Shows
Knowing is Half the PodcastMy Pet Monster with A.J. PorfirioHey Everybody!This week we once again have no Gina...understand this.Instead we have for the first time ever the President of Van Ryder Games and Co-Creator of the solo board game Final Girl A.J. Porfirio with us to break down the only monster cartoon Chan could find...We have lots of fun and some of our Patreon fans got their questions to A.J. answered!Enjoy!MERCH STORE - www.teepublic.com/stores/knowing-is-half-the-podcastPatreon - Patreon.com/KnowingIsHalfThePodcastFacebook - Facebook...2025-04-041h 19
The Fear of God: A Horror Movie PodcastCuckooKeeping an accidental trend of looking back at some of the most unconventional horror films of 2024, we offer you a conversation about Tilman Singer's CUCKOO. We're joined this week by two friends from Van Ryder Games, AJ Porfirio and Julie Ahern, to discuss this strange and occasionally befuddling examination of exploration of fractured relationships and twisted scientific exploitation. While opinions on the film were decidedly mixed, the conversation is lively and thoughtful as we unpack the myriad of themes we think this film is attempting to explore.Also featuring some fun conversation about the Van Ryder Games...2025-04-012h 02
LudologyLudology 337 How To Be A Final GirlSen and Erica welcome Evan Derrick from Van Ryder Games to discuss the past, present, and future of Final Girl - a highly expandable, solo, horror boardgame co-designed by Evan and AJ Porfirio. Evan talks about the game from inception to evolution and gives us some insight into what makes it tick. 2025-03-111h 06
Who Would WinRipley vs Werewolf By NightAnd on the next episode of Who Would Win...We are keeping Shocktober rolling right along with another amazing match up!Will Ellen Ripley (Aliens) (Repped by Ray) overcome the odds once again or will Marvel's Werewolf By Night (Repped by James) be too much for her to deal with? We've got President of Van Ryder Games and Final Girl creator A.J. Porfirio back once more to talk horror with us!!You can now support us on Patreon at Patreon.com/WhoWouldWinShowCheck out the Who Would Win YouTube Channel!2024-10-231h 08
Fear the Final Girl: A Van Ryder Games PodcastBurning Final Girl Questions Finally AnsweredWelcome to Fear the Final Girl - A Van Ryder Games Podcast!
In today's episode, we are joined by AJ Porfirio & Julie Ahern - both from the Van Ryder Games team!
Our Feature Game this month is Final Girl: https://vanrydergames.com/pages/final-girl
Movies & Shows discussed in this episode:
Willy’s Wonderland
Dolls
Dead Alive
Alien Romulus
Evil
If you have any comments or questions, post them in the comments below!
Click this link to sign up for our digital newsletter & Announcements: http://eepurl.com/dEJtc5
Join the Van Ryder Games Discord: https://discord.gg/vanrydergames
Follow Van Ry...2024-08-271h 02Fear the Final Girl: A Van Ryder Games PodcastZombies - Coming to Life with the UndeadWelcome to the first official episode of Fear the Final Girl - A Van Ryder Games Podcast!
In today's episode, we are joined by Zombie Experts AJ Porfirio, Co-Creator of Final Girl and President of Van Ryder Games and Julie Ahern, Sr. Director of Operations at Van Ryder Games!
Our Feature Game this month is the Terror from the Grave Final Girl Vignette Designed by AJ Porfirio
Other Games discussed in this Episode:
Dune Imperium - Dire Wolf Games
Tinderblox - Alleycat Games
2024-05-281h 14
Who Would WinDracula vs The CrowAnd on the next episode of Who Would Win...We are doing Shocktober in May!Will Marvel Comic's version of Count Dracula (Repped by Ray) win before the sun comes up or will The Crow (Repped by James) have the keys to victory? For this epic match-up we've got an epic judge, The President of Van Ryder Games and co-creator of the Final Girl board game...A.J. Porfirio!You can now support us on Patreon at Patreon.com/WhoWouldWinShowCheck out the Who Would Win YouTube Channel!https://w...2024-05-151h 06
Horror Hues23: Surviving Solo: Unpacking Final Girl with Jamie and A.J.Unleash your inner Final Girl!
