Free Play Podcast
190 episodes - English - Latest episode: 16 days ago - ★★★★★ - 60 ratingsThe Free Play Podcast, a conversation between a Southern Baptist, a hippie emo father of millions, and a retired Disney princess about the Love Thy Nerd community, the games they play, and the world of gaming culture at large. Part of the Love Thy Nerd Podcast Network.
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Episodes
Free Play 184 | Outgrowing Nerdiness
April 10, 2024 12:00 - 1 hour - 67.7 MBDo we ever truly outgrow our nerdiness or is it a “once a nerd always a nerd” type thing even if you’re not actively engaging in anything nerdy? The power of nostalgia is more real now than it’s ever been and people are coming back to their old love of games and nerd culture, but what about the ones that don’t?
Free Play 183 | Kate Said What?
March 13, 2024 12:00 - 1 hour - 73.7 MBOn this chaotic installment of Free Play, the gang get to play a special game created by the one and only Radio Matt, where they take a deep dive into the history of Free Play to remember Kate's quotes from past episodes.
Free Play 182 | Ask Us Anything 2024
February 28, 2024 13:00 - 1 hour - 70.3 MBWe gave you, our dedicated listeners, the chance to ask whatever questions you wanted as part of our final season and the things you submitted were... Let’s just say “on brand”.
Free Play 181 | Halftime Heat (Final Season Premiere)
February 14, 2024 13:00 - 1 hour - 83.9 MBOn the Final Season premiere (yes... final, we’ll get into it), Bubba, Matt & Kate bring even more chaos and unhinged vibes to kick things off for the 10th season! They recap what they’ve been playing throughout the season break, what’s next for them, and their deep-dive random thoughts into the Super Bowl, half time show, commercials, and predictions for 2025’s halftime show.
Free Play 180 | Reboots: Do We Need 'Em?
November 29, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 167 MBIn our season finale, Matt, Bubba, and Kate end Season 9 with the usual foolishness and introduce a new segment called “Do We Need ‘Em?”, where they look at some items and decide if we need them or not. Today, they’re looking at reboots of Harry Potter, the original Star Wars movies, and the concept of a new Marvel movie featuring original cast and characters that may no longer be part of the Marvel universe if you know what we mean. Matt is back on Twitch! Tuesdays & Wednesdays at...
Free Play 180 | Reboots: Do We Need 'Em? (Season 9 Finale)
November 29, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 167 MBIn our season finale, Matt, Bubba, and Kate end Season 9 with the usual foolishness and introduce a new segment called “Do We Need ‘Em?”, where they look at some items and decide if we need them or not. Today, they’re looking at reboots of Harry Potter, the original Star Wars movies, and the concept of a new Marvel movie featuring original cast and characters that may no longer be part of the Marvel universe if you know what we mean. Matt is back on Twitch! Tuesdays & Wednesdays at...
Free Play 179 | Matt & Bubba Go To War
November 15, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 154 MBIn an episode that is unhinged chaos, even more than usual, Kate updates us on the latest challenge issued to Matt and Bubba from her uncle’s nerd friends about a Dice Throne competition.
Free Play 178 | Dice Throne Family Feud
October 18, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 76.9 MBThis week’s episode is jam packed with even more chaos than usual. Drama arises between Kate’s uncle, Matt, and Bubba over a single game of Marvel Dice Throne that took 4 hours to complete. Is it fine to just let someone play a game even if it's not correct or when gameplay is stalled by analysis paralysis?
Free Play 177 | Better Late Than Never (Season 9 Premiere)
October 04, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 152 MBIt’s been a wild summer and the gang is so glad to finallyyyyy be back at it on the illustrious Free Play podcast which will be more unhinged than ever this season, guaranteed. Matt, Bubba, and Kate catch up on what they’ve been into, the art and value of collecting nerdy things, the new direction of this show, and of course, the chaos that usually occurs when they try to do anything.
Free Play 176 | PiiU-S5 (Season 8 Finale)
May 30, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 149 MBIn the season finale of Free Play, Matt & Bubba talk about the PlayStation Showcase - and the Handheld that is much more reminiscent of the WiiU controller than the Switch.
