Ludology

Gil and Geoff are pleased to welcome Volko Ruhnke, designer of the COIN series, about Counter-Intelligence operations throughout history. How do you capture the dynamics of these complex conflicts in a game? What are the challenges with designing simulations and general? And what can he tell us about his time in the CIA? Duration: 1:09:25

Professor Scott Rogers is back with another Biography of a Board Game! This time, Agricola is under the spotlight. Duration: 11:55

We welcome Theresa Duringer of Temple Gates Games, developer of the Race for the Galaxy app to talk about the process of developing and incorporating AI, how to make it smarter or dumber or more human, and more. Duration: 59:27

In this classic GameTek, Geoff talks about how we see patterns even when there aren't any, and what that means for game designers. Duration: 8:01

Since there were humans, they've been putting things into categories. What are some of the ways games are categorized? Is this useful, or a distraction? Duration: 59:56

Professor Scott Rogers is back with another Bio of a Board Game, taking a look at Talisman! Duration: 9:28

Recorded live at the Gathering of Friends, Gil and Geoff have an opportunity to sit down and chat with Eric Lang, designer of Rising Sun, the Dice Masters series, and much more. We talk about his role at CMON, his design process, and the state of the industry. Duration: 44:36

Gil and Geoff are pleased to welcome guest Naomi Clark, professor at the NYU Game Center, and designer most recently of the card game Consentacle. We discuss tackling adult themes in board games in a serious way, and what she learned during the development of Consentacle. Duration: 1:15:54

Professor Scott Rogers is back with another Biography of a Board Game. This episode he heads to the old west to check out Bang! Duration: 07:55

Gil and Geoff are pleased to welcome guest Isaac Shalev to discuss the idea of Design Patterns for tabletop games. What are Design Patterns, and how are they helpful? What are some examples? Duration: 1:08:34

In this classic GameTek, Geoff discusses his experience with a new type of VR. Duration: 5:40

Gil and Geoff take a look at the different ways that subsystems of a game can be coupled, and what that means for complexity and player agency. Duration: 1:05:44

We are pleased to welcome podcaster, gamer, actor, and all-around great guy Jeff Cannata to Ludology! Jeff can be heard on DLC, We Have Concerns, and the /Filmcast. We take a very deep dive into the contrasts between tabletop and video games. This one gets very philosophical, so be prepared :) Duration: 1:18:32

In this classic GameTek, Geoff takes a look at some recent court cases involving games. Duration: 5:59

Gil and Geoff field a litany of listener questions! Duration: 1:20:22

Scott Rogers is back with another Biography of a Board Game, this time focusing on Scrabble! KWYJIBO for the win! Duration: 9:56

Gil and Geoff are thrilled to welcome Raph Koster, author of A Theory of Fun, and video game designer. We talk about a wide range of topics, include MMOs, keeping players engaged, emotions in games, and, of course, fun. Duration: 1:28:41

In this classic GameTek, Geoff talks about the Prisoner's Dilemma facing Kansas City, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri. Duration: 6:05

Gil and Geoff talk about designing low-interaction games. Sometimes you just want to work on your own little corner of the world - and some players prefer that. What are techniques create engaging experiences without conflict? Duration: 56:53

A sweet surprise! Biography of a Board Game takes a look at Candyland. Duration: 8:51

Gil and Geoff are joined by Stephen Buonocore from Stronghold Games to discuss the state of the board game industry as we enter 2018. Duration: 1:12:05

Geoff has an insight about how game structure can keep players engaged, and is excited to share. Duration 56:39

In this classic GameTek, Geoff talks about how we are really bad at telling how good we really are. Duration: 6:03

Gil and Geoff are delighted to welcome Tim Fowers to discuss player psychology, and how that can be leveraged by game designers. Tim is the designer of Burgle Bros, Paperback, and more, and the owner of Fowers Games, which publishes his titles. Duration: 1:11:46

