🎙️Top Actual Play Podcasts You Should Be Listening To (Yes, Ours Too)
If you’ve ever rolled a d20 in real life or in your heart, you know that actual play podcasts are one of the best ways to experience storytelling, character drama, and total chaos without having to fight over snacks at a physical table.
We’ve gathered a list of some of the best actual play podcasts out there — the ones that inspire us, keep us up at night, and occasionally make us shout “NOOOO” at our headphones in public.
1. Let’s Get Critical (Yeah, we said it.)
Listen. We made this list. So of course we’re going to put Let’s Get Critical at the top — it’s our haunted baby.
Set in an eerie 1980s suburb where something is bleeding between dimensions, Let’s Get Critical is a TTRPG actual play podcast packed with:
Teen drama meets cosmic horror
A synthy Stranger Things vibe, but weirder
Shadow creatures, mystery phones, cursed malls
Incredible player chemistry and GM storytelling (not biased at all)
Check us out!
Let's Get Critical
Reviews:
2. Dimension 20 – Big laughs, huge heart, legendary chaos
Brennan Lee Mulligan is the DM equivalent of a natural 20 every time. Whether it's Fantasy High, Crown of Candy, or Mentopolis, D20 delivers big characters and wild plots with some of the best performers in TTRPGs.
📌 Why listen: Sharp editing, clever worldbuilding, and characters you’ll obsess over.
3. The Adventure Zone – The chaotic family road trip of actual play
The McElroys brought actual play to the mainstream. From the Balance arc to Ethersea, their mix of heartfelt storytelling and absolute nonsense makes for binge-worthy listening.
📌 Best for: Fans who want equal parts story and goofs.
4. Not Another D&D Podcast (NADDPOD) – For the bards who love jokes and feels
Brian Murphy, Emily Axford, Caldwell Tanner, and Jake Hurwitz bring hilarious characters to a deeply emotional story. NADDPOD is all about friendship, absurdity, and the kind of high-stakes adventure you didn’t see coming.
📌 Favorite arc? Eldermourne — spooky and epic.
5. Dungeons and Daddies – Not a BDSM podcast. (But it is a good one.)
It’s about dads. Who get transported into a fantasy realm. And try to rescue their sons. That’s it. That’s the pitch. And somehow, it’s both touching and completely off-the-rails.
📌 Tagline: “A D&D podcast about four dads who are sent to the Forgotten Realms.”
6. Critical Role – The mega-hydra of actual play
Do they need an introduction? Critical Role has redefined what D&D streaming and podcasting can be. If you love long-form epic campaigns and pro-level voice acting, this is the place.
📌 New listener tip: Start with Campaign 2: The Mighty Nein if Campaign 1 feels too long.
7. Ghosts on a Train – Monsters, mystery, and trains (duh)
A lesser-known gem: A tight indie podcast where the players are Spirit Trackers protecting passengers on a train from supernatural threats. Think Ghostbusters meets Murder on the Orient Express.
📌 Vibe: Intimate, spooky, smartly edited.
8. Campaign: Skyjacks – Pirate tales and skyships
Part of the One Shot network, Skyjacks offers a rich fantasy setting inspired by nautical punk, aviation, and communal storytelling. It’s got found families, big worldbuilding, and a sea of feelings.
📌 Bonus: killer music and strong RP.
So… why do actual play podcasts hit so hard?
It’s not just the dice rolls. It’s watching (well, listening to) real people discover a story as it unfolds. Mistakes, triumphs, betrayals, natural ones — it's storytelling at its most human and most unpredictable.
🎧 Give Let’s Get Critical a shot
If you’re into teen mystery, 80s suburbia, and increasingly horrifying otherworldly whispers… we’d love to be your next obsession. You can start here:
Tales of Yavon | Empire | Ep. 2 | Secrets at Dinner
What begins as an invitation… quickly turns into a web of secrets. In the floating city of Zolara, the party gathers for a seemingly simple dinner—only to find themselves entangled in political intrigue, hidden agendas, and dangerous revelations. As tensions rise and alliances are tested, whispers o...
Tales of Yavon | Empire | Ep. 1 | The Floating City
What secrets hide in the floating city of Zolara? Step into the skies and streets of the Empire in Tales of Yavon , a Dungeons & Dragons actual play podcast filled with political intrigue, epic battles, and dark fantasy adventure. Trigger Warning: This podcast contains mature themes, strong lang...
