Podcasts by The Who, What, Why? Game Design Podcast

Who, What, Why S35.E09 :: Kelp with Carl Robinson from 2023-11-28T02:43

Kelp me! Kelp me!

All joking aside... this is a serious podcast...

Carl Robinson, the designer of the 2-player game Kelp, joined me to talk more about his games and expand upon fru...

Who, What, Why S35.E08 :: A General Chat about Generative AI with Joe Slack from 2023-11-27T02:55

Joe Slack, a frequent guest of the show, joined me once again to help me dip our toes into the conversation about AI art in board games. We did our best to explain AI art from our knowledge base...

Who, What, Why S35.E07 :: Expanding RPGs with Jason Peercy from 2023-08-09T03:36

Jason Peercy, co-designer of The Real Thing RPG, joined me to talk about the expansions he is crowdfunding titled Angel Dust and King For a Day. You might remember The Real Thing RPG as the Fait...

Who, What, Why? S35.E06 :: Lost Adventures with Jeff, Jonny, and Ben from 2023-07-09T00:38

I planned to have on Jeff Warrender to talk about his game Lost Adventures, out on Kickstarter now, but Jonny ...

Who, What, Why? S35.E05 :: Wreck This Deck with Becky Annison from 2023-06-20T00:58

Becky Annison, designer of Wreck This Deck and co-owner of Black Armada Games, joined me to talk about her latest design up on Listen

Who, What, Why S35.E04 :: Forges of Ravenshire with Sam and Ed... or is it Ed and Sam? from 2023-05-03T12:00

Sam and Ed Stockton... or Ed and Sam Stockton... joined me to talk about their newest game live on Kickstarter right now. Forges of Ravenshire is a unique dice worker placement game where you ar...

Who, What, Why S35.E03 :: The Return of the Super Show with Steve Resk from 2023-03-15T12:00

Wrestling fans and gaming fans! I have a guest to unite you both. Steve Resk, designer of The Super Show, joined me to talk about how to keep LCG/CCGs alive and well. We explored how the Super S...

Who, What, Why S35.E02 :: That Competitive Spirit with Jonny and Jeff from 2023-01-31T13:00

Jonny Pac and Jeff Warrender return for another episode about a topic in game design. In this episode we discuss competitiveness in games. We focus on games with a lot of direct interaction comp...

Who, What, Why S35.E01 :: The Boys with Nick Accardi from 2023-01-28T15:01

Nick Accardi, co-designer and artistic director for The Boys: This Is Going to Hurt, joined me to talk about this game from Dynamite Entertainment. We discussed the intricacies of adapting a lic...

Who, What, Why S34.E10 :: Nawalli with Gonzalo and Will from 2023-01-17T15:00

Gonzalo and Will joined me to talk about their game called Nawalli. It's a head-to-head card battling game with some incredible artwork inspired by the Aztecs. It's an easy game to learn and pla...

Who, What, Why S34.E09 :: PaxU Recap with Mike from 2022-12-15T14:00

So, I recently went to PaxU (again) with my wife and baby daughter. I decided to try something new for when I go to cons. I put all of my thoughts together in this episode about the con and what...

Who, What, Why S34.E08 :: Thrown Under the Bus with James S Cole from 2022-12-14T03:21

James Cole, designer of the upcoming game Thrown Under the Bus, joined me to talk about his game about corporate intrigue and power positioning. The game is a lighthearted look at the kind of st...

Who, What, Why S34.E07 :: Unconscious Mind with Jonny Pac from 2022-11-20T14:00

Jonny Pac, co-designer of Unconscious Mind, joined me to talk about the design of this big game. We focused on the way this game keeps players involved thematically and helps keep these various ...

Who, What, Why S34.E06 :: Pitching vs. Self-Publishing with Joe Slack from 2022-11-01T13:00

Joe Slack joins me yet again! It's a second threepeat!

In this episode, Joe and I discuss when to pitch your game vs. when to self-publish. There are a lot of things to consider with both...

Who, What, Why S34.E05 :: Real-Time Games with Fabricio Leotti from 2022-10-31T15:00

Fabricio Leotti, designer of Hyperwars (now on KS), joined me to talk about the genre of real-time games. We explore what the term means to us, what games embody it, and where it falls flat. We ...

Who, What, Why S34.E04 :: Keeping Up the Energy for Your Designs with Joe Slack from 2022-10-31T13:00

Joe Slack joined me (again!) to talk about when he shelves a design and when he returns to one on that shelf. This was a good conversation where I get to wax lyrical about some of my own lost de...

Who, What, Why S34.E03 :: When Your Game is Done with Joe Slack from 2022-10-22T13:00

Joe Slack, designer of Relics of Rajavihara and the forthcoming 14 Frantic Minutes, joined me for another threepeat of episodes. The first one explores the idea of a game being "done." How does ...

Who, What, Why S34.E02 :: Academia and Games with Analog Games Studies from 2022-10-15T01:00

Aaron Trammel, Shelley Jones, Edmond Y. Chang, and Evan Tormer are four of the members of the editorial board at Analog Games Studies. This group of...

Why Ska?! Ep. 05 :: Ska in Media from 2022-09-24T20:04:26

Another ska-cast is back from Who, What, Why! This time I invited on Crystal Mazur who's been on my show to talk about games, but now she helps me talk about ska. We look at some of the ways ska...

Who, What, Why S34.E01 :: A Case Study in Hanabi with Isaac Shalev from 2022-09-24T19:59:28

My friend and game designer, Isaac Shalev, joined me to talk in depth about Hanabi. When I thought about who to invite on for this game, I knew I had to talk to Isaac because I know of his love ...

Who, What, Why S33.E10 :: Votes for Women with Tory Brown from 2022-09-16T13:00:59

In the last couple of years, I've been looking to interview more designers of games that have something to say about history and through history about the world we currently live in. Tory Brown,...

Who, What, Why S33.E09 :: The Last Temptation of Slice from 2022-08-23T13:00:38

This episode is a departure from my normal gaming guests. I invited two guys I know from my backyard wrestling federation on to talk about a tv pilot they are self-funding called Listen

Who, What, Why S33.E08 :: Wicked Ones with Ben Nielsen from 2022-08-15T02:35:38

Ben Nielson (Listen

Who, What, Why S33.E07 :: The Game Builders with Ode from 2022-08-05T14:52:04

A recurring guest comes back to the show to talk about his new game studio and publisher, The Game Builders. Ode (@AndreasOdendahl) joins me to talk about making the leap into publishing and how...

Who, What, Why S33.E06 :: Rebels of the Outlaw Waste with Michael Addison from 2022-07-30T13:00:07

Michael Addison, designer of Rebels of the Outlaw Waste, joined the show to talk about his role-playing game due out later in the Fall. We covered a lot of topics ranging from the inspirations t...

Who, What, Why S33.E05 :: Life as a Game Designer with Matthew Dunstan from 2022-07-14T15:00:22

Matthew Dunstan (@wisegoldfish), full-time designer of many games such as the Kosmos Adventure game series and the Ravensburger Echoes series, joined me to talk about some of the nitty gritty of...

Who, What Why S33.E04 :: Stonewall Uprising with Taylor Shuss from 2022-07-08T17:30:18

This episode is 2 weeks late because my side of the audio needed to be rebuilt, but it is finally here!

Taylor Shuss, designer of Stonewall Uprising, joined me to talk about this game. It...

Who, What, Why S33.E03 :: Being an RPG Writer with Crystal Mazur from 2022-06-17T13:00:03

Crystal Mazur, freelance RPG writer and more, joined me on the show to delve more deeply into what it is like to be a freelance writer for RPGs. We discussed a lot here. Crystal knows an incredi...

Who, What, Why S33.E02 :: A Case Study in Agricola from 2022-06-14T13:00:47

Re-Released! I've re-released this episode with a file that takes up less of my monthly allotment. Enjoy (again).

Welcome to another case study episode. This time me, Jonny, and Jeff tack...

Who, What, Why S33.E01 :: Representing History in Games with Dan Thurot from 2022-06-08T13:00:44

Dan Thurot, game critic extraordinaire, joined me to delve into a difficult topic: representing history through games. We focused on ways that history is represented poorly and ways that it is r...

Who, What, Why S32.E10 :: A Case Study in Dominion featuring Jonny and Jeff from 2022-05-20T13:00:45

I am starting a new series of episodes called "A Case Study in..." Each episode will feature me and some designers discussing a particular game that none of us designed. The games we will focus ...

