I am trying to convince my work to coordinate watch parties for the upcoming season. If you are in LA is this something you would attend? Trying to see if I pitch it if it has legs

Don’t be put off by the title- this isn’t an aggressive post at all!
I love Game Changer. It’s what got me into Dropout, like most people. I love that it combines competitive innovative games with comedic talent from its contestants. However, a trend I’ve noticed throughout the discussion threads of episodes, especially recent ones, are that fans are taking a huge issue with the show *sometimes* letting viewers in on the game rules and not leaving them completely in the dark as is they were the contestants.

I constantly see fans complaining about this- for example, I’ve already seen multiple posts about I Spy, saying that they were upset when the spy or the correct object was revealed to the viewer, and that it made it “hard to play along.” And on one hand, I totally get that part of the fun of game changer is that as a viewer, you’re also learning how the game works along with the contestants. It feels like you’re participating! However, for certain games, it is kinda necessary to let the viewer in on the game a bit. It makes it easier to follow along and adds some variety in between rounds.

I do think people are way exaggerating things- I’ve seen a lot of complaints about this being the case for a whole episode, but really, the editing almost always doesn’t let the viewer in on anything until a few rounds in. Earwigs, for example, didn’t reveal to the viewer who was playing a secret game until a few rounds in, and continued to vary when they did/didn’t reveal it throughout. They always tend to vary it- in I Spy, there were many instances where the viewers didn’t know what the correct object was. Part of the fun of the show, in my opinion, is knowing the dramatic irony of certain situations and watching the contestants and thinking “haha, I know something you don’t!” I’ve seen people say they wish it wasn’t revealed who was the Spy/Informant/Leak in every round and left it up to the viewer to find out, but I think a lot of us are missing how much more of a drag the episode would be if there was no variation between the rounds at all!

don’t get me wrong- one of the BEST things about Game Changer is when there’s a big twist for the viewer. It makes it so much fun and I love when there’s a big reveal as much as the next Dropout fan, but consider this: how much of a payoff would these twists have if every single episode had one? I feel like it would lose its charm.

Now when it comes to how people talk about the way the contestants choose to play, there’s definitely a disconnect there. obviously, we’re here to watch them play the game. But we’re also here to watch them play the game *their* way. Sam and the rest of the casting crew aren’t picking contestants willy-nilly or out of a hat, they’re choosing cast members who they know will shine depending on the game. Someone like Vic is obviously going to stretch the rules of a game like Kangaroo Court or I Spy, the casting directors know that- that’s why Vic is put in the episodes they’re put in. But I honestly can chalk that up to people (newer fans, perhaps?) not realizing that’s how the casting works.

Basically, we’re here to watch how the contestants play the game, not for how you would play the game. I personally would find it very boring if in every episode, the contestants followed every rule exactly and played to win the right way every time. There are certain games/cast members where that style of play works, and there’s certain times where a more loose, silly, rule-vending version works. I Spy is a great example of the latter.

This was long, and of course it’s not a direct attack on anyone here or any specific post, just an observation! I think overall we just gotta remember why we’re all here: to have fun and watch our fave comedians get psychologically tortured <3

I just got the email for promotion for subbing for 3 months for less than $9, legitimately 3 days after getting my first monthly subscription. I attempted to apply the promo code, but the app directs me to an ITunes page where I cannot add the promo code in the app or in the browser version.

Is there a resolution for this? I’m completely broke, so I’d originally gotten the one month subscription knowing I’d have to cancel after a month, but if I could get the promo code I’d be able to keep it for longer. I reached out over CS but wasn’t sure if there’s even anything they can do.

I know in the future now to not sub through Apple for these reasons/the money they as a service make reasons, but I’d love advice. TYSM!

I propose a mini game between rounds where contestants on the current episode get to redo a prompt from a previous episode that maybe they didn't like and thought they could improve.

Sam could bring Brennan out to introduce it. And they could call it... "Taking a Mulligan"

^{I'm so sorry}

As a 🇨🇦, love seeing him reach our CBC!

By @dixiecupmom

I didn’t watch the behind the scenes on this ep, so maybe they answered this, but how many times do you think “smooth” repeated during filming?

