Eran created a game based on something that almost everybody thinks is cool: music. But is it fun to play a game focused on sharing experiences instead of winning? And, more importantly, is that cool?
“It’s a tabletop party game for adults that helps them reconnect with the music and memories that make them who they are. And it’s the only card game that’s played along with your favorite music streaming app.”
Have a cool idea you think should be on the show? Leave us a voicemail at (848) 863-9917.
Listen to Eran’s submission featured in Episode 77 of How Cool Is This? and read a transcript of the full episode below:
Eran: Hey, I'm Eran Thomson from Song Saga, the game that gets people sharing the stories and soundtrack of their lives.
What makes Song Saga so cool? Well, for starters, it's a tabletop party game for adults that helps them reconnect with the music and memories that make them who they are, and it's the only card game that's played along with your favorite music streaming app.
Gameplay is simple. Players draw prompt cards to sparks some memories, and then you search in their music app to play songs that go with their best life stories. Some card examples are things like high school dance, roadtrip, first concert, wedding, or weed. We get a lot of Snoop dogg and Willie Nelson on that one.
Whoever has the best song and story set wins the round. You don't need to be a music nerd or experience junkie to win, but it helps if you haven't spent your whole life on your mom's couch.
But the coolest thing about Song Saga isn't winning. It's the connections that are made while you play, discovering new things about your friends, and reconnecting with your own stories and soundtrack - not to mention building a killer playlist.
There's more in the box like Gold Card Awards for giving props to your fellow players, and we've even included the recipe for the perfect margarita.
So if you feel like celebrating your inner legend, I invite you to play Song Saga.
Learn more at song-saga.com.
Leave us a voicemail @ 848-863-9917
to submit your idea to How Cool Is This?
Brian: All right, Nick, how cool was Song Saga, the tabletop party game for adults?
Nick: This game seems pretty cool to me. I'm not the kind of person that plays a lot of games, but this at least sounds like a kind of a totally different take on it, and making it connected to music is cool, too, because I like music.
Brian: Most music related card or party games are not really set up for people of different backgrounds to enjoy, and this is a way that any generation can enjoy.
Nick: It's not like a Guess-This-Tune kind of game. I've played the Guess-That-Tune game with Alexa many times, and I hate it because it is too hard. But this game sounds like something that everyone can enjoy, because everyone can share a story about a song they like.
Brian: Like if you've ever smoked weed, which many would consider cool and many would consider uncool, then you can have a song related to that. But if you haven't smoked weed, is it uncool to feel alienated like that?
Nick: If you don't smoke weed, you don't need to feel alienated. There's a way for everybody to share something, and that makes it cool to me.
Brian: This is a good conversation starter for a group of people who otherwise might have to talk about politics.
Nick: As much as we've talked about politics, and many of the cool ideas related to politics, I'm very happy to talk about something else now.
Brian: Yeah, that was getting exhausting, and I was starting to feel pretty uncool.
Nick: Can a game be cool if no one really wins? It sounds like the point of Song Saga is to make connections with other people.
Brian: I personally like games that I can win, but there is a group of people who feel alienated by those games. And I think this is something that they would find cool.
Nick: When you're in a group of people, where you just want to make connections, or if you just want to talk about weed, then maybe this is your game.
Brian: And I'd say that if you do weed, then you might not be a winner.
Nick: I think if you do weed, it's easier to participate in this game or there isn't really a winner because everyone's a winner
Brian: No one's a loser if nobody loses.
Nick: And no one's a loser when you're sharing your experiences.
Brian: But what if you have only been on your mom's couch?
Nick: Maybe this is alienating to the people that have never left their basement.
Brian: We actually heard from Eran that he's giving out one free game to a How Cool Is This? listener.
Nick: So, for the first time ever listening to this podcast actually pays off.
Brian: Not only can you have a game, but you can also get a margarita.
Nick: So, Brian, how do people get this free edition of Song Saga?
Brian: They go to the show notes.
Nick: You don’t wanna say the URL?
Brian: It's song-saga.com/podcast-contest.
Nick: So, if you go there, fill out your information, you could have the chance to win a free copy of Song Saga, and maybe more importantly, the perfect margarita recipe
Brian: Are you interested in the perfect margarita?
Nick: I'm not much of a margarita guy, but if someone claims to have perfected something, then I am interested in trying it.
Brian: Yeah, it's cool to have a claim that you can back up.
Nick: If you have any ideas, you should leave us a voicemail at (848) 863-9917.
Brian: And if you win this game, let us know. We'll play it with you
The podcasting ecosystem is structured so middlemen know more about podcast listeners than the hosts themselves. It’s a bit parasitical and getting worse. On that note, with this promotion, Eran will probably have a better idea of who listens to this podcast than we do. How cool is that?
To be clear, this is an indictment of the podcast industry - not Eran. He’s cool.
Also, if you win this game, please do let us know! We would enjoy playing with you.
Listen to a 5 minute episode of How Cool Is This? on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or anywhere else you find podcasts.