Feb. 9, 2026

Games People Play: TantrumCon & Snow Storms

Fourteen inches of snow on a sheet of ice set the tone for a month of chaos—school closures, missed plans, and a toaster scare. We needed a reset, and found it in the most focused place imaginable: a four-day, 1,200-person board game convention where creativity, patience, and play run the show. We dive into TantrumCon from a first-timer’s view and a veteran’s lens, exploring what happens when you trade notifications for rulebooks and sit with strangers who become teammates.

We share the magic of learning straight from the source: playing Castles of Mad King Ludwig with its designer, testing a confidential prototype, and hearing how themes emerge from mechanics rather than the other way around. An independent designer walked us through pitching to publishers and building elegant systems around insects, flowers, and stables—proof that the best tabletop experiences are crafted, revised, and loved into being. Along the way, we unpack how tiny icon tweaks and balance passes can transform a session from swingy to satisfying.

Community is the secret engine here. Retirees, teens, military flyers, families on staycation—everyone shows up to think together. We talk about the volunteer teachers who make intimidating games approachable, the secret meetup that turned invisible ink into alliances, and the quiet relief of a space where politics and hot takes give way to shared goals. Not everything sparkles: we call out the co-op “quarterback” who drains joy and the mid-game doomscroller who misses the whole point. Presence matters, and games reward it.

Then the fun arguments: worker placement vs bidding, push-your-luck as exposure therapy, social deduction as a masterclass in reading people. We gravitate toward grounded themes—nature, parks, castles, Sherlock mysteries—where art, facts, and clean design lift the table. Space epics rarely hook us, but great systems can win converts. We end with practical takeaways for your next con: schedule breathing room, try designer-led sessions, and pick at least one game that scares you a little.

Hit play to travel from ice to insight, from rules to relationships. If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review—what mechanic or theme are you obsessed with right now?

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00:01 - Snow, Ice, And Disrupted Routines

07:40 - School Closures, Family Banter, And Stand-Up Class

12:18 - Introducing TantrumCon And The Board Game Scene

18:10 - Designers At The Table: Learning From Creators

26:35 - Diversity, Community, And The Joy Of Play

33:20 - Social Events, Secret Meetups, And New Favorites

40:05 - Pet Peeves: Know-It-Alls And Phone Scrollers

46:05 - Game Lengths, Mega Tables, And Visual Design

53:10 - Mechanics We Love And Loathe

01:00:20 - Themes: Nature, Castles, And Space Apathy

01:07:10 - Travel Notes, Venue Quirks, And Walkability

WEBVTT

00:00:01.120 --> 00:00:06.000
Hello, everybody, and welcome back to another edition of the Hey Are You Still There podcast.

00:00:06.320 --> 00:00:07.839
Welcome back, Beth.

00:00:08.160 --> 00:00:08.800
Well, thanks.

00:00:09.039 --> 00:00:10.560
It's been a while since you've been on the show.

00:00:10.640 --> 00:00:12.400
Do you need to reintroduce yourself to everyone?

00:00:12.640 --> 00:00:14.160
No, I think they know who I am.

00:00:14.560 --> 00:00:15.039
I don't know.

00:00:15.199 --> 00:00:16.719
I mean, you've been gone a while.

00:00:17.039 --> 00:00:18.399
Well, I haven't been gone.

00:00:18.559 --> 00:00:22.160
I was just like, um, there was some family illness.

00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:23.519
I was like working.

00:00:23.600 --> 00:00:25.839
I mean, there's it's not like I've traveling.

00:00:26.399 --> 00:00:31.839
Yeah, but like some a lot of the weekends that you did it, it wasn't because I was tra we had the ice storm.

00:00:31.920 --> 00:00:34.399
I mean, I was here, I just couldn't do it.

00:00:34.719 --> 00:00:37.840
Well, we won't spend a lot of time on the ice storm, but you you're a snow lover.

00:00:37.920 --> 00:00:40.320
So what did you did you enjoy the snow that we had?

00:00:40.560 --> 00:00:47.039
Because here where we're at locally in North Carolina, we got between 12 and 14 inches of snow, which is a lot for us.

00:00:47.200 --> 00:00:51.600
That's probably more snow than we've gotten combined in the last seven or eight years.

00:00:52.000 --> 00:01:00.320
Um, it was very mixed because the problem was the snow would have been 100% wonderful and perfect if we had not had an ice storm just before it.

