Shogun, Creepy Pools, Fallout Pinball, And Bad Games At The Netflix Comedy Festival!

Please take some of my awful games. Please.

Happy Monday! I hope everyone’s weeks have started off at a calm pace before receiving an email that you absolutely know is going to ruin your week. But by Thursday, you’ll be through it and then Friday will be pretty pleasant. And, hey, there’s still more X-Men ahead!

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Before I jump into whatever I’m about to jump into, I wanted to remind any interested parties that I’ll be hosting my live show SHIT ARCADE at the Netflix Is A Joke comedy festival! THIS VERY WEEK! Both shows are at the incredible Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles.

We’ve got two amazing shows with amazing comedians and different games for each show!

May 4th, 2:00, The Egyptian Theatre

- Ron Funches

- Emmy Blocknick

- Alex Edelman

- And a VERY VERY good surprise guest.

Click Here For Tickets

May 5th, 2:00, The Egyptian Theatre

- Cristela Alonzo

- Jay Jurden

- Nimesh Patel

- River Butcher

Click Here For Tickets

If you want a preview of how preparation for the show is going, check out this pile:

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I loved Shōgun. I often feel resistant to some miniseries because I get worried I’m watching a very long movie rather than a very short television show. Plus, when my dad and my brother both recommend something, that usually means I’ll never end up watching it. They’re great people. They have great taste. It’s not always my taste.

But Shōgun? Why, that tastes just right. I know folks are still catching up, but how about that ending? I love a show that knows exactly what the audience wants and then subverts it. After everything that happened, all of the pieces beautifully fit together. True, you could say the show (and novel) rely a bit too much on Toranaga’s countless Xanatos Gambits. But that’s half the fun! The audience has to mentally catch up with a military genius who really, really does not want a military conflict.

If you haven’t seen it, it’s only 10 episodes. Consider it a short, historical indie game and it’ll feel like a good deal.

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While writing on projects that hopefully will soon become projects, here are a couple smaller things I put together for you, and only you:

• This column is about a tiny little console called the PlayDate and how it makes me feel like a little kid again getting toys on Christmas.

• While people stay obsessed with the show, I noticed not enough folks were getting into Fallout pinball.

• And speaking of Fallout, I wrote about its bonkers choice to make the television show canon and why it actually makes both the show and the games better.

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And finally, what I’m playing this week is a little game that just came out: Pools. Pools is pretty, pretty cools. Also, it’s only about $10 so you’re not going to be blowing the family fortune on this baby.

What is Pools? Well, it is a lot of Pools. That’s it. You’re walking around an endless, creepy M.C. Escher-like spa filled with hot tubs and pools and baths and saunas and nobody else at all. No monsters. Barely any sound. Only a hint of music when you pass a loudspeaker. Complete, dreadful isolation. And I love it!

If you’re familiar with The Backrooms, it’s a bit like that. The creepy liminal space walking simulator style that Gen Z loves so much. Not the point. The point is, you should play Pools. Or at least download the demo, which is also a thing.