1 00:00:01,400 --> 00:00:06,400 Hey, and welcome to episode 151 of Maple to Maple. 2 00:00:06,400 --> 00:00:12,080 On today's episode, it is number 8 in my content creator 3 00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:16,400 community series. Joining me today is someone who 4 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:19,120 champions community at every turn. 5 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:22,560 And what I love about her content is how inviting and 6 00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:26,520 intentional it is. Her content isn't just cardboard 7 00:00:26,520 --> 00:00:31,120 and cameras, it's connection, conversation, and a commitment 8 00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:34,960 to inclusivity. Through thoughtful posts, cozy 9 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:40,040 game snaps, and insightful blog pieces, She Signs shines a light 10 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:43,240 on how board games build belonging and bring people 11 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:46,000 together across tables and time zones. 12 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:49,320 I'm going to talk about her journey as a gamer and a 13 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:53,400 creator, and what the board game scene looks like in Australia, 14 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:58,200 where she's from, and how she uses her platforms to foster 15 00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:02,480 unity and connection. So let's go Ree, how are you? 16 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:05,880 I'm good, thank you. How are you? 17 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:07,440 Yeah. I am great. 18 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:10,760 I am so glad to have you on and I get a chance to know you a 19 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:14,160 little bit and Share your story. And you're the first from, 20 00:01:14,320 --> 00:01:16,560 you're the first in the series from Australia, so I'm really 21 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:20,400 excited to have you represent. Yeah. 22 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:21,600 It's so good to be here. Thank you. 23 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:26,120 Yeah. And so we're really excited to 24 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:28,240 have you and I know you we've got some really great stuff to 25 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:30,800 talk about recently. I know you were at PAX 26 00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:33,120 Australia. So we'll yeah, certainly, 27 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:35,200 certainly talk about that. I'm really excited. 28 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:37,360 You did some coverage just recently at you post. 29 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:41,280 So so that's pretty cool. So let me dive right in and tell 30 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:44,960 me what was the first board game that you ever played as a child? 31 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:51,360 Gosh, as a child, first one I have real sort of memory of 32 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:54,240 would be like trouble, that one where you're like moving around 33 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:57,480 the board with the the poppy dice in the middle. 34 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:02,200 Yeah, yeah. My God, I haven't thought about 35 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:06,160 trouble. Yeah, yeah, that and the Kaplan. 36 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:08,960 Kaplan quit the one where you pull the the sticks out with the 37 00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:10,800 marbles in the top. It. 38 00:02:11,039 --> 00:02:14,680 Yeah. Wow, those are two great 39 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:16,640 classics. Man, yeah. 40 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:19,440 I haven't thought about either of those games in. 41 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:23,720 Yeah, I just remember my mom hated the the popping dice in 42 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:26,720 the middle that was. Because it was loud when it 43 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:28,480 snapped. Yeah, yeah. 44 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:31,760 Do you have any siblings that you played games with as a kid 45 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:34,320 or? Yeah, a brother. 46 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:37,720 We used to play games occasionally, but they weren't 47 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:41,560 super big or the youngest. Yeah, just every now and then. 48 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:47,000 What about the first game that got you into the modern hobby? 49 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:50,800 So it was a game called Zombies. I don't know if you've heard of 50 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:53,440 that one. I do know zombies. 51 00:02:53,920 --> 00:02:57,160 Yeah, when I bring it up to people, they generally don't 52 00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:00,480 know it. But yeah, our friend invited me 53 00:03:00,480 --> 00:03:05,760 up to her house just to stay for her with her for a little while. 54 00:03:06,920 --> 00:03:08,680 And she was like, let's play some board games. 55 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:12,680 And I was like, all right, sure, thinking, you know, like my 56 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:15,240 experience with board games was like Monopoly and things like 57 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:18,720 that when I was a kid. And then she brings out all 58 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:21,720 these amazing games that, you know, I've never heard of 59 00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:24,440 before. And one of them was zombies. 60 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:28,240 And I realized what board games could be. 61 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:32,280 And I was hooked from that moment because if. 62 00:03:32,360 --> 00:03:35,240 I recall these are like big cardboard tiles. 63 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:38,800 Yeah, yeah, real. Thin cardboard but you played 64 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:41,240 late amount. I seem to remember that the map 65 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:45,280 could get really big. Yeah. 66 00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:48,120 And you, I remember basically trying to get away from the 67 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:50,120 zombies and trying to get to the helipad. 68 00:03:50,360 --> 00:03:51,280 Yeah. Right. 69 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:54,600 And because, like I said, I remember playing it on the floor 70 00:03:54,600 --> 00:03:59,240 because the table was too small. I don't think our map got quite 71 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:02,320 that big, but yeah, there are expansions and things that you 72 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:05,720 can get for it, so. There are a lot of expansions. 73 00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:08,920 Gosh that was fan. Were the were the zombie like 74 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:12,240 the little miniatures? Were they like Gray and black 75 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:13,640 ones? Were there different colored? 76 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:15,840 Yeah, and I think I'm pretty sure you could get glow in the 77 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:18,720 dark ones as well. Stop it. 78 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:21,760 Of course you could. Yeah, yeah, because why not? 79 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:26,480 Right. So, so when was that? 80 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:29,720 When when did you play zombies? I think that would have been 81 00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:34,640 like 20/10/11. Yeah, OK, so you play zombies 82 00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:38,520 with your friend and then you go out and buy. 83 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:43,240 Carcassonne was my first, Yeah, yeah. 84 00:04:43,280 --> 00:04:46,640 Another tile laying game, yeah. Yeah, that's a good one. 85 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:49,040 Yeah. And yeah, watching like Wool, 86 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:52,720 Wooden's Tabletop and then just. So, you know, it's interesting. 87 00:04:52,840 --> 00:04:56,800 I I thought it was just me. I don't know why I thought it 88 00:04:56,800 --> 00:04:59,720 was just me. Wil Wheaton is such a famous and 89 00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:02,760 popular personality, but man, that's. 90 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:05,920 I've heard that story a lot from people in this series. 