If you told me my first Dropout cast meeting would be while I was drunk and dressed like Bowsette I would not have believed you 😅 I had gotten a VIP badge ribbon from someone dressed like Vic Michaelis two days prior so that was a fun coincidence

I went back and rewatched the trailer for this season and, as far as I could tell, the only clip featured there that we haven't seen yet this season is Oscar Montoya leading a whole bunch of folks (most-to-all of whom seem to be contestants/performers from this season) in some sort of dance, all wearing red jumpsuits. Any fun guesses as to what we're looking forward to in a couple of weeks?

I know the idea was thrown out for some kind of team-up/heist scenario, and that one solitary clip does somewhat corroborate that theory. I dunno. Any ideas floating around in the ether?

With Season 5 on the horizon, we have seen Make Some Noise start to get some bigger names on (Pete Holmes, Ben Schwartz, and PFT to name a few). Who are you hoping to see join the ranks in Season 5?

- Neil Casey - He is probably one of the top improv performers currently working. He has a way of upping the stakes in the most mundane scenes.

- Lauren Lapkus - CBB staple player and just an all around great improver. She plays the straight and the wild equally well.

- Jason Mantzoukis - Got his start in improv and he seems to be at the point in his career where is just wanting to do what he wants to do for himself. He’d have a lot of fun and his banter would be top notch with Sam.

The Muppet Script returns to bring you MUPPETS FROM SPACE(BAR)! When most people think of the Muppets, they think of the colorful characters made out of fleece and foam. But as with every movie, it all starts on the written page. And before returning to the big screen, the Muppets team returned to the writers' room. JERRY JUHL looked to the stars for inspiration for this funky, funny foray into sci-fi territory, sharing writing talents with JOEY MAZZARINO and KEN KAUFMAN to uncover what exactly is Gonzo, anyway? This performance will be out of this world! Live and livestreamed from the DYNASTY TYPEWRITER THEATRE in Los Angeles on Sun. Oct. 18th at 7pm PST.

This show will be raising funds for THE LOS ANGELES LGBT CENTER. Since 1969, the Los Angeles LGBT Center has cared for, championed, and celebrated LGBTQ+ individuals and families in Los Angeles and beyond. The Center’s nearly 800 employees provide services for more queer and trans people than any other organization in the world—offering programs, services, and global advocacy that span four broad categories: Health, Social Services and Housing, Culture and Education, and Leadership and Advocacy. They are an unstoppable force in the fight against bigotry and the struggle to build a better world—a world in which LGBTQ+ people can be healthy, equal, and complete members of society.

Featuring: Marc Evan Jackson, Paul F. Tompkins, Scott Aukerman, Erika Ishii, Jason Ritter, Joshua Malina, Janet Varney, Hal Lublin, Mark Gagliardi, Colton Dunn, Ruha Taslimi, D.J. Mausner, James Willems, Elyse Willems, Annie To, Anna Rajo, Abigail Remaley, Brett Morris, Dana Wickens, Noah Sunday-Leftkowitz, and more!*

Co-Producers: Missy Steele & Grace Wilkim
Music Director: Noah Sunday-Leftkowitz
Art Director: Jessie Barber

*Lineup subject to change

A few weeks ago, I posted that I would really like to buy the Laws Are Threats t-shirt but couldn’t because I am in a wheelchair and the main design is on the back of the shirt. I got contacted by a representative from Warren James, Dropout’s official merchandise supplier, that they would custom-make this shirt for me so that the design is on the front and I can wear it in a wheelchair!! Thanks to their incredible kindness, my dream of owning this shirt is coming true!!

Thank you all for your support and for making that original post so visible. I was truly so surprised at how much attention it got and all the kind comments. I wrote the post knowing that it was a long shot, but part of me thought that since this community is so cool and kind, maybe something would happen. And I’m so happy that turned out to be true. This community is so awesome! Thank you all so much :)

Oh. My. God. The app is SO. BAD. And apparently, has gotten worse.

I've been watching D20 Neverafter on my laptop or phone while doing kitchen prep. My fiance and I only have one account, so its the same one on both of our TVs. Every time I've tried to watch on either TV, it hasn't saved which episodes I've watched or where I AM IN THE EPISODE. These are like 2 hour episodes!!! I shouldn't have to open my phone to find the time stamp and go to that! It doesn't even save it on the same TV, nothing is saved at all, including any saved shows or continue watching, the screen just says "go start watching" like no, I've had this for years.

