shutupandsitdown posts
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THIS HUGE BOX: SU&SD Newsletter #69
Tom: “How long should we play a game for?”I’ve not had to grapple with this question as vigorously as I have with Frosthaven, Cephalofair’s absolutely heaving box of 100+ scenarios that I’ve been chewing on since December. Initially, we were breaking out a scenario every night with a feverish excitement to see what this game had to offer, gorging on this rich new experience that had dominated our living room table like an especially challenging buffet. This pace, of course, was not sustainable - if I were to plot our Frosthaven plays ...
TOM'S CORNER AWARDS '22: SU&SD Newsletter #68
Tom: My goodness, what an exhausting month December has been! The team (sans Quintin) traveled over to PAXU for a weekend of live shows and games. We then did a five-day-stint in the finger lakes, hosted by some wonderful friends of the show to cook our brains on boxes like Roads & Boats and Stationfall. A full day of travel later and we’re back in the UK, heads swimming with rules and jetlag. It’s a great privilege to be able to travel as part of this job, and to play so many games, but sometimes that comb...
THE TECH-GOBLIN EMERGES: SU&SD Newsletter #67
Matt: Newsletter people! Stand up! Put your hands in the air! Let me hear you pretending to be a bird who is furious that the audacity of seagulls is impacting the broader reputation of birds! Woooo!What a year 2022 has been, eh? In the UK we tanked our economy and played a special variant of musical chairs where everyone is Prime Minister for exactly four minutes. It’s been going really well, thanks - next year we’ll probably just do the same again.Thankfully though I’m in good health and spirits, despite currently ...
THE CONTROLLED EXPLOSION OF CARDBOARD: SU&SD Newsletter #66
Tom: Thank you! Really, thank you. If you were at SHUX, you contributed to the most wonderful, affirming, powerful thing in a nearly 5,000 mile radius from my current location - which is quite the feat as I live about 5,000 seconds from a place that makes the best sandwich I’ve ever eaten.I’d like to use this newsletter to share some highlights.First, the games, and the people that played them. We walked past a table playing Panic on Wall Street which Quinns insisted I first spectate, and then have a go at rolling ‘The Dice That D...
THE SHUX SPECIAL!: SU&SD Newsletter #65
Ava: So. Apparently I’m going to Vancouver.SHUX is coming up, we’re all rushing around sorting and stressing and delighting about all the wonderful things that will be happening in a big room I’ve never been in, in a big country I’ve never been in. It’s a weird feeling, but I’m very excited. A huge concrete barrel of awkward, kind, lovely people, getting together to laugh and play games and meet and be silly. From everything I’ve heard, it’s going to be a pretty special experience.So far, a large chunk of my journey with Shut Up...
QUINNS ON THE CLOCKTOWER: SU&SD Newsletter #64
Quinns: It’s my turn at the top of the newsletter, and I’d like to get a little bit serious. I want to tell you about the game night I went to on Saturday. It was a night I didn’t want to go to, and one that ended up healing me a little bit.So, a lot of you might be aware that our 2019 review of Blood on the Clocktower ended up being pretty bad for my mental health. I really put my heart into that video- the game nights we ran were massive and exhausting (I struggle to think of another SU&SD review that involved so much worrying about hav...
WHAT IS ART (HUH!) ABSOLUTELY NOTHING: SU&SD Newsletter #63
Matt: After 10 years, I needed to do something a little bit scary. Don’t be alarmed or excited though folks, it is time for me to get catastrophically BORING. That’s right, I’m here to talk about the process of the 2022 SU&SDrEbRaNdinG!Please, stop - put the pitchfork down for just a moment: Let me try and explain, and THEN you can eviscerate me.Back at the dawn of Shut Up & Sit Down, it’s safe to say that we didn’t have a logo. And why on earth WOULD you? It was just a pair of men doing silly things, free from the curse of knowing ab...
