What If World - Stories for Kids · Eric O'Keeffe / Starglow Media

Cryptid Kids #9: The Taco Portal Puzzle

·28 min·2 clips

What if tacos could make portals and cabinets turned into monsters, sparking a wild adventure?

This episode of the Cryptid Kids series is a live-play adventure within the "What If World" podcast, hosted by Mamma Jamma filling in for Papa Lou. The players are Lola Rabbit as Amara Stormtide, Zach Jamaloo as Scribno the Doodle Knight, and Scully the Squid as Penne Pasta, all trying to find the villainous Katunkle. The adventure begins with the characters making personal pacts, like Scribno drawing something new and Amara using detective powers over storm magic. They use a listener-submitted "what if" premise to create a taco portal, transporting them into the video game world of Wendendo. They arrive in a damaged level called "Cabinet Creatures," where three monstrous cabinets—Sicky, Hingy, and Pantry—attack after being vandalized by Katunkle. Penne Pasta's minestrone soup accidentally fuels Sicky's hunger, while Scribno poorly repairs Hingy's hinge. Amara Stormtide discovers older tentacle marks on a can, revealing Katunkle visited this world years ago searching for a "Never Rock." The team then crafts a three-bean taco that grows into a magical beanstalk, which they climb to escape. They reach a new area called Cartridge Ridge, entering a neon-lit zone named "Rainbone" populated by tie-dye zombies and disco skeletons, where the adventure pauses. A surprising moment is when the helpful soup actually increases a monster's aggression due to a dice roll. The discovery of dual-aged tentacle marks suggests Katunkle has a longer, unexplored history in this game world. The episode ends on a cliffhanger in the bizarre, low-energy Rainbone setting, with the mystery of Katunkle's goal unresolved. The tone is highly conversational, playful, and improvisational, driven by audience questions and live dice rolls. The style is a family-friendly collaborative storytelling game filled with whimsical humor and gentle lessons. Young listeners who enjoy interactive fantasy, silly monsters, and creative problem-solving will love this episode. Anyone seeking a serious narrative or dislikes loose, dice-driven storytelling might prefer to skip it.

As heard by us

A taco portal turns a kid-friendly fantasy into a fast, curious puzzle.

This What If World episode has a quick, game-like energy. A taco shaped portal, a pixelated kitchen world, and a small mystery pull the story into Wendendo, where the damaged space becomes something to inspect instead of panic over. That choice keeps the whole thing moving.

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Why you'd press play

Press play for a taco portal, a pixelated game world, and a detective story about keeping pacts.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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