November Roundtable: Harvesting

November Roundtable: Harvesting

Welcome to November! Our weather here in the Pacific Northwest went straight from blisteringly hot summer to frozen ground and rain. Though the rapid climate shift left my head spinning, the cold, crisp air has me craving apple cider and pumpkin pie, which are perfectly in theme with this month’s roundtable: harvesting. (more…)

More Than Just Fishing: A Roundtable About Sidequests

More Than Just Fishing: A Roundtable About Sidequests

I’ve written pretty thoroughly about how I am a particular type of gamer. I prefer games that are story and relationship focused, and that don’t require a lot of level grinding or random quests. This includes my tabletop play style—apologies to my DM/wife who is sitting on a bunch of Kingmaker sidequests that our party has ignored! Because of my pickiness, I don’t play a lot of games, but lately I’ve been feeling like this framework of “pickiness” is unfair. Am I a gamer aberration? What makes me different from all of you? Why the heck do y’all enjoy repetitive level grinding?! (more…)

September Roundtable: Changing Seasons

September Roundtable: Changing Seasons

I can’t speak for the whole of Sidequest, but when I feel the first day of crisp autumn air or see the first morning with a dusting of frost, something changes in me. The transitory seasons are where it’s at, in my opinion, and while games may not have mastered the art of pumpkin-flavored everything or the itchiness of spring allergies, they nonetheless have done a pretty good job of exploring the beauty of seasonal changes. This month, we’re talking about gaming seasons—the literal and the figurative.

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April Roundtable: Fools

April Roundtable: Fools

It’s April, the season of fools. As a group of people who both play and write about games, we are the real fools—but this isn’t about us. This month, we’re talking about gaming’s biggest fools, dinguses, and clowns, and what function they have in context.

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January Roundtable: Looking Forward to 2022

January Roundtable: Looking Forward to 2022

Usually we try to have a clear theme here in our monthly roundtables, but you know what? New year, new us, as they say. Instead of focusing on one thing or another, we’re just looking forward. What do we see on the horizon? What are we hoping to see on the horizon? What are we settling in with in this cold and cozy month? (more…)