The Staying In Podcast - four pals talk video games, board games, and movies

Staying In

Join four lifelong friends on this award-nominated podcast about board games, video games, movies, TV, comics, and more; uncovering indie gems you’ll love and diving deep into the world's biggest hobby franchises

  1. 6D AGO

    The Devil Wears Prada 2, Minute Cryptic, and Death Stranding - Ep247

    If you’re looking for a great way to train your brain every morning, as well as understand how the devil a classic puzzle - the cryptic crossword - works, then Minute Cryptic should be on your phone. If that’s too much, but you still want something (surprisingly) cerebral then, yes, The Devil Wears Prada 2 is for you. It’s got a lot to say about the modern world for a film that, superficially, is about fashion. On the smaller screens, if you’re looking for something completely unique, yet probably a bit of a bargain considering it’s been out a while, we recommend Death Stranding, from Koj and the gang. All that, and flinging a Razzle, on Ep247. 00:00 - Where babies come from; a message from The Doc 05:12 - Minute Cryptic 16:49 - The Devil Wears Prada 2 40:17 - Death Stranding On this episode were Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Peter (@XeroXeroXero), and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about, our Steam Curator page collects every video game we’ve ever reviewed available on the platform, and our BoardGameGeek page does the same for every boardgame. And if you’d like to see what we’re up to between podcasts, your best bet is our Instagram page. Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

    1h 2m
  2. MAY 1

    Zenith, Dead Beard's Curse, and Butter - Ep246

    Quick reviews and impressions of geek-adjacent books is the thrust of this one. There’s My First Adventure: Discovering Atlantis, which is a traditional-feeling choose-your-own-adventure book via Hachette, as well as a closer look at Dead Beard's Curse: Smart Book from Peasoup, which uses augmented reality to take “turn to page XX”-type books to another level. And the book chat goes on: if you love food and curious crime, you’ll gobble up Butter by Asako Yuzuki via 4th Estate. As is often the case, it’s an episode of other “firsts”, including a first Pokémon and Mario game, and how us as parents can share personal favourites with our kids for the first time. Finally, there’s Zenith, a game we can’t stop playing. It’s a strategy game from PlayPunk, a 2-4 player lane battler tug of war from the same folks behind Castle Combo. All that, and on-the-fly-editing of children’s authors, on Ep246. 00:00 - Hayfever and Tartar Sauce 06:54 - Some firsts and sharing things with our kids 19:58 - My First Adventure: Discovering Atlantis 26:37 - Dead Beard's Curse: Smart Book 35:44 - Butter 46:47 - Zenith On this episode were Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about, our Steam Curator page collects every video game we’ve ever reviewed available on the platform, and our BoardGameGeek page does the same for every boardgame. And if you’d like to see what we’re up to between podcasts, your best bet is our Instagram page. Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

    1h 8m
  3. APR 15

    MicroMacro Kids: Crazy City Park, Castel Boom, and Scrubs - Ep245

    On the tabletop we’re building up the walls with dexterity and memory game Castel Boom from Kiwizou by way of Hachette, and building up a case with MicroMacro Kids: Crazy City Park from Hard Boiled Games, also via Hachette. Away from the board games and into the realm of RPGs, we’re meeting up online with strangers and playing roleplaying game oneshots with StartPlaying (and the brilliant La Lionne Cosplay). After that it’s off to Germany - via Denmark - and building LEGO’s spin on Neuschwanstein Castle, plus we relax with a new season of a classic TV show; yep, we’re getting back into Scrubs. All that, and lawns, on Ep245. 00:00 - Two green bins. 06:57 - Castel Boom 19:54 - A naughty trip to the petrol station 23:04 - MicroMacro Kids: Crazy City Park 35:42 - “And many more” 37:35 - LEGO’s Neuschwanstein Castle 42:09 - StartPlaying with Anya (aka La Lionne Cosplay) 49:23 - Scrubs On this episode were Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about, our Steam Curator page collects every video game we’ve ever reviewed available on the platform, and our BoardGameGeek page does the same for every boardgame. And if you’d like to see what we’re up to between podcasts, your best bet is our Instagram page. Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

    58 min
  4. APR 1

    Project Hail Mary, AireCon 2026, and Red Notice - Le Million ou la Prison - Ep244

    A Staying In exclusive? Yep! We’re among the first people in the UK to play Red Notice - Le Million ou la Prison, which is a game about risking what you can on what you think you can get away with, themed on the game of cat and mouse found in works like Catch Me If You Can. It’s a stonker; you heard it here first. Of course there’s loads of other things to talk about coming out of AireCon 2026. We start getting very close to each other (and strangers) with Yubibo’s novel Twister-with-fingers from Jelly Jelly, and building (pleasingly broken) engines in Thief's Market, PickPocket’s fresh lick of paint on a previously released title. There’s also Jason Tremblay’s Tacta, which is a light and delightful little treat of a game, and Ellie Dix, Maria Surducan, and Osprey’s Threaded: A Game of Needles and Points, which is so completely charming we can’t stop thinking about it, even when it’s gone midnight and security is about to throw you out the convention. With that many board games, we change things up and round things out with a movie: the sci-fi book adaptation with Ryan Gosling that’s currently doing the business at the box office. All that, and putting down a towel, on Ep244. 00:00 - AireCon 2026 13:21 - Yubibo 18:20 - Thief's Market 25:22 - Tacta 29:25 - Threaded: A Game of Needles and Points 32:23 - Red Notice - Le Million ou la Prison 47:06 - Project Hail Mary On this episode were Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about, our Steam Curator page collects every video game we’ve ever reviewed available on the platform, and our BoardGameGeek page does the same for every boardgame. And if you’d like to see what we’re up to between podcasts, your best bet is our Instagram page. Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

