riverside magic episode 01 dca podcast: Any plans for this evening? Perhaps a game night? Game over, man. It's game over. Shut up. Play the game. Play it from your heart. Twenty-six years ago, we started playing a little game. Now we're all gonna sit down. Finish it. I've may the odds be ever in your Hello and welcome to Dice Camera Action, a mashup podcast about board games and movies, where morality means nothing in the pursuit of science. Each episode we will review a board game, and then if you're a Cinephile, you can stick around for discussion about a movie with a similar theme. Today we're gonna be talking about my father's work and Young Frankenstein. Both are about generational inheritance of obsession and humor around some very dark subjects. But first, our shout outs. Stop shouting. I'm not deaf. So let's start off with Tom, welcome. Thanks for joining the podcast. Glad to be back. What you've been checking out recently? Well, as far as, you know, stuff on I mean, I I've seen some movies, other stuff, but I think the real thing that really has brought me the most joy in the last couple of weeks is that not only is Ted Lasso back, but Reacher is back. And they're both the best feel-good series that you're gonna get on TV, but for different reasons. Sure. Yeah. Ted Lasso, everybody knows that that's a warm hug wrapped in it in wonderfulness. And it's back and it's it's been hitting on all cylinders already. But Reacher is back and that is the best kind of of fun for anybody who likes action though, because you're getting the warm hug from him beating the crap out of people who completely deserve it. And also saving an animal or two once in a while and and stuff like that. So the nice thing is it's it's it's kind of the one one makes you feel good because it's a warm hug, and the other one it it feels good because you get to work out your frustrations against really, really bad, horrible people in a in a vicarious way. And it makes you feel it's a warm punch face for somebody else. exactly, exactly. So so I'm glad to have both of those back in in my T V viewing life. And and it's it's definitely it's it's one of those that it it's remarkable that they come down on the same day. So it's like all right, I get to see what do I want the punching first or do I want the the fun stuff first or or what? But it's it's definitely great to have those back in in T V land and it's making me feel happier. I keep meaning to watch Reacher. I haven't done that yet. No, this is the fourth season, so push to finally check it out. It is it is really, really good and and it's very there's a lot of humor in it because of his character in it, you know, and and just like the there's one line in in this like there's these government agents who he doesn't even know who it is in this this this whole season yet. He doesn't know who they are and they're like it they're interrogating him and he's they're like, Do you think we're idiots? He's like, Yes. Just like that. You know, like this deadpan that that he's always there and he's always kinda getting into this stuff and it it's it's just it's very cathartic, I think is the word you're looking for. And but he also he loves animals and he takes care of animals and you can tell that that he's a person who cares. Even though he punches bad people in the face, he's doing it because he cares about other people. So that's that's the nice thing. You hear that on Dice Camera Action. We condone violence as long as you're caring for others. Right. Yeah, exactly. That's what it's here for. Yeah, yeah. So f for TV, what I've been checking out talked about this on the podcast previously. I dislike anime, but I've come to accept that it's because there's a lot of tropes and I dislike the tropes. So I've been getting a series of recommended shows to me to kind of help change my opinion upon that. So one of the ones that I just just started watching, it's called Freerin. It's a very popular show right now. I actually really like this show. This one clicked for me. Yeah, having some of those shown in tropes, there's a little bit of it. But the the premise is the heroes have already saved the world. And you know, it's they're they're near the end of their lives, and now the show is more about what happens next. And one of the heroes party members was an elf. And in this world, elves live like 10,000 years. So They saved the world in ten years. So it's like the most minuscule inex important thing to this person. So the entire world is so grateful of these people and it was like a couple days to her relatively. It was like it was ten minutes to him. Exactly. Because like I was in traffic for ten minutes. What what are you talking about? Well, there's some bad guys that just beat the crap out of Like, what are you guys all excited about? And so the show is about how this elf, how she tries to move on and continue on, but then slowly realizing how significant those ten years were despite them seeing being insignificant. So there's a lot of reflection in it. I really like that how it's she's rediscovering these short memories to her were actually more significant to her than previously mentioned. So I thought that was fun. That's cool. I've never heard of that one. Trying to Yeah, it's an anime I really enjoy. So Well, if you're if you're looking for other suggestions for anime, I'm not the huge, huge anime guy, but there's some that I love. Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champlu, and Cyberpunk Edgerunners. I definitely watch Cowboy Beepop and I really enjoyed that. And Edge Runners is I mean, can't wait for the next season. Season two's coming. Yeah. Amazing. I'm very Very looking forward to that. So what I what I loved about that one, and it's not really a s I I don't consider this a spoiler. It's like that the the biggest complaint I heard from people who watch Edge Runners are like, it didn't have a happy ending. I'm like you aren't familiar with Cyberpunk, are you? There are no happy endings in Night City. None. Even outside outside of twenty seventy seven, the cyberpunk genre is not about happy endings. Right? Right. Like I interviewed a couple years ago. I interviewed Mike Pondsmith a couple of years ago and he was he was great. First of all, awesome. I was like met your one of your legends, but because I've been playing Cyberpunk for ever. Love that game. Absolutely. And it's like it it it's like, you know, did you ever realize that, you know, you know, it would be so close to what we are living right now? It's like a series of down notes and he's like, Yeah, I I w didn't think it was going to be, but the parallels were there, you know. Yeah, all we need is a vending machine in our bedroom, right? And then we're there. Pretty much. Hey, I just need I just need cyber parts to replace all of this. And you can just get hacked and fall apart, but that's okay. Hey, I'm falling I'm falling apart now. But anyways, there you go. It's it's a step up. so board game, real quick shout out for me that I've been really enjoying as I just started playing Wondrous Creatures. Yeah came out I wanted to get that. A few years ago. It's a worker placement, and what's interesting about it is the the worker placement is not traditional