91 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:08,920 Like the last three or four weeks, everyone's like, I 92 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:10,600 watched Tabletop with Will Wheaton. 93 00:05:10,760 --> 00:05:15,400 You know, it is sad that that show is no longer Yeah on, you 94 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:19,480 know, 'cause, man, there's been so many games since it stopped 95 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:21,640 airing. That was one of the first really 96 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:25,360 places that I went to look for like how to play and like 97 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:28,200 learning about new games that I didn't know of. 98 00:05:29,280 --> 00:05:31,480 Yeah. And then of course, found watch 99 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:35,800 it played, and it just really expanded from there, Yeah. 100 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:41,520 Yes, it it really it just exploded egg from get into 101 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:44,200 games. We were chatting actually, I 102 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:46,760 think it was what, episode 138 or 9? 103 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:49,840 We were talking about the honeymoon period when you only 104 00:05:49,840 --> 00:05:52,960 had like 20 games in your collection and every game was so 105 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:54,240 amazing. Yeah. 106 00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:56,480 And then you get, you get overwhelmed and you're like, 107 00:05:56,480 --> 00:05:59,520 whoa, I got to start selling games, right? 108 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:03,440 And making room for more and. Like would have been around that 109 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:04,800 time too. Sure. 110 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:07,680 Yep, that's when you were buying every game you could. 111 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:11,640 Yep, yeah, I ran a game group then too. 112 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:16,480 So I was buying things to play with people at the group and 113 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:18,960 then after that went through a stage of like selling everything 114 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:20,520 because I'm like, this really isn't my interest. 115 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:25,800 Oh my gosh, that's amazing. So what about South in all this? 116 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:28,360 This is typically a controversial question. 117 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:31,280 Oddly controversial, although I've had some interesting 118 00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:35,000 answers recently. Have you developed a favorite 119 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:39,960 player color? Yeah, purple. 120 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:41,320 Yeah. Purple. 121 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:47,840 Good for you, good for you. So what is it about purple? 122 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:51,280 Because it's not in every game, right? 123 00:06:51,280 --> 00:06:52,040 Not every game. Has. 124 00:06:52,040 --> 00:06:56,120 Yeah, yeah. So what is it about purple for 125 00:06:56,120 --> 00:07:01,640 you that attracts you to it? So my favorite color used to be 126 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:04,880 purple. OK, And then I've recently 127 00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:08,680 gravitated towards green, and green would probably be my 128 00:07:08,680 --> 00:07:11,560 player color, but my best friend's player color is green, 129 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:17,080 so I opted for purple instead. Because it used to be your 130 00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:19,040 favorite color. Yeah, yeah. 131 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:21,240 So I'll go for the next best. Yeah, yeah. 132 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:22,720 I love. That's great. 133 00:07:22,800 --> 00:07:26,320 OK, yeah, that's a much. That's a much better answer than 134 00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:28,760 just. I don't, you know, I either get 135 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:31,080 my favorite color is blue, yeah, you know, whatever. 136 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:34,200 And I don't really get a reason or I get I don't prefer any 137 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:36,720 color at all, which is kind of interesting because, well, 138 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:39,040 there's purple, there's purple and Carcassone. 139 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:43,320 Yeah, Yeah, there's purple. Yeah, there's there's not. 140 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:46,120 A lot of the older games don't have purple. 141 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:49,240 Some of the newer games are bringing it in more and taking 142 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:52,560 out some of the the classic colours as you would say. 143 00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:56,240 Right, So what was that journey from? 144 00:07:56,720 --> 00:07:59,720 You go to your friend's house, you play zombies, you get 145 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:02,680 exposed to this hobby, you go pick up Carcassone. 146 00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:07,320 What were those early years like, like for you? 147 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:10,560 Like, you know, how many games were you buying? 148 00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:14,120 How voracious were you gaming? I know you said you ran a gaming 149 00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:16,280 group, Like, how did that happen, right? 150 00:08:16,280 --> 00:08:18,520 You know, you don't just wake up one day and go I'm running a 151 00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:21,200 gaming. Yeah, there was. 152 00:08:21,280 --> 00:08:24,720 There was lots of lots of buying, just like everything in 153 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:28,480 the early days. But actually the game group 154 00:08:28,480 --> 00:08:30,560 actually started because I worked with someone else who 155 00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:32,440 really enjoyed board games as well. 156 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:36,600 And so we ran a board game group through our work. 157 00:08:36,960 --> 00:08:42,159 We had a function space at our work and we just used that space 158 00:08:42,159 --> 00:08:44,920 to run a board game group. That's convenient. 159 00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:48,640 Yeah, super convenient. It was quite a large space too. 160 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:51,840 So yeah, we just. Space is at a premium, right? 161 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:55,280 Not just on the table. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 162 00:08:55,280 --> 00:08:59,120 Came with tables and everything, so it was quite convenient. 163 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:02,720 And so we just amassed all our board games together and took 164 00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:04,840 them. And yeah. 165 00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:08,160 Is that is that game group still together? 166 00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:11,440 It is not, no. We actually lost. 167 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:16,840 We lost the space and we've since parted ways. 168 00:09:18,280 --> 00:09:21,440 Yeah. Is there a new gaming group that 169 00:09:21,440 --> 00:09:26,000 you are championing or have you just moved past that entirely? 170 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:29,880 I've joined other board game groups since then. 171 00:09:30,840 --> 00:09:33,000 Well, that's cool. So I think I know the answer to 172 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:35,840 this next question. Do you have a favorite board 173 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:39,240 game mechanic? I mean, yeah, I like so many 174 00:09:39,240 --> 00:09:42,280 though. Sure, and I'm going to tell you 175 00:09:42,280 --> 00:09:44,920 the same thing I tell everyone else when I ask this question. 176 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:47,160 You can't just list off all of them. 177 00:09:47,760 --> 00:09:53,240 No, if I had to pick I'd probably say worker placement. 178 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:56,440 You would. That was not what I expected. 179 00:09:56,480 --> 00:10:00,600 OK, so tell me why you why worker placement? 