Episodes
Tuesday Aug 22, 2017
Episode 115 - RPGs in Social Skills Therapy (with Adam Davis and Adam Johns)
Tuesday Aug 22, 2017
Tuesday Aug 22, 2017
Adam Davis and Adam Johns from Wheelhouse Workshop join us to discuss how and why they use Dungeons & Dragons in social skills therapy! Their Seattle-based organization has been doing this for a couple of years now, and they've got a lot to say. (We've also worked with Adam and Adam previously on some Game to Grow content.) We also tackle a question from Patreon supporter Francisco (of the Retro Rewind Podcast) about replacing our favorite RPGs with board games in a pinch, and Grant briefly describes his trip to Electric City Comic-Con 2017 and his terrible-but-awesome decision to help his daughter get into the Pokémon TCG.
Adam and Adam then discuss Wheelhouse Workshop's work: Why RPGs in general, and D&D in particular, are useful therapeutic tools; how a game session in their offices differs from your usual tabletop session; their house rules for their games; some success stories and interesting moments; and much more. Also, we mention in passing Monte Cook Games' The Strange and Microscope, both of which are excellent games.
For more information about Wheelhouse Workshop, visit their website or find them on Twitter and Facebook.
Scripture: Numbers 23:8, Mark 2:15-17, 1 Peter 5:6-10
Tuesday Aug 08, 2017
Episode 114 - Gaming and Counseling (with Matthew Surber)
Tuesday Aug 08, 2017
Tuesday Aug 08, 2017
We're joined this week by Matthew Surber, who's both the Program Director at the West River Center in Maryland and a game designer affiliated with Defy Danger Adventures. We actually found Matthew through the most unlikely of sources (Reddit comments, of all things) but he turned out to be a fantastic guest! After addressing Patreon backer Tom's question about broad and narrow skills in roleplaying games, and a quick diversion from Jenny about the dangers of Canada's nuclear wildlife, we buckled down with Matthew to discuss applying counseling principles to games. Matthew's got a Master's degree in counseling and a Dungeon World game he runs for his other camp counselors; naturally, he had a lot of excellent advice to give about trust, bonds, empathy, and saying 'yes' as a GM and player.
Games mentioned this episode: Dungeon World; Beyond The Wall; Pugmire; Honey Heist; The Skeletons; Ten Candles.
Other things mentioned this episode: MegaDumbCast (MDC); Defy Danger Adventures; STG 25 with Jack Berkenstock; The Bodhana Group; Wheelhouse Workshop; and that rad Honey Heist t-shirt.
Matthew can be found on Twitter at @TheRealSurberus.
Scripture: Jonah 2:2, Psalm 119:76, Mark 2:15-17