Bonus: What are your choices? Vote for Season 2 - The Next RPG to Claim!

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>> Clint Scheirer: Are you enjoying season one of, the Claim to Game Podcast but are

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ready to move on to our next game to claim?

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In today's episode, we are examining what

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games you can vote on to be the next Tabletop RPG

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we cover in Season 2, airing in

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fall of 2024! For each

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RPG option, we will cover: the name of the game,

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the game's premise, and what tabletop

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RPG game system each game uses for

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gameplay. Welcome to claim to Game the podcast

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helping busy people master tabletop role playing games,

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one game at a time. I'm Clint Scheirer. I've been an

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educator for over twelve years and have helped gamers of

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all levels quickly grasp Tabletop RPG's

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so they can enjoy playing them to the fullest. Stay

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tuned so you can make your claim to game.

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Hello and welcome back to this special bonus

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episode of Claim to Game, a predominantly

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educational, fun podcast in which I am daring to coin

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the word fungucational. Its like if you decided

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to kick a plain old soccer ball into just a

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regular soccer goal and you were rewarded with a

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high five from AFC Richmond's football head

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coach, Ted Lasso, played by actor

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Jason Sudeikis. One of my favorite Ted Lasso

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quotes is be curious, not

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judgmental, whether or not you have already binge

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watched this 2020 Apple TV

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exclusive, these words spoken by this

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fictional sports coach are relevant to what we

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are doing next here on Claim to Game. To be honest, I

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went back and forth over the past week whether I wanted to

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release this episode or not. My hesitation was

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due to the fact that in episode 14, I already

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shared the opportunity to rank the top five

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games in the running for our next game to

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master on the show. I have received some

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responses, but I have a feeling, a feeling

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that maybe you, yes, you listening right

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now, have not yet cast your vote. And why

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not? Maybe you need a little bit more

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information to pique your curiosity.

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In order for me to be curious and not judgmental, I

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found that I just need to know more. What are the

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games being considered for Season 2? What are they

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about? What makes them so great or

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interesting compared to all the other tabletop RPG's out there

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that you could play? By the time I'm done

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today, going through the five games you can vote

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on, I'm hoping you feel like Ted

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Lasso, not only curious versus judgmental,

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but also how he felt in season one, episode

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six, Two Aces. Like you fell out of a lucky

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tree, hit every branch on the way down, and ended up in a

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pool full of cash and sour patch kids

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So let's unpack each one of these juicy

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sour patch kids of an RPG so you

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can chew on them and then go rank them and

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cast your vote in the survey in the show

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notes.

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Option number one Brindlewood Bay a

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dark and cozy mystery. This game was

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funded on Kickstarter in 2023. Created by

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the Gauntlet. It's described as a tabletop

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rpg that combines Murder, She Wrote with

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H.P. Lovecraft. In it, you play a group

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of elderly women, members of the local Murder

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Maven's Mystery Book Club, who help the authorities

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solve murder cases in a picturesque New

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England town. Over the course of their investigations,

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they become aware of a dark occult conspiracy

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that connects the cases and will eventually

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have them face that conspiracy in order to save the

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community and possibly the World.

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The game is low prep, easy to play. It

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uses game mechanics Powered by the Apocalypse, and who

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doesn't want to play a bunch of old grannies saving the world

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from the dark forces?

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Option number two: Old Gods Of Appalachia

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the Role Playing Game. Based on the narrative eldritch

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horror fiction podcast of the same name,

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Old Gods of Appalachia was also a Kickstarter

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baby Funded in 2022 and created

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by Monte Cook Games, Powered by the Cypher

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System. It provides concept driven

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character creation with limitless options.

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Venture into the dark, eerie past of an

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alternate appalachia, experiencing stories of

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horror, hardship, and heart in the

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immersive narrative and deeply chilling setting.

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Ravenous creatures in the inner dark, sinister plots

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of the hollow men, unearthed beasts that have long

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dreamt in the dark and angry forces of the

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Green. Strive to protect what matters

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from these terrors and more while you seek to know

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the unknowable. Every choice requires a

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sacrifice, and your word is, or

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should be, your bond. I might have

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goosebumps on top of my goosebumps after considering

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what we might encounter playing Old Gods.

