It's spreadsheet time, lads. Lots of things to do in this episode and, as always, that means lots of new inductees into the Hall of Fame.

Each host gets one free hit - a previous losing pick from episodes 61-69 they can put straight into the HOF. A fifth inductee can be chosen from any previous nomination by the winner of Simon's quiz.

We also pick a bunch of awesome new categories - you'll be picking one of them, dear listener - and chat about what we've been playing recently because we were so damn efficient with the admin.

Go vote for the category @vg_hof on Twitter, @vghof on BlueSky and @tvghof on Instagram.

The outro music in this episode is Boomer Kuwanger Stage from the soundtrack 'Capcom Music Generation - Rockman X1~6' and is composed by Yuko Takehara.

Sure, some games are so hard they make you lob your controller through a window or insult some poor American teenager's mother, but that doesn't mean that difficult games can't be incredible, Hall of Fame-worthy classics.

We've got four such examples for you here, and you can vote your favourite of them into via one (or all) of the polls @vg_hof on Twitter, @vghof on BlueSky or @tvghof on Instagram.

Send us an email to videogamehof@gmail.com

Perm your hair and run from the Terminator, or something else equally '80s, as we're going back to the time when the video game industry crashed and then sorted itself back out again - the 1980s.

There are some arcade and early home console classics for you to vote on here. Also there's the game Steve picks. Whatever you decide, you can go and vote in the polls at the following places:

Twitter: @vg_hof

BlueSky: @vghof

Instagram: @tvghof

Woof.

Vote for the best woof via @vg_hof on Twitter, @vghof on BlueSky and @tvghof on Instagram

Send us a woof to videogamehof@gmail.com

Woof.

Mate, you got any 50ps I can borrow? We're talking about arcade games on this episode, y'see, so I've definitely got next.

Who doesn't love a good arcade game, eh? A cornerstone of the gaming industry since its inception - we all miss the heyday of arcades dearly. Well, miss it no more (kinda) as we've got four bangin' arcade classics to nominate for the Hall of Fame.

Go to @vg_hof on Twitter, @vghof on BlueSky, or @vghof on Instagram to vote for your chosen game in the polls and/or send us an email to videogamehof@gmail.com to chat any old bollocks.

Welcome to year four of the Video Game Hall of Fame! As is tradition, we begin the new year by talking about games from last year. It's your de facto game of the year episode!

Four excellent games to choose from on this one, so make sure you vote for your favourite over @vg_hof on Twitter or @vghof on BlueSky to determine the winner and the first inductee of the class of 2026.

Send emails to videogamehof@gmail.com and we'll see you next episode for Arcade Games.

Merry Christmas! To celebrate, we've got four games set during this festive period for you to vote on. It's the last pod and poll of the year, so make it count!

Thanks for listening to us in 2025. We hope you have a great holiday and a happy new year, and we'll see you in 2026 for our GOTY special.

Go vote on the Christmas games @vg_hof on Twitter and/or @vghof on BlueSky. Oh, and tell us your game of the year and we'll read it out next episode. Emails welcome, as always, to videogamehof@gmail.com

Let's get niche, baby! We're dipping out of our (and most people's, really) comfort zones to nominate some games outside of the 'Big Four' console manufacturers.

Think SNK, NEC/Hudson Soft, Atari, Philips, 3DO Company... you get it. There's a huge number of bangers still available for their machines, some that defined the entire industry (and some that crashed it).

The only rule is no home computers. Amiga (except the CD32), Spectrum and Commodore 64 (sorry, Steve), that means you're out.

Vote for your favourite nominated game over @vg_hof on Twitter or @vghof on BlueSky and send us an email to videogamehof@gmail.com