Why Ska?! Ep. 04 :: My Favorite Venue from 2022-04-30T03:19:49

Listening to music on your discman or Zune might seem like the pinacle experience, but nothing beats being at a live show. In this episode, I talk about some of my favorite venues that I've been...

Who, What, Why S32.E09 :: Massive Black with CEO Melissa Lee from 2022-04-22T16:00:08

The CEO of Massive Black, Melissa Lee, joined me to talk about both her life in the games industry and what she has been trying to accomplish with Massive Black. The company focuses on creating art...

Who, What Why S32.E08 :: Cut.games with David Malki from 2022-04-13T13:00:28

David Malki, director of product development at Cut.com and Cut Games, joined me to talk about developing games that connect with the kind of content Cut.com creates. Cut is a media company that...

Who, What, Why S32.E07 :: Crowdfunding Mistakes with Joe Slack from 2022-04-08T13:00:38

The third episode in my short series with Joe Slack is here! We discuss the do's and don'ts of crowdfunding campaigns based on Joe Slack's experience as a successful crowdfunder and my experienc...

Who, What, Why S32.E06 :: Brutal Orchestra with Maceo Mair from 2022-03-29T13:00:19

Maceo Mair, designer of the game Brutal Orchestra, joined me to talk about 2 important topics with this game: the first one being Heironymous Bosch, a Dutch painter from the 1400s and the ways this...

Who, What, Why S32.E05 :: Splinters of Faith and Organized Play with Douglas Zeilsdorf from 2022-03-25T01:36:21

Douglas Zeilsdorf, the organized play administrator for Frog God Games, joined me to talk about what is organized play and what administrating it entails doing. We also discussed the Splinters o...

Who, What, Why S32.E04 :: Bezzy Bargain Bags with Bez from 2022-03-16T10:00:59

Bez stopped by the show to talk about her Bezzy Bargain Bags. There is currently a Kickstarter campaign running for A Game About Quickly Grabbing Creatures That Are Totally Different and Countin...

Who, What, Why S32.E03 :: How to Design Innovative Games with Joe Slack from 2022-03-12T14:00:05

The second episode in my short mini-series with Joe Slack is here! This time we discuss how to design innovative games. We break down innovation into some smaller components like theme, mechanic...

Who, What, Why? S32.E02 :: The Real Thing with Accidental Cyclops from 2022-03-08T14:00:16

Jason Piercy, James Mosingo, and Jason Ward, creators of The Real Thing RPG, joined me to talk about their role-playing game set in the world of Faith No More's album The Real Thing. I thought this...

Who, What, Why? S32.E01 :: How to Design Your First Game with Joe Slack from 2022-03-05T14:10:14

Joe Slack, a 2-time guest, has returned for a short series of episodes exploring some broad ideas for game designers. This first episode with Joe in the series explores advice for first time design...

Why Ska?! Ep. 03 :: The Schematics and College Fun from 2022-02-27T14:00:19

Another episode of Why Ska?! Why are you all so lucky? My friend from college, Jon, joins me to reminisce about a New Paltz local ska band we used to see in all sorts of venues: college cafeteri...

Why Ska?! Ep. 02 :: Ska and Who, What, Why from 2022-02-18T14:00:29

In this second episode, I wanted to provide a bit of context for those who may not know how ska has been informing Who, What, Why for quite a while now. This is also a chance for me to give some...

Who, What, Why S31.E10 :: Floating Floors with Takashi and Stella from 2022-02-15T14:00:23

Takashi Sawada, designer of Floating Floors, and Stella Jahja, co-founder of Guf Studios, both joined me to talk about this unique balancing strategy game live on Kickstarter right now. We discu...

Who, What, Why S31.E09 :: Summit with Conor McGoey from 2022-02-11T14:00:36

Conor McGoey, designer of Summit and owner of Inside Up Games, joined me to talk about Summit, Inside Up Games, so, so many other topics. It was a great conversation about all sorts of topics. C...

Who, What, Why S31.E08 :: Worldbreakers with Elli Amir from 2022-02-04T14:00:08

Elli Amir, designer of Worldbreakers, joined me to talk about this interesting 2 player game set in a pre-colonial Western Asia (think Mongol Empire sort of era). We discussed the intricacies of...

Who, What, Why S31.E07 :: Postmark Games and Voyages from 2022-01-31T14:00:33

Rory Muldoon and Matthew Dunstan, co-founders of Postmark Games and co-creators of Voyages, join me to talk about their newest game venture--a print-at-home game company. We discuss Postmark's gene...

Why Ska?! Ep. 01 :: My Anti-Ska Phase from 2022-01-29T14:00:09

This is a new sub-podcast to celebrate my other love: ska music. In this episode I explore my anti-ska phase in high school and some of the reasons behind that phase.

Who, What, Why S31.E06 :: Skull Canyon Ski Fest with Jason&Kip from 2022-01-22T14:00:01

Jason and Kip, designers of Skull Canyon Ski Fest, joined me to talk about their game and its design. We gushed about skiing and how few skiing games are out. There is a lot to like about this g...

Who, What, Why S31.E05 :: Skate with Christian Shelton from 2022-01-21T14:00:23

Christian Shelton, designer of Skate, joined me to talk about the design of his game. We discussed the way the game came about and how Christian focused on the essence of skating through the foo...

Who, What, Why S31.E04 :: Bloc by Bloc with Greg Loring-Albright from 2022-01-15T14:00

Greg Loring-Albright, co-designer of Bloc by Bloc 3rd edition, joined me to talk about this game about social uprisings in a simulated oppressive state. We focused our conversation on the things...

Who, What, Why S31.E03 :: Skate Summer with Randy Reiman from 2022-01-14T14:00

@RandyReiman, designer of Skate Summer--on KS 1/18/22 from @pandasaurusgame, joined me to talk about Skate Summer. We discussed how the game changed, how virtual playtesting helped, and how Tony...

Who, What, Why S31.E02 :: Carol Mertz and Multidisciplinary Design from 2021-12-28T14:00

Carol Mertz, senior game designer at Exploding Kittens, designer of games like Pass the Buck, and cool experiences like Hell Couch, joined me on the show to talk about multidisciplinary design. ...

Who, What, Why S31.E01 :: Ken Spencer and the Tome of Wondrous Items from 2021-12-10T14:00

Ken Spencer, partner at Frog God Games and writer of the Tome of Wondrous Items, joined me to talk about this new 5E supplemental on Kickstarter now. Our conversation focused on the guidelines t...

Who, What, Why S30.E10 :: Ostia with Totsuca Chuo from 2021-11-19T14:00

Totsuca Chuo, designer of Ostia, joined me to discuss his game that uses the mancala mechanism in a unique way. Totsuca sent his answers via email, and Quentin Hudspeth provides his voice. A big...

Who, What, Why S30.E09 :: Making the Sausage with Jeff and Jonny from 2021-11-16T14:00

Jeff Warrender, designer of Acts of the Evangelists, joins me and Jonny to talk about self-publishing and producing 100 copies of his game. We discuss a lot of details about the production of ga...

Who, What, Why S30.E08 :: Directing Games with Anya Combs from 2021-11-02T22:00

Anya Combs, director of games at Kickstarter, joined me to talk about Kickstarter, her journey into the games industry, and her passion of music. This was an excellent chat with some great insig...

Who, What, Why S30.E07 :: Lair with Tam Myaing from 2021-10-30T18:27:42

My friend Tam Myaing (@TamAtPlay), designer of Lair, joined me to talk about his game published with Game and a Curry. We talked about how Tam packed a big experience in a game that uses only ca...

Who, What, Why S30.E06 :: Steam Up with Hot Banana Games from 2021-10-19T13:00

Marie and Pauline of Hot Banana Games joined me to talk about their game Steam Up. We focused on discussing the unique aspects of this game such as the components, theme, and pre-production. I b...

Who, What, Why S30.E05 :: Brouhaha Games with Travis Drake from 2021-10-13T13:00

Travis Drake of Brouhaha Games joined me to talk about his game company, which has a unique angle in the hobby. He makes games mostly dedicated to Halloween (or celebrations close to Halloween)....

Who, What, Why S30.E04 :: CBE with NBSP from 2021-10-09T13:00

NBSP, designer of the P500 game Cross Bronx Expressway, joined me to talk about his game. We focused on its design, its importance in telling a story not many will know, and its creation as a wh...