00:01:00.479 --> 00:01:05.760
But the snow fell on top of about an inch thick of just solid ice.

00:01:06.000 --> 00:01:14.959
And so, like trying to go like walk in the snow and things like that, you just had to be so careful because there was solid ice under the snow.

00:01:15.120 --> 00:01:26.799
So normally, like what I love about snow is I love, you know, going for a walk and you can walk in the middle of the road or whatever because no one's out driving and it's very quiet and it looks clean and it's beautiful.

00:01:27.040 --> 00:01:33.280
But because this fell on ice, it was just really, really difficult to feel safe.

00:01:33.359 --> 00:01:35.359
And like you're not as young as you used to be.

00:01:35.439 --> 00:01:38.079
So I mean a slip now would really break some bolts.

00:01:38.480 --> 00:01:39.120
Yeah, that's true.

00:01:39.280 --> 00:01:39.519
Right.

00:01:39.680 --> 00:01:43.519
But also trying to shovel the driveway when it was like pure ice.

00:01:43.680 --> 00:01:47.120
So we then even, if you tried to get rid of the snow, there was ice under it.

00:01:47.280 --> 00:01:50.480
So I mean that but the snow itself was beautiful.

00:01:50.719 --> 00:01:53.599
But the problem was that that was like what it was.

00:01:53.680 --> 00:01:57.359
You could enjoy it, I think most of it fell at night.

00:01:57.599 --> 00:02:00.079
And it was a very dry, fluffy snow.

00:02:00.159 --> 00:02:03.439
So like you couldn't easily make like a snowman or anything.

00:02:03.680 --> 00:02:06.000
Um, but and it was beautiful.

00:02:06.159 --> 00:02:19.360
But then, you know, too, the other thing that happens with all that is so then like a day or two in, you end up we had an ice, then snow, then another layer of ice because everything kept melting and refreezing.

00:02:19.520 --> 00:02:20.879
So it was kind of mixed.

00:02:20.960 --> 00:02:22.400
I mean And it's still hanging around.

00:02:22.639 --> 00:02:25.840
Yeah, it's still out there making everything mushy and yeah.

00:02:26.240 --> 00:02:28.240
And this Wednesday is supposed to be 70 degrees.

00:02:28.639 --> 00:02:29.840
Which is just ridiculous.

00:02:30.159 --> 00:02:30.800
Which is nuts.

00:02:31.039 --> 00:02:31.280
Yeah.

00:02:31.520 --> 00:02:32.240
Makes no sense.

00:02:32.400 --> 00:02:32.560
Yeah.

00:02:32.800 --> 00:02:32.960
Yeah.

00:02:33.360 --> 00:02:38.319
So we have a foot of snow on whatever that was, January 1st, I'd say.

00:02:38.960 --> 00:02:41.439
And then by January 11th.

00:02:41.680 --> 00:02:42.159
I mean, it's a big deal.

00:02:42.560 --> 00:02:43.039
February first.

00:02:43.280 --> 00:02:44.159
I was like, we're not on the five.

00:02:44.319 --> 00:02:47.919
February first, we had like a foot of snow, and then by February 11th, it's 70 degrees.

00:02:48.240 --> 00:02:48.479
Yeah.

00:02:48.719 --> 00:02:49.680
Crazy weather.

00:02:50.000 --> 00:02:50.639
But the other hard.

00:02:53.280 --> 00:02:54.240
No, I didn't say that.

00:02:54.560 --> 00:03:00.560
The other part is our kids, well, Josh, the high schooler missed literally two weeks of school.

00:03:00.719 --> 00:03:06.000
He missed a week because of the ice, and then we had the snow the next weekend, and he missed a whole week because of that.

00:03:06.400 --> 00:03:09.520
I asked Josh today when I dropped him off, I said, Do you even know what class to go to?

00:03:09.680 --> 00:03:10.719
And he said, I don't have a clue.

00:03:11.120 --> 00:03:12.080
Because it's been so long.

00:03:12.240 --> 00:03:15.039
And they have like A-day, B day, and stuff a block schedule.

00:03:15.439 --> 00:03:22.319
So one of his uh classes on his, you know, they flip classes every day, but one of his classes is right near the entrance.

00:03:22.479 --> 00:03:24.960
So his plan was to go into that class first.

00:03:25.199 --> 00:03:26.960
If it was supposed to be his class, he'll stay.

