?mt=2 // Episode Guest Matt Coker | Back Row Baptist https://www.backrowonline.com/ http://www.brbchurch.com/ http://www.twitter.com/backrowbaptist http://games.brbchurch.com
This podcast is part of the Love Thy Nerd podcast network. Join our community at http://www.lovethynerd.com
Remember to rate & review both the Free Play Podcast &…
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May 11, 2018
Free Play 6 | Dreaming In 4K
This week Bubba is more than a little under the weather, Matt has an abscessed tooth and Kate... well, Kate seems to be okay. Outside of health problems, the team talk about what its like to dream in different frame rates and how the way you consume media might help influence your dream resolution.
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May 4, 2018
Free Play 5 | Infinity Star Wars
We kick off our weekly Free Play Podcast release schedule on May the 4th with a special Star Wars themed episode! OUtside of a little trivia from a Galaxy far, far away... Matt complains about how technology is getting out of hand, Kate read a bit from her childhood diary and Bubba just really wants everyone to go and see Infinity War so he can talk about it. Don't forget to subscribe, rate and review! LoveThyNerd.com/partner
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Apr 27, 2018
Free Play 4 | What Dreamcast May Come
Games... games... GAMES this week! Holy freakin' cow so many games! Matt and Bubba have been up to their ears in games and it's helping to pad those BGG stats. Kate... well... she played a game, too. Also, Matt got a free Dreamcast and Kate walks us all through the process of selling a pig. That last part is not a joke.
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Apr 11, 2018
Free Play 3 | Super Dice Throne Bros.
Nate Chatellier and Manny Trembley of Dice Throne join Bubba and Matt for a pretty dang good interview... if we do say so, ourselves. Join the conversation and buy a copy of Dice Throne Season 1 if you don't already have one. Go, now. We'll wait. Pre Order Dice Throne Season 2https://roxley.com/dts2-preorder/
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Mar 30, 2018
Free Play 2 | The Series Has Landed
Bubba, Kate, & Matt are back this week to talk about whatever! This week Bubba attends a funeral and confesses a disturbing secret desire related to the somber event while Matt shares what it is like to game with his children as they grow older and can appreciate the finer points of gaming. Kate, is still making slime and testing it on her chickens....not really.
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Mar 30, 2018
Free Play 1 | Pilot
What happens when a Southern Baptist, hipster father, and retired Disney princess get together and record a show about board and video games, slime production, and rogue chickens? You get the pilot episode of The Free Play Podcast with Bubba Stallcup, Matt Warmbier, and Kate Kadowaki.
In this episode, the trio reunite to talk about what they have been playing over the past few weeks, what the future plans are for Love Thy Nerd, and how you can get involved with the new endeavor!
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