Who, What, Why S30.E02 :: Playing and Reviewing Games with J.Shipinski and J.Pac from 2021-09-29T13:00

Jay Shipinski and Jonny Pac joined me to talk about the insights Jay gained from playing 365+ games every day without stopping. He and his family documented their gaming, sometimes with fun cost...

Who, What, Why S30.E03 :: KS vs BackerKit with Douglas Cole from 2021-09-29T11:00

Douglas Cole, owner of Gaming Ballistic and publisher of a bunch of Fantasy Trip stuff, joined me to talk about why he ran a BackerKit campaign for his latest TFT product and what he learned fro...

Who, What, Why S30.E01 :: Second Editions with Jonny Pac, Ode, and Julian from 2021-09-28T13:00

In this episode, my usual crew of Ode, Julian, and Jonny Pac joined me to talk about working on second editions of games. We explore why and how designers work on second editions and how second ...

Who, What, Why S29.E10 :: Earth Rising with Laurie Blake from 2021-09-13T13:00

Laurie Blake, designer of Earth Rising from Stop, Drop and Roll Studios, joined me to talk about his game. We focused our discussion on the manufacturing of the game, which is being printed with...

Who, What, Why S29.E09 :: Hyperwars with Fabricio Leotti from 2021-08-31T16:00

Fabricio Leotti, designer of Hyperwars from Dice Coalition Games, joined me to talk about his game and its design. We discussed genre, mechanics, and manufacturing during a pandemic.

Who, What, Why S29.E08 :: Crisis on Cardea with Lucas Sosnick from 2021-08-31T13:30

Lucas Sosnick, designer of Crisis on Cardea from Green Street Games, joined me to talk about his game and his design process. Lucas is the 2nd teenager to be a guest on my show, and we discussed...

Who, What, Why S29.E07 :: Expansions and Shipping with Joe Slack from 2021-08-30T14:00

Joe Slack (@CrazyBrdGameGuy), designer of Relics of Rajavihara and owner of Crazy Like a Box Games, joined me to talk about creating an expansion for his game (soon on Kickstarter). We discussed...

Who, What, Why S29.E06 :: RPG Cartography with Alyssa Faden from 2021-08-20T13:00

Alyssa Faden (Listen

Who, What, Why S29.E05 :: Games For Education with Andrew Canle from 2021-08-18T13:00

Andrew Canle, designer and educator, joined me to discuss developing games to improve discussion in class. This work also ties in with his doctoral work. Teaching kids how to become conversant i...

Who, What, Why S29.E04 :: Writing RPGs with Crystal Mazur from 2021-08-17T13:00

Crystal Mazur, a freelance RPG writer for Onyx Path and Third Eye Games and developer on the Pip System, joined me to talk about writing. We discussed how she got into it and talked punk and ska...

Who, What, Why S29.E03 :: Playfulness in Games with Jeff and Jonny from 2021-07-30T13:00

Jeff and Jonny Pac joined me again to talk about playfulness and lightness of spirit in games. What do we think that looks like? How can we inject more of it in games? Do we need more of it in g...

Who, What, Why S29.E02 :: Educational Games with Catherine Croft from 2021-07-24T13:00

Dr. Catherine Croft joined me to talk about educational games. We discussed these kinds of games and when these games work and when they don't. There was a lot of interesting stuff in this inter...

Who, What, Why S29.E10 :: Opolis with Steven Aramini from 2021-07-18T13:00

Steven Aramini joined me to talks about his 2 wallet sized games that pack an enormous game play punch: Sprawlopolis and Agropolis. We discussed where these games came from and how Steven and hi...

Who, What, Why S28.E10 :: Library Labyrinth with Dissent Games from 2021-07-10T13:00

Jessica Metheringham and Mill Goble of Dissent Games joined me to talk about their game Library Labyrinth. We discussed the games' genesis mechanically as well as its world-building. The game fe...

Who, What, Why S28.E09 :: Nunami with Thomassie Mangiok from 2021-07-02T13:28:07

Thomassie Mangiok joined me to talk about his game Nunami. We discussed the game's origins and how it exemplifies aspects of Inuit worldview through both its gameplay and production. I hope you ...

Who, What, Why S28.E08 :: David and Emilie of Pe Metawe from 2021-06-29T14:31:39

David and Emilie of Pe Metawe in Edmonton, Alberta joined me to talk about Pe Metawe. It's a store in Canada owned by Indigenous folks that also does consulting around Indigenous outreach and re...

Who, What, Why S28.E07 :: Game Design (or Architectural Landscape Design) with Robin David from 2021-06-19T13:00

Robin David, famous for his designs... board game designs such as Luzon Rails and Letter Press, joined me to talk about design in general. We had a great chat about punk music and accessibility ...

Who, What, Why S28.E06 :: What's the Point with Dr. Wictz from 2021-06-18T13:00

Aaron and Austin of Dr. Wictz and designers of games like You Fool and Robotech Reconstruction join me to talk about points and the way that games use a couple of different point structures to d...

Who, What, Why S28.E05 :: Game Design with Mondo Davis from 2021-06-14T13:00

Mondo Davis, designer of the upcoming Color Field and Mansplaining, joined me to talk about his games, about design, and about everything in between. This was a good chat with someone new out th...

Who, What, Why? S28.E04:: Games with Matt Fantastic from 2021-05-30T13:00

Wu-Tang is for the children, but this episode is not for the children. Matt Fantastic joined me to talk game design and a lot of other topics that are not for the faint of heart. We've known eac...

Who, What, Why? S28.E03 :: Expansions with Julian, Ode, and Jonny from 2021-05-24T13:00

You wanted more content?! Well, I have more content for you. Expansions! More content. Add to your game. Which expansion is necessary? Why make them? When to make them? Julian Steindorfer, Ode, ...

Who, What, Why? S28.E02 :: Socially Conscious Design with Two Sarahs from 2021-05-17T13:00

Sarah Sayles of Big Girl Games and Sarah Shah (aka Puffindor) joined me to talk about what I'm calling socially conscious design. Games that have some kind of real world implications beyond just...

Who, What, Why? S28.E01 :: Delvers to Grow with Doug Cole from 2021-05-13T13:00

Doug Cole, owner of Gaming Ballistic and publisher of the Nordlond RPG series, joined me to talk about his latest product called Delvers to Grow. Sometimes one of the stumbling blocks to bringin...

Who, What, Why? S27.E10 :: Games and Death with Cedrick Chaboussit from 2021-05-10T13:00

Cédrick Chaboussit, designer of upcoming games Glow (Lueur), Lost Explorers, Shamans, and more, joined me to talk about his upcoming games and the process behind their designs. We focused on how...

Who, What, Why? S27.E09 :: Level Up Your Game Design from 2021-04-26T13:00

Scott Rogers, designer and author, joined me to talk about his life as a designer. We focused a lot on video games since video game design was a huge part of his past. Scott's also a board game ...

Who, What, Why? S27.E08 :: Gender-Inclusive Language and the Hobby from 2021-04-18T13:00

Tanya Pobuda and Shelly Jones, co-authors of AN ANALYSIS OF GENDER-INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE AND IMAGERY IN TOP-RANKED BOARD GAME RULEBOOKS, joined me to talk about thei...

Who, What, Why? S27.E07 :: Life in the Fast Train from 2021-04-14T03:34:29

Trey Chambers, designer of Empyreal and its expansions, joined me to talk about his game: a very massive but deeply rich train game set in the world of Indines. We focused a lot of how he packs ...

Who, What, Why? S27.E06 :: The Artist of Doom from 2021-04-10T13:00

John Kovalic, cartoonist and game designer, joined the show to talk about his journey into the industry and more. John is most notable for his work on Munchkin and Apples to Apples, but he has w...

Who, What, Why? S27.E05 :: Going Up? from 2021-04-06T13:00

Harrison Brooks, a young designer, has burst onto the hobby scene with a game called Elevator Up. It's a casual game that was designed, tested, illustrated, and printed by Harrison. Our conversa...

Who, What, Why? S27.E04 :: When Ya Gotta Go... from 2021-03-21T15:28:51

Bush Poo, a game designed by Justin and Alison Crooks, puts players in a very familiar setting. You are on a hike and have to go to the toilet... like really, really have to go. This push your l...

Who, What, Why? S27.E03 :: Swarm, Swarm, Swarm, Swarm! from 2021-03-17T16:00

2 podcasts in one day?! Well, at least it opens with a Seinfeld joke. Sean Chappell, one of the designers behind Hivernation, joined me to talk about his game. We discussed creating abstracts, p...

