Popular podcast The Dice Men Cometh inches ever closer to their 300th episode. In Issue 23 I talked to the trio of personalities to find out what makes the team tick. The issue is still available as digital download or in limited print stock.
Interview by Matthew Lee
For five years The Dice Men Cometh have talked tabletop games. Either live on radio or downloaded as podcasts, tabletop hobbyists listen to the friends from Tasmania as they recount their thoughts and experiences each episode. Their show not only entertains, but their love of tabletop is so infectious it transmits effortlessly though the airwaves. This issue we talk to the three Dicemen, Mark Rickards (MR), Leon Cannan (LC) and Garth Gray (GG) about their influential, and sometimes lunatic, show.
Can you briefly explain what The Dice Men Cometh is? What is the show about?
MR: We intended it to be where tabletop gamers discuss games and other things that might be of interest to gamers. We primarily cover board games, but have also discussed RPGs, miniatures games, war games and other related things like accessories for those games mentioned, and movies, TV, popular culture etc. Our original intention was to create a short, snappy show, as many existing podcasts are so long winded, and the live atmosphere as well as the one hour time frame definitely helps to hit that sweet spot.
GG: Yeah, what he said…but we also want to make sure that board gaming has an Aussie voice, as most of the content created for this wonderful hobby is from the other side of the equator. We also try to make every episode fun and engaging for our listeners
Can you introduce yourselves and explain what role you play in the show?
MR: I’m one of the original two Dicemen (with Trent), and have been playing modern board games since 2005, when I discovered a gaming group and Board Game Geek. I’m the Elder Statesman, have an extensive knowledge of Euro games, love discussing the games visual aesthetic, and do a regular Kickstarter segment.
LC: I Leon am the newest and youngest member of the team. My role is basically to buy all the games as apparently cats are cheaper than children so I have no excuse. I also bring knowledge outside of board gaming to the group such as video games, comics, wrestling and many other nerdy pursuits.
GG: As for me, well, I’m Garth and I’m the good looking one. The others clearly have great faces for an audio only medium.
I started behind the scenes with the Dice Men Cometh, by organising interviewees for the show. At some point I was asked to be on the show around three years ago and BOOM I have never looked back.
I seem to have become the ‘explainer’ in the group, so I’m the one who gets to bore everybody with rules explanations and how a game works mechanically. But otherwise my main role is to take the piss out of Mark and Leon!
How and why did the show start? Was it a radio program before or after it was a podcast?
MR: Trent and I first came up with the idea back in 2013 after attending our first big gaming event, Bordercon, and it was born as a radio show first. Trent had worked in radio many years back and I had always wanted to. We heard of a local community radio station that was looking for new programs, and we decided to go for it. Almost immediately after, we realised that it wouldn’t take much more effort to also release the show as a podcast, and perhaps we could attract listeners from outside Hobart? Guess that didn’t work.
GG: I remember when Mark and Trent first started the show after that trip, and there were many discussions around just making something funny, informative and focusing on the Australian board gaming scene. While I think the show is informative and definitely focused on Australia, as for funny, well we are still working on that…
What kind of content do you try and cover? What qualities does a game, topic or subject have to possess to warrant giving it time on the show?
MR: Primarily board games, although really anything that takes one of our individual interest is up for grabs, if the others think it has merit. We try to walk the line between the ‘cult of the new’ and the classics. If we think that other geeks like us might take an interest in a subject, and if one of us is prepared to do the work to prepare for a segment (half-arsed research of course), then usually we’ll run with it.
GG: We will always mention Australian games or designers; the good, the bad and the ugly!
Why do you think it is important to inform people about tabletop, either with game previews or reviews, or just offering your thoughts about tabletop related subjects?
MR: I would class what we do as sharing our game experiences, rather than full blown reviews, particularly because often we only get to play a game once before we talk about it. There are so many games to choose from, with many hundreds of new releases each year. So giving some advice about what a game might be compared to, what it offers that is similar or unique, and therefore who might like it, are useful to gamers in these busy times.
GG: Most gamers I speak to are pretty time poor, either with family, work, other interests or boring things like sleep. So I think it’s really valuable to highlight games that might appeal without our listeners having to do any research themselves. We have had numerous people contact us or come up to us at conventions saying they bought a game based on our conversations!
The remainder of this article is available in Issue 23. The issue is still available as a digital download or in print.
