Friday Flash Fiction: "Free Advice"

Read "Free Advice" at 512 Words or Fewer

The problem with writing stories which involve food is that it always makes me hungry.

Incidentally, if you're ever in downtown Portland, Oregon and have a hankering for fish and rice, go check out Sushi Ichiban, where you can re-enact the train robbery of your choice... with sushi!


http://youtu.be/ImPCQnDcphE

SnoutCast #175: The Famine Game Reaping

This week, we talk to Todd Etter--previously profiled in SnoutCast #101, now head Gamemaker of the upcoming Famine Game--about that event's recently-concluded application process!

[ Download mp3 - 32 MB ]

00:00 - teaser: "several moments of [swearing]"
01:18 - "hungry"
04:45 - a GC perspective on the application process
07:42 - were final application numbers consistent with the initial survey?
10:40 - the value of GC's Selection Criteria
15:41 - assigning teams to Districts (cf. Hogwarts houses)
17:31 - bribery is bad, m'kay
22:00 - application videos (including Team Snout's alleged swear-o-rama)
26:51 - application puzzles: hidden angst
30:32 - "Dad, is this another puzzle?"
34:12 - The End

Tell us we're wrong on the Internet! E-mail podcast@snout.org or post a comment at www.snout.org/podcast.

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "Ikea" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]

  

Friday Flash Fiction: "Where the Shadows Run From Themselves"

Read "Where the Shadows Run From Themselves" at 512 Words or Fewer

This week's story was tangentially inspired by the upcoming WARTRON: BOSTON Game. You may see some thematic similarities to an earlier 512, "Rhymes with Pork." And the title, of course, comes from this:


http://youtu.be/rvnWuOjJDh4

I am also glad to know I'm not the only person who struggles with which words to capitalize in a title.

SnoutCast #174: DIY Puzzled Pint Party

In which we conclude our response to some lovely listener mail.

[ Download mp3 - 26 MB ]

00:58 - "asynchronous"
02:01 - question (paraphrased) from Chris in England: can a one-person GC run puzzles from an archived event?
02:29 - a brief history of Puzzled Pint...
03:26 - ...including details on simulcasting to Seattle
05:08 - announcement: come solve Jay Lorch's puzzles at Puzzled Pint in August!
11:25 - here's how you could re-run Puzzled Pint, May 2013: "Arrested Development"!
16:49 - the downsides of being a one-person Game Control
21:31 - great minds think alike (see also: The Famine Game team videos)
26:00 - where to find info on past events: snout.org/game, bayareanightgame.org, and...?
27:32 - The End

Tell us we're wrong on the Internet! E-mail podcast@snout.org or post a comment at www.snout.org/podcast.

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "Shop Vac" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]

 

Friday Flash Fiction: "Interview with a Gatekeeper"

Read "Interview with a Gatekeeper" at 512 Words or Fewer

Insert your own Twilight Zone, Ghostbusters, and/or Stargate joke here.

Artisanally Hand-Crafted in Portlandia

On Tuesday, while setting up for Puzzled Pint at Beulahland, we managed to lose one of our answer sheets while stuffing puzzle packets. I quickly made an extra one by hand, just in case a full complement of 20 teams showed up. (They did, though two of them ended up joining forces with other groups, so we only got 18 answer sheets back.) Good thing we had plenty of scratch paper.

Before:


After:


The scratch paper I used was actually an unused puzzle from a previous month. Guess which one and I'll send you a prize!

SnoutCast #173: Keeping the Dream Alive

In which we respond to some lovely listener mail!

[ Download mp3 - 24 MB ]

00:59 - "continuous"
02:10 - Q0 (paraphrased), from Chris in England: how do you keep a small puzzle hunt community together between events? can online puzzles fill the gap?
04:32 - "and they told two friends..."
12:49 - Q1: what about The Order of the Octothorpe? (short answer: maybe, but it's intended for newbies)
15:15 - Q2: are the WarTron application puzzles still online? (short answer: not now, maybe later)
17:22 - Q3: can you really play the 2 Tone Game remotely? (short answer: yes! long answer...)
18:37 - Q4: are puzzles from any other hunts available online? (short answer: yes, but good luck finding them)
26:19 - The End

Tell us we're wrong on the Internet! E-mail podcast@snout.org or post a comment at www.snout.org/podcast.

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "Skullcrusher Mountain" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]

 

Friday Flash Fiction: "In Which Miss Hartfeil Drops Some Science on Her Tenth Grade Classroom"

Read "In Which Miss Hartfeil Drops Some Science on Her Tenth Grade Classroom" at 512 Words or Fewer

Listen, you just keep all your goddamn "Dora the Explorer" jokes to yourself, buster.

SnoutCast #172: Press Your Luck

What do Godzilla and Cribbage have in common? Find out in this week's show!

[ Download mp3 - 25 MB ]

00:59 - "fortunate"
01:21 - yesterday's birthdays: Curtis' sister, and WarGames
04:24 - Craps and Blackjack
06:04 - Zombie Dice, also the most boring app ever
11:38 - Yahtzee
14:14 - King of Tokyo (as seen on Tabletop)
17:44 - Roll Through the Ages: The Bronze Age (we have not tried the app version; detailed review at GeekDad)
24:21 - ObPuzzleHuntConnection
26:25 - The End

Tell us we're wrong on the Internet! E-mail podcast@snout.org or post a comment at www.snout.org/podcast.

Music: instrumentals from "Code Monkey" and "The Future Soon" by Jonathan Coulton

[ Subscribe to SnoutCast / iTunes link ]