Show overview
Idle Thumbs has been publishing since 2017, and across the 9 years since has built a catalogue of 514 episodes. That works out to roughly 670 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a weekly cadence.
Episodes typically run an hour to ninety minutes — most land between 1h 1m and 1h 33m — though episode length varies meaningfully from one episode to the next. None of the episodes are flagged explicit by the publisher. It is catalogued as a EN-language Leisure show.
The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed 4 days ago, with 20 episodes already out so far this year. The busiest year was 2018, with 109 episodes published.
From the publisher
Idle Thumbs is an independent podcast network whose podcasts span comedy, pop culture and entertainment, video games, and TV.
Latest Episodes
View all 514 episodesDesigner Notes 98: Xalavier Nelson - Part 1
Three Moves Ahead 656 - Endless Legend 2 Developer Interview
Three Moves Ahead 655 - Star Wars Zero Company
Designer Notes 97: My Perfect Console - Soren Johnson
Three Moves Ahead 654 - Summer Catch-Up 2026
Three Moves Ahead 653 - Corsair Cove
Three Moves Ahead 652 - ZeroSpace Early Access Interview
Designer Notes 96: Owen Mahoney
Three Moves Ahead 651 - Age of Empires II in 2026 feat. Hera
Designer Notes 95: Seth Sivak
Three Moves Ahead 650 - Slay the Spire 2
Designer Notes 94: Charles Cecil - Part 2
Three Moves Ahead 649 - Xenonauts 2
Designer Notes 93: Charles Cecil - Part 1
Three Moves Ahead 648 - Heart of the Machine
3MA is finally embracing AI! Okay, not really. But Len and Jon do have many thoughts about Heart of the Machine, a fascinating, story-driven strategy RPG about becoming the world's first sentient computer.
Three Moves Ahead 647.5 - Len and D.M. Join the Yakuza (WtHTI Patreon Preview)
Len is joined by long-time friend and collaborator, real life video game lawyer D.M. Schmeyer, to reconnect over tales of nearly 30 years nerding out together and discuss what we're currently in to and up to. Games Discussed: The Necromancer's Tale Amorantus Esoteric Ebb
Three Moves Ahead 647 - Menace Early Access
Len and Jon get tactical with the squad-based space marine (in the classical sense) platoon simulator, Menace. Because war is actually about Family.
Three Moves Ahead 646 - Whiskerwood
This week, Rowan and Luke contemplate the inherent class struggle implied by feline-rodent relations in another delightful, furry-adjacent city builder with Whiskerwood. In this world, the cat tax doesn't simply mean posting a pet pic to thank people for reading your wall of text modding tutorial. It's wealth extracted from the whiskered workers by feline overlords in a distant land. The solution, once again, might be trains.
Three Moves Ahead 645 - 2026 Look Ahead
Len and Brian "Chef Lu Bu" Smawley are joined by friend of the show Diana to peek into the near distance at the strategy games we're interested in that have announced or probable release dates in 2026. It's going to be another big year for city-builders! Also, is Total War 40K even a good idea? Games discussed: Total War: Warhamer 40,000, Dawn of War 4, Menace, Slay the Spire 2, Nova Roma, Norse: Oath of Blood, DarkSwitch, Battlestar Galactica: Shattered Hopes, Beyond These Stars, SkyRig, SpaceCraft, Game of Thrones: War for Westeros, Star Wars: Zero Company
Three Moves Ahead 644 - 2025 Strategy Games of the Year
Len, Mike, and Luke pop the champagne and discuss the Strategy Games of the Year for 2025. And we can't really talk about the year in strategy without dwelling on the big theme of Disappointment. But all is not woe, because we played plenty of stuff we loved this year, too! Stay tuned after the main show for a chunky, free preview of this year's final Patreon bonus episode! Games Discussed: Civilization 7, Endless Legend 2, Europa Universalis 5, Crusader Kings 3, Stormgate, Broken Arrow, Two Point Museum, Jurassic World Evolution 3, Burden of Command, Anno 117, Master of Command, Cataclismo, Tempest Rising, Phantom Brigade, 9 Kings, The King is Watching, Drillcore, Pioneers of Pagonia, The Great Villainness: Strategy of Lily, Heretic's Fork, Tavern Keeper