where you place there and you do that action. It's all the adjacent locations to where you place it. And the board g gets more locations on it as the game goes. So each worker placement is like way more thinky than just I want, fuck. no, I'm gonna get a flower, a mushroom card, and you know, just a bunch of things. Okay. So the the worker placements are a lot more interesting. And then it has a lot of engine y, tableau building, goodiness, 'cause all the different cards activate at different times and which lead to more explosive turns like later in the game, which is what I'm about. I I've been I've been wanting to to try that out, but I haven't been able to get a copy of that yet. But my I mean, j just came back from Gen Con and we got piles and piles. I don't know if you can see all the the we got so much stuff. If you if you check out our post our our podcast we did on Our post Gen Con. this table was just you couldn't even see us. And we went through it as we went and talked about each little bit. But the one game that we're Some people don't know, Tom Tabletop Misfits. Check out his part. Right. Tabletop Misfits.com or the Tabletop Misfits on YouTube. Way more interesting than the BS we're talking about right now. Anyways, continue, Tom. I don't I don't know if I you sell yourself short. this is fun, but we've got Drillers. yes. This game we got a hold of, and I was like, this looks like a cool concept. We played it and fell in love with it immediately. It is so much fun. And and it is such a nice presentation. We just did a unboxing of it that aired on well, I don't know how soon this is gonna air compared to that, but we just did an unboxing on this. We're gonna do a review on it very, very soon. But the production value on this is amazing. The artwork on it is really, really great. It's a it's got deck building elements to it and and it was just fun on a bun. And that we we just this was one that jumped out at us right away. Granted, we've got a lot of other games to get through. This one we we tried it right away and it I I can't recommend it more. It was that much fun. I'm very jealous you got to play that. Yeah, I was very happy and thanked C G E for for r holding us a copy because it was Every day it was sold out, sold out, sold out, sold out and they they ha held a copy for us. So that was very, very nice of them and we got to bring it back and we busted that open right away and it was just it w there's very few games that drill down in it. I see what you did there. But it's it's very few games just grab us like right off the bat. Like it's gotta be a lot to really get our attention and get us into the fun zone and and that just We jumped right in with both feet and and drilled through that puppy really quick and and we just can't wait to play it again this weekend. So that was that was definitely our hotness. man, yeah, I'm I'm jealous of that. That was And so far we've got a lot to get through it from Gen Con. We got a whole bunch of stuff to play. but but that was one that we just we got to the table real quick and just said, That's that's our top ten of the year. Easy, if not top five. So We'll have to figure that out when we do our f top ten, top five lists. The one that's going to Game Found Grindhouse. Yeah, yeah. That Grindhouse too was another one we played. I don't wanna go grabbing it, but Misfit Dawn's over here off off camera telling me Don't forget Grindhouse, which was another game that we got right away that was really, really fun. That we're gonna have a review on very, very soon. That's going to a game found for another edition. They're doing a whole they had expansions before and now they're doing a whole together edition and It's a fun little game that I think in the in a elevator pitch I would say it's like a house on a haunted hill but without all the moving around and stuff. Because like you're you got a party you got a group of people and you're all playing and you've got your own objective, but then it's like there's like five doors and they flip the door and there's what happens. And flip the door and that's what happens. And you gotta roll dice, you gotta figure out what you're gonna do. And then you lose limbs as your hit points. So you you take damage on an arm and then well your arm's gone or if you lose your it damage to your head twice, you die. And then and so it gets through the whole thing and it's it's a fun, quick, it's like a twenty minute version of of House on the Hill, which is a lot of fun. Hm. I she's handing me stuff. And Flit Tune season two. Love that. Season two. There you go. Season two. Yeah, we thought we we thought we couldn't love it more, but season two lets us play more than four players and it's got a whole bunch of more mechanics. So even new starter stuff. So that's that's all of it. Yeah. I'm sure the we'll hear the whole scoop on you on on your on tip top misfitch. I'm sure it'll take us a few months to get all through these games for everything. Well So my Gen Con journey was not going, so I'm already finished my recap of that, so You did you didn't get the chance to make it? No, I didn't go this year. What about PAXU? You think you're gonna be able do that? I am going to PAXU this year. then we will have to hook up there and at least grab you a beer or we'll we'll do a team up. Yeah, sounds good. You can Because on our on our site we did a team up with Matt. I and that that we did. You can pass me drillers when PAXU when you guys are done with it. I'll put a good word in for you. I'm not letting that out of this house. What are you crazy? That's going on the forever shop. All right, next time. Next time. Alright. So that's our shout outs. Let's move into the meat the meat of it, the body of it. Because we're gonna talk about my father's work. Reanimated body of it. Reanimated bodies. Or not reanimated. They could be cold too. You gotta do experiments on both. Anyway, so my father's work is published in 2022 by Renegade Game Studios, designed by TC Petty the Third. Two to four players plays in a hundred and eighty minutes, which is a lie, with a weight of BGG. Point one four and currently has a BGG rating of seven point eight. Which is criminally low. Criminally low. And we'll get into why we think that. I'm gonna read the spiel here of what the game's about. In my father's work, there's our competing our competing mad scientists entrusted. With a page of their father's journal and a large estate to perform their devious experiments. Players earn points by completing experiments, aiding the town in its endeavors, upgrading their estates, and hopefully completing their father's masterwork. Game has played over three generations of characters, and it is inevitable that players will rouse the townfolk to form angry mobs or spiral into insanity. The player with the most points at the end of three generation wins and becomes the most revered, feared in ingenious scientist the world has ever known. Well mechanically, it's a worker placement that has three rounds in three mega rounds. Where unless you specifically store have things that help you store resources, you lose all the resources between the mega rounds. So unlike most Euros, you you you're really encouraged to use your resources