Free Play 175 | TOTK First Impressions
May 23, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 140 MBTears of the Kingdom is out and making waves in the gaming world. Matt & Bubba give you their first impressions in the penultimate episode of this season.
Free Play 174 | Twitter Blues
May 09, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 110 MBMany odd things have happened since Elon Musk took over Twitter. The latest has been the upheaval of the verification system which had really helped in separating the trolls from the rich and famous. Now…. not so much. When you have verified accounts tweeting about Russia/Ukraine bombings and celebrities trying to get rid of their blue checkmarks, you know things are going off the rails. Is verification something really worth having? What was the point before Elon and what’s the poi...
Free Play 173 | Deep-Faked Drake
May 02, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 107 MBWhat if I sent you a link to an awesome song that was just released on Spotify by Drake and The Weeknd. It sounds just like their voices and just like their production. Turns out, it's a song created by an AI who has been trained to emulate music by the two artists and Universal Music Group is rallying to get it removed from the interwebs. If a song is created completely by an AI, then who owns it? The people it’s “inspired by” even if it’s not them singing?
Free Play 172 | Zelda Hype
April 25, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 111 MBTears of the Kingdom is releasing in a few short weeks and Free Play is discussing Matt’s hopes, dreams, and fears about this long awaited experience. There are so many theories about what this game will mean for the Zelda franchise when it comes to story, gameplay, and beyond and no one wants to miss out on the hype. Kate also put together what she thought would be a fun segment at the end of the show that she will never repeat: Zelda trivia.
Free Play 171 | Mario Movie: Better Than It Had Any Right to Be
April 18, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 108 MBWith Matt out of the office for the day, Bubba and Kate chat about reading people’s texts over their shoulder in airplanes, if deviled eggs are good or not, and most importantly: their thoughts on the Super Mario Movie and the brilliantness of Jack Black. Also, do critic’s thoughts matter about the movie if they literally have no idea about anything Mario?
Free Play 170 | Super Nintendo World
April 04, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 142 MBThere is a lot happening in the world of Free Play this week. Matt recaps PAX East and his disappointments with Nintendo’s lackluster Zelda presence. E3 is canceled. They’ll talk about the new Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios and throw together some ideas for a Zelda theme park that are pretty dang good. Matt and Kate also introduce a new segment about celebrity coffee orders that blew Bubba away.
Free Play 33 | Lost Episode | Game of the Year 2018
March 28, 2023 12:00 - 16 minutes - 15.4 MBIn this lost episode from the earlier days of the Free Play Podcast, Bubba, Matt & Kate discuss the contenders for Game of the Year for the 2018 VGA's. The likely reason this never made it to the podcast feed was due to the length, coming in at just under 17 minutes, recorded after multiple failed attempts from computer issues.
Free Play 169 | The Last of Us: Season 1
March 21, 2023 12:00 - 1 hour - 104 MBSeason 1 of the HBO adaptation of The Last of Us wrapped this past week and as fans of Naughty Dog and Sony’s original games, Bubba, Matt & Kate wanted to chat about it. HBO really set the bar high for future gaming IPs turned into live action shows and movies. They cast some ideas for seasons 2 and 3 of the show, the possibility of a Last of Us Part 3 game, and how much Pedro Pascal is TOO MUCH Pedro Pascal. If that’s even a thing.
Free Play 168 | LTN Turns 5
March 07, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 114 MBWe’re celebrating LTN’s 5th birthday and can’t believe how fast the time has gone. So much has happened in the past five years and looking back brings up a lot of memories. Kate took the time this week to come up with some hard hitting questions to interview Matt, Bubba, and herself about LTN’s future and some things that they hold near and dear to their hearts from the past five years. HBD Love Thy Nerd!
Free Play 167 | Netflix Tabletop Games
February 21, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 105 MBEvery once in awhile, Bubba sends something Kate's way that she's actually interested in. This week, it was a link to The Last Kingdom Board Game Kickstarter from Gamelyn Games. The Last Kingdom Netflix series is one of Kate's favorite shows, so she was super pumped to see this even though tabletop games aren’t her area of expertise. That got them curious about other Netflix IPs that have been turned into tabletop experiences.