Scott Rogers is back with a super-sized Bio of a Board Game, with the history of The Settlers of Catan! Duration: 12:14

Gil and Geoff discuss the very early stages of design and play testing. How much should be on paper, and how much in your head? Duration 1:05:21

In this classic GameTek, Geoff takes a different angle on the connection between theme, mechanics, and player experience. Duration: 6:40

Gil and Geoff are pleased to welcome guests Patrick Leader (Vast) and Cole Wehrle (Root, An Infamous Traffic) to discuss asymmetry in games, and the particular challenges it presents to the designer. Duration: 1:07:19

Scott Rogers is back with another Biography of a Board Game! This time, he talks about the history of Scotland Yard, and early SdJ winner! Duration: 7:25

Gil and Geoff take a deep dive into the design of Terraforming Mars. What makes it tick? What works and what doesn't? Duration: 1:17:52

In this classic GameTek, Geoff looks at classic story-telling techniques to see how they might apply to game design. Duration: 05:52

Gil and Geoff are delighted to welcome Jason Morningstar, designer of Fiasco, The Shab-Al-Hiri Roach, Night Witches, and other innovative RPGs. We discuss how to better integrate story and narrative into games when there is no GM, the social contract that requires, and pitfalls along the way. Duration: 1:10:35

In this Biography of a Board Game, Scott Rogers reveals the secret history of Uno! Duration: 07:45

Gil and Geoff take a look at the different ways of controlling turn order in a game. What are the rules of thumb for when to use the different methods? Duration: 1:23:17

What would you do if you were playing Rock, Paper, Scissors for $20,000,000? Duration: 04:42

Gil and Geoff are pleased to welcome Professor Scott Nicholson from Wilfrid Laurier University to discuss Escape Rooms. What are they, how do they work, and what lessons do they hold for game design? If you're not familiar with Escape Rooms, please check out this video from Scott with an overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tqnw7g5iIFQ Duration: 1:19:47

Biography of a Board Game returns with the classic Operation! Duration: 06:12

Gil and Geoff host the first-ever Ludology live Q&A from Gencon 50! Duration: 51:39

Gil and Geoff are pleased to welcome guest Matt Wolfe, to discuss the concept of Decision Scales in games. Duration 1:10:04

In this classic GameTek, Geoff dives into the details of Alpha Go, Google's Go-playing AI. Duration: 06:41

Gil and Geoff are joined by the gang from the Flip The Table podcast to talk about Roll & Move games. What works (and doesn't) with this much-maligned mechanic? Duration: 1:07:00

Scott takes a look at the history of the Mystery Rummy series, by a designer y'all might know... Duration: 6:24

Gil and Geoff talk about different methods for using mathematical modeling and simulation during the design process. Duration: 1:12:12

In this classic GameTek, Geoff takes a look at the physics behind the coin toss. Duration 5:39

Gil and Geoff are pleased to welcome Morten Monrad Pedersen, to discuss the art of designing solo games. Morten has designed several popular solo variants to games, including Scythe and Viticulture. What are the design techniques for solo games? How do they differ from multiplayer games? Duration: 1:14:38

Scott Rogers joins us with a new Biography of a Board Game - Arkham Horror! Duration: 6:16

Gil and Geoff tackle ties in games. How important are tiebreakers? What are good and bad ways to design them? Duration: 1:18:18

In this classic GameTek, Geoff discusses the difference between a cheat and a spoilsport, and what that means for society. Duration: 05:49

Gil and Geoff are thrilled to welcome Chris Cobb from Riot Games, creator of the number one online game in the world, League of Legends. Until recently Chris was the technical lead for the Player Behavior team, which was tasked with designing in-game and out-of-game systems to encourage players to be nicer to each other, and deal with players who don't. Over the years, what did they learn about behavior, and how to design systems to encourage it to improve? Duration: 1:02:29

Ludology welcomes Scott Rogers and his Biography of a Board Game segment! This episode he traces the history of Risk, from the early 20th century to today. Duration: 09:10