About this podcast
Idle Thumbs is an independent podcast network whose podcasts span comedy, pop culture and entertainment, video games, and TV.
Episodes
The newest 50 of 500 episodes
- Designer Notes 99: Xalavier Nelson - Part 2 · 2 h 13 minIn this episode, Soren interviews independent game developer Xalavier Nelson, best known for founding Strange Scaffold, developers of games such as El Paso Elsewhere…
- Three Moves Ahead 658 - Shadowstone Developer Interview · 1 h 8 minLen sits down with Secret Door's Shane and Alan Dabiri, two Blizzard veterans currently working on tactical RPG Sunderfolk and its roguelike sibling, Shadowstone. We reminisce…
- Three Moves Ahead 657 - Total War Warhammer: Lords of the End Times · 1 h 6 minLen and long-lost prodigal cohost Ian gird themselves for the apocalypse in Total War Warhammer: Lords of the End Times. We discuss the new factions, the new crisis mechanics…
- Designer Notes 98: Xalavier Nelson - Part 1 · 1 h 56 minIn this episode, Soren interviews Xalavier Nelson, founder of Strange Scaffold and best known for his work on El Paso Elsewhere, Clickolding, and An Airport for Aliens Currently…
- Three Moves Ahead 656 - Endless Legend 2 Developer Interview · 1 h 3 minLen sits down with Endless Legend 2 game director Derek Paxton and game designer Julien Gueguen to talk about the 1.0 release of Endless Legend 2, how 4X devs iterate on…
- Three Moves Ahead 655 - Star Wars Zero Company · 1 h 18 minSPOILER ADVISORY: This episode contains character spoilers throughout (if you don't want to be spoiled on which classic Star Wars archetypes can be recruited, or which movie…
- Designer Notes 97: My Perfect Console - Soren Johnson · 1 h 37 minDesigner Notes is hosting a special guest episode from Simon Parkin’s excellent podcast My Perfect Console, in which he interviews Soren Johnson about his career and his favorite…
- Three Moves Ahead 654 - Summer Catch-Up 2026 · 1 h 6 minLen and Nerium are joined once again by special guest Diana to discuss a lot of the smaller games we played this summer that didn't make it into a full episode, our varying…
- Three Moves Ahead 653 - Corsair Cove · 1 h 5 minLen, Jon, and Fraser set sail with Corsair Cove, a pirate city-builder with a reckless disregard for building codes. We discuss our different buccaneer building styles, the card…
- Three Moves Ahead 652 - ZeroSpace Early Access Interview · 1 h 13 minLen sits down with Game Director Marv Gouw and Consulting Art Director (and Relic co-founder) J. Aaron Kambeitz to talk about ZeroSpace, a new RTS inspired by the greats of the…
- Designer Notes 96: Owen Mahoney · 1 h 29 minIn this episode, Soren interviews Owen Mahoney, who served first as the CFO and then as the CEO of Nexon. They discuss what the transition to free-to-play meant for game design…
- Three Moves Ahead 651 - Age of Empires II in 2026 feat. Hera · 1 h 0 minLen and DM are joined by the current Age of Empires II world champion, Hera, to discuss the state of the game in 2026. We try to explain its longevity, examine what it takes to…
- Designer Notes 95: Seth Sivak · 2 h 59 minIn this episode, Soren interviews Seth Sivak, best known as the co-founder and CEO of Proletariat, makers of World Zombination and Spellbreak. They discuss how he invited hover…
- Three Moves Ahead 650 - Slay the Spire 2 · 1 h 9 minLen and Jon are joined by PC Gamer's Evan Lahti to Slay the Spire once again in the roguelike deckbuilder sequel. We discuss why our intrepid host is so bad at this game, if she…
- Designer Notes 94: Charles Cecil - Part 2 · 3 h 33 minIn this episode, Soren interviews veteran game developer Charles Cecil, co-founder of Revolution Software and best known for his work on Beneath a Steel Sky and the Broken Sword…
- Three Moves Ahead 649 - Xenonauts 2 · 1 h 13 minLen, Jon, and Sin gear up and get ready to die on the first turn to some BS in Xenonauts 2, a sequel to a throwback to a classic tactics game. We discuss how it stacks up to the…
- Designer Notes 93: Charles Cecil - Part 1 · 1 h 56 minIn this episode, Soren interviews veteran game developer Charles Cecil, co-founder of Revolution Software and best known for his work on Beneath a Steel Sky and the Broken Sword…
- Three Moves Ahead 648 - Heart of the Machine · 1 h 10 min3MA is finally embracing AI! Okay, not really. But Len and Jon do have many thoughts about Heart of the Machine, a fascinating, story-driven strategy RPG about becoming the…
- Three Moves Ahead 647.5 - Len and D.M. Join the Yakuza (WtHTI Patreon Preview) · 1 h 2 minLen is joined by long-time friend and collaborator, real life video game lawyer D.M. Schmeyer, to reconnect over tales of nearly 30 years nerding out together and discuss what…
- Three Moves Ahead 647 - Menace Early Access · 1 h 10 minLen and Jon get tactical with the squad-based space marine (in the classical sense) platoon simulator, Menace. Because war is actually about Family.