00:03:27.120 --> 00:03:29.199
If not, he'll turn around and go back out to his other one.

00:03:29.360 --> 00:03:29.439
Yeah.

00:03:29.599 --> 00:03:30.879
That's how he was going to figure it out.

00:03:32.159 --> 00:03:35.039
I'm sure that they probably sent something that he didn't read.

00:03:35.439 --> 00:03:36.159
Oh, absolutely.

00:03:36.479 --> 00:03:36.800
Yeah.

00:03:37.039 --> 00:03:40.319
So that I'm I'm positive that happened.

00:03:40.400 --> 00:03:45.439
It's not like he just sh would show up and they'd just be like, sorry, kids, we don't know where you're going.

00:03:45.840 --> 00:03:47.919
Do you feel like you send the kids a lot of stuff they don't read?

00:03:48.159 --> 00:03:48.479
Yes.

00:03:48.719 --> 00:03:49.520
All the time.

00:03:49.759 --> 00:03:50.400
Regularly.

00:03:50.719 --> 00:03:50.960
Every day.

00:03:51.360 --> 00:03:53.520
Dissertations that I write and they ignore all of it.

00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:54.319
Too long.

00:03:54.400 --> 00:03:54.960
I've told you that.

00:03:55.280 --> 00:03:57.520
Okay, even when I send short stuff, they ignore that too.

00:03:57.840 --> 00:04:02.240
Because usually it's linked to how social media is bad for you or earbuds are bad for you.

00:04:02.400 --> 00:04:04.479
It's like, you know, it's the you're gonna die.

00:04:05.039 --> 00:04:08.080
No, I send them things like, hey, what about this?

00:04:08.159 --> 00:04:11.120
Or this is how uh did your taxes, whatever.

00:04:11.199 --> 00:04:12.000
I send imported stuff.

00:04:12.319 --> 00:04:13.680
I think they respond to did your taxes.

00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:14.400
Yeah, they did.

00:04:14.960 --> 00:04:15.439
How much am I getting?

00:04:15.759 --> 00:04:16.560
How much money am I gonna get?

00:04:16.800 --> 00:04:17.360
Yeah, they do.

00:04:17.439 --> 00:04:18.480
They definitely respond.

00:04:18.639 --> 00:04:20.800
So I'm gonna now I'm gonna try to sprinkle that in.

00:04:20.879 --> 00:04:24.000
Like, I'm not telling you unless you answer this question.

00:04:24.480 --> 00:04:27.279
Just send them a text and say, call me, I may have some money for you.

00:04:27.439 --> 00:04:27.600
Yeah.

00:04:27.839 --> 00:04:32.720
And then when they call, be like, talk to them all you want, and then at the end be like, Oh, by the way, I was wrong.

00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:33.600
I didn't make any money.

00:04:33.839 --> 00:04:35.439
Yeah, I'll try that next time.

00:04:36.800 --> 00:04:37.439
Beat and switch.

00:04:37.680 --> 00:04:39.120
Yeah, I'll definitely get on that.

00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:40.560
I mean, that's all I got you, right?

00:04:40.720 --> 00:04:41.279
Oh, yeah.

00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:41.759
Uh-huh.

00:04:42.160 --> 00:04:45.439
I appeared to be one thing when I first met you, and then the old switcheroo.

00:04:45.680 --> 00:04:47.120
Isn't that what every couple does?

00:04:47.439 --> 00:04:47.759
Yes.

00:04:47.920 --> 00:04:48.079
Yes.

00:04:48.319 --> 00:04:49.600
You beat and switched me big time.

00:04:49.759 --> 00:04:51.040
Oh, yeah, I'm sure I did.

00:04:51.360 --> 00:04:52.000
No, you did.

00:04:52.160 --> 00:04:53.759
I think you knew what you were getting.

00:04:55.199 --> 00:04:55.519
Yeah.

00:04:55.759 --> 00:04:55.920
Yeah.

00:04:56.160 --> 00:04:57.920
I was in the market for a hot mess.

00:04:58.319 --> 00:04:59.040
And you got it.

00:04:59.279 --> 00:04:59.920
I got it.

00:05:00.160 --> 00:05:00.480
Yeah.

00:05:00.720 --> 00:05:02.639
A brilliant, beautiful hot mess.

00:05:02.800 --> 00:05:03.439
Yeah.