Who, What, Why? S27.E02 :: Simulation City 2021 from 2021-03-17T13:00

James Naylor of Naylor Games and designer of Magnate joined me to talk about his game. We focused on a lot of the various systems involved in his game as well as the 3-dimensional elements of it...

Who, What, Why? S27.E01 :: Game Time with Tali Rhein from 2021-03-11T14:00

Tali Rhein, the designer of Dogo Dash, joined me to talk about her game, its origins, and what it was like designing and Kickstarting a game during a worldwide pandemic. We also delved into her ...

Who, What, Why? S26.E10 :: 7th Continent, 26th Season, 10th Episode from 2021-03-06T14:00

Bruno Sauttier, co-designer of 7th Continent, joined me to talk about his massive game. We discussed the creation of the game and the different systems involved in the game. One of the most surp...

Who, What, Why? S26.E09 :: Solo Journaling For the RPG Player from 2021-02-21T13:26:36

Anna Blackwell and Doug Levandowski, both designers of solo journaling RPGs, joined me to talk about these kinds of games. We discussed what they are, what draws people to playing them, and what...

Who, What, Why? S26.E08 :: 5-Ur-Er Games for Designers from 2021-02-18T22:00

This is part 2 of my discussion with Jeff, Jonny, and Ben about the 5 games designers can learn a lot from. We cover 3 more each, so multiply that by 4 people... that's 12 more games for your de...

Who, What, Why? S26.E07 :: 5 Ur-Games for Designers from 2021-02-14T17:00

Jeff Warrender, Jonny Pac, and Ben Maddox (of 5 Games 4 Doomsday fame) joined me to talk about the first half (or so) of the 5 games each of us believe helps to teach budding designers something...

Who, What, Why? S26.E06 :: Game Design from the Old World from 2021-02-11T14:00

Simone Luciani, designer of games like Tzolk'in, Barrage, Voyages of Marco Polo and more, joined me to talk about his career as a game designer. We delved into his work process and a lot of the ...

Who, What, Why? S26.E05 :: I Like Big Games and I Cannot Lie from 2021-02-07T14:00

Luke Laurie and Jonny Pac, designers of Dwellings of Eldervale and Merchant's Cove/Endless Winter respectively, joined me to talk about what it was like to design BIG games, games that have a ma...

Who, What, Why? S26.E04 :: Imagine the Components Were All 0's and 1's from 2021-01-26T14:00

Jason Lee, chief creative officer at Pixelmatic and creator of Infinite Fleet, joined me to talk about designing games for the digital space. We talked about some of the games he has worked on, ...

Who, What, Why? S26.E03 :: The High Priest Needs Your Devotion from 2021-01-17T00:42:03

Ed and Sam Stockton, designers and owners of BA Games, joined me to talk about their first game coming to Kickstarter in February. This game Cult of the Deep brings a twist to the social deducti...

Who, What, Why? S26.E02 :: Pass the Catch Up... Mechanics from 2021-01-15T14:00

Jonny, Ode, and Julian joined me for a discussion of a board game related topic: catch up mechanics. What purpose do they serve? How are they implemented? Why aren't they called Ketchup mechanic...

Who, What, Why? S26.E01 :: Design Group Tips and Tricks from 2021-01-12T14:00

Tony Tran and Emma Larkins, both designers and organizers of their own board game design groups, joined me to talk about board game design groups. We discussed how both became part of their grou...

Who, What, Why? S25.E10 :: Art from Japan with Roci from 2021-01-06T14:00

Roci, illustrator for Uchibacoya Games over in Japan, was kind enough to join me on the show to talk about how she got into games, her inspiration for her beautiful artwork, and gaming culture i...

Who What Why? Bonus #3 State of the Show from 2020-12-31T14:00

Dear listeners, this is a state of the show bonus episode. I lay out some of where I came from and where I am going with the show. 2021 can be a big year for this show if I handle it right. Than...

Who, What, Why? S25.E09 :: Publishing Out of Taiwan with Tony Chen from 2020-12-21T14:00

Tony Chen, owner of Monsoon Publishing out of Taiwan, joined me to talk about publishing games. We focused on what got Tony and his wife into game design and self-publishing. We also chatted abo...

Who, What, Why? S25.E08 :: Long Games and Hard Pipes from 2020-12-18T14:00

Ryan Courtney, designer of Pipeline and Curious Cargo and fellow 2016 Gen Con Formal Ferret booth op with me, joined me to talk about his two games. We focused a lot of this conversation on game...

Who, What, Why? S25.E07 :: What Inspires Us as Designers? from 2020-12-13T14:00

Sarah Sayle and John Vallerand joined me to talk about inspiration and what inspires us as designers. This was a fun chat because I had a chance to weigh in on what inspires me as a designer as ...

Who, What, Why? S25.E06 :: Game Design from Singapore from 2020-12-10T14:00

Daryl Chow, designer of games like Artemis Project, Remember Our Trip, and In Too Deep, joined me to talk about game design and his process for designing. One important idea he talked about was ...

Who, What, Why? S25.E05 :: Snap a Pic, Take a Vid, Hear a Chat from 2020-12-06T14:00

Tim Chuon, a photographer and videographer of board games, joined me to talk about how he started in photography and board game photography. We also talk about his process in how he approaches h...

Who, What, Why? S25.E04 :: But What If It's a Tiny Dragon? from 2020-11-27T14:00

RPGs have always been for kids and now even more so! Questlings RPG designed by Banana Chan and Tim Devine and co-published with Letiman Games gives kids the chance to role play as kids facing c...

Who, What, Why? S25.E03 :: This One Is In The Hole from 2020-11-15T14:00

Randy O'Connor, designer of Roll in One, joined me to talk about his dice game about golf. This game has a really interesting rolling mechanic that provides as much control as it does no control...

Who, What, Why? S25.E02 :: Lots of Knowledge Pac'd Into This One from 2020-11-13T14:00

Jonny Pac, designer of games like Fistful of Meeples, Coloma, and developer of the upcoming Endless Winter, joined me to talk about his own designs rather than just a design topic. This was a co...

Who, What, Why? S25.E01 :: Educating the Youth About Design from 2020-11-10T14:00

Deon Mixon, designer of the game Design Eye, joined me to talk about his game. He has a really interesting backstory and purpose for this game. He wanted to educate kids about the world of desig...

Who, What, Why? S24.E10 :: Tackling Real World Issues Through Design from 2020-11-06T14:00

Sarah Sayles, designer of Diamonds for Water, joined me to talk about her game. We focused on the way in which she incorporated the real world concerns of water accessibility into her favorite g...

Who, What, Why? S24.E09 :: The One About Games Not Sucking from 2020-10-16T13:00

Chris Kirkman and Darrell Louder joined me to talk about playtesting. We focused on various best practices for getting feedback and also ways in which UnPub has grown over the years. Darrell als...

Who, What, Why? S24.E08 :: Gravity&Games Have Something in Common from 2020-10-13T13:00

Aaron Wilson and Ian Zang, co-founders of Gravitation Games, joined me to talk about their new publishing venture. We explored the kinds of games that they want to publish and what kind of chall...

Who, What, Why? S24.E07 :: Gimme the Rulebook! from 2020-10-10T13:00

Dustin Schwartz, rulebook editor extraordinaire, joined me to talk about editing rulebooks. We explored how he began and where he hopes to go with his editing career. Dustin even had a chance to...

Who, What, Why? S24.E06 :: Beware the Horrors, Beware Exploding Barrels from 2020-10-06T13:00

Juraj Bilic, designer of Machina Arcana, joined me to talk about the final chapter in his adventure game that has spanned the last 7 years. We talked about the inspirations for Machina Arcana, g...

Who, What, Why? S24.E05 :: Unbuttoning Your Partner from 2020-09-26T19:25:41

Julian Steindorfer and Ode joined me to talk about 2-player games. We discussed the ins and outs of designing them and we ended up getting on a tangent about the perception of 2-player games in ...

Who, What, Why? S24.E04 :: A Game with Chinook Salmon from 2020-09-25T13:00

Randy Flynn, designer of Cascadia, joined me to talk about his game. We talked a lot about the design behind the goal cards and how intricate those were to driving player decisions. We focused o...

Who, What, Why? S24.E03 :: Sometimes Even Episodes Are Prototypes from 2020-09-20T13:00

So many amazing peeps joined me to talk about prototyping best practices: Emma Larkins, Julio Nazario, John Brieger, and Rory Muldoon. This is an episode filled with an incredible amount of know...

