Shows / Novel Gaming!
Novel Gaming!
Novel Gaming is a twice-monthly podcast where long-time friends Vicki, Doug, and Katie talk about video games, books, and pop culture with a spattering of current events or anything else they just can't get off their minds.
Episodes
- Novel Gaming!
#148 — Three Fall Gaming Questions!
It's fall, y'all! And we have three video game questions that need answering! The autumnal discussion begins around 34:45. Before then we check in on what…
- Novel Gaming!
#147 — 'Mongrels' by Stephen Graham Jones
A werewolf story unlike those we've seen before! This month we read the 2016 novel 'Mongrels' by Stephen Graham Jones. But before we run on all fours into…
- Novel Gaming!
#146 — We Played Pony Island!
This month we played the very normal and easy-to-describe 2016 game Pony Island! But before we start clicking on suspicious and perhaps demonic file shortcuts…
- Novel Gaming!
#145 — 'Go-Man: Champion of Earth' by Hamish Steele
This month we read the 2025 graphic novel Go-Man: Champion of Earth by Hamish Steele! (Discussion begins at 28:00) But before we chomp on a glowing plant and…
- Novel Gaming!
#144 — Cooperative Video Games!
Lots of things are better with friends - video games included! Grab a controller and join us as we talk about cooperative video games! Before the conversation…
- Novel Gaming!
#143 — 'Murder by Memory' by Olivia Waite
Drunk spaceships, queer detectives, and death, oh my! All that and more can be found in the 2025 sci-fi cozy mystery novella, 'Murder by Memory' by Olivia…
- Novel Gaming!
#142 — 'Rosemary and Rue' by Seanan McGuire
We've just woken up from 14 years of being a fish, and what's the first thing we did? Book club! This month we read 2009's Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire…
- Novel Gaming!
#141 — Gaming Draft: Character in Drag & at the Pride Party!
Who would you want on your drag team? And who would you invite to a Pride party? Join us as we answer these questions through a gaming draft! We pick the video…
- Novel Gaming!
#140 — 'Sleep Like Death' by Kalynn Bayron
What if Snow White was a warrior princess who could make a sword out of lightning and a cloak out of the night sky? And what if moms were nice?? To explore…
- Novel Gaming!
#139 — We Played Terror of Hemasaurus! (with Derek B. Gayle)
What happens when a giant rampaging monster is unleashed on the world by an apocalyptic cult? Well, it's pretty simple: lots of destruction. Derek B. Gayle…
- Novel Gaming!
#138 — 'Nine Goblins' by T. Kingfisher
How many goblins does it take to solve a mystery during a fantasy war behind enemy lines? Turns out it's nine! Plus an veterinarian elf and some magical…
- Novel Gaming!
#137 — Random Encounters: Earth Day!
Let's just spitball here: Earth Day. Elements. Earth. Wind. Fire. Water. Podcast. Video games. Random encounters! In honor or Earth Day, we're trying out a new…
- Novel Gaming!
#136 — 'The Sound of Stars' by Alechia Dow
Can you find love amid an electric alien invasion? Or find hope and refuge in art? The protagonists of 'The Sound of Stars' by Alecia Dow would certainly love…
- Novel Gaming!
#135 — We're Playing Pokémon Pokopia!
There simply wasn't a world, apocalyptic or otherwise, that we weren't going to play and talk about the latest Pokémon spin-off title, the cozy sandbox…
- Novel Gaming!
#134 — 'How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days' by Jessie Sylva
We wanted something cute and cozy with a hearty helping of fantasy this month, so we read 'How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Day' by Jessie Sylva, a 2026 fantasy…
- Novel Gaming!
#133 — Video Game Dating Profiles
Pixelated protagonist looking for a co-op partner. You interested? Well, swipe right and join us as we create video game character dating profiles and play a…
- Novel Gaming!
#132 — 'How High We Go in the Dark' by Sequoia Nagamatsu
How could climate change and a plague impact how humans love and grieve? Sequoia Nagamatsu's 'How High We Go in the Dark' explores this question through…
- Novel Gaming!
#131 — The Return of the Backlog Challenge! (with Tommy Proffitt)
We are joined this month by Tommy from Distant Echoes: A Star Wars Podcast and Lee Carvallo's Podding Challenge: A Simpsons Gaming Podcast to kickoff the…
- Novel Gaming!
#130 — ‘Mirage City’ by Lev A. C. Rosen
We’re starting the new year off with an unprecedented book club: the fourth entry in a series! This month we read Mirage City, the latest Evander Mills novel…
- Novel Gaming!
#129 — Three Christmas Gaming Questions!