00:05:03.839 --> 00:05:13.759
So you just got home from your first ever multi-day large board game convention called Tantrum Con.

00:05:14.079 --> 00:05:14.480
Yes.

00:05:14.720 --> 00:05:16.079
This is an event that I've gone to.

00:05:16.160 --> 00:05:17.600
This was my fifth TantraCon.

00:05:17.920 --> 00:05:21.600
They've only had nine of them, so I've I've obviously missed the first four.

00:05:21.839 --> 00:05:29.519
But um it's put on by a group of well, now it's a company called Tantrum House, uh, a group of friends that went to college together.

00:05:29.680 --> 00:05:34.000
Um they all live around Greenville, South Carolina area together.

00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:37.360
Greenville, Fort Mill, I guess, that kind of area.

00:05:37.519 --> 00:05:39.759
Uh I don't know, Spartanburg, somewhere around there.

00:05:40.160 --> 00:05:44.319
Um the high country or whatever it's called there in um Upstate.

00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:44.800
Upstate.

00:05:45.040 --> 00:05:46.079
I mean that's what they call it.

00:05:46.160 --> 00:05:47.920
The upstate of South Carolina.

00:05:48.160 --> 00:05:51.199
Which, by the way, I'm gonna upset some people.

00:05:51.439 --> 00:05:52.240
Let me just say this.

00:05:52.480 --> 00:05:56.160
Don't you consider South Carolina kind of the basement of North Carolina?

00:05:57.199 --> 00:06:00.319
I mean, do you think North Carolinians look down on South Carolinians?

00:06:00.720 --> 00:06:02.000
Parts of South Carolina.

00:06:02.160 --> 00:06:05.360
There are parts of South Carolina that are really, really nice.

00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:06.480
It just depends.

00:06:07.279 --> 00:06:07.920
It's kind of like North Carolina.

00:06:08.240 --> 00:06:09.920
Name some parts that are really, really nice.

00:06:10.319 --> 00:06:15.279
Um, Charleston, Kiowa, Seabrook Island, Hilton Head.

00:06:15.680 --> 00:06:17.519
Okay, I'm gonna I'm gonna point out something.

00:06:17.839 --> 00:06:23.279
You just named essentially three places that aren't physically attached to South Carolina.

00:06:23.519 --> 00:06:24.480
Uh their island.

00:06:24.720 --> 00:06:25.279
You know what I'm saying?

00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:26.079
They're just they're there.

00:06:26.639 --> 00:06:30.079
Greenville, isn't that the city that I went to years ago that has the waterfall going through?

00:06:30.399 --> 00:06:30.800
That's nice, yeah.

00:06:31.279 --> 00:06:32.000
It's really nice.

00:06:32.079 --> 00:06:32.240
Yeah.

00:06:32.319 --> 00:06:34.079
I mean, so there's a nice town.

00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:36.160
There's some cool stuff in places.

00:06:36.319 --> 00:06:37.600
So it just depends.

00:06:37.759 --> 00:06:41.680
It's kind of like though, if you go through parts of North Carolina, too.

00:06:41.839 --> 00:06:45.360
Like there's some stretches when you're going Are there any bad parts of North Carolina?

00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:45.759
Yes.

00:06:45.920 --> 00:07:02.079
There's those stretches when you're on the way to the coast, and it's like I always get sad when I drive through them because there might just be some pine trees and swampy sand, and it just looks sad because there's not a lot of like vegetation or I don't know.

00:07:02.639 --> 00:07:08.560
Sad is how I would describe my daughter right now, who's walking around right beside our studio making all kinds of noises.

00:07:08.959 --> 00:07:15.360
She's wearing a t-shirt that says world's greatest father, and it has a picture of Shrek on it.

00:07:15.600 --> 00:07:18.959
Except father is marked out and it says farter.

00:07:19.199 --> 00:07:20.720
World's greatest farter.

00:07:20.879 --> 00:07:21.199
Yep.

00:07:21.360 --> 00:07:24.639
That's the attire my 20-year-old daughter wears around the house.

00:07:24.879 --> 00:07:25.360
Yes.

00:07:25.600 --> 00:07:30.480
As she comes in and makes a lot of noise and probably just woke up to get ready for breakfast.

00:07:30.720 --> 00:07:31.360
She looks sad.

00:07:31.519 --> 00:07:31.759
Yeah.

00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:33.120
Because she has to go to school today.

00:07:33.279 --> 00:07:33.600
Yeah.