Free Play 166 | E3 Without the Big 3
February 14, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 103 MBE3 has had a rough time the past couple years with cancellations and the event held online. 2023 marks a return to in-person for both the press and the public but Nintendo, Sony, and Xbox won’t be attending. Without E3, these big companies have figured out that releasing their announcements on their own schedule without relying on a once a year expo probably works out way better. What will E3 look like without the Big 3? Is this marking the end of this expo as we know it?
Free Play 165 | Non-Linear Streaming
February 07, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 103 MBWelcome to Season 8 of the Free Play podcast! During the break, Bubba, Matt & Kate watched Kaleidoscope, Netflix’s non-linear streaming experience where you can watch the episodes in any order, except for the last one. Netflix automatically randomized the episodes based on viewers location. Engaging in non-linear storytelling isn’t exactly new to us as nerds, so what makes this experience different? Plus, catch up on what's been going on over the break and what they've been playing ...
Free Play 164 | Nerds of Christmas Past
December 06, 2022 13:00 - 1 hour - 105 MBFree Play’s “cut-man”, CJ Burroughs, suggested Bubba, Matt & Kate chat about some of their memories about nerdy Christmas gifts that they received as young nerds way back when. They also want to cover the 2022 Game Awards Game of the Year nominees and throw their guesses out ahead of the award show next week. This is the Season 7 finale!
Free Play 163 | Who Doesn’t Love Killer Microwave AI?
November 22, 2022 12:00 - 1 hour - 137 MBSome people, like Bubba, look upon the impending era of our AI overlords with excitement and joy. Others, like Kate, are a little unsure. And stories with headlines like “Someone turned their imaginary friend into an AI microwave and it wanted to kill them” do little to change her opinion. This story was submitted by community content producer Ryan Eighmey and sparked a conversation about whether or not the experiment was real or a cautionary tale about our AI focused future.
Free Play 162 | Our Biggest Gaming Disappointments
November 15, 2022 14:52 - 1 hour - 153 MBHave you had a disappointment in the game space that really bummed you out? Never fear, the Free Play Podcast is here to help you recover and move on. After Kate had an underwhelming God of War Ragnarök release day, they’re talking all about gaming disappointments they’ve had and how we can all get to a better place.
Free Play 161 | LTN Con 2022 Recap
November 01, 2022 11:00 - 1 hour - 106 MBLTN Con is one of our favorite weekends of the year here at Love Thy Nerd. It’s a time of coming together as a community, playing games, and learning how to love and serve our nerdy neighbors better. We had some incredible keynote and breakout sessions, vendors, and opportunities to extend our online relationships into real life. Bubba and Kate were there, had an absolute blast, and wanted to recap the weekend with all of you. That’s what they want to talk about this week on the Fre...
Free Play 160 | The Super Mario Movie Trailer
October 11, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 102 MBNintendo finally reveals a teaser trailer for the Super Mario Movie at New York Comic Con. Fans are protesting online about Chris Pratt’s performance (even with barely a sentence uttered). Bubba and Kate nerd out about what we loved from the trailer, what they’re looking forward to with the movie, and speculating about what some of Nintendo’s goals are along with the partnership with Illumination and Universal.
Free Play 159 | Did Twitch Mess Up?
October 04, 2022 11:00 - 1 hour - 69 MBTwitch has taken creators by surprise in a bad way with their latest announcement. They stated how revenue splits for bigger streamers will go from 70/30 to 50/50.This information has the Twitch community up in arms. As it should because this information isn’t exactly fair. Will Twitch’s mistake be the first step in leveling the playing field for competition and innovation for streaming platforms?
Free Play 158 | Tearz of the Kingdom
September 27, 2022 11:00 - 1 hour - 103 MBWell nerds, it’s the moment Matt has been waiting for. For 6 whole years. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will allegedly be released on May 12, 2023. It’s it TEARS of the kingdom as in crying? Or tears of the kingdom as in ripping? The internet debates. We cover what we know so far about the new game and Matt rants about how Kirby got an anniversary party while the Zelda series got the cold shoulder.
Free Play 32 | Lost Episode | Right-Out-of-the-Box Games (with Justin Bowers)
September 13, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 70.2 MBIn this lost episode from the earlier days of the Free Play Podcast, Bubba, Matt & Kate welcome Justin Bowers to discuss games perfect for family gatherings - ones that you can play easily right out of the box.