- Three Moves Ahead 646 - Whiskerwood · 1 h 19 minThis week, Rowan and Luke contemplate the inherent class struggle implied by feline-rodent relations in another delightful, furry-adjacent city builder with Whiskerwood. In this…
- Three Moves Ahead 645 - 2026 Look Ahead · 1 h 4 minLen and Brian "Chef Lu Bu" Smawley are joined by friend of the show Diana to peek into the near distance at the strategy games we're interested in that have announced or probable…
- Three Moves Ahead 644 - 2025 Strategy Games of the Year · 1 h 49 minLen, Mike, and Luke pop the champagne and discuss the Strategy Games of the Year for 2025. And we can't really talk about the year in strategy without dwelling on the big theme…
- Designer Notes 92: Paul Kilduff-Taylor · 3 h 8 minIn this episode, Soren interviews Paul Kilduff-Taylor, best known for his work on Frozen Cortex and the Frozen Synapse series. They discuss whether a sword-fighting game should…
- Three Moves Ahead 643 - 2025 Catch-Up · 1 h 14 minLen, Nerium, and Mike kick back to highlight some of our favorite strategy and non-strategy games of 2025 that didn't make it to a full episode. There were how many Roman…
- Three Moves Ahead 642 - Anno 117: Pax Romana · 1 h 12 minLen and Jon are joined by But Why Tho?'s Kate Sánchez and CGMagazine's Dayna Eileen to build Rome in a day with Anno 117: Pax Romana. We discuss the series history and our…
- Designer Notes 91: Tomislav Uzelac · 2 h 27 minIn this episode, Soren interviews Tomislav Uzelac, best known for his work on the Unity of Command series. They discuss how he taped his first games from a radio station…
- Three Moves Ahead 641 - Europa Universalis 5 · 1 h 32 minLen, Rowan, and Jon are at last granted the liberty to speak on their experiences with Europa Universalis 5, Paradox's latest and most ambitious grand strategy game. Is it…
- Three Moves Ahead 640 - Endless Legend 2 & Friends · 60 minLen and Mike are joined by Ruth Cassidy and Sin Vega to give some early impressions of Endless Legend 2's Early Access launch, as well as a whole bunch of other stuff we've been…
- Three Moves Ahead 639 - The Past and Future Dawn of War · 1 h 4 minLen, Ian, and Fraser are placed onto the battlefield from strategic reserves to talk about the past and future of Dawn of War. The past: the recent Dawn of War: Definitive…
- Three Moves Ahead 638 - Bobr · 1 h 5 minTimberborn is one of those Early Access games that we missed covering at its original launch, and we're not sure when it's going to be actually done... so what better time to…
- Three Moves Ahead 637 - Stormgate: Ashes of Earth Interview · 1 h 1 minWith Stormgate leaving Early Access alongside the release of its first full single-player campaign, Ashes of Earth, Len chatted with Frost Giant's Top Tims, Tim Morten and Tim…
- Three Moves Ahead 636 - Civil War Midlife Crisis · 1 h 51 minAftermath's Riley MacLeod has developed a sudden interest in the American Civil War, and we've assembled a 3MA all-star team featuring Rob Zacny, Rowan Kaiser, Len Hafer, and…
- Designer Notes 90: Patrice Desilets - Part 2 · 1 h 41 minIn this episode, Soren interviews veteran game designer Patrice Desilets, best known for his work on Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, the Assassin’s Creed series, and…
- Three Moves Ahead 635 - The Strategy Games of Steam Next Fest 2025 · 1 h 6 minLen, Mike Williams, and Dominic Tarason run down the most exciting and interesting strategy and tactics games (and a couple from outside our usual wheelhouse) of Steam Next Fest…