00:07:33.839 --> 00:07:34.319
Good for her.

00:07:34.720 --> 00:07:35.600
Get her out of my house.

00:07:36.079 --> 00:07:37.120
Get her doing some stuff.

00:07:37.360 --> 00:07:37.759
You know what?

00:07:37.920 --> 00:07:39.279
Speaking, we'll come back to TantrumCon.

00:07:39.439 --> 00:07:40.079
This is a very side.

00:07:40.319 --> 00:07:41.519
You know what I remembered I have tonight?

00:07:41.680 --> 00:07:42.000
Stand up.

00:07:42.319 --> 00:07:42.879
Oh, yeah.

00:07:43.040 --> 00:07:44.480
You haven't had that because of the weather.

00:07:44.800 --> 00:07:46.399
Well, one week was snowed out.

00:07:46.480 --> 00:07:46.800
Yeah.

00:07:46.959 --> 00:07:52.480
And then last week, we already had scheduled an off night because the guy who teaches the class was going to be out of town.

00:07:52.800 --> 00:07:53.120
Oh, okay.

00:07:53.199 --> 00:07:53.439
Gotcha.

00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:56.160
So it's been three weeks since I've been.

00:07:56.319 --> 00:07:59.120
And so um I gotta go, I gotta get my homework.

00:07:59.199 --> 00:08:01.199
I I've I've procrastinated.

00:08:01.360 --> 00:08:06.560
I was up I was supposed to have written a five-minute story about my life.

00:08:06.879 --> 00:08:08.959
Oh, that'll be just to tell about myself.

00:08:09.040 --> 00:08:09.199
Yeah.

00:08:09.360 --> 00:08:22.399
He said it doesn't have to be funny, just five minutes, because what he wants us to do is to get used to writing out a five-minute bit that we can get up there when we have our show and do a five-minute stand-up.

00:08:22.639 --> 00:08:30.800
And so I think this is his way of all right, let's let's write, let's get you working on and writing up to where you know how much five minutes is going to be.

00:08:31.040 --> 00:08:31.519
Interesting.

00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:32.320
That should be fun.

00:08:32.559 --> 00:08:33.200
I think I can do that.

00:08:33.360 --> 00:08:33.840
And challenging.

00:08:34.159 --> 00:08:36.000
I could talk five minutes without notes, I feel like.

00:08:36.159 --> 00:08:36.960
Yeah, I could too.

00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:39.759
But the problem is then you just don't know.

00:08:39.840 --> 00:08:45.600
It's like a talk I gave for a thing at work, um, and they wanted me to stick in a time frame.

00:08:45.840 --> 00:08:55.840
I can talk, but if I want to make sure that I cover very precise points in that time frame, I do need to kind of practice that and piece it out in my mind.

00:08:56.000 --> 00:09:06.879
Because what you don't want to do is waste five minutes on something that's not as fun and interesting, and then you're like, oh, I've only I mean, waste um four minutes on part of it, and then you're like, oh, I'll only have one minute for the good stuff.

00:09:07.120 --> 00:09:09.360
Yeah, I think I have a five-minute bit already.

00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:13.120
Oh, like I think if he was like, come tonight with a five-minute joke.

00:09:13.360 --> 00:09:14.000
You'd be ready.

00:09:14.159 --> 00:09:15.120
Um I'm ready.

00:09:15.360 --> 00:09:15.679
Okay.

00:09:15.840 --> 00:09:17.039
About your family.

00:09:17.360 --> 00:09:18.559
Yep, about my family.

00:09:18.799 --> 00:09:19.279
All about it.

00:09:19.519 --> 00:09:19.759
I know.

00:09:19.840 --> 00:09:21.759
I figured we were your inspiration.

00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:22.240
Yeah.

00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:23.039
Yeah.

00:09:23.519 --> 00:09:27.200
Um so anyway, I have stand-up class tonight.

00:09:27.440 --> 00:09:30.080
So we'll update everybody on that at some point.

00:09:30.399 --> 00:09:33.840
Well, that's the only thing about this snow and everything being disruptive for two weeks.

00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:40.960
It was like you don't I mean, I still had work and stuff, but like church, you know, of course.

00:09:41.360 --> 00:09:42.399
We didn't have church for two weeks.

00:09:42.720 --> 00:09:46.240
Yeah, we didn't have like, yeah, so you didn't have church, you and you kept having a chance.