    1h 3m
  5. MAR 15

    Eternal Decks, Flip Pick Towers, and Rave Racer - Ep243

    We’re getting old, so the only kind of exciting rave we’re interested in on a weekday is Arcade Archives Rave Racer from Bandai Namco, by way of Hamster Corp - a game previously trapped in the arcades of the 90s, re-released for home consoles. Then we talk about another throwback, this time to a kind of genre that was massively popular a few years ago, that is getting a new spin: the flip and draw Flip Pick Towers from Osprey, Rob Fisher, Adam Porter, and Beatrix Papp. We round out the show with an unbelievably hot new boardgame called Eternal Decks from Hiroken and Mujunsha, which is a co-op experience with limited (but not zero) communication. All that, and revisiting the tuna bus, on Ep243. 00:00 - Things on lamp posts 07:57 - Arcade Archives Rave Racer 29:27 - Eternal Decks 45:50 - Flip Pick Towers On this episode were Peter (@XeroXeroXero) and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about, our Steam Curator page collects every video game we’ve ever reviewed available on the platform, and our BoardGameGeek page does the same for every boardgame. And if you’d like to see what we’re up to between podcasts, your best bet is our Instagram page. Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

    1h 4m
  6. MAR 1

    Wonder Man, Predator: Badlands, and Gatsby - Ep242

    It’s time to dredge up some painful memories of mid-tier Tom Clancy games with Predator: Badlands, then it’s onto cheerier topics, like a discussion on Marvel’s latest short run TV series Wonder Man and whether it might be the start of a new era for the MCU. Having already properly dated the show with a recent “holiday” we turn to Game Dev Story from Kairosoft, a fairly casual but very revealing management game, then it’s off to the Jazz Age with Gatsby from Catch Up Games via Hachette. All that, and an incorrect use of butter, on Ep242. 00:00 - A Triple Whammy 06:42 - Game Dev Story 17:17 - Predator: Badlands 30:16 - Gatsby 41:56 - Wonder Man On this episode were Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), Peter (@XeroXeroXero), and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about, our Steam Curator page collects every video game we’ve ever reviewed available on the platform, and our BoardGameGeek page does the same for every boardgame. And if you’d like to see what we’re up to between podcasts, your best bet is our Instagram page. Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

    1h 2m
  7. FEB 15

    Whirly Derby, Duel for Cardia, and MCON - Ep241

    It’s time to get a grip on mobile gaming, so we go hands-on with MCON from Ohsnap, a dedicated MagSafe controller attachment for your phone that’s perfect for Android and iPhone gaming, as well as emulation and game streaming. We also throw down with the latest from Big Potato Games, the old-timey-charity-donation-by-way-of-marbles-em-up, Whirly Derby. And then there’s Duel for Cardia from Hans im Glück, a lovely and super affordable simultaneous action card game that takes up no room at all - except for in our hearts. All that, and the many forms of baths, on Ep241. 00:00 - To be fair, he does eat lasagna 06:47 - Whirly Derby 21:08 - MCON 44:53 - Duel for Cardia On this episode were Kris (@DigitalStrider), Peter (@XeroXeroXero), and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about, our Steam Curator page collects every video game we’ve ever reviewed available on the platform, and our BoardGameGeek page does the same for every boardgame. And if you’d like to see what we’re up to between podcasts, your best bet is our Instagram page. Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

    1 hr
  8. FEB 1

    Ghost of Yōtei, Mouthwashing, and Minecraft Builder & Biomes Junior - Ep240

    We take a (one-eyed?) look at two weird (outsider art?) horror-adjacent video games from Critical Reflex on this episode, Mouthwashing from Wrong Organ and Arctic Eggs from The Water Museum, cockydoody, abmarnie, and Cameron Ginex. Then on the AAA side of the scale is the ridiculously slick open world assassin adventure Ghost of Yōtei from Sucker Punch. Meanwhile, on a more family-friendly board game theme, we think about how best to introduce board game mechanics to much younger minds while reviewing Minecraft Builder & Biomes Junior from Ravensburger. All that, and confessing to a terrible lie, on Ep240. 00:00 - Elevenerife 04:57 - Minecraft Builder & Biomes Junior 23:02 - Arctic Eggs 32:05 - Mouthwashing 43:17 - Ghost of Yōtei On this episode were Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), Peter (@XeroXeroXero), and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about, our Steam Curator page collects every video game we’ve ever reviewed available on the platform, and our BoardGameGeek page does the same for every boardgame. And if you’d like to see what we’re up to between podcasts, your best bet is our Instagram page. Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

    1h 3m
4.2
out of 5
10 Ratings

About

Join four lifelong friends on this award-nominated podcast about board games, video games, movies, TV, comics, and more; uncovering indie gems you’ll love and diving deep into the world's biggest hobby franchises

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