Running the Nets: SU&SD Newsletter #62
Tom: SHUX!!! It’s happening in person and we couldn’t be more thrilled. Three days bursting with board games, yes, but more importantly… human beings.We’re open about the fact that it’s the human element of SHUX that really makes it sing - all of the delightful people who descend upon the convention center to bond over big cardboard. If you’re looking to spend a long weekend hanging out playing some games with great people, there is truly no better place to do it - with a colossal library of games available and ample (delightfully c...
Ava's Learning Spectacular: SU&SD Newsletter #61
Ava: Woof, it’s been a bit of a month for me, with a lot of changes happening behind the scenes, but also so much excitement. My first solo video, a love letter to Songbirds, a game I’ve seen undervalued for a really long time, went live, with some interviews with actual real life birds.This is in no way the end of the journey, I looked at that video as it went live with a mix of sheer joy that it came out so well and an eagle eye for mistakes I’d made, and plans for rectifying them. Matt’s feedback lined up with my own, helpfully, so I...
Initating Into 2022: SU&SD Newsletter #60
Matt: It’s been an exciting start to the year, even through the expected bumpiness of grey-sky brains and covidgymnastics - I hope you enjoyed our first two-person review of the year as much as we enjoyed making it!It’s amazing to me that as humans we’re both creatures of habit, but also so able to rapidly adapt - it wasn’t until I was filming with Tom the other week for The Initiative that I realised how much I’d been forced to compromise: It’s so much easier to find the right energy when not working alone, and having thewild flexi...
Tom's Oath Journey: SU&SD Newsletter #59 (January 2022)
Tom: Hello! Fancy seeing you here, in a place like this; in times like these! Welcome to the first newsletter of 2022, ‘Episode One’ of the verbal (?) TV show we like to call ‘writing’. Let these sentences paint a beautiful picture in your mind! Or, if you’re less charitable/more realistic about my writing ability; a macaroni sculpture.There’s only one thing that I really want to talk about this month, and it’s Oath. I remember saying somewhere that I wanted to make a ‘Year Since Oath’ kind of video, where I talk about my rela...
The Holiday Special: SU&SD Newsletter #58
Matt: He’s making a list, he’s checking it twice, he’ll then give you a kilogram of pasta or rice! It’s Christmas! Regardless of whether the big red fella brings you basmati or spaghetti for the end of this year, let Shut Up & Sit Down be the first to offer up a big warm Loaf of Love from the whole of the team.Regardless of what this time of year means for you, for us it’s always a time to feel thankful - largely because it’s the only period in the year in which the whole team can take a break for a week or two, safe in the knowledg...
Life MGMT: SU&SD Newsletter #57
Quinns: Welcome to the Shut Up & Sit Down behind-the-scenes newsletter, everybody. Once again, we cannot thank you enough for donating. Shut Up & Sit Down is always growing, changing and trying new things, but one constant for the last 10 years is that you folks, our audience, have made it all possible.You’re the best. And you specifically, the human being reading this right now? You might be the best of all.Matt: We simply don’t have the scientific equipment to disprove it.Quinns: It's so expensive.Quinns: Here’s my personal tidbit o...
A Political Pizza Party: SU&SD Newsletter #56
Quinns:Welcome to the very 56th edition of the SU&SD donor newsletter! [In case you missed our 10th Anniversary extravaganza of a newsletter from last month, find it here.] Another month has passed where you, our proud patrons, have kept this pizza party rockin’, and we, the increasingly rickety and atonal animatronic band, have been allowed to keep juddering and groaning our sordid songs.Let me tell you folks, I had a weird month.Some of you might have seen a thread on the board game subreddit talking about a SU&SD video about a game called ...
TEN FLIPPIN' YEARS! SU&SD Newsletter #55
Quinns: OH MY GOODNESS!This summer SU&SD turned 10 years old and you - the person reading this - helped to carry us past this milestone. From the whole of our team, thank you.Ava, Matt, Tom, Quinns: THANK YOU!Quinns: That’s kind of crap in text, isn’t it? Never mind. The point is that you’re great. You’re just great. But in our 10th anniversary donation drive video we promised that this newsletter would be a special one. We said our whole editorial team would recall their favourite moments from the last ten years of Shut Up & Sit Down.F...
