RDTN Episode 124: Skyward’s Drafting Twist and Isaac Vega on Plaid Hat Games

Episode 124 ranges across new releases, familiar publishers and a fresh show segment, with Skyward offering the clearest mechanical hook. Its card drafting asks one player to sort cards into piles for the group, then take last pick. That small change gives the person arranging the cards control over the choices everyone sees, while leaving them with the final selection. It’s a neat source of tension: every pile needs to look useful to someone else without becoming the obvious best choice for the organizer.

The discussion gives Skyward the show’s five-minute treatment. The hosts describe it as a fast game, though the pile-building decision can slow a turn as the organizer weighs how to divide the cards. That pause is part of the design’s appeal: players aren’t simply choosing from a shared display, but judging how their decisions will shape the options left for them. The episode’s read is that this adds strategy without making the pace drag. Listeners looking for a compact drafting game can use that tension between quick play and careful distribution as a starting point when deciding whether it suits their table.

Isaac Vega talks about what’s next

Isaac Vega returns to the show for a conversation about the future of Plaid Hat Games. The interview touches on Crystal Clans and what lies ahead for Ashes, with the hosts also hinting at a few Mice and Mystics details. No dates are offered, so the news is about continued work on these games rather than a firm schedule.

That makes the interview useful as a check-in, not a release calendar. For players following a game line, hearing that work is still underway can answer one question while leaving the practical one—when there’ll be more to play—open. The episode doesn’t fill that gap with guesses, and listeners should treat any future timing as unknown until more information appears.

Community talk and The Scurry Report

The Flying Squirrels are back with a quick run of topics and the first appearance of The Scurry Report. The new segment brings other people from the gaming community into the conversation to talk about a game they’ve played recently. It gives the show a way to move beyond the regular hosts’ table experiences and make room for more voices. The hosts also expect some good-natured teasing along the way.

The first report focuses on Summit: The Board Game. The listed segment begins at 55:18, after the introduction at 54:00. The episode’s format suggests a straightforward way to hear how a recent play went: listen for what the guests chose to discuss, then compare those impressions with the decisions and table dynamics that matter to your own group. The source gives no rules overview or detailed verdict on Summit, so the segment is best approached as a conversation about a play session rather than a full review.

More topics in the episode

The time guide also points listeners toward a broad set of shorter discussions. The opening includes Gen Con at 1:10 and the Dice Tower booth at 3:57, followed by Passport Games at 4:56 and other business at 7:12. Skyward comes up at 10:41. Later topics include Portal Games at 16:10, the return of the Flying Squirrels at 17:02, and a discussion labeled “Hobby Games making Bank” at 17:42 that links to an ICv2 article.

At 19:18, the hosts turn to expansions in the base game, then discuss Raxxon at 21:18 and MAPP violations at 23:18. A link to Sweet Revenge appears at 25:14, ahead of the Isaac Vega interview at 27:15. The Broken Token is listed at 53:10, just before The Scurry Report. These timestamps make it easy to jump between the interview, game talk and wider hobby conversation.

Listener links and closing notes

The episode wraps with an outro at 1:21:00, a link to the Watch It Played Season 7 fundraiser at 1:22:10, and a contest at 1:24:26. The Broken Token also appears in the time guide, while Funagain Games is listed at 1:28:56. The show directs listeners to its entry form for the contest.

For players choosing where to start, Skyward’s unusual drafting decision is the episode’s most direct look at how a game works. The Vega interview offers an update without promising dates, and The Scurry Report adds a new format for community play stories. Together, those pieces give Episode 124 a useful mix of table-level discussion and publisher news, with the timestamps ready for anyone who wants to listen in focused sections.