June 24, 2015 After years away, we found ourselves this week trapped in surreal spaces filled with otherworldly lights and sounds, dodging indistinct figures that triggered sensory responses unlike any offered in the normal world. We wore virtual reality headsets, and we went to E3.

Games Discussed: Superhot, Cuphead, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, SUPERHYPERCUBE, Super Mario Maker, NYTimes Crossword, Spelunky

June 17, 2015 Abandoned and alone, Chris and Nick hunker down in the studio while everyone else braves the harsh wastelands of E3. Join us for an intimate and lively chat about social simulation, our fantasies of a historical New York city builder, video game sweaters, our inevitable AI-dominated future, and forced, soul-sucking human reproduction. The Overlord demands it.

Things Discussed: Fallout Shelter, Anno 2205, Shenmue III, Mirror's Edge Catalyst, Dreams, Creator (N64), Dr. Mario, E3, Cool Video Games, Robot News, the terrible circle of life.

June 10, 2015 It's a raucous week on Idle Thumbs. D4 brings out Danielle's chowder-championing inner New Englander, Chris can't stop collecting cats, Spaff spoils Life is Strange, and Nick descends into a virtual reality waking dream. Here's Droopy McCool to play us out. Let's give him a round of applause.

Things Discussed: Life is Strange, D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die, Neko Atsume, Game of War: Fire Age, virtual reality, Star Wars, Mario

June 3, 2015 Terraforming is complete. The fences are placed. Administrative staff is happy, buzzing away in their newly-zoned facility. This is it. This one will be perfect. But no, work halts: An error message. The face on your screen is not one you recognize. It's definitely not Dr. Wright. "Ah ahh ahh." You dismiss it. "Ah ahh ahh. Ah ahh ahh." Your clicks are drowned out by a barrage of dick picks and photos of cartoon cat butts.

Games Discussed: Life is Strange, Neko Atsume, Cobra Club, Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis, Team Fortress 2, Axiom Verge

May 28, 2015 Lies are told, governments fall, goats are visited, flatulent messages are decoded inaccurately, secrets are conveyed in whisper and then forgotten, and E3 is predicted with unprecedented precision. Adventure, thrills, titillation await.

Games Discussed: Sunset, Escape from the Werewolf Village, The Witcher 3, Camp Grizzly, Witness, The Magpie Collection

May 20, 2015 Danielle continues to tear through every major release thrown her way, Spaff disappears into a brutal world of trial-by-drum-and-bass, Chris wishes he would suddenly lose control of parts of his body at random in group situations, and Jake thinks he has played a video game once in his life, but is mistaken.

Games Discussed: The Witcher 3, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Bloodborne, World of WarCraft, Heretic, Kanye Quest 3030, Cosmophony

May 14, 2015 Pro Fish Smart Fish, Dice and Card Fish / Diablo III and StarCraft II, Twilight Struggle and Defcon too / A week of draws and decks and rolls, of seats too hot and wars too cold / That's this week's podcast at a glance, its half-rhymes masked with assonance.

Games Discussed: Diablo III, StarCraft II, Twilight Struggle, Defcon

May 6, 2015 What did we all bring for show and tell this week? Danielle explores a psychedelic outdoor world and misses her favorite book, Chris re-visits his first encounter with Star Wars, while Spaff performs one of the most amazing feats ever attempted in gaming and finds himself $70 poorer as a result. Jake brings some gifs of animals stealing cars. Nine taxi drivers were injured in the creation of this podcast.

Things Discussed: Infinite Jest, Gardenarium, The Magic Circle, Brawl, Star Wars: TIE Fighter, Grand Theft Auto V

April 29, 2015 Whether you're a modder, a hat baron, or a Greek citizen, it has been a rough week on the financial front. In a time when anyone with an idea can seemingly throw entire economies into turmoil, maybe it's our turn. Join us as we put on our Unusual Financial Prognosticator hats and dig into the recent paid mods kerfuffle, receive a shocking update on the Team Fortress economy, and follow the trails of intrigue back to their only possible source.

Discussed: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, The Charnel House Trilogy, Will Fight For Food: Super Actual Sellout: Game of the Hour, Broken Age Act 2, Grand Theft Auto V (PC), Splatoon, Video Games Rodkin - Wizard Dash Jam (Itch.io Remix)

April 22, 2015 This week everybody gets a window into Sean and Danielle's Bloodborne-consumed lives, everybody is convinced by Spaff to play an "RPG whodunnit roguelike," and while only Danielle played "Everybody's Gone to the Rapture," everybody else was quite taken with her description of the experience.

Discussed: Bloodborne, Splatoon, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, Team Fortress 2, Westerado Double Barrelled, Dream Phone, Guitar Hero Live, Duet, Escape, Xbox Avatar Editor, Nelly vs. Nelly Furtado feat. MC Vanaman (Hot Shit remix)

April 15, 2015 Before Owen Wilson's nose was attached, this world was a lot for Old Granny Dreamcast to take in. That newfangled headgear you're supposed to be wearing now. Games on telephones. The instruments everyone carried around a couple years ago seemed to be coming back. "Be a rock star," said one new title, as a crowd threw cups at her and booed. "This isn't what it feels like. This is it." After the nose though, nothing. No sickness, no disorientation, no more feeling alone. Old Granny Dreamcast straps on her guitar, jumps on the "AM Ballads" stream and is gone.

Games Discussed: Guitar Hero Live, Wizard Jam, Different Games, Bottle Rockets, Axiom Verge, Ori and the Blind Forest, Rop, Duet, Drop7™

April 8, 2015 Imagine your dream LAN. Sit back and really picture it. If your dream LAN is one where the snacks are artisanal, the soda water is gently flavored, and the wifi's always free, you may be a dad, but who cares with a ping this low?

Games Discussed: Captain Forever Remix, Pacapong, Dota 2, Alien vs. Predator, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Psychonauts

April 1, 2015 Hey, does that ladder have your blood echoes? Just checking. By the way, that reminds me of a dream I had. I think it was about cyborgs. Or lesbian dinosaur cyborgs. There were definitely cyborgs. But look—we all serve at the pleasure of the readers. Am I right or am I right?

Games discussed: Bloodborne, Cities: Skylines, Ori and the Blind Forest, Spirits of Xanadu, cyborg bloodsport

March 25, 2015 This week, one of us is a murderer... But who? Is it Chris, who spent the week maximizing the traffic flow in his Cities: Skyline city, a city so perfect no one wanted to live there? Or could the murderer be Danielle, the one who spent the week actually murdering a bunch of people -- fictionally -- in Bloodborne? It was probably Jake, who spent the week without internet, but everyone at the cable company seems alive and well. A case this complicated will take at least six Jessica Fletchers to solve, and for that we have just the thing.

Games Discussed: Bloodborne, Cities: Skylines, Dyscourse, Zafehouse Diaries, Murder, She Wrote: A Game of Strategy and Pursuit

March 19, 2015 Take a right at Normal and cruise on down past Weird and make your way to Poopwater, New Mexico, where the streets ain't straight and your water don't flow like it should.

Games Played: Cities: Skylines, Hotline Miami 2, Far Cry 4, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening