Tom Vasel

Tom Vasel (born on September 8, 1976) is a well known podcaster and reviewer of board games.[1][2] Vasel co-hosts a long-running and popular[3] gaming podcast titled The Dice Tower, and as of 2011 has posted over 1200 reviews on the internet database BoardGameGeek.[4]

As of August 2003, Vasel taught mathematics at the International Christian School in Uijeongbu. He assumed the role of Pastor of Uijongbu Baptist Church, succeeding Pastor Rick Kelley in March 2007. After leaving South Korea, he has worked as a teacher in Florida.

Contents

The Dice Tower

Since May 2005, Vasel has co-hosted The Dice Tower, a podcast about board games and wargames. Originally, Vasel represented players who prefer designer games, while Joe Steadman advocated for those who prefer wargames. Steadman left the show in May 2006 after the 50th episode. Vasel, hosting alone with occasional input from Sam Healey for a few shows, rearranged the format to include recorded segments by guest reviewers and players. Gradually Healey began to take a larger role and was eventually promoted to co-host. Healey has since left the show and been replaced by the show's voice-over man, Eric Summerer.

Each episode of the podcast includes several regular segments and several occasional segments. The core of every episode is the "Gaming Top Ten", where Vasel and Summerer provide their top ten games in a particular category. Most shows start with Vasel and Summerer discussing the games that they have recently played. News from the boardgaming world usually follows, which is in turn followed by a segment from German contributor Moritz Eggert. The podcast also features frequent contests, where listeners can enter to win one or more games from a sponsoring company.

The Dice Tower web site features past top-ten lists and Vasel's in-depth reviews of boardgames. Vasel's reviews are also used by board game publishers and retailers for promotion of their games. [5][6]

The Jack Vasel Memorial Fund

Following the loss of his infant son Jack Vasel at the end of 2010, Tom Vasel established the Jack Vasel Memorial Fund, at www.jackvasel.org. The fund is a not-for-profit with a simple goal: raising and distributing funds to help gamers in their hour of need.

References

  1. ^ http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/01/you-can-help-raise-funds-for-the-dice-towers-vasel-family/
  2. ^ http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/01/30/cardboard-children-tom-vasel/
  3. ^ Conway, Stephen (2008). "Board Game Broadcasters". Knucklebones (Iola, Wisconsin: Jones Publishing) 3 (2): 26–29. ISSN 1554-3277. 
  4. ^ "Tom Vasel's reviews on BoardGameGeek". http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/browse/boardgame/0?username=TomVasel&forumname=reviews&sort=recent. Retrieved 2010-10-07. 
  5. ^ "Tom Vasel : GiftTRAP is a blast!". http://www.gifttrap.com/comments/tomvasel. 
  6. ^ "Cineplexity: The Dice Tower.com". http://www.otb-games.com/cineplexity/reviews/vasel.html. 

External links

Preceded by
Rick Kelley		 Pastor of Uijongbu Baptist Church
2007		 Succeeded by
incumbent
Churches in
North Korea

Korean Christian Federation (state-controlled body) · Bongsu Church (state-controlled body) ·

Chilgol Church (state-controlled body)
Churches in
South Korea
Missionaries
in Korea