Who, What, Why? S24.E02 :: Building Underrepresented Worlds from 2020-09-16T13:00

Tom Knauss, designer of Tehautl from Frog God Games, joined me to talk about the process of building a world for a culture that isn't well-represented in RPGs. We discussed the ways in which Fro...

Who, What, Why? S24.E01 :: Age of Discovery, Japanese Style from 2020-09-13T13:00

Takeo Yamada, designer of Amalfi, joined me to talk about his game, its influences, and his process for designing it. We explored the intricacies of the mechanisms and how they work together to ...

Who, What, Why? S23.E10 :: The Zen of Art Direction and Fish from 2020-09-10T13:00

Rory Muldoon, designer of Skora and graphic designer, joined me to talk about the game and its creation. We also talked about his self-imposed role as art director for his games and why it was i...

Who, What, Why? S23.E09 :: Learning to Accept Criticism from 2020-08-22T13:00

This episode is another broad topic discussion, this time featuring Jonny Pac, Ode, and Julian Steindorfer. We discuss feedback and criticism and how important it is to be able to take criticism...

Who, What, Why? S23.E08 :: To the Hip, Hop, Ya Don't Stop from 2020-08-19T13:00

Omari Akil, co-designer of Rap Godz and co-owner of Board Game Brothas, joined me to talk about Rap Godz. One tidbit on the origins of the game is how Omari helped Hamu take the game from someth...

Who, What, Why? S23:E07 :: Sit, Cooper, Sit. Good Island. from 2020-08-16T23:58:51

Ode, designer of Cooper Island and La Granja, joined me to talk about his games and his ideas about design. Ode detailed his beginnings in game design and his relationship with noted designer Uw...

Who, What, Why? S23.E06 :: On the Count of Three, Draw! from 2020-08-13T13:00

Eric Slauson, designer of party games Tattoo Stories and the upcoming MonsDrawCity, joined me to talk about designing party games. We talked about the ways in which he approaches his designs and...

Who, What, Why? S23.E05 :: A Pdcst on Wrd Gms from 2020-08-10T13:00

Cameron Art, designer of Vowl, joined me to talk about his game out now on Kickstarter. It is a word game that removes all the vowels. We also talk broadly about word games, which often get a ba...

Who What Why? Bonus #2: Why I Love Racing Games from 2020-07-31T03:40:46

This is the second month with a bonus episode. Tonight I tackled my loved for racing games. I focused pretty heavily on a few titles (Formula D, Rallyman GT, Flamme Rouge, and Lewis & Clark) to ...

Who, What, Why? S23.E04 :: Does What Happens in Game Stay in Game? from 2020-07-20T13:00

Isaac Shalev and Greg Loring-Albright join me to talk about the Magic Circle, a concept originally mentioned by Huizinga in Homo Ludens and defined by Eric Zimmerman and Katie Salen. We try to b...

Who, What, Why? S23.E03 :: THIS GAME ISN'T FAIR! *RAGE QUIT!* from 2020-07-17T13:00

John Vallerand, Jeff Warrender, and Jonny Pac joined me to talk about "Fairness" in a game, either on the designer or player end. We wanted to explore this concept since it is important to how a...

Who, What, Why? S23.E02 :: A True Family Affair from 2020-07-15T13:00

Banana Chan and Sen-Foong Lim, co-designers of Jiangshi: Blood in the Banquet Hall, joined me to talk about their new game. We talked about the game design and how important it was to stay true ...

Who, What, Why? S23.E01 :: For Your Next Assignment... from 2020-07-13T16:13:52

Joe Slack, a designer and game educator, joined me to talk about teaching game design. We explored how he got into teaching and how he has evolved to create his own online course in game design....

Who, What, Why? S22.E10 :: Game Design al Dente with Leo Colovini from 2020-07-11T13:00

Leo Colovini, designer of many games such as Cartagena and Carolus Magnus, joined me to talk about his history as a designer, his experiences, and his advice for future game designers. This epis...

Who, What, Why? Bonus Episode #1 Gloomhaven and Pandemic Legacy from 2020-06-29T19:03:09

Howdy listeners. This is a bonus episode because I have some more space left in my monthly allotment. I talk about why I love Gloomhaven and Pandemic Legacy from a bit of the design end. I'm not...

Who, What, Why? S22.E09 :: Gobbledygook, Gibberish, and Geekspeak from 2020-06-17T13:00

Jonny, Jeff, and Jason Dinger (new addition) join me to discuss jargon. Words and terms that designers and players use to describe games and describe experiences. The hobby has its own language,...

Who, What, Why? S22.E08 :: Abra + Cadabra = Math! from 2020-06-15T13:00

Bill Murphy and Scott Kelly, designers of Mathemagicians Duel, joined me to talk about designing educational games. Normally, educational games get a bad rap because they are bad games. This one...

Who, What, Why? S22.E07 :: Welcome to the Jungle; It's Full of Bullets from 2020-06-13T13:00

Joshua Van Laningham, designer of Bullet, joined me to talk about his game currently on Kickstarter from Level 99. It's a shmup similar to the arcade games where bullets rain down like dogs and ...

Who, What Why? S22.E06 :: Is This Gonna Be Fun? from 2020-06-11T13:00

Jonny Pac and Jeff Warrender, who have become regular guests on my broad game design topic episodes, return again to talk about a difficult topic: FUN. This is by no means an authoritative take ...

Who, What, Why? S22.E05 :: SSSURPRESSING FLIIIICKKKKSSSSS! from 2020-06-10T13:00

Pete Ruth and Mark Thomas, designers of Seal Team Flix and the upcoming Phantom Division, joined me to talk about their games. We discussed how Seal Team came about and how it led to Phantom Div...

Who, What, Why? S22.E04 :: Let Me Learn You Something from 2020-05-23T13:00

Heuristics. A popular board game word. Jonny Pac and Jeff Warrender join me to talk about heuristics. What is it? How can it be applied to improving designs? This was a good education for me as ...

Who, What, Why? S22.E03 :: Bubble Jet, Ink Jet, or Laser Jet! from 2020-05-21T13:00

Andrew Tullsen, manager of Print n Play, joined me to talk about the evolution of Print n Play the studio and his own journey as a print n play'er.

Credit: Printer by Philipp Petzka from ...

Who, What, Why? S22.E02 :: It Puts the Meeple in the Basket from 2020-05-19T13:00

People respond to incentives. Offer up a juicy reward and one can encourage or discourage all kinds of behaviors. Game design is about leveraging those incentives to get players to act in meanin...

Who, What, Why? S22.E01 :: For basic podcast episode setup, click here from 2020-04-17T13:00

John Vallerand, designer of the upcoming Cartographia and With a Smile and Gun, joined me to talk about games with variable setup. John lays out the 4 ways that this variety can take shape in a ...

Who, What, Why? S21.E10 :: So, there's a point to all of this, right? from 2020-04-15T13:00

Jeff Warrender and Jonny Pac joined me for a discussion about designing goals and objectives in games. We looked at the importance of mechanical and narrative goals and how those help keep the p...

Who, What, Why? S21.E09 :: What did the Romans ever do for us? from 2020-04-13T13:00

If you ever found yourself wondering what the Romans have ever done for you, this episode is the right one for you. In this episode, I have Gary and Steve, 2/3rds of the Ragnar Brothers, on to t...

Who, What, Why? S21.E08 :: Shipping Charged After Podcast Episode from 2020-01-26T14:45:04

AJ Porfirio, president of Van Ryder Games, joined me to talk about one of the most important topics in board gaming: shipping. Shipping can be difficult to predict, which causes great stress for...

Who, What, Why? S21.E07 :: Gaming in the Classroom from 2019-12-02T23:51:12

Kathleen Mercury, teacher and board game designer, joined me to discuss gaming in the classroom. We focused on how she first started weaving gaming into her classroom and more importantly how sh...

Who, What, Why? S21.E06 :: Vast Kaviya with Mike Meyer from 2019-10-27T13:56:54

Mike Meyer, designer of many RPG supplements including the latest Vast Kaviya, joined me to discuss what goes into designing a supplement for an existing IP. We specifically discussed his latest...

Who, What, Why? S21.E05 :: Gaming Down Under (And To The Right) from 2019-08-28T14:29:11

Unlike lots of world maps, I did not leave New Zealand off my show. Shem Phillips, designer of the Raiders series and upcoming West Kingdom series, joined me to talk about his approach to game d...

