The Dice Tower
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The Dice Tower is a weekly podcast about board games sponsored by Funagain Games and hosted by Tom Vasel and co-hosted by Sam Healey. Vasel and Healey, both United States citizens, are based in Korea, where they serve as missionaries and school teachers.
[edit] History
The Dice Tower started in May, 2005, with Vasel and Joe Steadman hosting. In the original format, Vasel represented players who prefer German-style "Eurogames", while Steadman advocated for those who prefer wargames. The original format included the show's main highlight: The Top Ten List. Each week the pair chose a subject such as "Top Ten Gateway Games" or "Top Ten Games of 2004". The hosts counted their lists down from 10 to one, explaining their choices and often debating the other's picks. Healey joined the hosts after about 30 episodes, but didn't contribute as much as Vasel and Steadman until Steadman left the show in May, 2006.
Steadman left after the 50th episode. Vasel, hosting alone with occasional input from Healey for a few shows, rearranged the format to include recorded segments by guest reviewers and players. Gradually Healey began to take a larger role and was eventually promoted to co-host.
[edit] Contributors
Frequent Dice Tower contributers include:
- Mortiz Eggert, a German citizen who presents a German perspective on the topic of board games;
- Mike Hibbert, a British citizen who provides the "Board Gaming from Blighty" segment;
- Doug Cooley, from Oregon, who provides the "Fun with Mr. Whiney" segment;
- Mike Fitzgerald, from New Jersey, the announcer for the show;
- David Fair, from Maryland, who provides "The Fair Game" segment;
- Mary "Diceychic" Prasad, who provides "Tidbits with Diceychic", the news segment of The Dice Tower;
- Jason White, from the District of Columbia, who provides opinions on wargaming;
- Rick Thornquist, from British Columbia, Canada;
- Eric Summerer, from Connecticut, who provides humorous voice work for the podcast.