because you're gonna lose them because you died and now your offspring are trying to complete your work. There's a lot of juggling between achieving your personal goals in the and managing this kind of emerging narrative that will constantly get in your way. And there's elements of engine building with resource tracks, tableau upgrades and kind of workers that have like specific uses. how about Tom, what anything else to add to like what you think is essential? I think the the big thing that that you kind of left off here is That it's got an app. Yes, and it's got a heavy, heavy story in it that choices you make make it go. I've we played it a bunch of times, and we've never come close. And we haven't played anything outside the first scenario. We played it at least six, seven times, and it's never done the same thing anytime that little choices, little things. I I even want to say it's There's probably some random elements in there that are thrown in because we can't see what's behind the curtain. But each game has been different every time and we've just been using the first scenario. And it's choose your own adventure. It's it's yeah, there's a lot of a lot of choices that matter and and it changes like things you do will change the way the city even has Yeah, the town that you're in has buildings get added, eliminated. Yes, perfect picture there. Like you could flip and suddenly you don't have the stable anymore, you know, and stuff like that. And and there's so much like even small choices, big choices and and even steers the whole story. I mean, we we've done things where where there's been, you know, zombies in one and and And, Nazis and others and it's like it's so all over the place and it's literally the same setup that we're doing each time. And there and it's so different and so fresh every time. And that's that's there definitely is I don't get anywhere else, really. There definitely is a random element to it because my wife and I have tested this where we made exactly the same choices. See what happened, but we ended up with a different scenario. Wow, okay. So as far as I know, there are eight endings to each box. There's three boxes. The boxes, so they kinda look like they're they're scenario is not quite the right word, but it's kind of narrative setup. Yeah. You go through them, th the y the app encourages you to use these different components and you get these different mechanisms on where the story goes and your choices. So the It's mostly your choices, but there's a little bit of randomness because like I said, made the same choices, but it kinda still steered us in a different direction. There was this one s scenario where Count Dracula showed up and this is gonna go in like a vampire thing and then it didn't mention him again. Yeah. Till the very end where he's like, He watched you this whole time from afar. I'm like, well Yeah, we had we had one where it was like we had to we had to all vote on something and it seemed like the most innocuous thing and it ended up totally biting my character in the ass. But it was like and it was funny because I I my the other Miss Finn Omega who p was playing, it's like it was I said, You should have chosen the other choice. It was obvious that it would help you too and he's like, I just felt wacky today. You know. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But it steered the whole thing in a completely different direction and and it was like, Wow, I didn't expect that to happen, you know? But I what I think the genius in the design of that you make a choice that seems that's going to hurt you, the game doesn't punish you that much. Yes, there is a penalty, but it usually gives you a benefit in a different way. And it narratively makes sense. You know, like you tattletale on somebody being terrible, like And then the location just disappears from the board, it's gone. So now people can't get that valuable resource anymore. But since you did that, you you get a couple of dollars for for for messing that up. So it's chaotic. And that's gonna be my first I feel like most crisis people's criticism of this game is that people go into this expecting a traditional euro, but this game doesn't care about your your planning. No, it's you can still plan I would say it's not even a euro. It can't it I I can't even classify it as a euro just because it's got some elements of it. Yeah. It has some elements, but it just throws so much sideways and and it's not it and it's also changes it too a lot by what your personal goals are and what you're trying to achieve and what cards you get for your experiments because like the first time I ever did my own personal goal was five games in because I just I didn't want to do other things the right things to line up with the right kinds of experiments to line up with what I had. It happened the last game that I won actually the first one I won, but it was like that actually was the first time I ever did my actual achievement. Yeah. Right. Yeah. And it was it was and it was uphill. It was really uphill. Especially because that little choice that little choice that Omega had had done ended cr getting rid of a shop that I needed resources from, that specific shop. And that it is so I had to go the hard way to get that resource. And it was just like And you know, to to note that it's not for everyone. And I think that's why this game didn't get as big as as it could have, because people feel like, well, they're expecting that. I am trying to make this plan. I'm trying to go to it. And the game just it feels like it randomly throws a roadblock into you. But to me, I think that's the most interest the best part of this is it forces you to adjust. It and it forces you to follow your curiosity. And I think that's like to me, thematically, you're a mad scientist and this is gonna be dumb, but I wanna do this. I think that's my Favorite part of it. It's like I just I gotta f I gotta know what's gonna happen next. For science, I'm going to play this card. what does this card say? It says lose your spouse and gain a body token. Did I just murder my spouse? But I have a body token. You know? Don't tell anybody that. So like it makes you, it kind of gets the dark humor of it and the mood of it, and especially with the app, and I in the app to not everyone, it's so immersive to me. It just makes me. feel insane, but have fun doing it. Yeah. So it definitely brings the theme to front. And and you know, when you look at the all the BGG ratings and all that, I you know, you've got I I think there's a lot of various subgroups of this, but I think there are two different types of gamers really on BGG. There's people who say if I do everything right and build the perfect engine and all that, I should win. And then there's people who Just go with it and have fun and random things can happen and random dice rolls can happen and whatever. That's fun to them. And and and this is definitely not for the s the person who's playing br brass Birmingham trying to find the best system and and doing all the the math and making all the rain man math in the in the sky in front of you to where you're you're counting all your options and making sure you have the perfect engine, then you should