Game of Thrones: six things to watch, read, and do in the wait for Season 7

The latest season of HBO's fantasy epic has drawn to a close. Now what?
Withdrawal: prepare for nine months without any new episodes of Game of Thrones to keep you going
HBO
Ben Travis27 June 2016

After ten weeks of battles, political machinations, and soaring dragons, Season 6 of Game of Thrones has come to an end.

It’s a dark time, the beginning of the long night – or, the nine month wait for Season 7.

How are you going to fill that time? How can you distract yourself from your Westeros Withdrawal? Or how can you delve deeper and consume yourself in the fictional world of the show?

Here are a few suggestions.

1) Delve into the books

Why not make like Samwell Tarly and get your nose in some books for the foreseeable future?

George RR Martin’s original tomes are hefty – there have been five so far, but two of them are so big that they’re split into two separate books. Oh, and they’re roughly 1000 pages each.

The books are notably even more expansive than the TV series, with more characters, locations, and ridiculous amounts of detail – so if you want an even more forensic view over the world of Westeros, be sure to give them a read.

2) Give Preacher a go

You probably need something new to watch, and there’s plenty of choice out there. You could opt for something similarly medieval, like the BBC’s Last Kingdom, or the royal ruckus of Versailles.

Still, if you want something totally different but that will certainly live up to the gore-and-insanity quota, try out Preacher which is currently streaming a new episode every Monday on Amazon Prime.

The show comes from AMC, the network behind The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, and Mad Men, and is a loose adaptation of Garth Ennis’ no-holds-barred comic series. Like Thrones, it blends elements of the supernatural in a genre-twisting series that doesn't hold back.

If that’s not your bag, the latest series of Netflix’s prison comedy-drama Orange is the New Black is arguably the best yet.

3) Play The Witcher 3

Bandai Namco

The next best thing to watching Westeros is having it as your virtual playground – and while the 2012 Game of Thrones RPG is a bit rubbish, there are alternatives.

Any kind of RPG will be a useful time-drain, but your best bet to keep the medieval fantasy vibe going is The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. You play as Geralt of Rivia, a supernaturally-gifted monster hunter who sets out to find his old flame Yennefer against the backdrop of an epic war.

Like Thrones, it’s packed with rich mythology, amazing characters, and bloody huge creatures – from dragons to griffins and werewolves. You can even while away hours in bars playing popular card game Gwent, should you so wish.

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Alternatively, Telltale Games made a point-and-click Game of Thrones adventure series that was favourably received, if not as rapturously as their Walking Dead game. And then there’s the HD remaster of Skyrim, announced at E3, which is coming later this year.

4) Plan a holiday in Westeros

Game of Thrones shoots all across the world, and there are all kinds of places you can visit.

Why not go to King’s Landing (or, Croatia) and stage your own coup, overthrow Slaver’s Bay (aka Morocco), or go ‘beyond the Wall’ into Iceland.

Game of Thrones AirBnbs

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Note: you’ll probably have to provide your own cloak / armour / Iron Throne if you want to recreate any of your favourite scenes.

5) Venture down the podcast rabbithole

You know those super in-depth Game of Thrones conversations you wish you could have with your mates, except they’re not caught up, or aren't nearly as obsessive as you? They’re happening all around, and you can listen to a bunch of them online.

There are tons of podcasts dedicated to the series, just sitting and waiting for you to download them – from Thronecast, to A Cast of Kings, A Storm of Spoilers, and Game of Thrones the Podcast.

You might have to do a bit of digging to see which have book spoilers and which are simply concerned with the TV show, but they'll give you hours of recaps, theories, and discussions of all the major and minor events.

6) Twiddle your thumbs until The Winds of Winter comes out

Think nine months is a long wait for the next season? Don’t say that to anyone who’s been waiting five years for the publication of The Winds of Winter.

The most recent Song of Ice and Fire book, A Dance with Dragons, came out way back in 2011, and George RR Martin is known to be making at least some progress on Winter.

You never know, it could finally materialise before Season 7 comes around, and there’s a chance it could expand beyond the events we’ve already seen on screen. Right? George? Hello?

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