Free Play 157 | Facebook Gaming's Downfall
September 06, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 138 MBWhen both social media and nerd culture have placed an emphasis on live streamed gaming content, what happens when an industry giant like Facebook/Meta begins to shut down its connection to gaming bit by bit starting with it’s Facebook Gaming App? Do we even need Facebook in this aspect of gaming when we have industry giants YouTube and Twitch?
Free Play 156 | Recast or Nah: T'Challa
August 30, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 140 MBBubba, Matt & Kate discuss the internet argument over whether T'Challa should just be recast or not, following his death in 2020. Plus, what we've been playing AND we don't know how to count.
Free Play 155 | It's Our 200ish Episode Party!
August 17, 2022 08:00 - 1 hour - 151 MBThis might shock some of you, but Matt, Bubba, and Kate have been co-hosting a podcast together since 2017! Before the Free Play Podcast with Love Thy Nerd, they hosted the Arcade Podcast with GameChurch, the place where they all met and started this crazy journey. Over the course of these two shows, they’ve done just over 200 episodes together! In this show, they share some favorite memories from the past 200 - and some of yours too.
Free Play 154 | Outwit. Outplay. Out-Nerd.
August 02, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 105 MBSurvival shows have become super popular with a specific demographic of folks. Bubba and Kate just happen to be in that group. What is it about these shows that makes them nerd out on people’s suffering? Do shows like Survivor and Alone take what is supposed to be a game way too far? That’s what they want to talk about this week on the Free Play podcast for the Season 7 premiere.
Free Play 153 | Season 6 Finale
June 01, 2022 02:12 - 1 hour - 114 MBE3 used to be the summer’s most exciting time for video games with all the press conferences from the biggest developers, but over time it’s slowly gone downhill with this year having no E3 at all. From going from an industry only show to one that’s completely open to fans and having some disappointing announcements, it seems like companies just didn’t want to be a part of it anymore. Who will fill the vacuum that the show has left behind? What are we hoping to hear more about this ...
Free Play 152 | What’s Your Reason to Play?
May 24, 2022 08:00 - 1 hour - 99.4 MBWhy do people play games these days? What’s their motivation and reason? Community Content Producer FrostByte4 sent in a topic about how games like Halo used to drop with no updates, DLCs, or things to grind for and everyone loved it. Now, people NEED something to keep them coming back. Is there reasoning in nerd psychology that can explain some of this? That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play podcast.
Free Play 151 | Bad Bunny, Bueno Muerto?
May 03, 2022 08:00 - 1 hour - 113 MBBad Bunny, reggaeton superstar and WWE wrestler, has been cast in the lead role in Sony’s Spiderman universe stand alone movie, El Muerto. Who is Bad Bunny and who is El Muerto? Why make a movie about a character who’s been in two comic books with someone who isn’t an experienced actor? We take a look at the info available on this upcoming project and that’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
Free Play 150 | Warner Bros. Buyout
April 19, 2022 08:00 - 1 hour - 107 MBWhen the Kate is away, the boys will play and this week we do just that with our good friend, chef, artist, maker, and fellow streamer, Asiathegirl. What does she think about bento boxes, name changes and what might be in store for Discovery’s buyout of Warner Bros. Media? Well, that’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
Free Play 149 | iFreeplay
April 12, 2022 08:00 - 1 hour - 105 MBApple has announced so many attempts to competitively get into the gaming space with many of those either never happening at all, not living up to expectations, or falling through as Apple moves onto the next idea. What’s happened in the past, and where does that leave us with the next big ideas of Apple VR and Apple Glasses? That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
Free Play 148 | The Free Play Oscars
April 05, 2022 08:00 - 1 hour - 103 MBWe don’t often delve into this side of pop culture, but the Oscars this year ushered in a new level of... Chaos. Something we can relate to here on the Free Play Podcast. We submit our own nominees for random Oscar categories (picked by me) which you can vote on this week on our Twitter account @freeplaypodcast. As long as Kate can remember to post it. That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
Free Play 147 | Playstation's Answer to Game Pass
March 29, 2022 08:00 - 1 hour - 106 MBPlaystation’s subscription service is supposed to launch really soon (it could even be out now) and we’re curious about what benefits and services it’ll offer. Will there be PS5 exclusives available? Or will they just combine Playstation Plus and Playstation Now under one name and call it a day? We make some guesses and predictions. We wrap up this week’s show with a story that blew our minds: spinach can send emails when they detect explosives. That’s what we want to talk about t...