180 00:10:00,680 --> 00:10:03,760 I don't know, I feel like a lot of my games are. 181 00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:07,520 And specifically maybe dice worker placement? 182 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:10,120 OK. Yeah. 183 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:14,360 Which is a completely different beast and very cool. 184 00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:18,280 Yeah, I just think, I don't know. 185 00:10:18,280 --> 00:10:21,440 I just think it's really interesting and I don't know, I 186 00:10:21,440 --> 00:10:23,960 don't know if I could specifically say why. 187 00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:29,560 I just think it's it just itches my brain in the right way like. 188 00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:33,000 Yeah. Yeah, it's just a fun puzzle to 189 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:36,360 solve. One of my favorite. 190 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:40,040 Games is going to be a therapy. Session no, One of my favorite 191 00:10:40,040 --> 00:10:41,920 games is actually. I don't know if you can see it 192 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:43,600 on the shelf or not Is Kingsburg. 193 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:47,000 I've never played it, but I know about it. 194 00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:49,880 Yeah. And so just that having is. 195 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:52,040 That a dice? Is that a dice worker placement? 196 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:56,360 Yeah. So just having to like figure 197 00:10:56,360 --> 00:11:00,280 out how the best way to place your dice to get get the 198 00:11:00,280 --> 00:11:03,080 resources and having to pivot when someone else takes that 199 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:07,800 space that you need. And and the same thing with 200 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:10,880 worker placement as well. Yeah, yeah. 201 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:16,760 Dice worker placement. It adds an extra layer of 202 00:11:16,880 --> 00:11:18,480 complexity. Isn't. 203 00:11:18,760 --> 00:11:21,400 It correct, Yeah. But dice worker placement the 204 00:11:21,400 --> 00:11:25,320 number of pips on the dice add that extra layer, right? 205 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:26,320 Correct. Yes. 206 00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:28,840 Yeah, it could be more, more calculating. 207 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:32,120 Yeah, Yeah. Do you? 208 00:11:32,120 --> 00:11:35,840 Do you usually win when you do you win games at Dice Player 209 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:40,040 Dice worker placement game? No, I'm just playing for the 210 00:11:40,040 --> 00:11:41,400 fun. Sure. 211 00:11:42,480 --> 00:11:44,440 Yeah. A lot. 212 00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:45,760 That's great. Yeah, I know that. 213 00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:47,800 I get that too. I feel that way as well. 214 00:11:47,800 --> 00:11:50,720 I'm probably most competitive when I'm playing games with my 215 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:55,520 wife, but otherwise I think I just want to have fun. 216 00:11:55,920 --> 00:11:57,640 And more importantly, I want to make sure the people at the 217 00:11:57,640 --> 00:12:01,720 table have fun. You know, unfortunately, if 218 00:12:01,720 --> 00:12:05,040 you're a highly competitive individual and it's really hard 219 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:07,520 for me to make sure you're having fun if you're losing, 220 00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:11,640 can't, can't control that, you know. 221 00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:16,880 So next question is in two parts. 222 00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:20,400 And there's a reason. Do you have a favorite game of 223 00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:24,280 all time? That's Part 1, Part 2. 224 00:12:24,280 --> 00:12:28,720 Part 2 is because I realize how challenging and difficult to 225 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:32,240 question that is favorite game of all time when there's 226 00:12:32,240 --> 00:12:34,080 thousands upon thousands of board games. 227 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:36,880 How can you choose? I get that, which is why I asked 228 00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:39,480 the second part. Do you have a favorite game 229 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:43,960 right now that's hitting your table a lot? 230 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:46,480 So you can answer either of those or both. 231 00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:50,720 OK, a little bit of a giveaway. So of all time, because I'm 232 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:56,640 currently doing my top 10, yeah, it's taking me all year to do my 233 00:12:56,640 --> 00:13:00,920 top ten. Those you know all time would be 234 00:13:00,920 --> 00:13:03,920 5 tribes. Yeah, that is a good game. 235 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:06,440 I haven't played that in years. Yeah. 236 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:11,360 So again, that that worker placement and it's got lots of 237 00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:13,160 different ways to score points as well. 238 00:13:13,160 --> 00:13:16,840 So another another thing that I like in game, lots of point 239 00:13:16,840 --> 00:13:19,040 salad. Yeah, that's really good. 240 00:13:19,080 --> 00:13:21,240 It's all about the victory points in that game. 241 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:24,680 Yeah, I mean, it's all about the victory points in every game, 242 00:13:24,680 --> 00:13:27,800 but 5 Tribes is particularly unique. 243 00:13:27,800 --> 00:13:31,360 Yeah, it's really been a long time since I played that. 244 00:13:31,720 --> 00:13:35,240 Yeah, and just the ever changing state of the board as well and 245 00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:37,840 constantly having to like pivot your strategy. 246 00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:42,080 And you don't, If I recall, you don't have a player color like. 247 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:44,880 No the. Colors of the maples on the 248 00:13:44,880 --> 00:13:48,320 board activate a certain. Yeah. 249 00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:50,360 It's that last Maple that you're placing, Yeah. 250 00:13:50,680 --> 00:13:52,920 Right, right. Yeah. 251 00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:56,680 It's like if you you pick a tile and you pick up all of the same 252 00:13:56,680 --> 00:13:58,920 color, and then you're just kind of right. 253 00:13:59,840 --> 00:14:01,080 Yeah. So you're picking up all the 254 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:04,160 maples and dropping them and then it's the last colored Maple 255 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:06,840 that you drop. You pick up all of that color. 256 00:14:07,880 --> 00:14:11,760 Yeah, wow, that's a, that's a really good game I haven't 257 00:14:11,760 --> 00:14:14,960 thought about in a long time. And that's your favorite of all 258 00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:15,160 time? Wow. 259 00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:19,440 Yeah, it's really good. I mean, that's a. 260 00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:21,320 That's a solid game. So is it? 261 00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:23,360 Does it still hit your table pretty regularly? 262 00:14:25,120 --> 00:14:28,320 Not as often as I would like. Comes out every now and then. 263 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:33,120 I think it's just a case of like, there's so many new games, 264 00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:35,080 like constantly needing my attention. 265 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:39,520 Yes, yes. But nothing gets played as many 266 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:42,680 times as I would like, yeah. So we have a commitment. 267 00:14:42,800 --> 00:14:47,040 My wife and I, we tried to play every game in our collection a 268 00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:50,080 minimum of once every calendar year. 269 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:56,440 That helps us to determine what games to get rid of, right? 270 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:01,040 Usually when you get midway through the year and we're at 271 00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:06,040 like 60 or 70%, it's like, OK, well, let's look at the other 30 272 00:15:06,040 --> 00:15:08,320 to that's left unplayed. Why? 273 00:15:08,560 --> 00:15:10,440 Why hasn't it hit the table right? 