As the US 2024 election approaches I have been binging Dice Friends content. It has proven to be the one thing reliably keeping me away from constant doom scrolling, while still being causal enough (except at certain campaign climaxes) to make it easy to pause and walk away to do the needful things in life. Which, with executive function issues, is insanely valuable. The best part is that the different DM styles and vibes means I can always find the right content for balancing my mood.

Much cooler than Twitch Chat and YouTube

The people of LRR are amazing at making themselves and others laugh, all while being an inclusive community. Just like everything they do they knocked their RP campaigns and the podcast versions of them out of the park

Rated 5 just for the Farmer McFarmson’s Farm campaign, which was great fun.

With rotating DMs and campaigns, you’re very likely to find something that you like in Dice Friends. Loading Ready Run does a great job role playing the serious and the hilarious.

This is by far the best D&D game podcast I’ve ever heard. Not only is it consistently and riotously funny, but the 2 hour sessions, originally played in front of a live audience (via twitch), are the perfect format to transfer over to podcast. The DM, Dale, does a wonderful job keeping the players focused and things moving forward, but still allows for plenty of silliness and player input on the story. The story itself is complex, a deft weaving together of world and character concerns with a nice balance between talking and punching. (Or to put it more formally: a good balance of combat and non-combat encounters/challenges). It’s a goofy, clever, sometimes intense story populated by rounded and lovable characters, aided by delightful acting/improv all around. And I appreciate how much the players and DM explain the mechanics as they go, without dragging things down with exposition dumps. As much as I liked LoadingReadyRun’s previous D&D podcast (Temple of the Lava Bears), I think Dice Friends is a huge improvement, especially in terms of pacing and audio. I’ve been a LRR fan for years, and they’ve just gotten better and better at producing entertaining comedy in a variety of formats. Kudos to everyone involved in this project! Note: for those wondering if you need background to enjoy this podcast: Nope! The group who makes it, LoadingReadyRun, has been around for years, but this campaign is divorced from any in-jokes or old continuity. All new characters, played by seasoned role players/actors. One more thing: do yourself a favor and watch at least the intro to episode 1 on YouTube—the art is SO worth a look!