I'm joined by Final Girl creator A.J. Porfirio and Director of Marketing Jamie Haughn to discuss the widely praised solo board game that puts you in the shoes of the iconic horror movie survivor.
In this episode:
* Jamie and A.J. share their favorite horror subgenres and how they got into board games.
* A.J. tells the story of receiving a multiplayer board game for Christmas without anyone willing to play (we've all been there!), sparking his idea for solo gaming.
* The Final Girl marketing mastermind, Jamie, shares how they leverage the power...2024-03-0143 min
Crowdfunding AcademyBecoming a Profitable Game Publisher with Van Ryder GamesIn this podcast episode, George interviews AJ Porfirio, the founder of Van Ryder Games, who shares his journey from starting with a Kickstarter campaign in 2011 that raised $10,000 to building a multi-million dollar gaming business. AJ talks about the lessons learned from bootstrapping his way to success, generating over $6.5 million from crowdfunding, and now mentoring others through his Power Publishing Program. AJ delves into the importance of critical thinking in game pricing, strategic financial planning, and the significance of creating unique, standout products. The discussion also covers AJ's venture into publishing graphic novel adventures, the financial...2024-02-2832 minThe Fear of God: A Horror Movie PodcastWhen Evil LurksWelcome to our first discussion of 2024 Friends and FoGgers! And believe us when we tell you it's a doozy. Demian Rugna's film WHEN EVIL LURKS took festivals and horror fans by storm last year for its unflinchingly bleak examination of the deterioration of an entire community. It features transgressive boundary-pushing, dreadful narrative revelations, and a thoughtful -- but frightening -- approach to the subject of our very limited power.We're joined on this installment by friends of the show AJ Porfirio and Evan Derrick from Van Ryder Games (creators of the smash hit solo board game Final...2024-02-061h 10
The Tommy Ruth PodcastEpisode 5: AJ Porfirio
Today I sat down with AJ Porfirio, owner and founder of Van Ryder Games. AJ tells us his story from his days playing baseball, to online poker, and eventually starting his own company that creates and sells tabletop board games and more!
Website - vanrydergames.com
YouTube - @VanRyderGames
2023-11-131h 14The Fear of God: A Horror Movie PodcastFinal Girl Series 3 Kickstarter with AJ PorfirioWe have a special little bonus for you guys today! Nathan recently got the opportunity to sit down with friend of the show and President of Van Ryder Games AJ Porfirio to discuss the third series of their landmark, megahit game FINAL GIRL. They dig into lots of behind the scenes details about the production and development of the latest series as well as some thoughts on why board gaming has recently hit a renaissance.The Kickstarter for Final Girl Series 3 ends on Friday, October 13th so head over there to back the project if you haven't...2023-10-0651 min
1 Player Podcast1P 249 - Final GirlThis week we talk about the slasher film game Final Girl by A.J. Porfirio of Van Ryder Games. This game is built on the foundation of Hostage Negotiator and expands on that system to make a fun but creepy game about trying to survive in a horror movie while a killer is after you.