Who, What, Why? S21.E04 :: Adventure Tactics with Letiman Games from 2019-07-29T16:00

Dan Letzring and Nicholas Yu joined me to talk about their game Adventure Tactics Domianne's Tower. This is a deck-building board game homage to Final Fantasy Tactics, an amazing game from the P...

Who, What, Why? S21.E03 :: Wearing Our Hearts on Our Sleeves with Mage Company from 2019-07-23T15:35:02

Alexander Argyropoulis, founder of Mage Company, joined me to talk about sleeve production and the intricacies that go into producing sleeves and distinguishing one's company among the rest. Ale...

Who, What, Why? S21.E02 :: Components with Rob Daviau from 2019-07-19T15:57:21

Rob Daviau, designer of many Legacy games, Fireball Island, and the upcoming Dark Tower, joined me to talk about the importance of components. This conversation is short but packed with lots of ...

Who, What, Why? S21.E01 :: Ba-ba-ba-ba-Bird Is the Word from 2019-06-26T02:35:37

Elizabeth Hargrave, the designer of Wingspan, joined me to talk about the game, it's reception, diversity in board gaming, and bird watching. We really ran the gamut here on topics. Check it out...

Who, What, Why? S20.E09 :: Embarking on a Podcast Journey from 2019-03-28T01:12:52

Phil duBarry, designer of Embark and others, joined me to talk about his game coming out from TMG. We discussed the origins of the game and how it ended up in the Harbor-verse. We also delved a ...

Who, What, Why? S20.E08 :: Worker Placement and More from 2019-03-28T00:55:08

Isaac Shalev, co-designer of Seikatsu and Show 'N' Tile, joined me to discuss the worker placement mechanic. We talked about what the mechanic means to us and examples of it working. We also tal...

Who, What, Why? S20.E07 :: Print Runs with Jamey Stegmaier from 2019-02-11T19:07:58

Jamey Stegmaier, designer of Wingspan and owner of Stonemaier Games, joined me to expand on his blog post about print runs. We explored how a publisher goes about deciding on a print run size, w...

Who, What, Why? S20.E06 :: ApoXalypse Extreme! from 2019-02-11T18:25:22

Mike Gnade, designer of Maximum Apocalypse, joined me to discuss his game. We spoke quite at length about Maximum Apocalypse exploring all facets of the game's creation, theme, and mechanics. Listen

Who, What, Why? S20.E05 :: "Life" of the Party from 2019-02-05T19:47:32

Daniel Newman, designer of Dead Man's Cabal, joined me to talk about his game up on Kickstarter now from Pandasaurus Games. We talked about the uniqueness of the theme and stages it went through...

Who, What, Why? S20.E04 :: In the Jungle, the Mighty Jungle from 2019-01-09T02:39:20

Steven Aramini, designer of Animal Kingdoms, joined the show to talk about his game, the first one published by Galactic Raptor Games. We focused on the design of the game and his experience wit...

Who, What, Why? S20.E03 :: Egalite! from 2018-12-31T19:45:59

Tanya Pobuda, author of the study "Assessing Gender and Racial Representation in the Board Game Industry," joined the show to talk about her article and the work she put into this important topi...

Who, What, Why? S20.E02 :: Innerspace on Your Table! from 2018-12-07T01:39:22

Jerry Hawthorne, designer of Comanauts, joined me to talk about a few different topics. We discussed the announcement that Mice and Mystics might be coming to a big screen one day. We also discu...

Who, What, Why? S20.E01 :: Is That an Okapi in Your Logo? from 2018-10-29T00:41:09

Carla Kopp, owner of Weird Giraffe Games, came on the show to talk about her journey as a publisher. She also let us know what exactly is that animal in her logo. Finally, Carla discussed her la...

Who, What, Why? S19.E10 :: Raccoons, and Birds, and Cats, and Mice, Oh My! from 2018-10-29T00:18:16

Kyle Ferrin, illustrator of Root and Vast, joined me to talk about his process for creating art for board games. He details how he got into board game art and how he uses art in other areas of h...

Who, What, Why? S19.E09 :: Art of the Multiverse from 2018-09-22T01:07:41

Adam Rebotarro, co-creator and artist for Sentinels of the Multiverse, joined me to talk about his growth as an artist. We focused on how he reacted to unwanted criticism and how he turned that ...

Who, What, Why? S19.E08 :: Games That Tell Stories with Nikki Valens from 2018-09-13T23:57:52

Nikki Valens, designer of Eldritch Horror, Mansions of Madness 2nd Ed., and Legacy of Dragonholt joined me to talk about updating old editions and infusing story into games. We even discuss some...

Who, What, Why? S19.E07 :: To Jupiter and Beyond from 2018-08-25T11:54:19

Ken Spencer, creator of Rocket Age, joined the show to discuss his tabletop role playing game Rocket Age. This game is set in a 1938 that never was full of spaceships and aliens and exciting act...

Who, What, Why? S19.E06 :: I Bless the Lions Down in Africa from 2018-07-16T21:13:06

Erica Bouyouris, designer of Roar!, joined me to talk about her game Roar, her introduction to the hobby game world, and her experiences within that world. This conversation went all over the pl...

Who, What, Why? S19.E05 :: Are Board Games Art with Randy Hoyt and John Shulters from 2018-07-01T20:50:18

Randy Hoyt and John Shulters of Fox Trot games joined me an in depth discussion of the question "Are board games art?" We explored this topic in a myriad of ways first defining the terms art and...

Who, What, Why? S19.E04 :: Super Talk about Super Tall from 2018-06-26T01:01:19

Nat Levan, designer of small games featured in the Button Shy line joined the show to discuss Super Tall, a game currently on Kickstarter. We focused on how the game came about and how Nat refin...

Who, What, Why? S19.E03 :: Shuffle, Discard, Repeat from 2018-06-21T03:13:13

In the second episode of this special series, Heather and I discuss deck building. We spend a lot of time breaking down the simplest of the deck builders, Dominion. 

Who, What, Why? S19.E02 :: Let's Go Exploring from 2018-06-12T00:19:05

In this series of episodes myself and my friend Heather will explore one game mechanic or topic in game design. In this episode we discussed one of my favorite mechanics: exploration. Hope you e...

Who, What, Why? S19.E01 :: Tasty Minstrel Conversations from 2018-04-23T01:12:17

Seth Jafee, designer and co-founder of TMG, joined me to discuss game development, design, end game mechanics, and TMG's 10 year anniversary celebration coming up. It was an incredibly interesti...

Who, What, Why? S18.E10 :: Primary Game, Secondary Podcast from 2018-04-11T23:49:31

Matt Quock, designer of The Primary, joined the show to discuss his game that tackles the US primary system in a light-hearted and apolitical fashion. The game puts players in the roles of nonde...

Who, What, Why? S18.E9 :: Stuff by Bez on a Pod by Mike from 2018-04-10T01:08:41

Bez, designer of Wibbell++ and Yogi, joined the show to talk about her arc as a designer and the story of her games. Bez has had quite a direction and plan for herself as a designer and it was i...

Who, What, Why? S18.E08 :: A Haunting Legacy from 2018-02-17T18:16:10

Rob Daviau, originator of the legacy game idea, joins me to talk about the forth-coming Betrayal at the House on the Hill Legacy edition. I wanted to talk to Rob about the process of designing a...

Who, What, Why? S18.E07 :: Distributing Games, Cuteness, and Late Podcasts from 2018-01-25T23:33:01

Shari Spiro, owner of Ad Magic and Breaking Games, joined me to talk about the challenges and intricacies of distribution. We focused on how she learned the game market, and how she built and is...

Who, What, Why? S18.E06 :: The Island of Misfit Spirits from 2017-12-27T16:23:18

Eric Reuss, designer of Spirit Island, joined me to talk about this impressive game. Spirit Island puts players in the roles of spirits of an island recently colonized by 16th and 17th century E...

Who, What, Why? S18.E05 :: Gamez with a Zev! from 2017-12-25T01:07:51

Zev Shlasinger, the founder of Z-Man Games and current director of games for Wiz Kids, joined the show to talk about his new role with Wiz Kids. Zev has been around the industry for a long time,...

Who, What, Why? S18.E04 :: A Connossieur of Fine Board Games from 2017-12-09T03:05:22

Jamey Stegmaier, designer of Viticulture and so many other games, joins both me and Alex (all the way from Japanese) to talk about Viticulture. I have had Jamey on the show for all of his games ...