Free Play 146 | Review Bombed
March 23, 2022 18:53 - 1 hour - 106 MBCommunity Content Producer Andy - aka Prodigas - asked us our thoughts on review bombing, why people feel the need to score games 0 out of 10 that haven’t even been released or give 0 or 1 scores to balance out the ratings of popular games with high ratings. Horizon Forbidden West is one such game that got hammered by negative reviews before it was even out yet. What about the idea that art is subjective? And can you share your experience with something in a review in a constructiv...
Free Play 145 | Games That Teach us Things
March 15, 2022 13:12 - 1 hour - 99.9 MBThere is massive potential for games to be able to teach us new skills, especially as technology gives developers and designers new ways to be creative. Community Content Producer Kyle Matthews sent us Overisles is a tabletop RPG currently on Kickstarter to teach sign language and promote deaf awareness. The game is developed by Hatchlings Games along with the deaf community and a high school D&D team. We dig into the details about Overisles and other games that can teach valuable...
Free Play 144 | Non-Gaming Partners
March 08, 2022 12:44 - 1 hour - 97.5 MBIf you know us here at Free Play you know we don’t normally do big brain topics that require thinking. But we got a topic submission asking about what it’s like to have a partner that doesn’t play games as much as you do and if we had any helpful tips/tricks. We asked our community to share their thoughts and experiences and talked about our own lives. That’s what we want to talk about this week on the FreePlay podcast.
Free Play 143 | Live From TantrumCon 2022 With Moviga
March 02, 2022 03:57 - 1 hour - 122 MBHold onto your butts because this week Free Play is teaming up with Moviga to bring you a cross-promotional, 2-part episode LIVE from Tantrum Con 2022. So get ready for laughing, media coverage and a boat- load of inside jokes this week on the Free Play podcast.
Free Play EP 143 | Live From TantrumCon 2022 With Moviga
March 02, 2022 03:57 - 1 hour - 122 MBHold onto your butts because this week Free Play is teaming up with Moviga to bring you a cross-promotional, 2-part episode LIVE from Tantrum Con 2022. So get ready for laughing, media coverage and a boat- load of inside jokes this week on the Free Play podcast.
Free Play 142 | Netflix's Nerdy Plans
February 23, 2022 06:06 - 1 hour - 111 MBNetflix makes a move into the mobile game business with games we’ve never heard of like Bowling Ballers, Asphalt Xtreme, Krispee Street, Dominoes Cafe, and Hextech Mayhem Netflix Edition. Why are they getting into gaming? We chat about this, experience Netflix gaming in real time, and turn from haters to believers. That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play Podcast.
Free Play 141 | When Kickstarters Go Too Far
February 16, 2022 00:06 - 1 hour - 114 MBThis week Matt found a Kickstarter for Marvel Zombies - A Zombicide Game and the highest tier that included ALL the good stuff was over $600. He was crushed. The Kickstarter was also finished, so he had no chance anyways. But it made us think: is there a price limit to Kickstarter FOMO? Is a $600 ask a good business decision for the developers and reasonable for the consumer? That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Free Play podcast.
Free Play 140 | Digital Versions of Physical Games
February 08, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 107 MBTabletop games have been making a move to the digital world through Tabletop Simulator and digital versions of tabletop games you know and love. Physical games offer the benefits of in-person experiences and the ability to use the cards and pieces the developers created, but digital games have an advantage of letting people play together during the time of COVID and the ability to demo games in a cost effective way. What do we think about these two approaches to tabletop gaming? ...
Free Play 139 | Microsoft's Acquisition and Gaming's Future
February 01, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 129 MBYou’ve probably heard all about Microsoft’s in-progress acquisition of Activision/Blizzard where Microsoft could come to own franchises like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Overwatch. We wanted to take a look at what this could mean for the video game space as well as the effects of gaming turning into a push for content over consoles. That’s what we want to talk about this week on the Season 6 premiere of the Free Play Podcast.