Gaming podcasts cover a spectrum that runs from two friends talking about what they played this week all the way to professionally produced actual-play shows with original music and full casts. The quality range is enormous. This list focuses on shows with consistent output, clear formats, and genuine editorial value — organized by what type of gaming they cover.
Board game podcasts
Shut Up and Sit Down — The podcast arm of the best editorial board game site in the hobby. Hosts Quinns Smith and Matt Lees discuss recent plays, new releases, and the state of the hobby with a dry wit that is entirely their own. Episodes are irregular but worth the wait. If you only listen to one board game podcast, this is the one.
The Dice Tower Podcast — Tom Vasel and Eric Summerer produce consistent, reliable coverage of new releases, industry news, and community discussion. High volume, broadly accessible, and useful for staying current with what is new and notable. Less opinionated than Shut Up and Sit Down but more comprehensive.
The Secret Cabal Gaming Podcast — A longer-form show mixing game reviews, news, and what-we’ve-been-playing segments with a comfortable, conversational tone. Particularly good for listeners who want depth over breadth and are interested in heavier hobby games. Episodes regularly exceed two hours.
So Very Wrong About Games — Two hosts who actively disagree with each other and the hobby consensus more often than most podcast teams. Useful for getting a perspective that pushes back on received wisdom rather than amplifying it.
Video game podcasts
Giant Bombcast — Running since 2008 and one of the longest-standing video game podcasts online. Currently hosted by Jan Ochoa, Jeff Grubb, and Jeff Bakalar, the show covers the week’s news and releases, answers listener questions, and regularly goes off-topic in ways that are part of its appeal rather than a flaw. Biweekly, typically two to three hours. The benchmark for the format.
Triple Click — Kirk Hamilton, Maddy Myers, and Jason Schreier discuss games with the kind of critical seriousness usually reserved for film or literature. Weekly, under an hour, and consistently one of the best-written shows in the space. Schreier’s background in games journalism brings reporting depth that most podcast hosts cannot match.
The Besties — Polygon’s recommendation podcast, focused on answering the simple question: what is the best game you can play right now? Episodes stay under an hour and require no deep industry knowledge to follow. The most accessible entry point on this list for listeners new to gaming podcasts.
Retronauts — Jeremy Parish and Bob Mackey cover the history of video games one title at a time. If you want context for where games came from rather than where they are going, Retronauts is the only show doing this consistently and well. Particularly useful for understanding why certain design conventions exist and where they originated.
Tabletop RPG podcasts
The TTRPG podcast space divides broadly into two types: actual play shows (where you listen to people playing a game) and discussion shows (where hosts talk about the hobby). Both are worth knowing.
The Adventure Zone — The McElroy family — brothers Justin, Travis, and Griffin, plus their father Clint — play tabletop RPGs with a focus on comedy and storytelling. The first arc, Balance, is widely considered one of the best actual-play stories in the format and is an excellent starting point for anyone new to the concept of listening to other people play RPGs. Accessible, warm, and genuinely funny.
Critical Role — Professional voice actors playing D&D under the guidance of DM Matthew Mercer. The production quality is high, the storytelling is committed, and the community around the show is enormous. Episodes are long — typically three to four hours — but the podcast feed makes it possible to listen in segments. Better suited to existing D&D players than complete newcomers, but the depth of characterization rewards investment.
System Mastery — Two hosts read and discuss tabletop RPG rulebooks from across the hobby’s history, covering everything from major mainstream systems to deeply obscure curiosities. Funny, irreverent, and genuinely educational about how different RPG systems approach the same design problems. A good choice for players interested in games beyond D&D.
General gaming culture
Waypoint Radio — Rob Zacny, Patrick Klepek, and team cover games with an eye toward politics, culture, and the world games reflect and shape. More critical theory than most gaming podcasts, which makes it either essential or off-putting depending on what you are looking for. Currently publishing twice weekly.
My Brother, My Brother and Me — Technically an advice podcast rather than a games show, but the McElroy brothers’ crossover audience with The Adventure Zone and their frequent gaming references make it worth including for listeners who want humor alongside gaming content. One of the most popular comedy podcasts in English regardless of category.
How to find more
Goodpods and Feedspot both maintain ranked lists of gaming podcasts updated regularly, organized by category. For board games specifically, the BGG podcast forum has a long-running thread where the community recommends and discusses shows — more granular than any ranked list because it reflects actual listener preferences rather than aggregated metrics.
All podcasts verified as active at time of publication. Release schedules vary — check individual feeds for current output.