W3.E34 :: Who, What, Why's Board Game Brainstorm with Chris O'Neal from 2017-11-21T03:30:02

In the 34th episode of the most talked about board game segment, Board Game Brainstorm, Chris O'Neal, co-founder of Brotherwise Games, joins me to tackle a giant, likely dying many times before ...

Who, What, Why? S18.E03 :: Delve Past Boss Monster from 2017-11-11T03:08:48

Chris O'Neal, owner of Brotherwise Games, joins me on the show to talk about his company's latest game Unearth. Unearth is a light, dice-chucker about excavating ruins and collecting stones. The...

Who, What, Why? S18.E02 :: Yeah! New Games. Yeah! Interview. from 2017-11-02T01:35:44

Dave Beever, designer of Yeah! Diamonds, joined the show to discuss his game slated to be one of the first released by Game and a Curry, a new publisher. Dave talked about the origins of Yeah! D...

W3.E33 :: Who, What Why's Board Game Brainstorm feat. Filip Neduk from 2017-10-27T02:46:27

In the 33rd episode of the most entertaining side-segment of any board game podcast, Board Game Brainstorm, Filip Neduk, designer of Adrenaline, joins me to rack our brains around the game WarCr...

Who, What, Why? S18.E01 :: Shoot First. Never Ask Questions. from 2017-10-23T02:22:14

Filip Neduk, designer of Adrenaline, joins the show to discuss his amazingly thematic and fun take on the first person shooting genre. Adrenaline makes players quake in their boots as they roam ...

Who, What, Why? S17.E10 :: They Call Him the Chisel from 2017-10-17T03:24:25

*Noir voice* Another dead body on a dimly lit city street? And I was beginning to think this city was boring. Evan Derrick, creative director of Van Ryder Games, joins the show to talk about the...

Who, What, Why? S17.E09 :: The Key Cast from 2017-09-30T04:10:21

Richard Breese, designer of the Key series, Aladdin's Dragons, Reef Encounter, and more, joined me to talk about the Key Series of games. We focused on the origin of the series (thanks Mr. Keywo...

Who, What, Why? S17.E08 :: The Hologram Whisperer from 2017-09-19T01:56:16

Shari Spiro, the owner of Ad Magic, joins the show to talk about holograms and intellectual property security in the board game industry. Ad Magic created a 3D photopolymer hologram label to att...

Who, What, Why? S17.E06 :: Dead of Ashes! from 2017-08-18T14:39:40

Fernanda Suarez, artist for games such as Dead of Winter, Ashes, and Century Spice Road, joined me to talk about how she got into board game art and what it is like to be an artist in such an in...

Who, What, Why? S17.E05 :: Toss the Rulebook, Open the iPad! from 2017-08-16T04:37:14

Jouni Jussila, one of the creators of Dized, joined the show all the way from Finland to talk about his company's revolutionary board game application that attempts to teach people how to play g...

Who, What, Why? S17.E04 :: A Sandbox in Space from 2017-08-09T01:10:31

Cody Miller, designer of Xia, joined the show to discuss his first game ever. We discussed the challenges of designing a sandbox game where there are endless possibilities for players. Cody also...

Who, What, Why? S17.E03 :: Lazers&Sick Guitar Shedding Solos! from 2017-07-28T21:32:09

Nicole Kline and Anthony Amato joined the show to talk about their game Lazer Ryderz, a space race right out of an 80s Saturday morning cartoon. We discussed the origins of the game as well as t...

W3.E32 :: Who, What Why's Board Game Brainstorm feat. Cardboard Fortress from 2017-07-28T19:28:22

In the 32nd episode ever of Board Game Brainstorm Nicole Kline and Anthony Amato, co-designers of Lazer Ryderz, join me to tackle the ultimate challenge of bringing a great board game to Blobolo...

W3.31 :: Who, What, Why and Isaac Shalev from 2017-07-01T17:05:11

In the 31st episode ever of the newly renamed Board Game Brainstorm Isaac Shalev co-designer of Seikatsu, joins me to tackle the challenge of designing a great card game version of the classic N...

Who, What, Why? S17.E02 :: A Zen-like Game of Birds and Fish from 2017-07-01T16:22

Isaac Shalev, game designer, one of the hosts of On Board Games, and friend, joined the show to talk about his game Seikatsu that he co-designed with Matt Loomis. We discuss the Japanese theme, ...

Who, What, Why? S17.E01 :: Stonemaier Tackles Legacy from 2017-06-15T02:29:59

Jamey Stegmaier, co-founder of Stonemaier Games, joins the show to discuss his upcoming legacy game Charterstone. This game is intriguing for a number of different reasons. This is one of the fe...

Who, What, Why? S16.E10 :: Let's Take Some Suggestions From the Crowd from 2017-05-25T02:34:13

Nate C. Murray who works with IndieGoGo's board game outreach joined the pod for a chat about crowdfunding. We delved into some of the things IndieGoGo has been doing to attract more creators, e...

Who, What, Why? S16.E09 :: Mansions of the Imperial Cave Troll from 2017-05-16T03:19:38

Henning Ludvigsen comes all the way from Norway to spend some time chatting with me about the beautiful art he creates for board games. Henning is perhaps most well-known for creating the artwor...

Who, What, Why? S16.E08 :: What's The Deck You Draw From Called? from 2017-04-29T04:58:17

Andrew Innes, designer of Anomia, joined me to discuss his neat little game that will have plenty of people yelling the wrong word aloud. Anomia is a card game where each player has a card in fr...

Who, What, Why? S16.E07 :: Hang Ten, Dudes! from 2017-04-18T03:23:08

Cody Miller, owner of Far Off Games and designer of Tavarua, joins the podcast to talk about his absolutely bodacious game about shredding waves. Tavarua has an unexpected theme (surfing) and pu...

Who, What, Why? S16.E06 :: The Filler King Makes His Debut from 2017-04-07T21:32:12

Steve Finn, a designer local to me, joins the show to discuss how he approaches game design. Steve Finn has often been described as the king of the filler game. He produces quality games that ta...

Who, What, Why? S16.E05 :: News Alert: Massive Monster Attacks Gravehold! from 2017-03-27T01:56:22

Kevin Riley, designer of Aeon's End, came on the show to discuss the impressive new game that came out recently. It's an interesting take on the cooperative deck-building genre that incorporates...

Who, What, Why? S16.E04 :: This Game is Truly Epic from 2017-03-17T02:53:49

Isaac Childres designed Gloomhaven to capture the feel of a role-playing game and a dungeon crawler. He saw some things he wanted to fix in the dungeon crawlers around him and decided that this ...

Who, What, Why? S16.E03 :: You Are Alive When the Meeple Starts to Eat You from 2017-03-06T23:51:17

In 1993, Steven Spielberg released one of the most influential movies of my childhood. Jurassic Park is one of the few films I've seen multiple times in the theater. Despite its scientific inacc...

Who, What, Why? S16.E02 :: The Best Mix of the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s from 2017-02-25T17:22:02

Justin Jacobson convinced Rob Daviau to join his crazy venture of restoring old games from the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. The venture should pay off this GenCon when Restoration Games brings Stop T...

Who, What, Why? S16.E01 :: Magical University Voting Grind from 2017-02-18T22:52:45

Trey Chambers, designer of Argent: The Consortium, joined the show to talk about his awesome worker placement game about becoming the head of a magical university. This game takes the worker pla...

W3.E30 :: Who, What, Why and Diane Sauer from 2017-01-27T02:58:28

In this episode with Diane Sauer I renamed the segment Designing Games with Game Designers to Board Game Brainstorm. Diane Sauer, co-owner of Shoot Again Games and designer of Pinball Showdown, ...

Who, What, Why? S15.E10 :: Empires of Energy from 2017-01-24T02:02:40

Luke Laurie appears on the show to discuss his co-designed (with Tom Jolly) game Manhattan Project: Energy Empire. This one is a fantastic worker placement game about creating an efficient engin...

Who, What, Why? S15.E09 :: Pinball For Your Tabletop from 2017-01-14T16:03:38

Diane Sauer of Shoot Again Games is bringing Pinball Showdown to Kickstarter. Imagine that you are one of the balls during multi-ball trying to pick up speed and slam as many targets as possible...

Who, What, Why S15.E08 :: Board Game Off the Port Bow! from 2016-12-29T04:13:58

Nat Levan, designer of New Bedford, joined Alex and I for a discussion about his Euro game about a controversial topic: whaling. Theme aside, this game is a nice little Euro that presents some i...