win. This is one of those that you could be thinking you're going in the right direction and then here you go, here's the curveball that just comes in and and changes everything for you. And and that's that's what I like. I like, the different kind of games that things can happen one way or the other and and that's that's why that's the kind of games I gravitate to. And that's why I think that I think BGG's ratings lean heavier towards Euros and Of course. The kind of controlled gaming experience than the f see your pants kinda fun, kinda one one time I might win, one time I might lose. It doesn't matter, you know, let's have fun. And I I just think that that's why it's, you know, so criminally low, because the production quality is huge, the the storyline's huge, the the replayability is huge, the fun you're having as you're playing it is huge. And it's just like why it's not higher is is just you you gotta account Yeah y you gotta account for that. You gotta account that this is the kind of game that's gonna give you a good time. It's not gonna be one that you can math out. And and that's why that that's agreed. It's so it's the people feel like they need to math it out. And I think that's why it didn't didn't get as big as it people wanted it. But I I slightly disagree with you because think to me I I This still has a lot of elements of a euro. it is worker placement. You're collecting resources. You have production tracks. I mean, i essentially your your your journal knowledge is a is production tracks. upgrading your tableau with upgrades to your estate. But I think this that concept that like you want to have a plan, but you can't, to me doesn't necess and what I think is misunderstood about this game is still think you can get a lot of points if you play that game correctly. You embrace the chaos. it's gonna change. And if once it changes, you're just gonna do something different. And if you do that, that's actually how you you win this game. You've got to have a Like said, you follow that curiosity. You follow that curiosity and that's actually how you win this game. Yeah. I but I just I I think that I I agree with you what you're saying. I'm just saying it's to me it's not straight euro because to me a straight euro is if you if you play it this way you will get X points and you will win. and this does not have that because there's a lot of elements in this straight I agree with you. There's a lot of Euro elements in this. And that's why I like a lot of Ivy Studio games. And insane. A lot of Ivy Studio games had elements that you could totally take out of a Euro or you could take that but they put that twist on it. Yeah that you've you suddenly are now playing a different kind of game. like Altera, which is one of their newest ones. It's it's been the Kickstarter, it's like there's a certain amount of worker placement. You people are calling it like their Euro because there's a certain amount of worker placement and engine building and making sure but they've got that left cur tur curve ball that's gonna hit hit you that that makes you go, I could go this way because you're going this way or or Because you did this, I've gotta kinda do this, but but it's still got the worker placement, getting resources, doing that, that that it adds that other element to it, that that secret sauce to me that makes it something where I like to play that as opposed to a very dry Euro. when we talked about pre before this, we talked about speakeasy. I I loved the theming of it, but it was a very Do this to do this to do this euro and it I just didn't dig it. So it was like because I just don't want to have to play a game that's a spreadsheet to me, you know? No, definitely. I wanted to mention about the app a little bit more. Was so this is something that people are always concerned about with app-based games, is that the app is no longer supported. So I don't know if you know this. The app for Android is no longer supported. They dropped support for that because Upgrades, dev work or whatever. Well, it it costs a certain amount of money to have it in the app store too. The maintenance required and you gotta free push. Yeah, every every time they do an OS change, you gotta make sure it's compatible. It costs man hours, you know. So the community they released the dev the development code to the community and a community member took up that man mantle and And was able to recreate the app. There is a web based app version of this now, which will be maintained by the community. So for anyone that's worried about that, it's not going away. That's gonna probably be there. Renegade games promised that when they made the game that they were gonna make the files available that you could use. And it did and it's v it is available and it is playable. You don't need to know code to use it. It's a fully used web based app now. So I was lucky to get mine on my app Apple products before they dropped off the store. So Well, iOS still has it for now for a little bit longer. it still has it? Okay, great. So go get if you got an iPhone, get a copy now. Get it now. Actually, still have the app on my phone, even though I have a newer phone it transferred over. So I still have the app. But there is a web based version of that. So I just want to put that out there for people that are here that are like, Speaking of the app, it's just such a mm, the language narrative, you don't have to read it, but the voice, the mood, it makes you feel crazy, but once again that curiosity, that imagination, you wanting to be that mad scientist, it's love it. Yeah, that's why when when when we were talking, kinda well what can we do? we want to do something on my father's work because I finally got I we've been playing, you know, a friend's coffee for a long time. We've been playing at their house, but I I finally got this at a con, you know, because I couldn't find it it it's still a little harder to get now. I mean they they stopped making it. I really wish Renegade would would come up with more expansions for it or something. they they and when I I even asked them about it at Gen Con, they said, Well, we don't have plans, but maybe and I'm like, yeah, yeah. That's that's kinda speak for it probably won't happen unless there's a really big outcry for it, but but it's it's definitely worth getting if you haven't played it, find it. If you have you know, I'm sure somebody's probably played this to death and would be happy to to sell it to you and get a copy for you because it it is definitely worth every opportunity to play because it is that much fun. I know at least you US based website still has copies, are still selling copies. Wow, I didn't know that. Yeah. They actually because it wasn't because it sold out really hard in second person. Yeah, I knew you couldn't get it immediately for a while. But they have they have some copies. I don't know how much, but I know they must have found a couple pallets in a warehouse or something. Yeah, they're I know it's for sale. I've seen it. I checked. go, run, don't walk. I mean, right now, this entire time I've been fiddling with an actual vial that this is one of the normal resources that you collect in this game. I've been fiddling with this the entire