00:09:46.480 --> 00:09:49.200
We had church yesterday, but we were out of town.

00:09:49.279 --> 00:09:49.360
Yeah.

00:09:49.600 --> 00:09:50.720
We were at Tantrum Cotton.

00:09:50.879 --> 00:09:52.399
So we haven't been the church in three weeks.

00:09:52.639 --> 00:09:52.799
Right.

00:09:52.879 --> 00:09:59.200
And then like Josh was supposed to get his driver's license the week of the ice storm, and the DMV was closed.

00:09:59.440 --> 00:10:09.840
And then we rescheduled that, and he was supposed to go another day um last week, and then the DMV said it was, quote, unsafe road conditions to do the tests.

00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:11.600
And so he didn't get to do it then.

00:10:11.759 --> 00:10:18.480
So it's just like a lot of it's been a lot of disruption and kind of confusing because I'm just like, where did January go?

00:10:18.639 --> 00:10:22.559
Because that's the other thing when I looked and I'm like, we are, you know, what day is it?

00:10:22.639 --> 00:10:23.440
I don't even know the day.

00:10:23.519 --> 00:10:26.720
I mean, I know the day, but February 9th, we're well into February.

00:10:26.960 --> 00:10:29.360
All right, so this Friday is Friday the 13th.

00:10:29.759 --> 00:10:30.639
Dun-dun dun.

00:10:30.879 --> 00:10:31.120
Yeah.

00:10:31.440 --> 00:10:33.519
So that means Saturday is Valentine's Day.

00:10:33.679 --> 00:10:34.240
Yes.

00:10:34.639 --> 00:10:36.480
I feel like we just had New Year's Day.

00:10:36.559 --> 00:10:36.799
I know.

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And it's already Valentine's Day.

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I know.

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What are you getting me?

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Nothing.

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You know, I don't like Valentine's Day.

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You know what?

00:10:42.320 --> 00:10:44.559
We're gonna have we're actually gonna do two podcasts this week.

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Oh, great.

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This one is making up for the one last week we didn't get done because we're at TensionCon.

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And um, we're gonna go ahead and do another one that'll come out on Saturday.

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And I might try to come up with some romantic themed stuff.

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So good luck with that.

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I'm like the least romantic person ever.

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You've told me that.

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I and so Valentine's Day is not like um, I just think it's told you that, like you've acknowledged that.

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Well, yeah, I'm just yeah, I'm just gonna Valentine's Day just seems like it was made up for the Hallmark cards and flower industry to like have something to do in the winter.

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You know, like it's just so your way of boycotting the Hallmark industry and the big candy is I'm not gonna big flower.

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I'm gonna boycott it by not acknowledging my marriage and my husband on that day.

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Do you know what this is the equivalent of you and your Christmas cards and not liking them?

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That's the way I am with Valentine's Day.

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But here's the difference.

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I still give you gifts, I still put up a tree.

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You don't put up a tree at Valentine's Day.

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No, I'm seeing that Christmas.

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I still do everything Christmasy, even though I may not be in it.

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Yeah.

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Like, but so I'm just saying Okay, I will try this year to do a Valentine's Day gift.

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I don't even care about a gift.

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Okay, I'm I know.

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Okay, a card.

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I'll make a card.

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I'll cut out a construction paper card.

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It's you love cards so much.

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I'll make one.

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And and I won't mail it.

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So then I'm not, you know, wasting postage or the the post office's time, but I'll make a card.

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I'll get on.

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We'll definitely dive in deep to Valentine's Day on this week.

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Yeah.

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The later in the week when we do our normal schedule podcast.

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Yeah.

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Good to know.

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We're back from TantrumCon.

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Um and I got off way on a side tangent.

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But so Camp TantrumCon was started uh by a group of friends.

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They would get together for board game nights.

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Um this is quick the 30,000 flyover.

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Uh they started having kids, kids are blowing tantrums, but they still kept their uh you know, board game nights with kids being kids, and they called it the tantrum house.

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And um and that became their board game conglomerate.

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They have a YouTube channel, they have their internet personalities now, they're all of it's it's tantrum house, and they do a once a year a tantrum con, which is a board game convention um that goes on for four days now, Thursday through Sunday.

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And it's held in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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And so I've gone to last, this is my fifth year.

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I always go with the dudes.

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Um, we had a friend, we'll call him Sam.

