The Staying In Podcast - four pals talk video games, board games, and movies

Hunters in a Scandinavian forest try to track the beast in, well, Beast, a hidden movement board game from Studio Midhall via Zatu, and we think you’re going to love this mighty (and huge) experience when you bring it to your tabletop.

For a more chill time you’ll want to check out This Is a Gardening Show from Zach Galifianakis et al, which is, as you might expect, a gardening show… of sorts. Or for a chilling time there’s Widow’s Bay, a comedy horror that will have you laughing out loud and leaping behind the sofa in equal measure. Plus why we’re revisiting a classic (?) with The King of Queens.

All that, and a 1.3% chance, on Ep248.

00:00 - We've been doing this for over 10 years

16:11 - Beast

27:46 - Widow's Bay

37:16 - This Is a Gardening Show (and The King of Queens)

On this episode were Kris (@DigitalStrider), Peter (@XeroXeroXero), and Sam (@MrSamTurner).

Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about, our Steam Curator page collects every video game we’ve ever reviewed available on the platform, and our BoardGameGeek page does the same for every boardgame. And if you’d like to see what we’re up to between podcasts, your best bet is our Instagram page.

Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com

Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

If you’re looking for a great way to train your brain every morning, as well as understand how the devil a classic puzzle - the cryptic crossword - works, then Minute Cryptic should be on your phone.

If that’s too much, but you still want something (surprisingly) cerebral then, yes, The Devil Wears Prada 2 is for you. It’s got a lot to say about the modern world for a film that, superficially, is about fashion.

On the smaller screens, if you’re looking for something completely unique, yet probably a bit of a bargain considering it’s been out a while, we recommend Death Stranding, from Koj and the gang.

All that, and flinging a Razzle, on Ep247.

00:00 - Where babies come from; a message from The Doc

05:12 - Minute Cryptic

16:49 - The Devil Wears Prada 2

40:17 - Death Stranding

On this episode were Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Peter (@XeroXeroXero), and Sam (@MrSamTurner).

Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about, our Steam Curator page collects every video game we’ve ever reviewed available on the platform, and our BoardGameGeek page does the same for every boardgame. And if you’d like to see what we’re up to between podcasts, your best bet is our Instagram page.

Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com

Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

Quick reviews and impressions of geek-adjacent books is the thrust of this one. There’s My First Adventure: Discovering Atlantis, which is a traditional-feeling choose-your-own-adventure book via Hachette, as well as a closer look at Dead Beard's Curse: Smart Book from Peasoup, which uses augmented reality to take “turn to page XX”-type books to another level.

And the book chat goes on: if you love food and curious crime, you’ll gobble up Butter by Asako Yuzuki via 4th Estate.

As is often the case, it’s an episode of other “firsts”, including a first Pokémon and Mario game, and how us as parents can share personal favourites with our kids for the first time.

Finally, there’s Zenith, a game we can’t stop playing. It’s a strategy game from PlayPunk, a 2-4 player lane battler tug of war from the same folks behind Castle Combo.

All that, and on-the-fly-editing of children’s authors, on Ep246.

00:00 - Hayfever and Tartar Sauce

06:54 - Some firsts and sharing things with our kids

19:58 - My First Adventure: Discovering Atlantis

26:37 - Dead Beard's Curse: Smart Book

35:44 - Butter

46:47 - Zenith

On this episode were Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), and Sam (@MrSamTurner).

Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about, our Steam Curator page collects every video game we’ve ever reviewed available on the platform, and our BoardGameGeek page does the same for every boardgame. And if you’d like to see what we’re up to between podcasts, your best bet is our Instagram page.

Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com

Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

On the tabletop we’re building up the walls with dexterity and memory game Castel Boom from Kiwizou by way of Hachette, and building up a case with MicroMacro Kids: Crazy City Park from Hard Boiled Games, also via Hachette. Away from the board games and into the realm of RPGs, we’re meeting up online with strangers and playing roleplaying game oneshots with StartPlaying (and the brilliant La Lionne Cosplay). After that it’s off to Germany - via Denmark - and building LEGO’s spin on Neuschwanstein Castle, plus we relax with a new season of a classic TV show; yep, we’re getting back into Scrubs.

All that, and lawns, on Ep245.

00:00 - Two green bins.

06:57 - Castel Boom

19:54 - A naughty trip to the petrol station

23:04 - MicroMacro Kids: Crazy City Park

35:42 - “And many more”

37:35 - LEGO’s Neuschwanstein Castle

42:09 - StartPlaying with Anya (aka La Lionne Cosplay)

49:23 - Scrubs

On this episode were Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), and Sam (@MrSamTurner).

Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about, our Steam Curator page collects every video game we’ve ever reviewed available on the platform, and our BoardGameGeek page does the same for every boardgame. And if you’d like to see what we’re up to between podcasts, your best bet is our Instagram page.

Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com

Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

A Staying In exclusive? Yep! We’re among the first people in the UK to play Red Notice - Le Million ou la Prison, which is a game about risking what you can on what you think you can get away with, themed on the game of cat and mouse found in works like Catch Me If You Can. It’s a stonker; you heard it here first.

Of course there’s loads of other things to talk about coming out of AireCon 2026. We start getting very close to each other (and strangers) with Yubibo’s novel Twister-with-fingers from Jelly Jelly, and building (pleasingly broken) engines in Thief's Market, PickPocket’s fresh lick of paint on a previously released title. There’s also Jason Tremblay’s Tacta, which is a light and delightful little treat of a game, and Ellie Dix, Maria Surducan, and Osprey’s Threaded: A Game of Needles and Points, which is so completely charming we can’t stop thinking about it, even when it’s gone midnight and security is about to throw you out the convention.

With that many board games, we change things up and round things out with a movie: the sci-fi book adaptation with Ryan Gosling that’s currently doing the business at the box office.

All that, and putting down a towel, on Ep244.

00:00 - AireCon 2026

13:21 - Yubibo

18:20 - Thief's Market

25:22 - Tacta

29:25 - Threaded: A Game of Needles and Points

32:23 - Red Notice - Le Million ou la Prison

47:06 - Project Hail Mary

On this episode were Dan (@ThisDanFrost), Kris (@DigitalStrider), and Sam (@MrSamTurner).

Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about, our Steam Curator page collects every video game we’ve ever reviewed available on the platform, and our BoardGameGeek page does the same for every boardgame. And if you’d like to see what we’re up to between podcasts, your best bet is our Instagram page.

Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com

Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.