time. The crazy people put like all things in decorations in this and you can just customize your own game. the Production quality. The coins are great. Every one of the every one of the pieces of it, the figs are great. Yeah. Just or this might not be for you piece that I want to mention is that at the beginning I was saying that the estimated playtime is a lie. A hundred and eighty minutes is a lie. You're gonna be playing an hour per player plus an hour, probably. So if you're playing a few Especially on your first couple spins. First couple spins, exactly, right? Because you're still you're exploring the base concepts and mechanisms, and then it throws new mechanisms as the story of narrative evolves. So you're gonna have to be learning new things to do almost every time. Like I said, there's eight different endings, three different scenario boxes. So there's at least four mechanisms that you're gonna have to learn. Now that sounds overwhelming, but you don't need to memorize those because And it eases you into them. It eases you into them. That's a really good point. So when I say this not for everybody, expect to play this a long time. But I don't know about you, Tom. When I get into it three hours minimum. Yeah, three hours minimum. When I get into this, and especially my wife too, she loves this game too. We just get we get lost in the narrative. We get lost in the doing things that are like, I gotta work tomorrow sort of thing. Because we're just so into it. How do you feel about that? I feel like the time it's long, but it's a three it's three hours minimum, especially once you get you get it down and and people know what they're doing. I mean it's it but it's a wonderful three hours. You know, it's it's you know, it's story trip. If you're having a game night and you have a maybe a warm up of flip tunes or something, have something to eat and then jump into this puppy because it is worth the next three hours of your life, you know. And even at first it might take three and a half, four or s well it depends on if you have somebody who knows what they're doing beforehand. But but it's not crazy complicated. It's not crazy complicated. It's not i it's really easy for the s the system to be taught, but it's just once you get the system down, it's like, okay, now left turn, left right turn, left turn, right you know, and it's like, Okay, well what do I gotta do now? you know, and it's about it's It's it's definitely a great evening for a game group. I mean I wanna play right now. And I'm doing a podcast. Yeah. My wife and I are gonna play this again tomorrow night. I think I've just talking about it. Mm-hmm. Any other final th thoughts, Tom? I I have no more final thoughts on this other than if you haven't played it, play it. If you haven't if you if you don't own it, get it. Because I mean, it's there's there's very few games that I will just I don't know, a few, maybe twenty games that I will recommend that that I can almost guarantee your money back and and although this is not legally binding. If you let me know that you just hated this, then you know, I could probably, you know, find somebody to take the copy off your hand because it is it is that good of a game. It is that good. And I we we don't even have pictures of here like like I mean, you you you mentioned you mentioned the pieces. I mean, come on, let's look at this. I mean I mean these are these are your boards, these are your player boards, those are your castles, they're beautiful. The board but here's the figs are i are amazing, but here's all of the the the freaking resources. look at these. they've got they have little cogs that that that are your your your tech, you got you got coins, you got little wooden stuff, and these vials are just just beautiful. still playing the mind. this is this is production value that's off the charts and in the app and and the app on top of that just makes the story so much better. I mean it's it's this is crazy. I can't say enough about this game. Well, I have we got a time limit, so therefore I have a suspicion, but Matt likes us to say ratings. So what would you rate this? Well, I I keep forgetting what Matt says the It's out of is it out of five or out of ten at this point? It's BGG scale, so it would be out of ten. Well, I will give it a nine point nine nine nine nine nine nine nine. Because it is that much fun. stare with you. I'm like a nine point eight. There's there are very little things that I'd want to change about this game. personally, I would like a solo mode. Because it's app based, you don't need you don't need to have a complicated t AI to do this. you just you have the network already. But that's a different story. Yeah. Well I think it was a product of its time too. because solo games weren't the thing at the time that that they've been in the last couple years. So so I I bet if it was made today, it'd probably have a solo mode. But that being said, nine point eight, I guess. Can imagine for me personally this ever losing leaving my top ten games of all time. It it's gonna be on my shelf. Currently it's my shelf. Yeah. It's currently on my mother three. I don't think it's ever gonna leave the top ten though. Like I can't imagine it would. I would play this anytime. Cool. Exactly. Exactly. All right. Let's transition. Anyone else that doesn't like movies, which is wild to me, you can turn off the podcast because now we're going to talk into our main movie. Young Frankenstein by Mel Brooks. Happy hundredth birthday, Mel. Seriously, that guy is hanging on by a thread. But you know I just I I want to keep him around forever. No. You just Well, he was a thousand year old man, so maybe he can make it. He's he's well on his way. sure. Frank Sand was released in nineteen seventy four. Main star is Gene Wilder. Let me get my little synopsis open up here. Frankenstein is a satire of nineteen thirties monster music specifically about the classic Frankenstein. As scientists leaves his work to his descendant, Frederick Frankenstein. Stein Frankenstein, hoping you would do that, who resisted his family's legacy and now is fervently continuing his grandfather's experiments of reanimation. Man, this movie I don't know, is incredible. biases that I'll explain in a second, but I it's incredible. has these intense drama moments surrounded by this in your face humor. And it was filmed in black and white and had all these outdated special effects to really make you feel like this is an old time movie, and you'd get right into it right away. The big thing is the reason it made you feel like that. I don't know if you you you know this factor, but the actual sets for the movie Frankenstein were in storage in somebody's garage. And when they made this movie, they got those sets and restored the whole set, put it all back together. So it's the same set from Frankenstein, the actual movie. So that is it it's authentic. I mean, it's perfect. so actually so on that point, so let me clarify, my name's Isaac Hirschfeld. The director of cinematography for this movie was Gerald Hirschfeld. He was my grandfather. He did a great job. Q I'm thinking about generational legacy talking about. he my grandfather had an argument with Mel Brooks because to try to make