The Dungeon Dive

Music for Gaming (Passive listening)

Hey all! I'm currently working on an outline for an upcoming episode where I make some recommendations for music to listen to while playing table top games, music for passive listening, and then also contrasting that with an artist I'm currently obsessed with, Miles Davis, specifically the electric period of the 1970s, and how that is active listening music.

Anyhow, I've put together a bunch of links for music recommendations, and I wanted to provide them to you all here in one place in...

We Deal in Lead - giveaway

Hey all! It's been awhile since I've done a giveaway.

I've got a brand new, sealed copy of We Deal in Lead for one of you! This was provided to the channel by Odin's Beard Games.

I've covered the game if you want to learn more:

https://youtu.be/k1SjNJaOJcA?si=3ii-fEyIyKec8Mru

To win, pleas...

Recently got an email from Jamey Stegmaier....

of Stonemaier games, of course.

He said he's been a fan of the channel for quite some time, and that a lot of what I had to say about adventure games, and comments from the Dungeon Dive community, greatly inspired their new co-op, non-campaign, overworld adventure game Vantage, which does look pretty cool.

https://stonemaiergames.com/games/vantage/

Sounds like they might have made a game spec...

Grimgrove - another recommendation from the Gamecrafter

I stumbled upon this game recently while browsing the Gamecrafter, and it's very cool. Very spooky. It's got a great sense of setting, and a strong atmosphere bolstered by very good flavor text.

It's also in a VHS clamshell, which helps to sell it's premise. I love the box! I want more games in boxes like this. They're the perfect size.

The object of the game is to explore a haunted forest looking for a way to escape before the blood moon fully rises in seven days.

2025-04-29 15:02:19 +0000 UTC View Post

Oblivion Remastered - So Glad I Waited!

I've been playing the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered this week, and I am LOVING it. This is really my first time getting into Oblivion, and I'm extremely excited to be able to experience the game for the first time with this updated version.

It's not exactly my first time, but it is my first time getting invested and enjoying the experience. When Oblivion first came, it simply wasn't the game for me at that time. Years before I had completely bounced off of Morrowind. I bought Mo...

Save the Date! Coffee With the Dungeon Dive - May 4th, 9-11am Pacific Time

Hey all! Our next meet up will be May 4th.

And since it's May the 4th Be With You Day, let's talk about Star Wars. I'll have a couple of interesting things to share with you y'all.

Hope to see a bunch of you there! It's always fun, and one of the highlights of doing this channel.

(Time converter: 2025-04-22 15:12:19 +0000 UTC View Post

Judgement of the Realm Lords

This is basically a Mint Tin version of Runebound 2nd edition. Available at the Gamecrafter. From the maker of Spacers!

This upcoming Tomb Raider game looks great!

For the longest time, the first Tomb Raider game was my favorite video game. I've loved a ton of the games over the years. This new board game implementation looks super cool.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1708218446/tomb-raider-the-crypt-of-chronos

Rogue Dungeon was going to be called....Dungeon Dive?!?

Hey all! This past week I've been talking to the team behind Rogue Dungeon, and I've learned some interesting things! With their permission, I'm going to share some of that with you, along with some of Jon's concept art during the creation process.

At one point, they were going to call Rogue Dungeon, Dungeon Dive! I thought that was so cool. Of course they arrived at that name totally independent of the Dungeon Dive channel, but I love that kind of synchronicity. I've felt a connection ...

March 2025 - Recap - Patreon Exclusive

Here is the video for March! Thanks everyone. :)

Heads up! I just conducted an interview with the Rogue Dungeon designers...

About the new stuff coming! And it was a much more successful interview this time! Chad, the head designer joined, and he was very talkative! I'm very excited for the new campaign, and the direction they're taking the game. I'm also very excited for the storage solution they're making. They said they were inspired by how much we at the Dungeon Dive like good card holders, and they've created custom card holders for the game that will also double as a permanent storage solution. It also looks ...

A couple of quick updates

Hey folks! I'm a little behind this week. Been suffering from some insomnia for the last three nights, and it's totally wrecked my schedule! With that said, the monthly recap Patreon exclusive video will hit next week.

During our last coffee chat, quite a few of you mentioned that you'd love to see more interviews on the channel. I love doing them, but historically they always under perform. Ho...

The Land of Eem - A Photo Essay

I backed the deluxe box set of The Land of Eem, and new RPG and setting from Exalted Funeral. I've heard it described as Lord of the Rings with Muppets, and I am so down with that. Almost everything about this excites me. The rules are interesting, more XP is given for exploration than combat, the setting is charming and whimsical, and the overall production is off the charts good.

Let's start ...

Reminder - Save the Date! Coffee with the Dungeon Dive, Sunday March 30, 9-11am Pacific Time

Reminder - also, I was thinking of a topic of discussion: how do you determine what games to back on crowdfunding?

https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=Coffee+with+the+Dungeon+Dive&iso=20250330T09&p...

Wrath of the Wyvern - a solo fantasy game I'm interested in

This recently appeared on my radar, so I thought I'd share my interest with you all. I think it looks pretty cool.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lionbanner/wrath-of-the-wyvern-solo-ttrpg-game

Revisiting the Dungeon Dive Top 10 Lists - a project for 2025 that won't destroy the planet

Thanks to everyone who responded to my request about this project! Much appreciated! For those of you who might have missed that post....