Merry Christmas! We got you 3 questions as a gift! And we even answered them! To unwrap your gift, go directly to 24:34 (where that convo starts). Before then…
- Novel Gaming!
#128 — Our 2025 Year in Review!
We're almost at the end of 2025! That means it's time to look back on the year and talk about the video games, books, and other things that are making our…
- Novel Gaming!
#127 — ‘Symbiosis’ by Nicky Drayden
More living ships, more forbidden love, and more tentacles! This month we read ‘Escaping Exodus: Symbiosis’ by Nicky Drayden, the sequel to last month's book…
- Novel Gaming!
#126 — We Played The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap!
Honey, we shrunk the Hero of Hyrule! We played The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, a 2004 Game Boy Advance entry in the Zelda series where you get to shrink…
- Novel Gaming!
Glitterjaw Crossover: 'Star Wars: Ronin – A Visions Novel' by Emma Mieko Candon
It's a Glitterjaw crossover! We teamed up with our Distant Echoes friends to discuss the 2021 book 'Star Wars: Ronin – A Visions Novel" by Emma Mieko Candon…
- Novel Gaming!
#125 — ‘Escaping Exodus’ by Nicky Drayden
Living ships, forbidden love, and tentacles! A winning combination found in our most recent book club pick ‘Escaping Exodus’ by Nicky Drayden. Before talking…
- Novel Gaming!
#124 — We Played Alan Wake Remastered!
Are you afraid of the dark?? We know a video game couple who is! And one of them looooves writing about it! Join us as we wade through the shadows and talk…
- Novel Gaming!
#123 — 'The Siren, the Song, and the Spy' by Maggie Tokuda-Hall
Pirate and sirens and dragons, oh my! It's a sequel book club episode! This month we read Maggie Tokuda-Hall's 'The Siren, the Song, and the Spy'! Conversation…
- Novel Gaming!
#122 — We Played Tiny Bookshop!
You ever just wanna get in a car, attach a little trailer, decorate it, fill it with books, drive around town, and recommend picks to people who ask? Us too…
- Novel Gaming!
#121 — 'Dear Mothman: A Novel in Verse' by Robin Gow
Been a while since we've read some poetry and been a while since we've read something spooky, so why not both? This month we checked out Robin Gow's 2023 book…
- Novel Gaming!
#120 — We Played Coral Island!
Do you love farming, getting to know characters, and clearing trash? Then you should play Coral Island! We did and we're talking about it! Conversation about…
- Novel Gaming!
#119 — 'Play Nice' by Jason Schreier
Our first nonfiction book! We read the 2024 book 'Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment' by Jason Schreier. Conversation starts…
- Novel Gaming!
#118 — We Played Date Everything!
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to date your dining room table? What about your coffee maker? Surely you've thought about dating your bed, right?…
- Novel Gaming!
#117 — Book Club: Marvel's Voices - Pride (2021-2024)
We didn't read a book this month! Instead we read a whole lot of comics. For Pride Month, we decided to read the Marvel's Voices Pride anthology series from…
- Novel Gaming!
#116 — We Played Dream Daddy!
We played Dream Daddy, a 2017 dad dating game! You can click here to read the Kotaku article mentioned in our discussion. Before we discuss this sweet and…
- Novel Gaming!
#115 — Book Club: 'The Teller of Small Fortunes' by Julie Leong
We've got a vision coming in about this episode! *~We're going to talk about 'The Teller of Small Fortunes' by Julie Leong~* Before we discuss the 2024 book…
- Novel Gaming!
#114 — We Played Sayonara Wild Hearts!
This episode we played Sayonara Wild Hearts, a stylish 2019 rhythm action game featuring motorcycles, magical girl transformations, robot wolves, and of…
- Novel Gaming!
#113 — Book Club: 'Sunrise on the Reaping' by Suzanne Collins
We are very excited to discuss 'Sunrise on the Reaping' by Suzanne Collins, the fifth book in the Hunger Games series, taking place 24 years before the events…
- Novel Gaming!
#112 — Celebrating the Nintendo Switch!
The Nintendo Switch 2 is on the way so we thought it was only right to celebrate its predecessor - the Nintendo Switch! We talk the launch, features, games and…
- Novel Gaming!
#111 — Book Club: 'Redemption in Indigo' by Karen Lord
It's a book club! And we read 'Redemption in Indigo' by Karen Lord. Listen in as we discuss this 2010 retelling of a Senegalese folktale that is…
- Novel Gaming!
#110 — Three Video Game Music Questions!
What's the best music mechanic in video games? What are those songs from video games that stick with you? What musical artist would you mash-up with one of…
- Novel Gaming!