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He uh broke the dude rule a few years ago when he started to bring in his then girlfriend and now wife uh to TantrumCon.

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Or I guess she was, they were probably married the first year she came.

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Um, but uh but anyway, um so then that kind of opened up the door for me to be able to bring my wife because I didn't want to be that guy, you know?

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I let Sam be that guy.

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Oh, okay.

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So um uh so now you got to come.

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Yeah.

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So it was me and you, Sam and Shelly and Luke.

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Yes.

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Um, or as we like to call him, Big Fun.

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Yeah.

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Or big, what was it, Big Big Big Nasty, yeah.

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Yeah, Big Nasty.

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So me, Beth, Sam, Shelly, and Big Nasty.

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Uh, the five of us um descended upon TantrumCon.

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Yeah.

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Held at the La Meridian Hotel and Convention Center or whatever there.

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Or Sheridan or whatever it was.

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Yeah, yeah, yeah.

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Yeah, it was very confusing, that convention center between the two.

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In downtown Charlotte.

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So the convention has around 1,200 people that are that come to it.

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And so um your thoughts.

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What are you pointing at Maria about?

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Hold on.

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She has the toaster oven on with that thing on top.

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Oh, you gotta take that thing off.

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You can't do that, honey.

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That's a fire hazard.

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We are uh Maria is burning down the house.

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Or melting plastic or something.

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Or melting something.

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Is it on toast or oven, honey?

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It was on oven.

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Okay, so Maria has just burned down our house.

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I didn't mean to get distracted and point mic because I was trying to point in a way that, like, you know, you could do it, and then we went and let our house burn down.

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I did one time have a toaster catch on fire in college.

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We had to like blow it out.

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Um, anyway, so I I do try to be careful around toasters.

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Uh yeah, I think I am.

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So I try to be careful with toasters and stuff, you know.

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Yeah, much like Maria.

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Anyway, but that's like my little toaster oven I got for Christmas, and it's a toaster on top and the toaster oven on the bottom.

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And so, wait, what?

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Why should Dad get it for Christmas?

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I got it.

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It was my gift to me.

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Dad gave it to me.

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I gave her a toaster.

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He gave her the topic.

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Or Jacob gave her a toaster.

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No, you did.

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Um, Jacob gave me the omelet maker anyway.

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So you just have to get the stuff off the top so the heat can go out.

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Nothing says romance, like here's a toaster oven for Christmas.

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Oh, and this is why Valentine's Day is such a whatever, you know?

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Because I do like my toaster oven.

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I know you would.

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Yeah.

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So anyway, what we were back to.

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All right, so we've we've blown the fire out.

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Yes, okay.

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Sorry.

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Yes.

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Maria did not melt any plastic or burn down the house.

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Thank goodness.

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That's why this is unedited.

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Sorry, people, this is what you get.

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Keep going.

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We were talking about see what happens when we don't do it on Fridays when nobody's at home.

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I know.

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This is what we get for doing it during my lunch break.

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On Monday.

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Yeah, during my lunch break and Maria's breakfast.

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Anyway, um breakfast at 1222.

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Yeah.

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Hence my lunch break.

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Anyway.

00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:21.440
Um, so yeah, so we went to TantrumCon.

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It starts on if you want to do it, it starts on a Thursday and can go to a Sunday.

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But so it it's a long, it's a long weekend.

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Yeah.

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It's literally just board games, all kinds of board games.

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They have um they have what they call open play, where you can bring your own board games.

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They have a board game library with hundreds and hundreds of games in it.

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You just check it out and go play.

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They have uh tables for what they call play to wins where you can play them and try to win them at the end of the weekend.

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Um, they have tons of demos, they have hot games, you know, games that are really popular right now that people can play.

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And then they have scheduled gaming where you sign up to just play a game.

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And that's what we did a lot of.

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We did the whole sign-up thing was like um, I guess like Black Friday shopping used to be or something where you have to like signing up for a Disney marathon.

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It was, or yes, it was like you gotta have two or three computers there ready to sign up as soon as it opens, you know, or like trying to get tickets to a concert because like it was like we were online signing up for these games a month or two before, like the night that it opened, we both had to be ready.

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I think it was January 1st.

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January 1st at seven o'clock.

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Yeah.

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The games went live.

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And things were like filling up, like there were games we couldn't do because they were full, even though we were some of the very first people on there.

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Yeah.

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So you gotta be able to do that.

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