it so authentic, the floors themselves were crooked as crap. So as he was my grandfather was having the the dolly of the camera pulled across the floor, the camera was shaking. And my my grandfather who was like, I can't put this on my consciousness. I'm a professional cinematographer. It's shaking. And Mel Brooks was like, No, no, it's authentic. Just just stick with it. And then s over time it developed into we need to do this the entire film. So that's why all the shots are purposely a little shaky to make it feel older. Because they were shaky back then. They were shaky back then. And I was like, that's actually genius. So that's really cool. And d would you like to talk a little bit more about the plot points first before I talk more technical? Because I'm just gonna go off the technical force. Yeah, I the the plot points for I mean it's not People use the term parody and and there's there's wild parody and then there's very subtle parody. And this movie is very much played completely straight, but not. It it's got a Melbert's Twink, but you're like you're you're not watching space balls. You're not watching History of the World or Men in Tights. You're watching a very, very tight parody of those monster movies that is like they're like Cloris Leechman's character in it. She's not delivering jokes. She's delivering drama, but they're they're but they're funny lines. But she's giving it straight, a hundred percent cold reads on it. But it's funny because she's doing a lot of a lot of the stuff in it is funny because of what they're saying, but they're saying it so earnestly, it's like that it's it it gives a reality to it, it gives a it gives a just another level of it. And and even to the point where G Milder who wrote this with with Mel Brooks, he w he had one demand of Mel Brooks. He said, You will not be in this movie Because every time you're in a Mel Brooks movie and you do like two or three characters or you do you take everybody out of the movie. Yeah. It's like you're you're you're breaking the fourth wall, like Deadpool around here. And so he said, You cannot be in the movie and and begrudgingly, you know, Mel agreed. And which was funny because I actually thought one of the characters in it was Mel Brooks in Makeup, but I found out it wasn't. Like and and I I literally thought it was Mel Brooks in Makeup all the time I saw the the that until I saw that thing and I'm like, it wasn't that dude in the lecture? No, that that wasn't Mel Brooks, but but he he actually found a way into the movie because he does the howl for a wolf. He does a train sound and he does one other sound effect in the movie, but that's like him making those sound effects. That's the only only part of him in the movie. But it's it's just it's They still do break the wall the fourth wall a few times. Just A few times. There's one there's one is as well. Igor just looks in the camera and just repeats a line that Gene Wilder just did. Yep. Yeah. Yeah. It's still a Mel Brooks movie. Yeah. You can't tell if Marty Feldman really lifted the camera or if he didn't and was just kind of looking in that direction. Because you know that that's the way his eyes kind of went. But w and speaking of h seeing Igor Marty Feldman, I I did not even know that this was not in the script, but there's a running joke in the movie about Igor's hump moving from one side to the other. It was in the middle a little bit. I thought that was in the script the whole time. Marty Feldman just did that for the first third of the shooting. He would move it around and nobody noticed. And Gene Wilder did when he puts his hand on the shoulder and is like, I thought and then they just keep going, right? But that would that was like it a later scene. Yeah. And but but that was also that was like the one ad lib in the movie was when when he g he goes, I can help you with your hump and he goes, What hump? you know. Yeah, yeah. But that was all out of he just said that and they were like, That's brilliant, let's keep that in. But the whole hump gag, like he nobody noticed when they were shooting the whole time for like a third of the movie that he was moving it around and that's now a gag in the movie. Like when you watch it, it's like the hump moves around like in one scene it's over here, and one scene it's over here, and that was that was all him just deciding to do that and not tell anybody. you kind of brushed on this a little bit. Because it's like it's drama that leads to humor, right? I think this is like such a weirdly unappreciated form of acting to me. Just the the how genius Gene Gene Wilder's acting was in this was like he was doing this madness monologue where he's talking about pursuing immortality, you know, at the turning point of his it's like trying to wouldn't admit He w he wants to distance himself from his family's legacy. And then the turning point is when he finds his grandfather's work. And then he's he he's t totally straight shooter, and then he's reading this book and then he looks into the camera and said, It could work just like the genuine madness and unhinged look in his eyes. It's like it's shrouded in humor, but like I just to me it was so authentic feeling that he was just like, You went crazy and Yeah, you could you can see it go clink. Yeah, exactly. It just it felt so real. And I think that was it's it's actually really good acting, but people don't feel that way 'cause it's a comedy, right? But I think that goes to the point where this is a different type of parody to me. It's brilliant. It's it's brilliant in its in its simplicity and its trueness to being what it is. It's it's they're not make they're not in on the joke. That's kind of the whole it's like that they're not realizing that they're parodying what they're doing. You know, like you you watch men in tights and you know the whole time they're making fun of Robin Rowan Hood movies or or Spaceballs. You can tell they're all making fun of the tropes and stuff, but the characters in young Frankenstein are actually playing it for real. Yeah. But there's there's humor in that and the humor in watching them do that, and it's funny as hell. But it's they're genuine to what they're doing, as opposed to a wink and nod, you know, kind of thing. Yeah, no, definitely. And it's the madness. It's the humor and the madness. I actually really like that we team this up with My father's work because my father's work has a lot of the same kind of concepts in it where it's the the drama in my father's work is just super funny to me because of how dark and absurd it is. And so is young Frankenstein. It's like they are just genuinely We need to animate a body. Yeah, and especially because in the beginning he's like he's like This is impossible. This is yeah, that he's like finally gets that it just might work. It just might It's like he goes from some normal scientist to mad scientist, just right there. Yeah, yeah. Like a switch. That does kind of wanna the 'cause we always are supposed to bring up negatives. So my one thing that this movie is not for everybody. It's actually work at a college, work with a lot of Gen Z and I was having a conversation with this person and she said that She didn't think this was funny. And it is a little