- Designer Notes 89: Patrice Desilets - Part 1 · 1 h 44 minIn this episode, Soren interviews veteran game designer Patrice Desilets, best known for his work on Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, the Assassin’s Creed series, and…
- Three Moves Ahead 634 - 9 Kings · 1 h 11 minLen, Mike Williams, Luke, and Jon roll out the red carpet for 9 Kings, a tile placement base defense game with roguelite elements. It's hard to describe, honestly. But trust us…
- Three Moves Ahead 633 - Even More EU5 · 1 h 25 minIt's Three Moves Ahead Original Flavor as Len, Fraser, and Jon gather for a second panel discussion on the press hands-on for Europa Universalis 5. We discuss how this game made…
- Designer Notes 88: Caroline Marchal - Part 2 · 2 h 2 minIn this episode, Soren interviews veteran game designer Caroline Marchal, best known for her work on Heavy Rain, Beyond Two Souls, and As Dusk Falls. They discuss how much a…
- Three Moves Ahead 632 - We Played Europa Universalis 5! (No CB Megacast 11 Preview) · 42 minThis is a free preview of this month's Patreon episode. Check out the extended version at Patreon.com/3ma! Len, Lambert, and Lorris have gotten some hands-on time with the…
- Three Moves Ahead 631 - Cataclismo · 1 h 8 minLen is joined by special guest Casey Explosion to talk about Cataclismo, a horde defense RTS with a unique, LEGO-like base building mechanic. We touch on the aesthetics, the…
- Designer Notes 87: Caroline Marchal - Part 1 · 1 h 52 minIn this episode, Soren interviews veteran game designer Caroline Marchal, best known for her work on Heavy Rain, Beyond Two Souls, and As Dusk Falls. They discuss whether…
- Three Moves Ahead 630 - Two Point Museum · 1 h 6 minLen, Mike, and Luke dust off their Indy hats and take a close look at Two Point Museum. We discuss how it's such a great fit for the formula Two Point Studios built over their…
- Three Moves Ahead 629 - RTS Shoutcasting and Stormgate 0.3.0 with BeoMulf · 1 h 5 minThis week, Len sits down with Philip "BeoMulf" Mulford, a professional RTS esports caster. We discuss how you get that gig, how you develop the skills for it, and how it compares…
- Three Moves Ahead 628 - Sid Meier's Civilization 7 · 1 h 21 minLen, Fraser, and Sin gather to try and figure out what the heck happened with Civilization 7. We discuss why it's such a let-down for the legendary series, and whether or not…
- Three Moves Ahead 627 - Look Ahead to 2025 · 1 h 9 minLen, Mike, and Nerium gaze down the road ahead at the most interesting and promising strategy games coming out (we hope) in 2025, from the heavy-hitters to some indie oddities…
- Three Moves Ahead 626 - 2024 Wrap-Up · 1 h 3 minLen, Mike, and Sin gather 'round to sing the praises of our favorite strategy and tactics games of the year, as well as trying to identify the ever-elusive narrative throughline.
- Three Moves Ahead 625 - Caves of Qud · 1 h 22 minLen, Jon, and Mike are joined by Freehold Games' Brian Bucklew and Jason Grinblat to discuss Caves of Qud. In a world where rogue"lites" and rogue-adjacents have blown up, what…
- Three Moves Ahead 624 - What Else Are We Playing: November 2024 · 1 h 21 minLen is joined by Nerium Strom, Mike Williams, and Sin Vega for a round-table of What Else Are We Playing? From weird surreal horror to Factorio and Cities: Skylines 2, it's a…
- Designer Notes 86: Anton Strenger · 3 h 6 minIn this episode, Soren interviews Anton Strenger, best known for his work on Civilization 5, Civilization 6, and Beyond Earth. They discuss how he ended up paying Carnegie Mellon…
