Play: The one where I guest host on a review pod
I have played so many tabletop games over the years—including playing Star Wars RPGs for over a decade—so when my real-life-not-internet-friend Ben invited me onto his podcast, I couldn’t say no!
You can check out the episode right now on All Year I Dream About Game Reviews, where Ben and I sit down to chat about two very different tabletop experiences: Star Borg and the Lord of the Rings 5E Starter Set.
Playing the Games
Ben is a regular at my home tabletop board game sessions, and we’re currently playing in a Star Wars D6 campaign together. He recently GMed both Star Borg and the LOTR RPG for our local group, and both sessions were a total blast to play.
That said, the two games landed very differently for me:
- Star Borg: Having a decade-plus of Star Wars RPG experience made this an instant hit for me. I enjoyed it immensely—the flavor, speed, and chaos hit all the right notes.
- Lord of the Rings 5E Starter Set: I’m not a huge LOTR fan to begin with. The session was fun with friends and totally fine as far as general RPGs go, but it felt a bit more fiddly and didn’t capture my imagination the way Star Borg did.
GM Styles & What’s Next at the Table
Sitting down to review these made me think a lot about how different GM styles shape the table. Ben and I share a very similar approach to GMing: pure pantsing. We like to run with the moment and see where the story takes us. My real-life-not-internet-partner, on the other hand, is a strict planner who likes everything mapped out ahead of time.
Looking ahead at what I might run next:
- I could definitely see myself getting behind the screen to GM Star Borg down the road.
- However, my partner still prefers sticking with Star Wars D6 for our sci-fi fix, so that remains a table favorite.
- As for GMing Lord of the Rings? I’ll leave that to someone else—it’s a bit too fiddly for my GM style!
Head over and give the episode a listen on All Year I Dream About Game Reviews to hear our full breakdown! Also check out their other reviews, they are trustworthy and pass all the vibe checks.