bit of an outdated humor. because it feels it some of it feels cheesy, right? There are lines that have been said over and over again. But I think it's one of those things where it feels cheesy because so many things have copied this. And so many these lines have been said over and over again because it's so iconic. Melbrooks in general kind of feels this way, feels like a cliche now because of this legacy he's left with all his humor. So I think you gotta go into this knowing that it's gonna be a little slapstick. It's gonna be a little bit chaotic with its jokes. But I think it's because it's one of it's what made this humor popular. You know what I'm saying? Well I I think too it's it's it there's a lot of arguments where the you get a lot of people on the YouTube's saying, well Blazing Saddles couldn't be made today because of blah blah blah blah blah. and it's like the whole reason Blazing Saddles couldn't be made today is because it was a parody of tropes, because every third movie that came out at the time was a cowboy movie, and all the things they were making fun of were out every week in the movie theater, and so everybody got these tropes. And with young Frankenstein, I think a lot of the stuff doesn't translate well because people the younger generations haven't seen the old Frankenstein movies and stuff like but the new Frankenstein movie that came out, if you like that, check this out. Because you'll get it. Yeah, you'll you'll get it. And it it's it's one of those things that, you know, Mel Burke's movies, you know, the only criticism I could say for any of them is they're very of their time. And what they're making fun of of their time. And, you know, like 'cause I I've had my my kids I I've been trying they're they're, in their twenties and and I've been trying to introduce them to stuff over the years when they were younger. And my my son really liked young Frankenstein because it was funny, but he didn't get half of it. And I'm like, I can understand because you don't have the points of reference. Right. But like what when he when we saw Blazing Saddles, you know, it was like, Okay, well here's the deal. Let me start off by saying this is there were cowboy movies all the time. You already lost And were cheesy. They were cheesy as hell for most most of them were. And this is making fun of a lot of those tropes, but but I have to say the social commentary side of it, was he was shocked that they got away with it, but but he saw that that was still, you know, part of everything. You know, it's like this this hasn't gone away. You know, it's it's like, you know, so he was able to see the the commentary side of it. But he didn't quite get all of the jokes or why the why the farts around the why the fart scene in it was so funny because that wasn't something that they did. You know, and he didn't have his pistol in the last scene, doesn't even touch his his gun. Like you don't know the context of that. That makes like why is that funny? I see that. Yeah, yeah. And so so that's kind of that that's the only thing about Mel Brooks movies is They don't age as well because they're very of their time and they're they're spot on for their time. They're satire of this time. Yeah. But men in tights, really, who has seen a Robin Hood movie in a long time and my kids haven't seen a Robin Hood movie, so they wouldn't get half of it. But my son, watched it and he he thought it was cute, but the the one laugh out loud joke was a black sheriff. Well, it worked in blazing saddles, I was and and he just he he fell on the floor right because that's why like that 'cause he got that for watching Blaze itself. So And Dave Chappelle saying that word's funny too. If you're showing young people any Mel Brooks movies, you need to ha show them the what their satire is. Here's your homework first. Here's your homework first. Yeah, that sounds awful. Like Spaceballs is the only one that kinda doesn't do that because the w Star Wars never stopped. But I can't wait to see Spaceballs too. I'm just annoyed they didn't call it the search for more money. They changed it. The next one, I think, is what they is I think that's the title now. Yeah, I'm I'm very excited for that. Actually, they're also making a very young Frankenstein TV show. Well, I didn't c I didn't catch that. So they made the pile the no they haven't shown anyone the pilot. They showed the pilot to the execs and the execs studio approved to make it a full series, so That's on the horizon in the next few years. Yeah. I know nothing about it other than that. I was a little disappointed in the history of the World Part Two series. I it to me it's like they could have taken the best parts and made a movie and but that's that's the way streaming is. I mean, l Marvel, you know. The Mandalorian and Grogu, you know. I could talk to you about that. So let's try not to go into that subject too much. But that's what History of the World Part Two suffered from. They could have cut a third of it out, made it a movie, and it would have been hilarious. Hmm. I I agree with that. I need to say just a few other quick snippets about young Frankenste Frankenstein as a personal experience, because my grandfather. So this actually I think this got an interview at some point, but something that my grandfather told me was the crew had a really hard time filming this movie. 'Cause they were laughing all the time. So Mel Brooks bought a stack. Do you know this fact? No, I don't bought a stack of white handkerchiefs. He spent a bunch of money getting hi white handkerchiefs for everyone in in the in the studio. If you can't stop from laughing, you have to take one of those handkerchiefs and stuff it in your mouth. 'Cause of the first couple weeks of them filming, the just people can't get rid of the giggles yet. And eventually they get into it, right? But so, you know Gene Wilde would be filming a scene and then he'll finish the scene and turn around and just see a sea of white handkerchiefs. Literally every person in the room had to shove one in their mouths because they because they were gonna ruin the shot. I can't imagine trying to film this movie and just constantly everyone's everyone everyone on the stage is a jokester. They're they're literally what's her name? Is an actual comedian. what's drawing a blank. But they're all funny people. Like how do you Yeah? Well I I heard I heard one thing, there was there was a couple scenes that Cloris Leachman was doing and she was able to deliver all of our l all of her lines, but but Gene Wilder and Terry Gar couldn't stop laughing. Yeah. And so they had to take like twelve takes of that friggin' scene and just okay, well we we have this section here where Gene doesn't laugh, and this section here where Terry doesn't laugh. So we had to use this shot and this shot and this shot and this shot and piece it all together. Because they were all just breaking up through the whole thing. Apparently there was one epis one take, I forget which scene it was, where everyone was laughing too much and my grandfather had to reel everyone in and just, guys, we have to get this done And then everyone finally took it seriously and right as he was about to finish the shot, he started laughing. I bet they all threw their hankies at him. Yeah, I I can't imagine how funny it was. thing I wanted to mention. So completely unprompted, middle school for me, my technology teacher, my name was Hirschfeld, and said, Hirschfeld, huh? You you must be family of Gerald Hir Hirschfeld who made young Frankenstein. I'm like, actually I am. He's like, And then I was nothing th I was called Igor for all of middle school. I was just, it's actually you, Igor. And then just People didn't know why because I don't know, I was seventh grade. How old was I then? Eleven or twelve? When in my class it'd seen Well, of course I had. Okay. