Tabletop talk from years at the table.
GamingPerspectives follows Saul and Jolene through loose, informed conversations about tabletop role-playing games. Recent episodes weigh AI tools, digital D&D, classic systems, modules, convention tables, and the choices that shape actual play.
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GamingPerspectives is tabletop RPG commentary from inside the hobby. Saul and Jolene talk like players who have spent years reading rules, running sessions, buying books, watching trends come and go, and comparing what sounds good online with what holds up at a table. The show is not slick. That is part of its character. Recent episodes move through AI in TTRPGs, the possibility of a more digital D&D, The Fantasy Trip, module buying versus homebrew adventures, GM motivation, convention game data, upcoming RPG releases, and the impossible question of choosing only three systems forever. D&D is a frequent reference point, from original editions through 5th edition and 2024 discussions. It never fully crowds out the broader shelf. Pathfinder, Call of Cthulhu, Vampire the Masquerade, Savage Worlds, GURPS, Shadow Dark, Daggerheart, Traveler, Space Opera, Dark Conspiracy, The Lost Mines of Phandelver, and other games appear as examples of how wide the role-playing world can be. The conversations often begin with a concrete prompt. A YouTube video, a convention list, a rules memory, a campaign problem, or a new release discussion becomes the opening move. From there, the episode wanders usefully. Saul may press a claim about digital ownership, the health of local game stores, or why GMs need help during a time crunch, while Jolene adds skepticism, correction, or a simpler framing. The AI discussion is a good example of the show's balance. It is not presented as magic or doom; it is treated as a tool that might help with NPC ideas, campaign prep, or clarifying a messy thought, with clear concern about honesty when money is involved. The D&D digital episode has the same grounded quality. It worries about renting access to rulebooks, then turns toward the possibility that other RPGs could benefit if players start looking beyond one dominant system. GamingPerspectives is best for tabletop listeners who like opinionated hobby talk without heavy production gloss. It rewards patience. The show tends to think aloud, double back, and land on practical judgments shaped by old campaigns, new games, and the ordinary pressures of getting people to the table.
Made for: Best for tabletop RPG players, GMs, and hobbyists who enjoy conversational analysis of systems, editions, modules, conventions, and campaign prep. It especially suits listeners already comfortable with RPG terms and the wider post-D&D landscape.
What sets it apart: GamingPerspectives stands apart through its long memory and table-first reasoning. Instead of treating each topic as news, Saul and Jolene test it against old editions, local play habits, book ownership, GM workload, and the many games sitting outside the D&D center.
A husband and wife team discuss their life long love of hobby gaming from RPGs to Boardgames.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Saul and Jolene make tabletop gaming decisions approachable by testing systems, trends, and tools against the practical demands of play.
GamingPerspectives turns tabletop gaming questions into an easygoing exchange between Saul and Jolene, with disagreement, teasing, and practical experience left in the conversation.
A convention game tally reaches the kitchen table; you get Saul and Jolene debating what it means.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A loose tabletop chat treats AI as a practical helper for ideas, NPCs, and GM prep.
Gaming Perspectives looks at AI in tabletop RPGs from the angle that matters at the table: a GM chasing next-session ideas, a backstory that needs a cleaner shape, or an NPC mage that should not take four hours to build.
A lively, grounded discussion of digital D&D, ownership, and whether change could push players toward other games.
Gaming Perspectives uses a prediction about an all-digital sixth edition of D&D to open up a bigger question about access, ownership, and the tabletop scene beyond the hobby's dominant brand.
A local convention schedule becomes a revealing map of tabletop tastes.
Gaming Perspectives treats a convention schedule as a window into tabletop habits. Saul and Jolene begin with a YouTube number-crunching discussion of Gen Con, then bring the same kind of question home to Dungeon Con: which games are on offer, and what do those tables say about…
A loose 2026 RPG tour works best when familiar worlds run into practical rules questions.
Gaming Perspectives treats the arrival of 2026 RPGs as a question of what actually makes a new game feel new. Saul's unranked list moves across Terry Pratchett's Discworld, Invincible, Outgun superheroes, a 5th edition Traveler, and Dungeon Crawler Carl, with the last still…
A loose, vivid case for time travel RPGs as engines of consequence, history, and genre play.
Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene treats time travel as one of tabletop's better hazards: every attempt to repair the past risks making the future stranger.
A clear, practical look at choosing modern tabletop role-playing when fantasy and science fiction are out.
Modern role-playing can sound oddly narrow when both fantasy and science fiction are ruled out, but this reviewable discussion keeps the question grounded: what kind of contemporary story does the player actually want?
Practical D&D craft for working DMs.
Live-wire esoteric teaching in motion.
Fast clues, drinks, louder wrong answers.
["Episode 298 of Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene argues that time-travel RPGs only work when the villains can also move through time.", "Morgan's Time Watch tips, plus Kevin Culp's game and Robin D.
Saul and Jolene tackle a listener's question about finding a modern role-playing game without fantasy or sci-fi elements for his wife.
Saul and Jolene discuss the best non-D&D published campaigns, focusing on criteria like maps and why they're exploring alternatives to D&D.
Saul and Jolene discuss how players in RPGs often abandon their carefully made plans during gameplay.
Saul and Jolene discuss whether tabletop RPGs like D&D are a niche hobby or mainstream, using personal experience and population comparisons.
Saul and Jolen discuss what makes a good Monster of the Week RPG, focusing on monster hunting and quick one-session games.
Ginny D's Fiverr experiment, Saul's Shadowrun prep, and the paid-GM ethics debate give Gaming Perspectives a practical test case for AI in tabletop RPGs.
["Saul and Jolene debate a YouTube claim that D&D could move to a digital-only sixth edition through D&D Beyond, with no printed books.", "They connect that idea to D&D 5.5, Hasbro's 'under-monetized' comment, and a D&D Beyond user-count dispute they quote as '19 million' versus '11.'", "The pair compare PDFs, Roll20, Steam, VTTs, and physical books while arguing over ownership, subscriptions, and microtransactions.", "They conclude that even if Wizards of the Coast shifts harder toward digital, Pathfinder, Shadowdark, Nimble, and other RPGs would still keep the hobby moving."]
Saul and Jolene discuss the history and mechanics of the early RPG The Fantasy Trip, created by Steve Jackson.
Saul and Jolene discuss the pros and cons of buying pre-made modules versus creating your own adventures in tabletop RPGs.
Saul and Jolene discuss why people become game masters in tabletop RPGs, sharing personal experiences from the early 2000s.
Dungeon Con listed 207 games across 91 distinct systems, with D&D fifth edition at 46 sessions.
Terry Pratchett's Discworld RPG uses a "Narrativium system" with a "die between D7 and D9."
Saul and Jolene discuss which three RPG systems they would choose to play for the rest of their lives, starting with D&D.