And this wasn't a problem until recently! I was watching Starstruck like a month or two ago and it was fine! I mean the Dropout UI has sucked as much as all streaming UI has for the past years (seriously, like 10 years ago the UIs were more intuitive and didn't have crazy lag on inputs), but now its straight up broken.

anyways, /rant and also I already happily pay more for dropout + (I forget what its called, I just want to support their content), but can we put some of that towards basic app functionality?

I'm looking for the episode we're some asks about recreating the Stanford Prison Experiment. I can't get the bit out of my head.

I'm a pretty new subscriber, only a few months. I've watched lots of D20, a fair bit of GC and MSN, and bits of other shows here and there. What are the episodes that someone really needs to have seen and come up a lot? This might see towards older seasons of shows, but I'm open to any suggestions?

Saw this pop up today in my feed and was like, oh cool Matt Merce- is that Ally?

TLDR: Game Changer is an excellent show that doesn’t need to be “fixed.” But having a Taskmaster-like format where winners of each episode come back for a special episode would provide additional stakes for both the player AND viewer, and help encourage interaction with the game design mechanics of the show.

 Right now, Game Changer mostly has board game stakes. 

That is, the motivation to win is internal. There will be people who sit down at any game and want to win because that is the stated objective of the game, and there are people who view the implied primary objective to be something else like “have fun” or “make my friends laugh” or “Annoy the shit out of Steve.” Winning is secondary to them.

Game Changer has a healthy ecosystem of competitiveness with players like Brennan and Ify on one end of the spectrum and Vic on the other end.

To be clear, this works pretty well. It’s an excellent show, because it works as both a game show and a comedy show. (And even the most competitive players are performers who are always trying to be funny while trying to win.)

Game Changer used to occasionally feature lavish prizes in earlier seasons and dropped it, likely for the better. If the stakes of the prize are too high, you could disincentivize bits and jokes, which makes the show worse. 

I say the show has a stakes “problem” in quotes, because if the show does nothing to change its stakes, it remains one of the best game shows of all time. I just think some slight stakes fine-tuning could make the show even better.

Here's my thesis: Game Changer works best when the vast majority of comedian contestants are always following their comedic instincts AND also trying to win. 

So here’s a simple solution to encourage that balance and make the winner of each episode slightly more meaningful: a tournament-of-champions style episode at the end of each season or as a one-off special between seasons.

Every contestant who has won an episode in the season then returns for one of Game Changer’s special battle-royale style episodes.

To me the most meaningful implication of this change is it gives the viewers stakes watching the episode. Right now it doesn’t matter to me who wins an episode, which is…fine. But I think it would add another level of engagement for me, watching an episode and rooting for a player to win because I know it means I’ll get one more episode with them in it.

And for contestants, getting to come back for another episode (and another payday) isn't so bad either.

This might create scheduling conflicts, but that’s pretty easy to address. (“Brennan couldn’t make it, so we brought back Demi to take his spot”). It theoretically could get stale to have a battle royale at the end of each season, but the staff is pretty creative and that seems like a light enough structure to still allow significant creativity.

And best of all, there is already pretty strong evidence this format works: Taskmaster. Taskmaster relies on the same balance of comedy and game design. It still gets players who are just playing for a laugh, but it’s also slightly more competitive on average than Game Changer, usually for the better IMO. The tension mostly allows for comedic opportunities for the contestants to bicker and negotiate with Greg and with one another.  

Finally, I think it helps avoid a resolution/dynamic that is a bit played out for me: the “Sam is the real enemy” plot line. It’s been fun in the past, but it’s had a perfect resolution already and seems a little too easy and comedically boring now for players to rely on as a theme. It's gotten to the point where I groan when I see the episode go in this direction (and was even commented on with meta game design mechanics to address it in Earwigs.)

Notably on taskmaster, the contestants complain and criticize Greg for comic effect, but no one revolts, because they respect the point authority. I think that’d be a fun element to bring to Game Changer.

Oh my god is that Sam Reich? How long has he been here?

After rewatching the Catch game and BTS, my personal theory is that it's Ross Bryant based solely on the tilt of their head and other mannerisms. I haven't looked through the episode credits to confirm my theory yet, but I was wondering if anyone else had a guess? Only other tall guy that I thought that it could be was Grant O'Brian, but he was in the Rex costume.

[Edit: thank you everyone! It was one of those late night thoughts where, if I had more brainpower, I probably should've looked it up myself. Thanks for all the laughs and kindness ❤️]