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I've seen all of almost all of my grandfather's movies. But by that point I've seen them. I think I watched it with him. Potentially. I'm gonna say yes. I've definitely seen it there. And I thought it was funny. I mean, maybe it was just because I didn't understand the jokes, let's be real. But I thought I thought when you're seven you don't get all, but but still you could be watching that at seven and and laugh. there's so many the the abbe normal scene, I just I was yeah, I was probably eight or ten when I first saw that and I said everything was abbe normal all the time after that. Well for me it's like it was the Gene Hackman scene that when I was really young, I I just remembered everything about the Gene Hackman scene and and just To to the point where i even when people mention cigars, they'd be like, Cigars? Cigars. Good. Yes. And and praise it up and down, you you got to. Because it's funny. It's just you gotta you gotta be able to to laugh and in even to like I was you know, I've seen it a bunch of times. I mean, we're talking fifty, sixty times easy. And today I was I was just catching up on a couple of scenes on YouTube, clicking around. And the first time in my life, after seeing it this many times, I noticed the zipper that was under his neck. And it just must have been the quality of the video or something I was seeing before. But I had never noticed that there was literally a zipper on his neck like right here. And I just burst out laughing so much. because I just never noticed it before because I I watch it on VHS for God's sake, which has gotten no resolution. Yeah and it's like so I never noticed there was a zipper right here on his neck and and I just I I I just fell out of my chair laughing, just going, There was always a zipper there. I've watched this a million times and there was always a zipper They they couldn't get the the no the bolts to stick in his neck so they just like, I don't know, let's put a zipper on him instead. That was literally the conversation they had. Wow. I don't know. That was funny. Yeah. I I it's not like any other comedies you'll see nowadays. No. Talked about this, but to illustrate I think the mood be hush. Is like the cinematography. Obviously I love the cinematography and I'm super biased. But the opening shot opening shot is this slow reveal. Of close reveal of this coffin and you don't know what's going on, and the slow reveal of it's very traumatic, it's very intense, and you see this corpse, like, who is this corpse? Who is this legacy? And it's holding this ancient looking notebook. It's like, what is this notebook? And then some hands reach in to take the notebook and they can't pull it out because it's stuck. And it's just like it's it's drama, it's intense, and then just throws in this like then crazy, right there. And I think that That humor's not used anymore and it's worth a watch because of that. Yeah. I mean, the closest I could get to anything like that is kind of maybe some of the some of the Will Farrell movies, you know, of just that that they commit to a character. Yeah. And run with the j that no matter what, they commit to that character and they say what they think feels right in that character and and you d you don't get a lot of that be 'Cause this is this movie was very true to the characters, very the humor was in the situation that they were in more than they weren't just going, Hey, wait, yeah, nah, yeah, look, I'm Frankenstein, look, brain, it's like it it's it's very perfect for the story. And they're committed to what they're doing and who they are and what kind of characters they are, and and it's it's very, very good. I mean I I there's things I say. This should be taught in schools and it sh it really should be. Yeah. Agreed. I'm not biased in saying at the very least in film school, you need to teach this one. For sure. The thoughts before we wrap up. I just think, it's I've never had, in all the times I've listened to the podcast and all the times I I've thought about yeah, done the podcast and thought about proper movie board game. pairings. this is This is best pairing we've done so far. This is literally like you're carrying on your grandfather's father's work, It's it's and young Frankenstein, he's picking up I can't even say I I'm excited for that series for younger Frankenstein, but what I don't know what you're gonna do, where you go with it, but but I'm I'm excited about that because it's yeah same it's that it it's it's just one of those gems that That yeah, is amazing and funny and well worth anybody's while to watch. Of all I'm completely biased and I don't care. Of all of the episode pairings we've done so far, this is the combo that you just need to pump out in one day. I'm telling you, get this game, watch this movie, and just put it on the background. Yeah. Would be a wild time. I'm gonna do that. I'm actually gonna do that. I'm doing it. Next time next time I play it, it's going on the TV. Yeah. Well zer zero to five. What is your rating for young Frankenstein? Five. Five two. And I really sound you you wanna you don't wanna sound like a fanboy sometimes, but I'm sorry. It is a chef's kiss of a movie. It is perfect, it's a perfect parody, it's a perfect movie without it even being a parody. It's it it's Totally perfect. Every actor in it is perfect. I'm sorry. his script is brilliant too. So it's like And cinematography is perfect. And the cinematography is off the hook by a genius who I hope absolutely I hope his genius went down generations past his himself. Yeah, and I stopped it at his son. Okay. Yeah, that's a my they say my grandfather was a brilliant golfer who was you know could have been on the P G or was on the PGA tour and and I'm like I can't swing a club this in my life so I know I know the feeling. Yeah, my grandfather got to make movies. I'm just here talking about so Yeah. Well I I would love to have personally thanked him for that the you know, his part in that movie because it it's al it's filled me with joy for a long, long time. Well it still has. I'll I'll I'll take down in his behalf for ya. So Great. Well, thank you for joining us for our show. I would really appreciate a few minutes if you left a a rate and a review. That would really help us out to get the word out this podcast is out here. So thank you for joining us on Dice Camera Action. I'm Isaac Hirschfeld. I'm Misfit Tom from the Tabletop Misfits. Go check us out on the YouTubees and do the whole like and subscribe y thing. Do the like and subscribe y thing and buy my father's work and watch young Frankenstein.