#109 — Book Club: 'The Full Moon Coffee Shop’ by Mai Mochizuki
For this month’s book club we read ‘The Full Moon Coffee Shop’, a 2020 magical realism cozy novel by Mai Mochizuki, translated into English in 2024 by Jesse…
- Novel Gaming!
#108 — We Played Oxenfree!
It's our first "game club" episode of 2025, and we played Oxenfree, a spooky narrative-choice game featuring a group of teens lost on an island with nothing…
- Novel Gaming!
#107 — Book Club: 'This Is How You Lose the Time War’ by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
We're doing our first book club of 2025 and are ready for some love and flirty letters! We read 2019's 'This Is How You Lose the Time War’ by Amal El-Mohtar…
- Novel Gaming!
#106 — Finishing the 2024 Backlog Challenge!
It’s 2025! And that means our 2024 Backlog Challenge is officially over. Listen in to hear what and how we did! Conversation starts around 25:50. Before then…
- Novel Gaming!
#105 — Book Club: 'Rough Pages' by Lev A. C. Rosen
It’s a book club episode! And this December, we’re picking up where we left off last December, because this month we read Rough Pages by Lev A. C. Rosen, the…
- Novel Gaming!
#104 — Our 2024 Year in Review!
The end of 2024 is just around the corner, which means it's time to highlight some of our favorite books, video games, and other media from this past year. But…
- Novel Gaming!
#103 — Book Club: 'The Z Word' by Lindsay King-Miller
We read the queer zombie novel "The Z Word" by Lindsay King-Miller! Conversation around this campy, yet thought-provoking story starts around 31:50. Before all…
- Novel Gaming!
#102 — Three Culinary Gaming Questions!
Food is good we want to talk about it! To help us do that, we came up with three video-game-food-related questions. Main course starts around 24:00. Before…
- Novel Gaming!
#101 — Book Club: 'The Salt Grows Heavy' by Cassandra Khaw
Halloween is coming up, so Doug picked a novella he heard was scary... but it was mostly really gross! A flesh-eating mermaid, a gentle plague doctors, and a…
- Novel Gaming!
#100 — Snatching Trophies & Completing Games!
It's our 100th episode, and Vicki's back to celebrate with us! And what better way to celebrate 100 episodes—and with Vicki specifically!—than to talk about…
- Novel Gaming!
#99 — Book Club: 'Robopocalypse' by Daniel H. Wilson
Afraid of AI taking over? Maybe don't read this book? Or do to prepare! We read 'Robopocalypse' by Daniel H. Wilson. Discussion begins ~18:00. Before that, we…
- Novel Gaming!
#98 — Less Than 5 Hour Games!
Very short video games are very nice. This episode, we talk about cool games that are less than 5 hours! Discussion starts around 27:10. Before we get into it…
- Novel Gaming!
#97 — Book Club: 'Chain-Gang All-Stars' by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
This month for book club we read 'Chain-Gang All-Stars' by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, and there's not really a cute or funny way to introduce it. It's a heavy…
- Novel Gaming!
#96 — We Played Stardew Valley - Expanded Mod!
We've probably logged a thousand hours between the two of us, but we've never dedicated an episode to it—we're talking about Stardew Valley! And because we've…
- Novel Gaming!
Glitterjaw Crossover: 'Star Wars Hunters: Battle for the Arena' by Mark Oshiro
It's a Glitterjaw bonus crossover! We teamed up with our Distant Echoes friends to discuss the 2023 middle grade book 'Star Wars Hunters: Battle for the Arena'…
- Novel Gaming!
#95 — Book Club: 'The Taking of Jake Livingston' by Ryan Douglass
It's time to get scared and uncomfortable! We read the young adult horror book 'The Taking of Jake Livingston' by Ryan Douglass. Discussion begins ~21:25…
- Novel Gaming!
#94 — Introducing the 2024 Backlog Challenge
You ever just buy games and not play them? Us too! Join us as we tackle some of our backlog with a friendly challenge! Tune in around 23:40 to hear the…
- Novel Gaming!
#93 — Book Club: 'Infinity Kings' by Adam Silvera
It's been an on-podcast journey of several years, but we've finally arrived at the epic conclusion of the Infinity Cycle! We're talking all about 'Infinity…
- Novel Gaming!
#92 — We Played The Archipelago!
We played The Archipelago, a short 2022 tea-making game developed and published by Never Done Games, a two-person studio that makes the kinds of games that…
- Novel Gaming!
#91 — Book Club: 'Fireheart Tiger' by Aliette de Bodard
We read 'Fireheart Tiger' by Aliette de Bodard! Conversation around this short, sapphic fantasy begins ~18:25. Before that, we check in on the things we've…