Ludology

Erica and Sen make some resolutions about game design and predictions about the tabletop industry to ring in the new year!

In this episode of Pros and Cons Sen meets with Kristen Mott, who talks about how she recently broke into the industry, how she designs with her children as playtesters, and how she's explored non-traditional markets for publication. Recorded at Origins Game Fair in Columbus, OH in June 2023.

Sen chats with Jordan Goddard about the growth of his family endeavor - Indy Toy Lab, a toy and game design studio with hobby roots that's aiming it's sights at the mass market. This podcast was recorded at Origins Game Fair in June of 2023 in Columbus, OH.

In this second installment of talking to industry pros at gaming conventions, Sen chats with Tuesday Badell and Ben Begeal at Origins in Columbus, June 2023. We talk about design-centric conventions in general and the specific philosophy behind UnPub.

In the Pros and Cons series, Sen interviews industry professionals live at game conventions around the world. In this first installment, Sen interviews Andy Kim - designer of The Spill from Smirk & Laughter Games - at Toronto's BreakoutCon in March 2023. Andy talks about The Spill, spas, and upcoming designs.

Steph brings their monthly dose of TTRPG advice to the table, this time extolling the benefits of playing roleplaying games with young children in the home or classroom.

This week, Erica and Sen welcome writer, designer, and relucatant movie star Calvin Wong Tze Loon 黃子倫 to talk about his piece in "What Board Games Me To Me: Tales from the Tabletop," an anthology of short essays written by people from across the board game industry that was recently published by Aconyte Books. Join us as we find out more about the book and what Calvin finds so humanizing about games in their many forms.

Erica and Sen speak with Ami Baio of Pink Tiger Games about her line of social communication games, how she makes them, and how she's able to find success outside of traditional markets for board games.

In the 7th installment of this series, Steph covers their strategies for helping children cope with spells, tracking information and more, offering practical solutions so you, too, can game with your kiddos!

Sen and Erica ask each other questions collected from our Patreon supporters about the differences between designing a board game and an RPG, what working for a mass market game company is like, how we balance games, what we did to break into the industry, and more!

In her segment, Thinking Beyond Mechanisms, Sarah Shipp talks about psychologist Steven Reiss' 16 Motivators or Human Needs in terms of game design and how considering these can help make a more engaging game.

Will Meadows from the Tantrum House channel joins Erica and Sen to talk about his recent experience at the board gaming convention to end all board gaming conventions - Spiel in Essen, Germany. Having been four times, Will is a veteran Spiel-goer and he talks about all of the sights he saw and games he played while there this year. Since Will had to go eat dinner, Erica and Sen finish he Ludological Lightning Round by asking each other the questions they intended to ask Will!

In this episode of our special series, guest host Steph Campbell discusses how to maintain the attention of younger players. They give several excellent tips and tricks to help your kiddos maintain focus at the game table.

Sen and Erica welcome Heather O'Neill (CEO of 9th Level Games, Managing Director of UnPub, and game designer) to Ludology to chat about juggling all of her roles and the state of the tabletop industry, where many people have to combine several roles into the equivalent of a full time job.

In this episode of Thinking Beyond Mechanisms, guest host Sarah Shipp discusses some of the terms that designers often talk about (balance, elegance, and efficiency) but turns many of them on their ear to look at them slightly askew. Sarah posits that thinking about these elements in the opposite may help struggling designers recognize their role in creating a game that meets these lofty (and often vague) goals.

Sen and Erica welcome Brian Lenz from Delano Games (www.delanogames.com) to discuss the intricacies of manufacturing board games in North America this week on Ludology.

Special guest host, Steph Campbell, discusses how they introduced their son to TTRPGs at the ripe old age of 2.

Erica and Sen welcome Travis Severance, owner of Millennium Games - the largest game store in the United States - to the podcast. Travis brings years of retail experience to the table and lends insight into what sells games. From puzzles to pickleball and everything in between, Travis sheds light on how games and hobbies are merchandised to customers and we discuss if there's anything about game or product design that can help retailers do what they do best. Note: You'll hear a dog barking intermittently for about 10 minutes from around the 5 minute mark. Our apologies; we couldn't filter that out.

Guest host, Sarah Shipp, talks about the concept of resonance when designing games, SUCCESS (from "Made to Stick" by Chip & Dan Heath), and Sarah's own equation for resonance: Familiary + Unexpectedness - Chaff Also, see Sarah's GDC talk on Creating Resonance with Thematic Design available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61YNkTv3xgM

Erica and Sen welcome Pam Walls, a designer who specializes in party games, to the Ludology Podcast. Pam provides excellent insight into what it takes to make large and diverse groups of people want to play a game together. Pam's latest creation, Blob Party, was a Gen Con 2023 release for Wiz Kid Games.

In the fourth installment of TTRPG Kids, Steph talks about how to pick a setting that is engaging for the children that you're gaming with.

Sen and Erica welcome designer and Dice Tower member Roy Cannaday to the show to tell us about his experience at Gen Con 2023 that was made extra special because it was also the official launch of his first game, Last Light.