274 00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:15,080 So we can have real, we can have real conversations about each 275 00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:19,440 title in our collection and say, do we really need to keep this? 276 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:23,320 And then we can also track, 'cause my wife tracks all the 277 00:15:23,320 --> 00:15:26,000 stats she can, she'll track and say, you know, we've been 278 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:28,920 playing this game a lot. So, you know, it's pretty, you 279 00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:31,040 know, going to be up there and we're going to, we're going to 280 00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:33,640 stick with it. So yeah, it's interesting. 281 00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:41,080 We are currently at 9090.9%. Of our that's. 282 00:15:41,080 --> 00:15:44,440 Impressive has been played, Yep. Well, that's good. 283 00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:49,160 It's a good strategy too. Yeah, we've got we've got three 284 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:52,440 games left that are kind of Halloween ish Halloween theme, 285 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:57,200 spooky theme that will knockout in the next few weeks here as we 286 00:15:57,200 --> 00:16:00,160 approach Halloween. I realize that we're approaching 287 00:16:00,160 --> 00:16:03,080 Christmas as the time you're listening this episode, but 288 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:05,040 tough. Yeah. 289 00:16:05,040 --> 00:16:11,960 So I think we have a total of 27 titles like left and then we're, 290 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:15,600 you know, free to play whatever we want you. 291 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:17,440 Know that's really impressive. Well done. 292 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:20,520 It's, it's, it's a challenge. It's a challenge. 293 00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:22,440 How many games do you have in your collection? 294 00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:24,840 Do you know? I do not. 295 00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:27,520 You don't. I don't. 296 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:29,720 Counted. You haven't counted. 297 00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:34,520 Last I checked, it would have been around 150 with expansions, 298 00:16:34,560 --> 00:16:37,240 but I think it's a bit more than that now, yeah. 299 00:16:37,400 --> 00:16:39,760 Right. I mean, that's that's a lot to 300 00:16:39,760 --> 00:16:45,960 manage, you know, seems to be kind of the the threshold for my 301 00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:50,360 wife and I, we try to I mean, it's not an exact science, 302 00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:52,840 right? It's not like we buy a game and 303 00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:57,560 we're going to sell a game, but we do try to and sometimes we go 304 00:16:57,560 --> 00:17:01,440 up and sometimes we go down. It just it kind of ends. 305 00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:05,560 You know, I regularly go through and try and like keep the 306 00:17:05,560 --> 00:17:09,040 collection in check and sell things that aren't getting 307 00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:13,839 played or they just aren't like sort of my interest anymore. 308 00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:18,599 Sure. So I want to ask you about, and 309 00:17:18,599 --> 00:17:21,520 this is kind of the core of the conversation here, right? 310 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:23,520 It's what it's all about community. 311 00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:28,840 And we're all content creators. So at some point you shifted 312 00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:33,240 from just being a casual gamer to a content creator, right? 313 00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:38,560 Tell me about that moment. When did you what was your first 314 00:17:38,560 --> 00:17:41,600 post? At what point did you decide to 315 00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:46,040 get really intentional and you know, dive all in? 316 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:48,080 Because you're pretty successful right now. 317 00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:50,320 You got a lot going. On yeah, Thank you. 318 00:17:52,360 --> 00:17:58,400 So I think I just kind of wanted to reach out and meet more 319 00:17:58,400 --> 00:18:00,200 people who like the same kind of thing. 320 00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:05,680 I was sort of feeling a little bit like I didn't have a lot of 321 00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:10,160 connections in, like, my immediate circle who wanted to 322 00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:12,440 play games. And I just wanted to see if I 323 00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:16,320 could find some more people who liked board games as much as I 324 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:21,080 did. And I didn't know whether, like, 325 00:18:21,080 --> 00:18:23,720 Instagram would be that place where I would find that. 326 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:26,720 But I just thought, you know, it's worth a try. 327 00:18:27,120 --> 00:18:29,520 And yeah, I've just found an amazing community online of 328 00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:32,160 people who, yeah, who share that passion that I do. 329 00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:36,560 So it's been really good. And have they been, I mean, have 330 00:18:36,560 --> 00:18:40,880 you plugged in with a lot of local gamers in your area or has 331 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:42,760 it been a lot of like the bigger community? 332 00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:48,040 So it's it's kind of hard in Australia where it's a big 333 00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:54,480 country, there's not a lot of people who are doing what I do. 334 00:18:55,880 --> 00:18:58,560 And we, the ones that are, we are very spread out. 335 00:19:00,320 --> 00:19:04,280 So I have connected with people who do what I do. 336 00:19:06,240 --> 00:19:08,960 But there unfortunately are in other states. 337 00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:14,320 I have been lucky enough to actually go and visit them and 338 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:17,400 meet them. I actually just went to PAX 339 00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:21,840 recently with one of them, so that was that was quite nice. 340 00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:26,120 So you're you are in Melbourne, right? 341 00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:31,000 And that is, if I'm looking at a map of Australia, it's on the 342 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:35,160 eastern side, yeah. And is it down South? 343 00:19:35,360 --> 00:19:38,160 Down South. Yeah, just above Tasmania. 344 00:19:38,880 --> 00:19:41,280 OK, OK. Tasmania being the little 345 00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:43,480 triangular shaped island. Correct. 346 00:19:43,720 --> 00:19:48,320 Yeah, yeah, it does exist. It gets left off maps, but it is 347 00:19:48,320 --> 00:19:49,920 there. It's true, it's true. 348 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:53,720 How big is Melbourne? Do you know do you have off the 349 00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:56,200 top of your head? Off the top of my head, no, not 350 00:19:56,200 --> 00:19:57,600 really. It's pretty big city though, 351 00:19:57,720 --> 00:20:01,040 yeah. I'm just wondering if it's like, 352 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:05,560 you know, like 200,000 or is it like a million people or you? 353 00:20:05,560 --> 00:20:09,000 Know I couldn't tell you, sorry. Yeah, I'm just, I'm trying to 354 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:12,880 get an idea of how big it is, like what American or European 355 00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:14,160 city I could compare. It. 356 00:20:14,560 --> 00:20:17,000 To to get kind of an idea of how many people. 357 00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:23,040 So when you say that the your local content creators and 358 00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:27,720 gamers are far away, 'cause this was a really interesting 359 00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:32,000 conversation with Iris from Crimson Board Games just a few 360 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:35,000 episodes ago. How far away are you talking 361 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:36,880 about? Like how long a drive to the 362 00:20:36,880 --> 00:20:40,080 nearest content creator or gamer friend. 363 00:20:41,120 --> 00:20:44,040 So content creators like 8 hour drive. 364 00:20:45,120 --> 00:20:47,360 OK. Yeah, Yep. 365 00:20:47,360 --> 00:20:51,360 I think there are maybe a couple who live a little bit closer, 366 00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:55,400 maybe within the state, but I don't know them as well and as 367 00:20:55,400 --> 00:20:58,120 well so. But no, that's that's pretty 368 00:20:58,120 --> 00:21:00,160 substantial drive. Yeah. 369 00:21:00,560 --> 00:21:02,240 And I've done it. I've driven there. 