Contributing writer Fritz Godard heads to Starkville to undertake a three-day apprenticeship in Space Hulk: Death Angel, the classic and brutal Warhammer 40,000 co-op card game. We played it — and classic Golden Era hip hop CDs on his boombox — for three days straight.

I flipped the mic on and off with little regard to best recording practices as we stuffed our faces, guzzled beer, invented impossible sponsorship plans, and watched as Fritz went from a guy who couldn’t tell which direction his Blood Angels were facing to a guy who can do gunslinger tricks with a Storm Bolter.

Day One (1:14)
Fritz rolls up in the driveway. I heat up a Lou Malnati’s pizza, we crack some beers and review Fritz’s journey of discovery in board gaming — and where I think that journey leads next.

Interlude: “I Got it Bad Y’all” by King Tee feat. Tha Alkaholiks (10:36)

Day Two (12:44)
Lured out of bed via text the following morning with the promise of good company and complimentary powdered eggs, I head over to the Holiday Inn Express to meet Fritz for Day Two’s action.

Interlude: “Free Mumia” by KRS-One feat. Channel Live (19:13)

Day Three (20:53)
Fritz has already checked out of his room, but he’s waiting in the lobby for me to come back with the game because he wants one more go at it before his long drive. Is he ready to seize victory?

Interlude: “Nutin’ ta Lose” by Dred Scott (25:57)

Coda (27:44)
Fritz made it back to Denver under adverse circumstances. We review the cost of victory and our intentions to become permanent residents of the Holiday Inn Express.

Music
• Main Theme and Bumpers: “Wash Y’ass,” D.O. the Fabulous Drifter and Dow Jones, Five Points Plan
• Game of the Week Background: “Suit & Tie,” Sky Gienger via Uppbeat
License code: 0UY4C9TRFTVO4W0E

Tracks of the Week
• “Got it Bad Y’all,” King Tee feat. Tha Alkaholiks, ©️1993 Capitol Records LLC
• “Free Mumia,” KRS-One feat. Channel Live, ©️2004 X-Ray Records
• “Nutin’ Ta Lose” Dred Scott, ©️Vinyl Digital GmbH

#SpaceHulkDeathAngel #Warhammer40K #BoardGames #TabletopGaming #CooperativeGames #OldSchoolHipHop #PodcastLife #BreakupGamingSociety

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Games of the Week

• Ghost in the Shell TTRPG (5:32)
Our resident tabletop roleplaying curation hound, Walt, leads a conversation with the disarming Alessio Cavatore, a veteran miniature tabletop game designer whose task was to help faithfully imagine the world of Masamune Shirow’s legendary Ghost in the Shell manga as an RPG under the Mantic Games banner. He shows us his passion for the material and the nuts and bolts of play itself. You don’t want to just stroll into a firefight in this one.

• Chicago ‘68 (39:56)
A talk with Yoni Goldstein, designer of 2025’s Chicago ’68 — a game that models the battle between activist groups and the Chicago Police Department, the Democratic national establishment, and Mayor Daley’s administration, who are all fighting for yardage and mindshare during that summer’s wild Democratic national convention. You’ll learn about where this game sits in the tradition of historical conflict games — and what Yoni’s working on next.

Tracks of the Week

(76:32)
Three recipes: one for soul, one for rocksteady, one for dope. This recipe book starts in Memphis, stops in Jamaica, and ends in Houston’s 5th Ward..

Music
• Main Theme and Bumpers: “Wash Y’ass,” D.O. the Fabulous Drifter and Dow Jones, Five Points Plan
• Game of the Week Background: “Night Gatherings,” Pecan Pie (License code: XTGOLLHHPTLTQ6AM)
• Game of the Week Background: “Something Weird,” Pecan Pie (License code: ZRXYCMKOPDHXLZP9)
Tracks of the Week
• Memphis Soul Stew,” King Curtis and the Kingpins, ©️2006 Atlantic Recording Corp.
• “Soul Food,” Lyn Taitt and the Jets, ©️2023 Sanctuary Records Group LTD
• “Trigga Happy N****,” Geto Boys, ©️2002 RAP-A-LOT 2K RECORDS INC.

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Stafford Airbiscuit has to go back to the queen with a score of 37. Which translates into a job rating of -45 per the solo grading rules.

“So what were we doing out there, exactly,” she says, holding my map incredulously.

“Well, the goblins kept attacking and the gnolls stole my lunch and went to the restroom on my lunch…”

Games of the Week

• Cartographers (3:51)
Some queen tells a gnome they have to map a bunch of real estate she just acquired. Hear about my first sit with this widely loved pencil-and-paper terrain-maxxxing puzzle.

• Citadels (9:07)
Bruno Faidutti’s ruthless role-selection mini-masterpiece spent a lot of time on our table during our heavy Fantasy Flight Games era. Learn about how hard it is to pull a building permit for your city when you get a shiv in your ribs.

• Thunderbolt Apache Leader (15:33)
Fly with me back to the rip-roaring action of Thunderbolt Apache Leader and across the pages of Korean War fighter pilot and novelist James Salter’s memoir, Burning the Days.

Track of the Week

(29:01)
It must be boom bap season, because I’m stuck on “Get a Grip” by The Whooliganz, who were two little kids who briefly got to roll with the Soul Assassins team that included Cypress Hill, House of Pain and Funkdoobiest.

Music
• Main Theme and Bumpers: “Wash Y’ass,” D.O. the Fabulous Drifter and Dow Jones, Five Points Plan
• Game of the Week Background: “Night Gatherings,” Pecan Pie (License code: XTGOLLHHPTLTQ6AM)
• Game of the Week Background: “Something Weird,” Pecan Pie (License code: ZRXYCMKOPDHXLZP9)
• Track of the Week: “Get a Grip,” The Whooliganz, Unreleased

Join Breakup Gaming Society episode sponsor Doghouse Reilly in being clever bastards and wearing clever things. 👇