I've been feeling a bit of burn out lately, especially regarding learning and playing new games. For a while I want to focus on playing games I've played before, and playing games I know I already love.

To that end, I'm going to be focusing on the games on my two top 10 lists - Dungeon Crawls, and Adventure Games.

I'll be making one or two...

February 2025 - Recap (Patreon Exclusive)

Hey all! Here is the Patreon Exclusive video for February 2025. In this video, I discuss a new series for the channel, and I'd appreciate your comments below.

I'm going to be doing a series in which I revisit all of the games on my two top 10 lists (dungeon crawls and adventure games), and I'd like to know on what you'd like to see me focus in these revisit videos. One topic I'll be discussing is how easy is it to get the games back to the table and re-learned. But what else would you l...

A closer look at ZombBN1

It's no secret that I'm incredibly fond of Paul Stapleton's work. Pauper's Ladder is currently my number one adventure game of all time, and I love the other games from him that I've played as well. Recently I was lucky enough to be able to purchase his last copy of ZombN1, a kind of re-theme of BN1, a game all about Brighton, but now with zombies! The game is incredibly charming. However, it's not m...

Aliens: Phalanx – A Brief Recommendation

Aliens: Phalanx is an original novel written by Scott Sigler set in the Aliens universe , and it’s pretty damn great! Set on a planet that isn’t earth, at some point in an ambiguous time, AP tells the story of various enclaves of humans eking out an existence in a semi-feudal setting. Humanity has divided itself into camps, each one living in an old fortress, each with their own religion and ways...

Coffee with the Dungeon Dive - Sunday February 23, 9am - 11am (Pacific Time)

Hey all! Sorry I've been so quiet this last week. I've been on vacation. My family and I went to So Cal to go to Disneyland to celebrate my 50th birthday. It was a blast! Truly one of the most fun times I've ever had at Disneyland.

While I'm not a huge fan of DISNEY THE CORPORATION, I am a massive fan of Disneyland. I just love all of the artistry, ingenuity, logistics, and engineering that goes into running something that complex. I'm also a big fan of artificial environments, and Disn...

Oracles and Generators

Hey all! I'm working on a new solo RPG guide all about oracles and generators, and I thought I'd post the list of the things I'll feature here, with links, in case you want to check any of these out. Have fun exploring!

The Dungeon Dive 3D6 Oracle and Bag of Fate

https://thedungeondive.itch.io/the-dungeon-dives-3d6-oracle-and-bag-of-fate

Recluse Solo Engine

January 2025 - Monthly Recap Video - Patreon Exclusive

Hey all! Here is the video looking back on the month of January 2025.

In the video I mention why, but I wanted to apologize for not getting the January zoom meet up scheduled. I will get something on the books for February in the next couple of weeks!

Once again, thank you all so much for making the Dungeon Dive possible!

Tales of the Arthurian Knights - What a game!

I was very lucky to have my pre-order shipped for this, finally, as I've heard there have been some pretty major issues with distribution. Not sure what happened. Did they vastly misjudge the popularity? Seems doubtful. Could be there are simply still things going on with manufacturing and the distribution channels, aka the world wide shipping crises which seems like a permanent fixture of modern li...

The Dungeon Dive 3D6 Oracle and Bag of Fate

Is live on Itch.io. Of course, you all already have access to the finalized version, so need to purchase! The PDF has been linked here on Patreon. Let me know if you have trouble finding it.

Just wanted to you all know about the link in case you feel like sharing it around.

In February I will be releasing to you all a WIP version of A Land in Peril - it's getting there!

David is the One

We lost a real one this past week. I commented that David Lynch might have been the truest human to ever make a movie, and that sentiment was later echoed by none other than Kyle MacLachlan in his heart-wrenching tribute to Lynch.

Never in my 50 years have I seen so many loving memorials directed towards an artist, memorials full of love, compassion, kindness, spirituality, and passion. I trul...

Solo games of Paranormal Investigation

Hey all! I hope everyone is having as good a week as possible.

So I really enjoy games with a paranormal investigation theme. Games like The Unseen World, and Little Town (including Eldritch Town and Eerie Town) are pretty great. I especially appreciate these two games because the goal isn't really to solve a mystery - they aren't deduction games. The goal of these games is to have an experience, the mystery is just a MacGuffin.

I also enjoy games like Call of Cthulhu and Tiny Cth...

Ion Core - this looks interesting

On paper, this seems to tick a lot of boxes. Solo, 1-4 players, cool post-apocalyptic theme, unique setting, sandbox gaming, a complete adventure in a single sitting (!) and it looks really nice. Also, at around $80, the base pledge seems like a good price. I also like that the base pledge doesn't come with a ton of miniatures!

Looks like it hasn't been a runaway crowdfunding success, and I haven't heard much discussion about it.

I'm going to back it because I like the price and ...

Effortless fun...

I'm working on putting together a top 10 list of adventure style games that are, IMO, effortlessly fun. There are a few factors I'm taking into consideration when I am determining how "effortless" something is, and those are:

1. Set up and break down time

2. Ease of learning / remembering how to play

3. Game length

4. Table space

There might be some other factors as well, and of course the most important factor is simply how much I enjoy the game.

Quite a ...