370 00:21:02,760 --> 00:21:06,360 Yep, it was so the, the, the joke. 371 00:21:06,360 --> 00:21:09,320 The joke is So for Iris, who lives in the Netherlands, she's 372 00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:11,760 like, they're like 40 minutes away and that's just far. 373 00:21:12,360 --> 00:21:14,720 I mean, a 40 minute drive is a quick drive for me. 374 00:21:15,360 --> 00:21:17,520 Exactly, yeah. You know, because the 375 00:21:17,520 --> 00:21:20,880 Netherlands is small, but then so is the, so is the UK. 376 00:21:21,320 --> 00:21:24,040 You know, back in the early days when Gareth and I were doing 377 00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:25,360 this, we would talk about it all the time. 378 00:21:25,360 --> 00:21:28,800 It's like one of the things I really like about all of our UK 379 00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:32,080 gaming friends is that they can get together and do these one 380 00:21:32,080 --> 00:21:35,600 day gaming, you know, get togethers with all. 381 00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:37,840 Their Yeah. Friends, and almost all of them 382 00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:40,880 are content creators as well because they can drive an hour, 383 00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:45,920 2 hours, you know, someone may drive 3 hours tops. 384 00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:50,280 The, the public transit system in in England is just fantastic, 385 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:51,520 although they would say it's not. 386 00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:54,760 But I'm from the US, We do not have a very good mass transit 387 00:21:54,760 --> 00:21:57,080 system and everything's too far away. 388 00:21:57,080 --> 00:22:00,440 Right. I mean the yeah, if you were to 389 00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:04,960 drive to Perth on the opposite side of Australia, how long 390 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:09,480 would that take, do you reckon? That'd be days, I think, yeah. 391 00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:11,560 Yeah. That'd yeah, because. 392 00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:16,720 It's like, yeah, because it's like 22 to 25 hours from one end 393 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:18,640 of the United States to the other. 394 00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:21,400 So, I mean, it's still, it's, it's a long time. 395 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:26,600 Luckily we've got some friends and content creators who are 396 00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:28,880 like an hour to an hour and a half away. 397 00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:34,640 So that's or sometimes 3 hours. That's about the the Max I would 398 00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:38,200 drive to get together with members of the community. 399 00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:41,000 Except for big conventions, obviously. 400 00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:45,960 Yeah. So what about when you decided, 401 00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:50,160 OK, you you wanted to connect with a larger community. 402 00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:52,880 You're on Instagram. You started gaming. 403 00:22:52,880 --> 00:22:56,840 You played zombies in 2010. So you're on Instagram. 404 00:22:56,840 --> 00:23:00,840 I imagine what this is what, 20? Actually, I think I know the 405 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:02,560 answer to that. You've been on, you got on 406 00:23:02,560 --> 00:23:05,360 Instagram in 2022. So you're not, you haven't been 407 00:23:05,360 --> 00:23:07,080 on very long. No. 408 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:12,120 So you had been you had been gaming for a long time before 409 00:23:12,120 --> 00:23:16,560 you decided to reach out to the the community and become a 410 00:23:16,560 --> 00:23:19,560 content career. Yeah yeah sure 20 because I did 411 00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:28,360 my research yeah so. OK so 20/20/22 So what was the 412 00:23:28,360 --> 00:23:32,040 first post like I'm, I'm I'm like I could. 413 00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:36,920 So for me, I was on Instagram in 2013, like when it was just 414 00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:40,720 photos and it was bare minimum brand new and I didn't know what 415 00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:44,480 I was doing and I had like 8 followers, whatever, you know? 416 00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:51,120 And it wasn't until 2017 where I started meeting other gamers and 417 00:23:51,120 --> 00:23:54,760 I saw that they were posting pictures of board games. 418 00:23:54,920 --> 00:23:56,440 That never occurred to me, right? 419 00:23:57,120 --> 00:24:00,120 And so I took a, we had just finished playing a game, 420 00:24:00,120 --> 00:24:02,520 Pandemic, my wife and with her mother. 421 00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:05,600 And so I set it on the table with my coffee cup and I took a 422 00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:08,240 picture outside because it was a nice sunny day And I was like, 423 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:11,160 that's not a bad picture. And that's, and, and that just 424 00:24:11,160 --> 00:24:13,520 kind of started it all. So what was the like? 425 00:24:13,520 --> 00:24:16,880 How did you approach your first content? 426 00:24:18,320 --> 00:24:21,400 Yeah, so I used to. Picture of why all that? 427 00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:23,960 Yeah. I used to take photos of board 428 00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:27,960 games and post them on my personal Instagram and didn't 429 00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:32,640 get much love with them. So I pretty much just started 430 00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:36,600 doing that with with this Instagram and would take photos 431 00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:39,640 of the games that I was playing at friend's house and post it on 432 00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:43,000 the Instagram. And then it just kind of evolved 433 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:47,920 from there, moving more in towards like from talking about 434 00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:51,080 the game, saying what it was into, like doing a little bit 435 00:24:51,080 --> 00:24:53,320 more of a review of the game. Right. 436 00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:57,640 And saying whether I liked it or not, or saying, hey, these games 437 00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:01,040 would be good for Christmas gifts or, you know, things like 438 00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:05,120 that. So your first, your first post, 439 00:25:05,120 --> 00:25:08,480 when you created your new account, was it based on the 440 00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:12,800 quality of the photograph that you took or was it based on the 441 00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:15,760 content of the game that you took a picture of? 442 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:19,640 Like how did you approach that? And maybe you still approach it 443 00:25:19,640 --> 00:25:21,880 this way. I think it was just more wanting 444 00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:26,800 to share, like share the game and like let people know about 445 00:25:26,800 --> 00:25:29,880 the game. And that's always been my focus. 446 00:25:29,920 --> 00:25:34,320 I think like, hey, these games are out there, I enjoy playing 447 00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:35,880 them and you might like to play them too. 448 00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:42,960 So less about this is an amazing photo or right, Yeah. 449 00:25:43,080 --> 00:25:47,200 But more about this is an amazing game and I really enjoy 450 00:25:47,200 --> 00:25:48,440 it. And I think you might too. 451 00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:50,680 Yeah. My photographs are terrible. 452 00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:55,640 I don't take very good photographs. 453 00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:58,440 I can't do it, not compared to some other content creators so. 454 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:00,600 It just comes with practice I think. 455 00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:03,600 It does. It does, but I just don't have 456 00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:09,160 the eye. I look back up for my yeah, I 457 00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:12,800 look back at my original, like my early stuff and I think, wow, 458 00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:17,000 like I've come so far from what I was first posting. 