Guest host, Sarah Shipp, discusses Artistotle's Classical Unities and explores how unity of action, time, and place can be used to design a more cohesive game.

Erica and Sen discuss their comings and goings over the past few months. Sen attended Origins in June and Erica went to SDCC in July. So before they both head to Gen Con in August, they figured they should touch base and see what each other were up to!

In this episode, Steph talks about their use of safety tools and how they modified some for use with their son.

Erica and Sen welcome designer, author and game studies professor, Gordon Calleja to the show to discuss his book "Unboxed: Board Game Experience and Design" from the MIT Press (ISBN 978-0-262-54395-8). Gordon gives a chapter-by-chapter rundown of the book that will be the focus of our first Ludology Book Club event - stay tuned for further information!

Segment host Sarah Shipp returns to talk about the concept of immersion in tabletop games. Amongst others, Sarah references Gordon Calleja theories on immersion in her discussion - Gordon will be next week's guest on the main Ludology podcast.

Erica and Sen welcome Danielle Reynolds and Nick Bentley to the show to talk about how HerStory from Underdog Games was designed.

Join Steph Campbell of TTRP Kids as they delve into the difficult topic of kids wanting to do "bad" things when playing TTRPGs. How can parents and educators deal with this in a constructive way. Is the child actually being "bad" or are they just inquisitive? How can we determine this and what learning can occur from "bad" behavior? (Sound Effects from Pixabay)

Erica and Sen talk to Nicholas Yu, the designer responsible in part for games like Adventure Tactics and the recent release D&D Onslaught. Nick brings a wealth of knowledge about playing and designing tactical war games in the tabletop space. We discuss LOS, competitive wargaming, and more in this episode.

This segment features guest host Sarah Shipp of Shippboard Games. For the next year, Sarah will be taking a look at aspects of game design that go beyond the basics of rolling dice or drawing cards. In this introductory monthly mini-sode, Sarah posits that the question of theme first or mechanics first is a false dichotomy.

Sen and Erica welcome Morten Monrad Pedersen, founder of the Automa Factory, to the podcast to discuss designing solo modes for tabletop games. Morten has been involved with the solo modes for games such as Scythe, Viticulture, and Gaia Project.

Steph Campbell of TTRPG Kids gives parents and teachers some simple, practical tips on how to adapt tabletop role playing games for use with children in the home and classroom. In this episode, Steph talks about how to work with some of the more common aspects of TTRPGs (e.g. randomization, stats, bonuses, etc.) with children as they develop skills in literacy and numeracy.

It's a celebration! To mark the 300th episode of Ludology, Erica and Sen invite some of the past hosts (including co-founders Geoff Engelstein and Ryan Sturm, Scott Rogers, and Emma Larkins) to share some of their most impactful memories about the games they loved to play, create, and share with those around them. Please keep an eye out for the giveaways mentioned in this episode by following us on www.patreon.com/Ludology. Thanks for sticking with us for 300 episodes and here's to 300 more!

Sen and Erica sit down with Matt Paquette, graphic designer behind many of the games on your shelves, to discuss how he lays out all of the information needed to play a game in a logically flowing and concise visual hierarchy, specifically talking about how good card frame design can improve end user experience.

Erica and Sen talk with Carlos Flores and Eric Zimmerman about the recently released Green Games Guide, a document chock full of sustainable goodness for those in the tabletop industry hoping to lessen their products' impact on the environment. Find out more about how you can be a part of the movement to improve gaming's sustainability as a consumer, a designer, or a publisher.

Erica and Sen talk with Carlos Flores and Eric Zimmerman about the recently released Green Games Guide, a document chock full of sustainable goodness for those in the tabletop industry hoping to lessen their products' impact on the environment. Find out more about how you can be a part of the movement to improve gaming's sustainability as a consumer, a designer, or a publisher.

Erica and Sen talk to Pauline-Fate Kong and Marie Wong (Hot Banana Games) about their Ion Award-winning game, Steam Up. They dive into the mechanisms behind this game about Dim Sum and the Chinese customs that informed them. Apologies in advance for audio quality; our guests were recording on the same device so it negatively impacted on their relative volume at times.

This episode, Erica and Sen take a walk down memory lane with the Podfather of Gaming, Stephen Buonocore, as they reminisce about his time as the founder of Stronghold Games, his current role as a retiree / podcaster, and his future aspirations as a tabletop game designer! Stephen discusses many of the changes he witnessed first hand and talks about his excitement for what the future holds.

Erica and Sen bring Daryl Andrews onto the show to discuss his role as Head of Talent at Maestro Media, pitching games to publishers in general, and the importance of relationships in the industry.

Erica and Sen welcome Eric Lang, a self-identified Born-Again Mass Market Guy, to Ludology in order to review what the tabletop industry went through in 2022 and where he thinks it's headed in 2023. Eric brings a wealth of information to the discussion, having a quarter century of experience in the business of making games.

Erica and Sen welcome Tim Devine of Dice Up Games, designer of Color My Quest: A Colour & Cut Roleplaying Game, to Ludology to discuss designing RPGs for families as well as safety and calibration tools for children who roleplay.