This is a modular game series in which you need to buy at least two boxes to play, the core box with rules and a Feature Film box with a killer and location to play in. With multiple Feature Films, you...2022-04-0238 min
So Very Wrong About Games#200: G.I. JOE Deck-Building GameThe So Very Wrong About Games line of Action Princess Dolls (TM) are coming to a store near you! Thrill to all your favourite characters, like Huey, Dewey, and Louis, each with weird monochromatic accessories and some spring-loaded gimmick that'll bruise some kid in Oregon and thus be regulated into weaksauce! Plus, get the Kingston Action Playset. Your parents put it together, batteries not included.Games Played Last Week:01:57 -Puzzle Strike 2 (David Sirlin, Sirlin Games, 2022)08:49 -The Crew: Mission Deep Sea (Thomas Sing, KOSMOS, 2021)10:59 -Uprising: Curse of the Last Emperor (Cornelius Cremin, Pawel Mazur, & Dirk Sommer...2022-02-081h 07The Fear of God: A Horror Movie PodcastFinal Girl: Interview with Van Ryder GamesWe had the privilege to sit down with A. J. Porfirio and Evan Derrick to discuss their thrilling solo board game: FINAL GIRL. They had incredible success with the first iteration of Final Girl, a highly thematic and incredibly variable horror game where you play as a "final girl" character to defeat a killer, and now they're back with Series 2! They broke down for us the inception of the game and its basic mechanics, as well as how to join the kickstarter and make your selections for gameplay.Joined also by professional gamer and friend of the...2022-02-031h 32
Harvest PhaseConstantly Tripping Over a LogWe mostly stick to board games this week, but have a brief detour to discuss how Tetris Effect Connected soothes the soul and a succinct but fulfilling quest for the Lost in Translation Soundtrack on vinyl. We then discuss all of the Kickstarters we are interested in, our featured games of the week, and then take a rapid fire approach to the games of 2022 that we most anticipate. Sorry for one more drop in the deluge of board game content. Kickstarter Convo:20:30 Skate Summer (Randy Reiman, Pandasaurus Games)21:42 Sync or Swim (Lucas Hedgren, Divya Hedgren, B...2022-01-251h 56
So Very Wrong About Games#197: Ankh: Gods of EgyptIn the 14th Century B.C.E., the pharaoh Akhenaten attempted to shift Egypt into monotheism centered on the cult of the god Aten. Apparently there's some who argue it was possibly instead henotheism, whereby many gods are acknowledged but one is elevated above the others--a claim advanced about many ostensibly mono- or polytheistic religions, even some practised today--but at any rate is was exceptionally controversial. By the time his son Tutankhaten became pharaoh, the cult of Aten was suppressed, and the ascendancy of the god Amun was restored in a polytheistic pantheon. Hence the new pharaoh's name was changed...2021-12-281h 20
Thespokentoken's podcastSpecial Summer Of Games IV EpisodeSpecial Opening - A special Summer of Games opening for the Fourth year episode! First Impressions – We talk about the first time with a title, from the acquisition to the first look, to the first play and deliver thoughts in writing and on the show. This time Alex and Jackson Wallace talk about: Summoner Wars 2nd Edition By Colby Dauch Published By Plaid Hat Games Released in 2021 The Table Sessions - Here we talk through a game with the backdro...2021-07-1536 min
One Stop Co-Op Shop172: Hostage Negotiator (featuring AJ Porfirio)Jason and Mike are happy to welcome AJ Porfirio back on to the show. He chats about the Career expansion to Hostage Negotiator, which is the campaign expansion that wraps up the product cycle. Most of the discussion is spoiler-free, with a spoiler-filled after show.
Check out the Van Ryder Games website - https://www.vanrydergames.com/
Shelf Stories YouTube (with video of this recording) - www.youtube.com/channel/UCnaZ7055IWOdm8XCJfFRDcw
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YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrOtGhui_jdLdoQNI7PU4Pg
and
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPCIkULbgzMEW612cSdUX7Q
Podcast - https://soundcloud.com/onestopcoopshop
Twitch...2020-12-021h 06
Thespokentoken's podcastHostage Negotiator Career, The Crew as our Birthday Rolls on!Intro Banter - This is the (mostly) unscripted intro to the show! We catch up, play games, talk about games that perhaps did not make the main show, and just gab, Welcome! It’s Our Birthday and we will Game if we want to! - Happy FIFTH Birthday Spoken Token! We will celebrate how we want to, with games and fun and laughter, possibly Cake! Way back when, we only had ONE episode per month, so the ENTIRE MONTH is our birthday so we celebrate here too! MORE CAKE!! Game Life - We...2020-08-1854 min