'The Great Week of Games' SU&SD Newsletter #54
Ava: Our little trip to Oxford was a blast, if a surprisingly knackering one. I had a whale of a time with some of the games, and it was just lovely to be sharing space with my wonderful workmates. It was interesting finding out a bit more about how we all play, and what we disagree on was really enlightening too. I’m still really fascinated by how sharp the split between mine and Matt’s and Quinns and Tom’s sense of Moonrakers was, in particular. It’s possible that it’s just that mine and Matt’s chaos goblin energy aligned quite we...
WORM MONTH 2 IS OVER: SU&SD Newsletter #53
Matt: After weeks of wrangling cables and digital pipes, we were almost ready for AwSHUX, last weekend? I must admit that it hasn’t always been a great deal of fun learning to adapt to the restrictions over the last year - but the tools and skills I’ve developed are certainly... interesting? Rather than manually creating tons of assets for the weekend of AwSHUX, I developed a little pipeline of scripting that would take a completed spreadsheet and turn it into an EvEryThiNG. Unfortunately, this process meant that (aside from hand-baked test...
My Goodness, Is It Fun Month Already!? SU&SD Newsletter #52
Matt: I’m writing this as we sit at the very vanguard of Fun Month, which started with Tom’s Kitchen Rush review, and I’m delighted to already see comments lashing out at the concept of “FUN”.I think what keeps this hobby so broadly delighting is the manner in which we’re able to enjoy economic simulations of 19th Century industry, and the next week be waxing lyrical about “little rhino climbing a building made of big cards”. Our team isn’t quite physically ready for Fun Month, really, being still unable to test stuff in The R...
Now That's What I Call February! SU&SD Newsletter #51
Matt: Whoosh bang pow: what a February! As we’re settling into the groove of another strange year, we’re gently optimistic - for the time being? The biggest issue currently is our nationwide lockdown, which for most of us makes playing board games PHYSICALLY ILLEGAL. Thankfully we’ve stuff we played last year that we’re able to revisit digitally, squidging together impressions of both “Real Life” and “Board Game Arena” board gaming to create cyborg opinions that will Hopefully Do.One thing I will tell you - as a behind-the-scene...
Dark Days and Tech Goblins: SU&SD Newsletter #50
Quinns: You’re receiving this newsletter because you donated to Shut Up & Sit Down this year, and I’ll tell you what else- you are amazing. You’re absolutely tops!Matt: And that’s a scientific FACT.Quinns: Thanks to the generosity of people like you, we’re very happy to announce that we were able to meet our funding goal for 2020. That means our team gets to focus on making great stuff for our audience for another six months *without* the anxiety of having to make ends meet. It’s a position of enormous privilege, and we have no inte...
The Month of Worms is Over! SU&SD Newsletter #49
Quinns: Worm month has drawn to a close, and I think it’s fair to say that our team is... semi-refreshed? Refreshedish?First things first, we’d like to thank to everybody who participated in this year’s virtual SU&SD convention, AwSHUX, whether that meant watching our star-spangled Twitch streams, browsing our board game preview videos, buying merch, games or just meeting strangers online to play a board game on the internet.Second things second, we must instruct you to brace yourself for a VERY sexy run of SU&SD reviews between now and C...
Guess What! We've Played Some Games! SU&SD Newsletter #48
Matt: It has! Still, it’ll be a real bummer to be missing out on SHUX this year - but over the next month I’ll be working behind the scenes a lot more to get us geared up for the weekend of AwSHUX. There are silver linings to every cloud, and at least we’re able to fully concentrate this year on an event that literally no-onecan attend but by extension everyonecan potentially take part in. And OOH, the first major bit of news on that front is that as part of AwSHUX we’ll be selling some brand new T-shirts, ON-LINE! Below you’ll find a...
Welcome, Donors, One and All! SU&SD Newsletter #47
Matt: Thank you so much to everyone for your support! If you’ve just become a donor, WELCOME TO NEWSLETTER LAND. I’m today’s official Mayor of Newsletter - we’re thrilled to have you here, please don’t stain the curtains.And hey! Let’s have a sneaky-peek at what’s coming up in the next month or so. First up, we’ve a big-hitter waiting just around the corner - Quintin will be reviewing Pandemic Legacy: Season 0 in the frankly QUITE IMMINENT future, while my thoughts on Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion will likely take a little longer...