Erica and Sen welcome artist Kwanchai Moriya to the show to discuss his process, his advice for new artists trying to break into the tabletop industry, his take AI Image Generators, and his New Year's Resolution for 2023.

Erica and Sen talk to Michelle Rundbacken and Yacine Merzouk, the fine purveyors of the Society of Curiosities, about their bespoke puzzle experiences that bridge the gap between the physical and the digital as well as their up-coming B&B escape experience!

Where are some of the places that game design skills come in handy? Erica and Sen talk to Nick Metzler, who has designed games for traditional publishers like Spin Master, murder mysteries in a castle for over a hundred wedding guests, and challenges on reality TV shows like Survivor!

Erica and Sen discuss how "Boop!", a new cat-themed 2-player game, became rethemed from an abstract game with the game's designer, Scott Brady. Scott tells us how the theme was integral in shaping the final product.

Sen and Erica talk with Pat Marino, designer behind Cup Head: Fast Rolling Dice Game and other titles from The Op, about translating videogames over to the hobby gaming and mass market gaming spaces.

Erica and Sen meet up with Jason Perez (Shelf Stories, cultural consultant on Puerto Rico 1897) to talk about cultural consultation, define some of the most prominent terms, and talk about how we can design better games while considering cultural impact. Timestamp Note Link 00:00:50 Shelf Stories https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnaZ7055IWOdm8XCJfFRDcw 00:01:20 Puerto Rico 1897 https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/367272/puerto-rico-1897 00:09:30 Uncle Ben dies https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dre4TsXm_68 00:09:35 Batman's parents get shot https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAyxY5hF3ZE 00:12:58 Andreas Seyfarth https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/117/andreas-seyfarth 00:13:01 Reiner Knizia https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/2/reiner-knizia 0015:05 Jason's critique of Lost Ruins of Arnak https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZU7Mqg3XS4U 00:15:15 Feast for Odin https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/177736/feast-odin 00:15:20 Raiders of the North Sea https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/170042/raiders-north-sea 0016:40 Puerto Rico's Power Outage Issues https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/12/power-outages-puerto-rico-hurricane-fiona 00:24:15 Cafe con leche https://www.food.com/recipe/cafe-con-leche-puerto-rican-cafe-latte-114354 00:24:34 In The Heights https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0CL-ZSuCrQ 00:29:21 "I Wish" songs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%22I_Want%22_song 00:29:49 Boriken https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/361178/boriken-taino-resistance 00:30:01 The Taino people https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/what-became-of-the-taino-73824867/ 00:32:06 Risk https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/181/risk 00:33:01 Liz Davidson (Beyond Solitaire) https://www.youtube.com/c/BeyondSolitaire 00:33:06 Jason Matthews (Twilight Struggle) https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/3877/jason-matthews 00:36:43 Chip Theory Games https://chiptheorygames.com/ 00:37:53 Unconscious Mind https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/329500/unconscious-mind 00:40:06 Jason's Discussions re: the Designer Diary for Gorinto https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNMzATMGYc8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1wAgg99O0w 00:46:00 Dicetower's Skymines vs. Mombassa Comparison https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n-vJbGqctE 00:48:27 Ludology Episode with James Mendez Hodes "Orc-kay Computer" https://ludology.libsyn.com/ludology-247-orc-kay-computer 00:49:56 Root https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/237182/root 00:50:16 Tauren and Native American Imagery https://www.academia.edu/13052741/World_of_Warcraft_the_Tauren_and_Native_American_Imagery 00:52:01 Owl Pizza Chef https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-illustration-owl-chef-pizza-cute-image-white-background-funny-cartoon-vector-illustrations-picture-memes-jokes-image69033436 00:52:16 The X-Men as :GBT Champions: From Outcasts to Elites https://rabbitholemag.com/the-x-men-as-lgbt-champions-from-outcasts-to-elites/ 00:55:02 Bruno Faidutti's article on Postcolonial Catan https://faidutti.com/blog/blog/2017/06/02/postcolonial-catan/ 0055:28 Cascadia https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/295947/cascadia 0056:43 Culture Club's "Karma Chameleon" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmcA9LIIXWw 00:56:45 Culture Club's "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nXGPZaTKik 00:57:18 The Wedding Singer's rendition of "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB3PdPMjeIY 00:57:30 Howard Zinn's "The People's History of the United States" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2767.A_People_s_History_of_the_United_States 00:58:28 The Buggles "Video Killed the Radio Star" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8r-tXRLazs 01:01:24 Tostones https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/16768/puerto-rican-tostones-fried-plantains/ 01:01:33 Maduros https://www.dulcetscintilla.com/platanos-maduros-aka-fried-sweet-plantains/ 01:02:39 Greg Loring-Albright https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/89308/greg-loring-albright 01:03:01 One Stop Co-op Shop https://www.youtube.com/c/OneStopCoopShop

Sen and Erica chat with Roberta Taylor about her games, diving deeper into Creature Comforts and the upcoming Maple Valley, specifically. They discuss cozy games and Roberta's philosophy towards design. Roberta's BGG Page: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/12374/roberta-taylor

Geoff discusses what he calls the "Sweet Spot" in games, and how it can help your design.