459 00:26:17,480 --> 00:26:21,040 Yep. So once you really dove into it, 460 00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:23,040 you started making connections with the community. 461 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:28,160 Was there anyone? And it can be this time you can 462 00:26:28,160 --> 00:26:33,040 give me multiple answers, but what were there any particular 463 00:26:33,040 --> 00:26:36,160 content creators in the community that really inspired 464 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:39,240 you to be like, I'm going to start doing more reviews or I'm 465 00:26:39,240 --> 00:26:43,040 going to do more, you know, any, any sources of inspiration? 466 00:26:44,360 --> 00:26:47,200 Yeah, there were two in particular that really like, 467 00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:50,920 well, actually probably 3 in particular that really took me 468 00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:52,640 under their wing. The first one that really 469 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:55,800 reached out to me was Talia of La La Games. 470 00:26:57,440 --> 00:27:00,800 OK, Yeah. She's another Australian content 471 00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:07,880 creator and she reached out to me and then she introduced me to 472 00:27:09,680 --> 00:27:12,840 Craig of getting to the Games and then. 473 00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:17,080 Good man, good man. We're now besties and Chris, 474 00:27:17,360 --> 00:27:21,120 Magic and Maples as well. So, yeah, Chris. 475 00:27:21,320 --> 00:27:22,240 Chris is. Lovely. 476 00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:25,000 Yeah, Yeah. So, you know, it's interesting. 477 00:27:25,120 --> 00:27:29,880 So Chris and I actually, we're contributing writers on a board 478 00:27:29,880 --> 00:27:34,000 game that was published last year. 479 00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:36,720 Nice. Yeah. 480 00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:39,960 It's called Prestige. I wish I could remember what 481 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:43,240 episode I had Fritz the the designer on. 482 00:27:43,480 --> 00:27:46,160 She had mentioned, I think she told me about it, like, hey, 483 00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:49,080 there's this game designer. He's looking for material. 484 00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:51,680 And it's like a city building game with cards. 485 00:27:51,680 --> 00:27:54,880 And so Chris suggested that I reach out to him. 486 00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:57,600 I did. And I was very, I was very 487 00:27:57,600 --> 00:28:00,520 literal and academic. So like, because I studied 488 00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:03,560 ancient Greek and Roman history. And he said it was kind of in an 489 00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:08,280 ancient city setting, but it wasn't a specific city in this 490 00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:10,280 game. So I was like, all these, like, 491 00:28:11,040 --> 00:28:14,480 historical events in Rome. And he was like, I need you to 492 00:28:14,480 --> 00:28:17,560 just pull back a little bit. But he was very considerate. 493 00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:20,160 Yeah. And Chris and I chat a little 494 00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:24,520 bit as often as we can. Yeah, yeah, she's so lovely. 495 00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:27,600 Yeah, she is fantastic. I really would love to get 496 00:28:27,600 --> 00:28:28,800 together with her and play a game. 497 00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:30,640 Mm hmm. Yeah, same. 498 00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:33,120 But you know, there's a whole ocean between us, so. 499 00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:35,640 I know. And I live in the same country 500 00:28:35,640 --> 00:28:36,400 as her. Yeah. 501 00:28:36,400 --> 00:28:40,040 I I Yeah. That's that's really great. 502 00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:40,600 Yeah. Good. 503 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:45,440 You will have to tell Talia to, you know, Cook, we'll have to 504 00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:48,960 connect cuz always looking for more and more content creators. 505 00:28:49,360 --> 00:28:52,440 And I don't I don't have a relationship with her. 506 00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:55,880 I think when I follow her on Instagram, this community is so 507 00:28:55,880 --> 00:29:00,320 big, it is so diverse. It's so hard to keep up with 508 00:29:00,320 --> 00:29:04,000 everybody, right? Yeah, yeah, she's busy being a 509 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:07,920 new mom at the moment, so. So do you have any tips for how 510 00:29:07,920 --> 00:29:12,600 you manage to maintain your relationships with everyone in 511 00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:15,360 the community, given that there's so many of us? 512 00:29:16,120 --> 00:29:22,240 Yeah, it's a good question. I think just like reaching out 513 00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:26,520 to people as often as possible, but. 514 00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:29,880 That's like a full time job. It is, yeah. 515 00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:31,880 Literally. Sometimes I would literally just 516 00:29:31,880 --> 00:29:33,720 go through my messages and be like, oh, I haven't messaged 517 00:29:33,720 --> 00:29:36,040 that person in a while. Reach out to them and see how 518 00:29:36,040 --> 00:29:38,640 they're doing. Yeah, I guess just like you 519 00:29:38,640 --> 00:29:40,640 would any other friends. Yeah. 520 00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:48,960 And and that's what I try and do, like I will try and form 521 00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:54,160 friendships with people, not just not just the little 522 00:29:54,160 --> 00:29:57,440 associations, but. Yes, yes, absolutely. 523 00:29:57,480 --> 00:30:01,600 I'm all about the relationships, yeah, which is why I have a 524 00:30:01,600 --> 00:30:04,920 podcast because so I don't take very good pictures. 525 00:30:05,160 --> 00:30:08,040 I love to talk and I'm all about relationships. 526 00:30:08,280 --> 00:30:11,920 Yeah, Oh. My gosh, do you, do you have a 527 00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:14,400 favorite platform? I mean, are you on other 528 00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:18,000 platforms besides Instagram or Instagram as your primary? 529 00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:20,840 Yeah, Instagram is pretty much my primary. 530 00:30:20,840 --> 00:30:24,320 I signed up to like Threads and Blue Sky, I think, but I just 531 00:30:24,320 --> 00:30:26,920 don't have the time or energy to maintain them. 532 00:30:27,040 --> 00:30:27,680 That's. Another. 533 00:30:28,400 --> 00:30:30,640 Instagram in itself is a full time job. 534 00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:35,320 It's true, it's true. However, however, you are a 535 00:30:35,320 --> 00:30:37,720 little bit more diverse. It's one of my favorite things 536 00:30:37,720 --> 00:30:40,360 that I learned about you. Hey, tell me about the Board 537 00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:44,280 game Detective. Yeah, so that's Jeremy. 538 00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:49,800 He has his own Instagram and blog and he very kindly asked if 539 00:30:49,960 --> 00:30:54,960 I would like to have some of my posts on his blog. 540 00:30:54,960 --> 00:30:59,560 So he hosts both myself and A Tale of Two Maples on his blog 541 00:30:59,600 --> 00:31:05,640 and yeah, just like a mini sort of mini posts that he does for 542 00:31:05,640 --> 00:31:08,600 us. How long have you been doing 543 00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:11,040 that with him? That's a very good question. 544 00:31:11,880 --> 00:31:17,640 Maybe like 6 to 12 months now. Yeah, it's not too long, Yeah. 545 00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:20,400 Yeah, you have it LinkedIn, your Instagram. 546 00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:24,040 And so I went to it and I saw there was you and A Tale of Two 547 00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:27,040 Meeples and I was like, OK, this is cool. 548 00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:30,640 And so I went straight to your About Us page and but I couldn't 549 00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:33,040 figure out how long, like how long had it been going on and 550 00:31:33,040 --> 00:31:35,880 whatnot. Where else do you get 551 00:31:35,880 --> 00:31:39,760 inspiration for games that you decide to review? 552 00:31:40,320 --> 00:31:46,440 Like how do you approach that? I pretty much only review games 553 00:31:46,440 --> 00:31:52,240 that I enjoy. So yeah, if it's something that 554 00:31:52,240 --> 00:31:57,920 I've been liking and I want to share and I want to tell people, 555 00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:00,360 hey, this is a great game. Yeah. 556 00:32:01,240 --> 00:32:04,960 But also, I get a lot of inspiration from seeing other 557 00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:11,000 people's posts and how they do things, and it encourages me to 558 00:32:11,920 --> 00:32:15,360 improve on what I'm doing. Yeah. 559 00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:21,360 Just pushes me to be better. Yeah, yeah, I'm really learning 560 00:32:21,360 --> 00:32:24,640 that this community is just very encouraging. 