The Mildew Cometh... SU&SD Newsletter #46
Quinns: Homes! They’re like friends that you can live inside.This newsletter has always been a way for you to venture behind the scenes at Shut Up & Sit Down. Now that the pandemic has reduced “the scenes” to us being “at home”, we’ve decided that in this newsletter we’re all going to share some of the fun details that have made our lockdowns interesting.I love my home. I’m extremely lucky to be here. But have you seen the movie Blade, with Wesley Snipes? To imagine my home life, imagine something like the plot of that movie, bu...
[COOL PLACEHOLDER TITLE]! SU&SD Newsletter #45
Quinns: Last month I used the newsletter to talk about how our options for playing board games online were “pretty good, actually??” Since then, Tom and I have used Tabletop Simulator to play Container with the Los Angeles-based Board Game Barrage, and our whole crew has had fun rummaging around games that aren’t even out yet, like Forgotten Waters and The Defence of Procyon III.But if you’re reading this and thinking that you miss just... sitting around a table with your friends? Oh my goodness. You’re not alone.Matt: Arrrrgh I miss ...
FULL STREAM AHEAD! SU&SD Newsletter #44
Matt: Hello there! I hope you’re all faring well in the second month of these unexpected New Times. After a bumpy initial ride of recalibrating and decontaminating, most of team SU&SD have adapted to current circumstances - and we’re doing what we can to continue to provide little pockets of interesting joy!First up in our barrage of news - I’ve now got to grips with the technology required, and for the foreseeable we’ll be live on Twitch twice a week. On Thursdays I’ll be joined by other people from the team - tune in on the 23rd for...
Behind the Cardboard, Quarantine Curtain: SU&SD Newsletter #43
Quinns: The newsletter’s always been a place where we can be candid with you folks about obstacles we’re facing. Well, here goes. Ever since the threat of Covid-19 took over public life here in the UK, more than ever before in the site’s history, I’m having a tough time doing creative work for SU&SD.This is absolutely not something you need to worry about. SU&SD will still be providing videos, podcasts, the Monday news, and with a bit of luck Matt’s soon going to make a triumphant return to streaming. The site will rumble on as it’s...
Riding The Waves of The Silly Ocean: SU&SD Newsletter #42
Matt: Woof bang pow, what a couple of months we’ve had!It’s always been true that having fun is the fuel that makes the engine of Shut Up & Sit Down quietly roar, but over the past few months I think we’ve actually begun running the risk of having TOO MUCH FUN.I never allow myself to ruminate on critical comments online, but I’ve definitely taken note from the handful of people who’ve felt that - in the reviews led by me specifically - the critical eye has sometimes been lost in a flurry of silly and whimsical antics.This is almost de...
A NEW CHANNEL-ENGER APPROACHES: SU&SD Newsletter #41 (January 2020)
Matt: Cor blimminy up a reet big chimminy, we’ve got an exciting nugget of news for you today… I’m thrilled to formally introduce you to the newest official member of Shut Up & Sit Down - it’s Mr Thomas Brewster!Matt: You may have seen him in some of our recent videos, and despite the brilliant qualities and skills of all of the interns we’ve worked with this year, it’s Tom that immediately blew us away with his eye for detail, lovely personality, and a seemingly endless quantity of ridiculous ideas. He’s been helping out behind t...
Merry Merry Christmas! SU&SD Newsletter #40
Matt: And that’s all the 2019 she wrote! If you’re a seasoned reader of the Shut Up & Sit Down newsletter, thank you once again from all of us for the ongoing support - it really means so much to be able to continue to do such a wonderful, silly job. If you’re a brand new donor this year, then welcome! We like to use this as a place to update you all on what we’ve been up to, what we’re planning, and a tiny window into how we’re all feeling. So buckle up and get yourself a hot tea - this newsletter is a REAL CHUNKY FELLA.First, we w...
