This is a show about videogames, the people who play them and the people who make them. Each episode, a guest on the show talks about the games that have shaped their life in one way or another. Games that have inspired them, games that forged connections with others & games that have soothed wounds. Checkpoints!

Closing out the year and completing my quartet of guests who made some of my favourite games of 2016, my guest today is the creator of Really Bad Chess, Zach Gage.

Zach is self described conceptual artist who explores systems. He has an incredible breadth of work but including board games, visual arts, installations andof course videogames like Spelltower, Tharsis and the wonderful Lose/Lose - a space invaders clone that wipes a random file on your computer every time you kill an alien.

We talk through his early love of games and his equally early start creating them, I introduce him to the wonders of Top Trumps, we talk about why he sees himself as an artist before a game designer, the impact Prince of Persia and Lemmings had, and why he thinks poker is the best game ever.

This is a great talk, and a fine end to an otherwise tumultuous year. Thanks for listening, here's to the future!

"Last night I stayed up late playing poker with Tarot cards. I got a full house and four people died." 

PATREON! - patreon.com/checkpoints

iTunes HERE -  SUBSCRIBE / RATE / REVIEW

Games discussed: Super Mario Bros, Lemmings, Prince of Persia, Mario Paint, Tetris, Really Bad Chess, Poker, Top Trumps, Unreal Tournament, Rocket League, Knights of the Old Republic, Final Fantasy 12, Undertale, Pokemon, Lose/Lose, Spelltower, Go, Imbroglio.

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Twitter - twitter.com/CheckpointsShow

Cover design: Craig Stevenson - http://onedinosaurandhisballoon.blogspot.co.uk

Music: Samuel Baker - http://soundcloud.com/furoshiki