561 00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:28,920 And like, I feel like I've made a lot of new friends just in 562 00:32:28,920 --> 00:32:31,720 these past few weeks and it's like they're like, you know, 563 00:32:31,800 --> 00:32:35,080 I'm, I'm, I'm getting the kind of kind of encouragement because 564 00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:37,840 this can, it could be very lonely sometimes. 565 00:32:38,080 --> 00:32:40,720 Yeah, yeah. I think that's one of the 566 00:32:40,720 --> 00:32:43,200 reasons that I like to do collaborations with people. 567 00:32:43,320 --> 00:32:45,200 Yeah. So I've got a couple of those 568 00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:47,800 sort of in the works at the moment as well. 569 00:32:48,680 --> 00:32:53,480 Excellent, excellent. So tell me what is I've been 570 00:32:53,480 --> 00:32:56,640 asking this of everybody and I know we've kind of, we kind of 571 00:32:56,640 --> 00:33:01,960 just talked about it, but what is the one thing that you see in 572 00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:06,240 the community that you absolutely love and it makes you 573 00:33:06,240 --> 00:33:09,560 proud to be a part of it? I think the willingness, like 574 00:33:09,560 --> 00:33:13,480 the kindness and willingness to like, help each other, like I so 575 00:33:13,480 --> 00:33:20,200 often see like people asking questions and like, if people 576 00:33:20,200 --> 00:33:23,120 aren't sure of something, like so many people willing to jump 577 00:33:23,120 --> 00:33:27,600 in and like give an answer. And there's no like I, I'm not 578 00:33:27,600 --> 00:33:32,400 seeing the meanness that I see in a lot of other communities. 579 00:33:34,520 --> 00:33:37,800 Like I'm not afraid to ask a question in this community 580 00:33:37,800 --> 00:33:40,400 because I know, you know, I'm not going to get a mean answer. 581 00:33:40,680 --> 00:33:42,600 I'm not going to get like, terrible comments. 582 00:33:46,160 --> 00:33:51,960 Yeah, I think that willingness to like be open about, I don't 583 00:33:51,960 --> 00:33:55,840 even have a good example, but yeah, yeah, if I had a question 584 00:33:55,840 --> 00:33:58,880 about how to do something, yeah, people be very willing to 585 00:33:59,200 --> 00:34:02,840 explain. And you probably have certain 586 00:34:02,840 --> 00:34:05,640 people that you lean on for certain types of questions, 587 00:34:05,640 --> 00:34:07,240 right? Yeah. 588 00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:11,719 Yeah, I've started to realize because we all have a, you know, 589 00:34:13,159 --> 00:34:18,360 so I'm reminded of, I think it's Star Trek 2, The Wrath of Khan, 590 00:34:18,679 --> 00:34:21,000 right? There's a moment where Kirk 591 00:34:21,199 --> 00:34:23,840 turns to Spock and he's like, how are these trainees? 592 00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:25,719 How are they going to react? Right. 593 00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:29,520 And Spock says each according to his own gifts, right. 594 00:34:29,800 --> 00:34:34,040 So we massively diverse community, we have our own 595 00:34:34,040 --> 00:34:35,840 gifts. And so, you know, if I've got a 596 00:34:35,840 --> 00:34:39,679 technological question about my setup, I know there's, there's 597 00:34:39,679 --> 00:34:41,719 someone I know who I would go to for that. 598 00:34:42,320 --> 00:34:47,000 Exactly, Yeah. More content or like I have 599 00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:50,280 someone that I regularly go to after they watch an episode and 600 00:34:50,280 --> 00:34:53,560 I'm like, how could I have made that better, you know? 601 00:34:55,679 --> 00:34:59,800 Yeah, when I was just starting out with working with different 602 00:34:59,840 --> 00:35:03,520 distributors for who were sending me games, I had a lot of 603 00:35:03,520 --> 00:35:05,440 questions because I didn't know how it all worked. 604 00:35:05,440 --> 00:35:10,000 So I had people that I went to and they were really helpful and 605 00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:12,640 open and and excited for me instead of they could have just 606 00:35:12,720 --> 00:35:16,640 said, you know, they could have gate kept and not wanted to 607 00:35:16,640 --> 00:35:19,080 share their information. But yeah, they were really open 608 00:35:19,080 --> 00:35:21,440 and helpful. That's true. 609 00:35:21,840 --> 00:35:25,280 So you just recently got back from PAX Australia? 610 00:35:26,160 --> 00:35:27,920 I did, yes. Yeah. 611 00:35:27,920 --> 00:35:32,360 So how was that and, and how many, how many days is it? 612 00:35:32,360 --> 00:35:34,280 Where is it? How big is it? 613 00:35:34,320 --> 00:35:37,360 Right, because there's there's several, there's PAX Unplugged, 614 00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:41,680 which is in Philadelphia. There's PAX W you know, there's 615 00:35:41,680 --> 00:35:46,280 a lot of them and I don't know that they're all the same size. 616 00:35:46,720 --> 00:35:47,920 Yeah. Tell me about that. 617 00:35:49,080 --> 00:35:51,560 Yeah. So I don't know the numbers this 618 00:35:51,560 --> 00:35:55,520 year, but I know last year was I think was about 80,000 people 619 00:35:55,680 --> 00:36:00,240 across all three days. Yeah, so. 620 00:36:02,360 --> 00:36:03,680 Very big. That's Gen. 621 00:36:03,680 --> 00:36:08,320 Con big, you know, like which is the largest in the US and it 622 00:36:08,320 --> 00:36:12,120 hovers just shy of 80,000. So I had no idea. 623 00:36:12,840 --> 00:36:16,160 Yeah, I'm, I'm pretty sure that's around that numbers. 624 00:36:16,160 --> 00:36:21,320 So, yeah. And then it's in. 625 00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:23,840 So it's in Melbourne like in in Melbourne itself. 626 00:36:23,840 --> 00:36:28,720 And it's across three days. So Friday, Saturday, Sunday, the 627 00:36:28,720 --> 00:36:30,800 Friday and the Saturday are longer days. 628 00:36:30,800 --> 00:36:35,280 So 10 AM till I think 11:00 PM. The Saturday is 10 until 6. 629 00:36:35,320 --> 00:36:40,160 And it covers like so much of gaming, your console, your PC, 630 00:36:41,040 --> 00:36:46,800 board games, war gaming, card gaming, you name it, it's 631 00:36:46,800 --> 00:36:49,480 probably there. So there's a big vendor hall 632 00:36:49,480 --> 00:36:53,880 where you can go and buy. Is there also a large open 633 00:36:53,880 --> 00:36:55,600 gaming area where you can just go play? 634 00:36:56,680 --> 00:37:01,560 Yeah, so there's free play. There's also like demos. 635 00:37:01,880 --> 00:37:05,240 There's also a collaboratory. She's local. 636 00:37:05,240 --> 00:37:08,960 Does local designers come in and show you games that haven't been 637 00:37:08,960 --> 00:37:10,440 published yet? They're working on. 638 00:37:11,480 --> 00:37:14,400 It's really cool to see. So we spent our set day 639 00:37:14,560 --> 00:37:17,880 basically going around and playing games in the 640 00:37:17,880 --> 00:37:18,560 collaboratory. OK. 641 00:37:21,760 --> 00:37:27,360 And then, yeah, you've got your board game shops where you can 642 00:37:27,360 --> 00:37:30,520 go and buy the latest and greatest games. 643 00:37:30,560 --> 00:37:35,800 You've got like accessories, like if you want to buy lap gear 644 00:37:35,800 --> 00:37:38,520 or that kind of thing. OK. 645 00:37:39,360 --> 00:37:41,760 And then you've got your your Expo hall where you can go and 646 00:37:41,760 --> 00:37:46,520 play demos of video games or like the fun little things where 647 00:37:46,520 --> 00:37:48,200 you can win prizes. Yeah. 648 00:37:48,280 --> 00:37:50,920 Is it always in the same location every year? 649 00:37:52,320 --> 00:37:54,520 Yeah. So the first year it was in a 650 00:37:54,520 --> 00:37:57,680 different location, but it wasn't a great location so they 651 00:37:57,680 --> 00:38:01,240 moved to a better one. And I recall, if I recall 652 00:38:01,240 --> 00:38:03,720 Friday, you didn't get to play any games. 653 00:38:04,840 --> 00:38:11,200 No, we played like 2 games and that yeah, we didn't get to sit 654 00:38:11,200 --> 00:38:14,920 down and play until after it was like 330 or something. 655 00:38:15,600 --> 00:38:18,360 You did get to play a lot of games on Saturday to make up for 656 00:38:18,360 --> 00:38:22,920 it, which you posted about. So I saw your post. 657 00:38:22,920 --> 00:38:25,240 I don't want to hear about that. I want you to tell me about 658 00:38:25,240 --> 00:38:26,960 Friday. What did you do? 659 00:38:27,040 --> 00:38:29,640 How did you spend your day on Friday that you didn't get to 660 00:38:29,640 --> 00:38:33,280 play any games like? What was that day like for you? 661 00:38:34,800 --> 00:38:42,720 So I actually met up with Stella of Yeah, Maple. 662 00:38:42,720 --> 00:38:46,480 University, yeah. And we spent most of the morning 663 00:38:46,480 --> 00:38:53,160 just walking around the vending hall, chatting to people, 664 00:38:55,040 --> 00:38:56,280 meeting a bunch of different people. 