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Option number three: Blades in the Dark.

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Blades in the Dark was funded through a PBS TV

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broadcast pledge drive. Just kidding. It

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was also funded on Kickstarter, but nearly ten years

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ago in 2015. Like Brindle Wood Bay, this

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game also uses its own take on the power by the

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Apocalypse rule system. It was created by Game

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designer John Harper with Evil Hat Productions.

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Blades in the Dark is a tabletop rpg

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about a crew of daring scoundrels seeking their

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fortunes on the haunted streets of an industrial

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city. There are heists, chases,

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occult mysteries, dangerous bargains, bloody

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skirmishes, and above all, riches to be had.

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If... you're bold enough to seize them. You and

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a fledgling crew must thrive amidst the

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threats of rival gangs, powerful noble

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families, vengeful ghosts, the Blue Coats of the city

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watch, and the siren song of your own

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scoundrel vices. Will you rise to power in

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the criminal underworld? What are you willing to

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do to get to the top? That question makes

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me think of the other age old question, "What would you do

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for a Klondike bar?" Or should I say, "What

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wouldn't you do for a Klondike bar?"

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And option number four - we got Alien the Role

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Playing Game. This was the only game on our list

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which did not have a Kickstarter but went straight to print and

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was very successful in 2019. Created

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by Free League Publishing, this Game uses a

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simple system of rolling several six sided dice to

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resolve actions. Gamma rays and

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neutrino bursts erupt from the dying stars to cook

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you alive. Black holes tear you apart,

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and the void itself boils your blood

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and seizes your brain. Try to scream

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and no one can hear you. Hold your breath and

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you rupture your lungs. Space isn't as empty as

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you think, either. Its frontiers are ever

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expanding. Rival governments wage a cold war of

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aggression, while greedy corporations vie for

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valuable resources. Colonists reach for the

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stars and gamble their lives away.

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And there are things lurking in the shadows of

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every asteroid. Things strange and

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different and deadly things...

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alien. The Alien Tabletop RPG

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is a harsh and unforgiving universe, and you

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are nothing if not expendable.

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Stay alive if you can. Honestly, I've seen the

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original Alien movie. I'm pretty sure I would be the first

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spacer to be the host of an alien parasite

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only to die a painful death. I sadly would

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not be the Sigourney Weaver of the story.

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And coming in is option number five. Last, but

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certainly not least, is - Dragonbane: Mirth and

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Mayhem Roleplaying. It was funded in Kickstarter in

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2022 and uses a skill based D

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20 system. Much like D & D.

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Dragonbane is a classic fantasy tabletop role

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playing game full of magic, mystery,

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and adventure. It is designed from the ground up to

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facilitate a fast and furious play

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without Vin Diesel. With very little prep

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and adventures that are a breeze to run.

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This is a game with room for laughs at the table while

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still offering brutal challenges for for the

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adventurers. The publisher Free League, the same people

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who made the Alien RPG, call this playstyle,

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"Mirth and Mayhem Role Playing." Great for long

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campaigns, but also perfect for a one

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shot. Dragonbane is a translation of

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Drakar och Demoner, Scandinavia's first and

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biggest tabletop RPG. Originally launched

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in 1982. You know what else was

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launched in 1982? E.T. the

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Extraterrestrial movie became the highest

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grossing film of the decade. With E.T.

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being an "alien" I can't help but see

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a very far fetched connection to Free League's Alien

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RPG. A master marketing plan or pure

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coincidence? We may never know.

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So, in conclusion, I need your help!

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Any of these options would be enjoyable and fun for me

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to cover in Season 2, but that isn't what I'm after.

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That's not what I'm going for! I want to cover the

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game our community is MOST interested in

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learning. However, just like the 1990s tv show

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Highlander, "There can only be one." So

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please click on the link in our show notes to take the

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survey. Rank the RPG's in order of

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preference, 1 being your most preferred option

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and 5 being your least preferred. Taking

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this one action is the most important way you can help

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make Claim to Game the show you want and

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deserve. You have until June 30th of

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2024 and then... it... will... close!

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So take the survey today. And until the next time

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we make our claim to game, one game at a time.