The Who, What, Why? Game Design PodcastShipping Charged After Podcast EpisodeAJ Porfirio, president of Van Ryder Games, joined me to talk about one of the most important topics in board gaming: shipping. Shipping can be difficult to predict, which causes great stress for publishers, and can feel like a "rip off" to buyers, which causes a great deal of agitation. Luckily, AJ was kind enough to share his thoughts. Credits: 2020-01-2647 min
Chibli's PlaygroundEp33: Your Favorite Robert (The Big Score)A week late, but definitely worth the wait. In this episode we discuss a Van Ryder Kickstarter game called The Big Score. Designed by Jason Mowery, A.J. Porfirio, and Chase Williams.- Booger bandits- The Don’t F*ck Ups- Redford News?- Matt got frisked one time- 44 days- UnrobableFind us at https://bigheadsmedia.com/.Find us at https://www.g33kanddestroy.com/ and https://chiblisplayground.com/.Follow us @ChiblisPodcast on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChiblisPodcast and Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chiblispodcast/.2019-07-1448 min
ImmersedCrisis - Hostage Negotiator - S1E4Hostage situations are dark material for a game, but the solo board game Hostage Negotiator puts you in the middle of one of these intense standoffs. We talk with designer and publisher A.J. Porfirio about walking the line on a sensitive topic. And former crisis negotiator Tony D’Aiuto reveals some unexpected things about the tactics that professionals use, as he tells the surprising story of his first time as lead negotiator.Read a full transcript of this episode.Immersed is produced by Cardboard Edison.Special thanks to Tony D’Aiuto, A.J. P...2019-04-0126 minImmersedCrisis - Hostage Negotiator - S1E4Hostage situations are dark material for a game, but the solo board game Hostage Negotiator puts you in the middle of one of these intense standoffs. We talk with designer and publisher A.J. Porfirio about walking the line on a sensitive topic. And former crisis negotiator Tony D’Aiuto reveals some unexpected things about the tactics that professionals use, as he tells the surprising story of his first time as lead negotiator.Read a full transcript of this episode.Immersed is produced by Cardboard Edison.Special thanks to Tony D’Aiuto, A.J. P...2019-04-0126 min
Funding the DreamEP 299 Live GAMA A.J. Porfirio Branding your Games and Licensing contentHost Richard Bliss and Guest A.J. Porfirio discuss game books and their live Kickstarter project. They have launched Graphic Novel Adventures Vol 2 on Kickstarter. A.J. and Richard discuss how to license intellectual property, how to maintain a brand.Van Ryder Games delivers strong narrative-based games with a solo-play angle. They have expanded into Adventure books because it continues with their brand of playing games that tell a story.How do you find intellectual property? How do you get a license for a series of books? A.J. is always looking for...2019-03-1522 min
Board Game ImpactVan Ryder Games: Captive Graphic Novel Adventure Impact Review & InterviewIn today's episode Bruce takes a look at the solo graphic novel choose your adventure game Captive published by Van Ryder Game. Make your character and set out to save your daughter from her captors while navigating unexpected and interesting story twists that had Bruce come back to the table multiple times. In addition, there is a insightful interview withe the President of Van Ryder Games, AJ Porfirio. During the interview they talk about the history of Van Ryder Games, what brought AJ back into the hobby and ultimately to the industry, Captive, the other 4 books of the season 1 of...2019-03-0100 min
1 Player Podcast1P 144 - Flee and AJ PorfirioAlbert and Julius have a packed episode today. Not only do we announce the winners of the Lords of the Rings contest, but we also have an extended interview with AJ Porfirio about upcoming Van Ryder Games titles, including the Big Score, graphic novel adventures, and the Hostage Negotiator campaign. Then we review and discuss Flee, the innovated rules-less small box game from Friedemann Friese.
Extended show notes:
Contest winners (01:54)
Interview with AJ Porfirio (04:21)
Review of Flee (60:15)
2018-02-141h 24
The State of GamesThe One About Tactics vs. StrategyIn this episode, Chris, Darrell, TC, and special guest A.J Porfirio of Van Ryder Games dig deep into the difference between strategy and tactics, their eternal symbiosis, which might be superior, and the mentality of tactical and strategic gamers. All this, plus more on Detective: City of Angels, A Dog’s Life, smelling pretty, horse racing, Argent: The Consortium, smoking pork butts, GenCon teases & more!2017-08-072h 26