665 00:38:56,280 --> 00:38:58,480 She introduced me to some people that I hadn't met before. 666 00:38:59,760 --> 00:39:02,760 So that's one of the other big things about the convention that 667 00:39:02,760 --> 00:39:06,200 you get to do is like meet people, see people that you like 668 00:39:06,200 --> 00:39:11,240 met in the past. So that's, that's another big 669 00:39:11,240 --> 00:39:16,000 thing that I like to do there. And I always remind myself after 670 00:39:16,000 --> 00:39:19,560 I go to PAX every year that like it's not always just about the 671 00:39:19,560 --> 00:39:22,800 games because I often feel like, oh, I didn't get to play every 672 00:39:22,800 --> 00:39:25,120 game that I wanted to play. And I have to remind myself when 673 00:39:25,120 --> 00:39:27,560 I get home, but I also got to see a lot of people. 674 00:39:28,120 --> 00:39:32,480 Yes, yes. Did you get to meet as Cadelia 675 00:39:32,800 --> 00:39:33,520 from all? Play. 676 00:39:33,520 --> 00:39:36,320 I did, yeah, very briefly on the Friday morning. 677 00:39:36,360 --> 00:39:37,520 Yeah. Yeah, she was. 678 00:39:37,560 --> 00:39:41,440 Blessed for you She's yes she has been so busy. 679 00:39:41,640 --> 00:39:44,560 She is a content creator that I reached out to to join the 680 00:39:44,560 --> 00:39:46,400 series and she's just she's just so busy. 681 00:39:46,400 --> 00:39:49,760 She hasn't, you know, hasn't had time yet, but hopefully we'll 682 00:39:49,760 --> 00:39:55,480 hopefully we will get her on the podcast 4th with Yeah, but. 683 00:39:55,880 --> 00:39:57,600 She's so loved. She posted a lot. 684 00:39:57,600 --> 00:40:00,440 I saw a lot of her content from PAX Australia. 685 00:40:00,600 --> 00:40:03,520 So it was just, you know, so I'm glad you got to meet her and you 686 00:40:03,520 --> 00:40:08,080 got to meet, hang out with everybody and see new people as 687 00:40:08,080 --> 00:40:10,720 well as old friends that you only get to see once a year 688 00:40:10,720 --> 00:40:12,400 probably. That's kind. 689 00:40:12,400 --> 00:40:15,480 Of how our conventions go. Yeah, my PAX buddies. 690 00:40:16,520 --> 00:40:18,920 Yeah. How far away is the convention 691 00:40:18,920 --> 00:40:22,280 hall from where you live? Like is that like a, is that a 692 00:40:22,280 --> 00:40:25,120 really quick drive? Do you have to go and get a 693 00:40:25,120 --> 00:40:28,400 hotel in Melbourne or are you able to stay home? 694 00:40:28,880 --> 00:40:33,880 How does that work? It's about an hour, so OK, 695 00:40:33,920 --> 00:40:35,560 depends on depends on the traffic. 696 00:40:35,560 --> 00:40:40,320 So like an hour, an hour and 20. So I drove in every every day 697 00:40:40,320 --> 00:40:46,600 this year, which was a choice. No, I mean, yeah, that's where 698 00:40:46,600 --> 00:40:47,240 the. That's where the. 699 00:40:47,240 --> 00:40:48,640 Real, it was nice to have my own bed it. 700 00:40:48,840 --> 00:40:53,240 Is, yeah, that is probably the biggest expense that makes these 701 00:40:53,240 --> 00:40:55,680 big conventions so cost prohibitive. 702 00:40:55,680 --> 00:40:59,600 It's not the convention itself, it's the lodging. 703 00:41:00,320 --> 00:41:04,480 Yeah, I mean, it's nice to stay local, but yeah, agree the cost 704 00:41:04,560 --> 00:41:08,640 to stay local is is a bit much. So what if you've got a friend 705 00:41:08,640 --> 00:41:11,520 in Melbourne or anywheres in Australia or just anywheres in 706 00:41:11,520 --> 00:41:13,440 general, It doesn't really matter, but they reach out to 707 00:41:13,440 --> 00:41:19,360 you on Instagram or whatever and they want to start making 708 00:41:19,360 --> 00:41:21,360 content and being a content creator. 709 00:41:21,800 --> 00:41:24,280 What advice do you have for someone wanting to join our 710 00:41:24,280 --> 00:41:28,040 community and diving into this? I guess I would say like it 711 00:41:28,040 --> 00:41:30,720 doesn't need to be perfect. Like I spend a lot of time 712 00:41:31,800 --> 00:41:35,360 trying to make my posts as perfect as possible because I'm 713 00:41:35,360 --> 00:41:38,200 I spend a lot of time worried about like how I present myself 714 00:41:38,200 --> 00:41:43,880 online, But I also find that the posts that do the best are the 715 00:41:43,880 --> 00:41:45,560 posts that I spend the least amount of time on. 716 00:41:46,600 --> 00:41:50,080 I'd say just have fun with it and try not to stress about what 717 00:41:50,080 --> 00:41:55,200 everyone else is doing because I do see a lot of like people, the 718 00:41:55,200 --> 00:41:57,920 mental health side of things getting to people with the 719 00:41:57,920 --> 00:42:02,800 comparison. Well, this person like has so 720 00:42:02,800 --> 00:42:06,760 much better pictures or videos or whatever, but you'll get 721 00:42:06,760 --> 00:42:10,800 there. It's time and practice and yeah. 722 00:42:13,080 --> 00:42:16,640 Yeah, there it is, simple and succinct. 723 00:42:17,480 --> 00:42:21,160 That's that is. There are no truer words spoken, 724 00:42:21,600 --> 00:42:26,000 you know, And that's definitely advice I need to take in my own 725 00:42:26,000 --> 00:42:29,400 right, to be honest. Sometimes you do get caught up 726 00:42:30,080 --> 00:42:34,480 and oh, well, do you see that? You see that reel that remade? 727 00:42:34,480 --> 00:42:37,520 Man, I gotta, I gotta step up my game, you know? 728 00:42:37,520 --> 00:42:42,440 Yeah, it's, it's a thing. And remember why you're doing 729 00:42:42,440 --> 00:42:45,160 it, too. Yeah, because I'm here for the 730 00:42:45,160 --> 00:42:49,160 community and and sometimes it it's easy to forget that. 731 00:42:49,200 --> 00:42:51,960 Well, I got to say, you're in a lot of trouble now because you 732 00:42:51,960 --> 00:42:54,560 have a new friend in the middle of the United States who's going 733 00:42:54,560 --> 00:42:58,640 to check in on you constantly. Be like, how are you? 734 00:42:58,640 --> 00:43:01,240 What's going on? Yeah, absolutely. 735 00:43:01,240 --> 00:43:03,480 Because it's. Yeah, I'm always checking in on 736 00:43:03,480 --> 00:43:06,520 folks. And, you know, I, I just feel so 737 00:43:06,520 --> 00:43:11,400 bad that I let so much time go between chats. 738 00:43:11,440 --> 00:43:15,280 And then what Instagram is becoming a real challenge for 739 00:43:15,280 --> 00:43:20,600 keeping track because as our followers grow, the number of 740 00:43:20,600 --> 00:43:25,360 followers grows. Those messages get buried. 741 00:43:26,080 --> 00:43:31,080 You know, like sometimes I'll tell you what I, what I suffer 742 00:43:31,080 --> 00:43:33,680 from because we all have our different hang ups, you know, 743 00:43:33,760 --> 00:43:35,360 and how it affects our mental health. 744 00:43:35,680 --> 00:43:41,920 For me, I send you a message and you don't get back to me for a 745 00:43:41,920 --> 00:43:45,160 month. I get into my own head and I'm 746 00:43:45,160 --> 00:43:48,720 like, what did I do wrong? What did I say? 747 00:43:49,080 --> 00:43:51,840 What did I do? You know, did I, did I say 748 00:43:51,840 --> 00:43:53,680 something in my Last Post? Nope, Nope. 749 00:43:53,920 --> 00:43:56,080 Did I say something on the podcast that was offensive? 750 00:43:56,120 --> 00:44:00,440 You know, I that's immediately I go to what did I do wrong you. 751 00:44:00,920 --> 00:44:04,560 Know yeah, it's hard. We're just busy. 752 00:44:05,200 --> 00:44:07,000 Yeah, yeah. And. 753 00:44:07,680 --> 00:44:10,840 We're diverse and there's. A lot of us, yeah. 754 00:44:11,720 --> 00:44:13,280 So yeah. And we've got to remember people 755 00:44:13,280 --> 00:44:14,920 have lives outside of Instagram, too. 756 00:44:15,840 --> 00:44:20,160 That's right, that's right. So tell everyone where they can 757 00:44:20,160 --> 00:44:24,920 find you if they wanted to reach out to you and just have a chat 758 00:44:24,920 --> 00:44:29,000 or, you know, play a game online through BGA. 759 00:44:29,000 --> 00:44:31,120 I know you do that. Yeah. 760 00:44:31,720 --> 00:44:34,160 You know, yeah, Tell everybody where they can reach you. 761 00:44:34,960 --> 00:44:37,480 Yeah, so the best place to find me is on Instagram. 762 00:44:37,480 --> 00:44:41,400 I'm bored all the time. I'm also on BGA or board game 763 00:44:41,400 --> 00:44:43,560 arena and I'm bored all the time there as well. 764 00:44:43,680 --> 00:44:45,480 So yeah, always happy to play a game. 765 00:44:45,600 --> 00:44:47,920 Well, Reed, thank you so much for joining me. 766 00:44:48,000 --> 00:44:49,920 Thank you for sharing your story. 767 00:44:50,200 --> 00:44:53,640 Thank you so much for having me. I'm I'm really grateful and very 768 00:44:53,640 --> 00:44:57,400 appreciative to you guys. Please, please, please, please 769 00:44:57,400 --> 00:45:00,040 like and subscribe to the channel. 770 00:45:00,400 --> 00:45:01,960 Trying to make that YouTube channel go. 771 00:45:01,960 --> 00:45:05,440 We hit our one year goal. I was just reminded today, 772 00:45:05,440 --> 00:45:09,960 YouTube reminded me that it was one year ago today at the time 773 00:45:09,960 --> 00:45:13,800 of recording, not at the time of you listening to this, but that 774 00:45:13,800 --> 00:45:17,280 it's been one year since our very first video on YouTube. 775 00:45:17,280 --> 00:45:21,200 So that's kind of cool in its own right, you know? 776 00:45:22,880 --> 00:45:27,680 And just remember guys, be kind to each other and let's play 777 00:45:27,680 --> 00:45:30,000 more games. Let's do it.