As featured in the Burlington Free Press

From Beats to Board Games: Vermont DJ Fattie B. Launches Drop the Needle

Longtime Vermont DJ and graphic artist Kyle Thompson — DJ Fattie B. to anyone who’s been out in Burlington in the last three decades — has turned the way songs stick to our memories into a party game. The Burlington Free Press followed Drop the Needle from a podcast idea to its release night at Specs in Winooski. Here’s our rundown.

Read the full feature By Brent Hallenbeck · Burlington Free Press · October 27, 2026 burlingtonfreepress.com · opens in a new tab →

Black-and-white photo of Kyle Thompson in headphones at a DJ setup, beside a tall stack of shrink-wrapped Drop the Needle game boxes. — Kyle Thompson, aka DJ Fattie B., spinning at Specs Cafe and Bar in Winooski on October 22, 2026, the night Drop the Needle officially launched.Photo: Brent Hallenbeck / Burlington Free Press

A podcast question that became a game

Thompson has been part of Vermont’s music and creative scene for more than 30 years: spinning at local venues, designing artwork, and co-founding Steez, the Burlington T-shirt shop. More recently he’s been hosting a music podcast where guests share three songs that carry real personal weight, and the stories behind them.

The game idea came from his sister, Stephanie Larsen. After listening to an episode, she tossed out a suggestion that stuck.

“Imagine if you could make a game based on this.”

Stephanie Larsen, as told to the Burlington Free Press

Thompson knew she was onto something. He gathered possible questions, play-tested them with friends, and reached out to a college connection who works in tabletop games. That led him to Ad Magic, a New Jersey manufacturer, which printed the first run of 1,000 boxes. According to the Free Press, 300 of them sold in the first two weeks.

How Drop the Needle plays

This isn’t a trivia game. Nobody gets quizzed on B-sides. Each box holds 150 prompt cards shaped like vinyl records sliding out of their album sleeves, and every card asks for a story, a memory or an opinion rooted in music. A few from the deck:

What is a song that you would play for your younger self? And why?

What is a song that immediately makes you feel ‘nostalgic’? And what does that word mean to you?

When you hear it, what song is like ‘nails on a chalkboard’ for you?

Which artist’s poster was on your wall when you were younger?

Drop the Needle prompt cards, cut in the shape of records peeking out of album sleeves, fanned across the game box on a bar table next to a cocktail. — Prompt cards on the table at the release party. Each card credits the person who wrote the question.Photo: Brent Hallenbeck / Burlington Free Press

Casual or competitive

Most tables will play it loose, as an icebreaker for a road trip or a dinner party. If your crew wants a winner, there’s a competitive mode: players judge whose answer to each prompt is best, and the first to collect three tokens, shaped like the plastic adapters that let a 45 spin on a turntable, takes the game.

150: Prompt cards
2–10: Players
16+: Ages

Release night at Specs in Winooski

The official launch was October 22 at Specs Cafe and Bar in Winooski, with Thompson behind the decks. Tables filled up with people testing the cards, and the prompts did their job fast: the Free Press watched debates break out over which 1990s pop posters hung on whose bedroom walls, from the Backstreet Boys to Avril Lavigne, and how much musical taste shifts from one generation to the next.

Three people laughing over cocktails at a coaster-covered bar table while one reads a prompt card, with the blue Drop the Needle box and round game tokens in front of them. — Former Specs employee Ashlin Ballif, owner Sam Nelis and employee Cree Kapinus play a round during the release event.Photo: Brent Hallenbeck / Burlington Free Press

Ten percent goes to Musicians On Call

Every box sold gives back: 10 percent of proceeds go to Musicians On Call, a nonprofit that brings live and recorded music to hospital patients at their bedsides. The organization works with well-known performers, including Kelly Clarkson and Vermont’s own Noah Kahan.

What’s next for the game

With the first 1,000 copies out in the world, Thompson is already working on expansion packs of 35 more cards, and more printings are on the way. Just in time for the holidays, it’s an easy gift for the music lover who has every record already.

This post summarizes “VT DJ Fattie B. turns music podcast into Drop the Needle party game,” by Brent Hallenbeck for the Burlington Free Press, October 27, 2026. Read the full article for the whole story. Photos by Brent Hallenbeck / Burlington Free Press.

Ready to drop the needle at your next game night? Get your copy of Drop the Needle.