Who, What, Why? S15.E07 :: And Let Loose the Pod's of Cast! from 2016-12-21T02:17:36

Grant Rodiek, designer of the hit game Cry Havoc, joins me for a discussion about the game. We talk about where the game came from, and I learn it was originally themed 1800s European military. ...

Who, What, Why? S15.E06 :: TMNT: Heroes In a Dice Shell! from 2016-12-13T01:22:48

Kevin Wilson, designer of Descent 1st edition, Android, and Arkham Horror, joins me on the podcast to discuss his latest game TMNT: Out of the Shadows. We discussed what it was like working with...

Who, What, Why? S15.E05 :: Pow! Thwack! Smash! Wham! from 2016-11-24T06:37:14

Nate Murray is the man charged with bringing new ideas to IDW's sizable creative enterprise. One of Nate's tasks is to bring in board games that may be a great fit for IDW. So far, I think Nate ...

Who, What, Why S15.E04 :: When Theme Meets Emotion from 2016-11-24T06:27:21

Christopher Chung, designer of Lanterns, joins the show to talk about the game that has garnered many awards and praise. The game is an interesting mix of theme and emotion. The theme is the lan...

Who, What, Why S15.E03 :: Beware the Deadly Venom in Trick-Taking from 2016-10-27T03:56:25

Cardboard Edison, the husband and wife pair who host the game design blog of the same name, also design their own games, and one of those games is currently on Kickstarter. Cobras is a trick-tak...

W3.E29 :: Who, What, Why and Chris Chung from 2016-10-25T00:25:44

Who, What, Why presents our twenty-ninth episode of Designing Games with Game Designers featuring Chris Chung, designer of Lanterns. In this episode we discussed the idea of a board game about D...

Who, What, Why S15.E02 :: Localvention from 2016-10-19T02:05:52

Metatopia is a convention that takes place in Morristown, NJ each year as part of the Dexposure suite of conventions. This one is dedicated to designers and publishers in the form a play-testing...

W3.E28 :: Who, What, Why and Cardboard Edison from 2016-10-12T04:47:53

Who, What, Why presents our twenty-eighth episode of Designing Games with Game Designers featuring Chris Zinsli and Eric from Cardboard Edison. In this episode we discussed the idea of a Duck Hu...

Who, What, Why S15.E01 :: Let's Put Another Game on the Barbie from 2016-10-07T21:48:58

I apologize for my stupid joke, but I couldn't help myself. Rule & Make is a publishing company owned by a pair of Australian game designers. They are responsible for games like Burger Up, Skywa...

W3.E27 :: Who, What, Why and Fireside Games from 2016-09-24T03:33:07

Who, What, Why presents our twenty-seventh episode of Designing Games with Game Designers featuring Anne-Marie and Justin DeWitt, co-founders of Fireside Games and designers of the Panic series ...

Who, What, Why S14.E10 :: Panic! At the Game Table from 2016-09-17T17:35:03

Castle Panic, Dead Panic, Munchkin Panic, Star Trek Panic! Everybody panic! This episode features designer Justin DeWitt and Anne-Marie DeWitt, co-owners of Fireside Games and publishers of the ...

W3.E26 :: Who, What, Why and Jamey Stegmaier from 2016-09-13T02:12:13

Who, What, Why presents our twenty-sixth episode of Designing Games with Game Designers featuring Jamey Stegmaier, co-founder of Stonemaier, and designer of games like Euphoria and Scythe. In th...

Who, What, Why S14.E09 :: Mecha-Hits Walk the Earth from 2016-09-07T02:46:06

Jamey Stegmaier, co-founder of Stonemaier Games and designer of Scythe, joins us to talk about his mega-hit game that both earned Stonemaier a huge sum via Kickstarter and debuted to a sellout a...

Who, What, Why S14.E08 :: This Old Game with Rob Daviau from 2016-08-27T03:13:01

Rob Daviau, designer of many games like Seafall, Risk Legacy, and Pandemic Legacy, joins the show to talk about a new venture announced at the Dice Tower live show: Restoration Games. Rob is the...

W3.E25 :: Who, What, Why and Chris Kirkman from 2016-08-12T00:57:24

Who, What, Why presents our twenty-fifth episode of Designing Games with Game Designers featuring Chris Kirkman, founder of Dice Hate Me Games. Chris is currently the director of game developmen...

Who, What, Why S14.E07 :: Game Companies Unite! from 2016-08-12T00:42:48

Chris Kirkman, the founder of Dice Hate Me Games and director of game development with Greater Than Games, joins us to talk about mergers and publishing games. We focus our conversation on how t...

Who, What, Why S14.E06 :: This Is A Story All About How... from 2016-07-27T01:49:52

Isaac Vega, designer of hit games such as Ashes and Dead of Winter, joins the show to discuss his games and how his games involve and tell an incredible number of stories. Dead of Winter's cross...

W3.E24 :: Who, What, Why and Isaac Vega from 2016-07-24T04:17:26

Who, What, Why presents our twenty-fourth episode of Designing Games with Game Designers featuring hit designer Isaac Vega. He is the designer of Dead of Winter, Ashes, City of Remnants, and Bio...

Who, What, Why S14.E05 :: Betrayal of the Runelords from 2016-07-16T16:43:20

World renowned designer and president of Lone Shark Games, Mike Selinker, joined me for a discussion of semi-coop games. We explored what players can expect in the new expansion to Betrayal at t...

W3.E23 :: Who, What, Why and Mike Selinker from 2016-07-12T13:39:08

Who, What, Why presents our twenty-third episode of Designing Games with Game Designers featuring renowned designer Mike Selinker. He is the designer of Pathfinder the Adventure Card Game, Apocr...

Who, What, Why S14.E04 :: Maple Syrup, Poutine, and Game Design from 2016-07-06T20:58:50

Daryl Andrews, designer of the Walled City, Fantasy Fantasy Baseball, and others, might sound like a new name but he's one to keep an eye on as he has lots of designs signed out there with numer...

Who, What, Why S14.E3 :: Champions of Podcasting from 2016-06-28T04:19:20

Champions of Midgard, designed by Ole Steiness, is a Viking-themed game designed by a Danish game designer...

W3.E22 :: Who, What, Why and Ole Steiness from 2016-06-22T15:42:27

Who, What, Why presents our twenty-second episode of Designing Games with Game Designers featuring designer Ole Steiness. He is the designers of Police Precinct and Champions of Midgard. In this...

Who, What, Why S14.E02 :: Recorded Between Two Cities from 2016-06-17T21:47:07

Between Two Cities, designed by Ben Rosset and Matthew O'Malley, is a competitive drafting game that asks players sitting next to each other to cooperate. While this definition might seem intern...

Who, What, Why Panel Discussion E01 :: Designing Women from 2016-06-15T19:51:04

Who, What, Why is launching a new type of episode that will be released once a month: panel discussions featuring multiple designers, artists, and publishers ... and Alex and I. The first topic ...

W3.E21 :: Who, What, Why and Emerson Matsuuchi from 2016-06-12T16:32:30

Who, What, Why presents our twenty-first episode of Designing Games with Game Designers featuring designer Emerson Matsuuchi. He is the designers of Spector Ops, Volt, and the upcoming Caravan. ...

Who, What, Why S14.E01 :: Publishing On the Beat from 2016-06-07T02:34:13

Common Man Games, founded by Karl Fenner, is a publisher most noticeable for the co-op hit Police Precinct. What is remarkable about this publisher is that Karl has chosen to only publish games ...

Who, What, Why S13.E10 :: A Down Time Filler That Doesn't Require Your Phone from 2016-05-26T13:40:51

Eduardo Baraf of Pencil First Games and Jon Gilmour have collaborated on a trick taking card game that uses an interesting box design as a major component in the game. In most trick taking games...

W3.E20 :: Who, What, Why and Brandon Patton from 2016-05-22T18:08

Who, What, Why presents our twentieth episode of Designing Games with Game Designers featuring designer Brandon Patton. He is one of the designers of the Super PACs Card Game. In this episode we...

Who, What, Why S13.E09 :: He's Gonna Print You a Game You Won't Refuse from 2016-05-17T03:46:08

Stronghold Games burst onto the scene in 2009 with reprints of Code 777 and Survive: Escape from Atlantis. Now 7 years later Stronghold Games has so many titles under its belt, even a game with ...

W3_E19_Designing_Games_with_Peter_Newland from 2016-05-11T22:27:10

Who, What, Why presents our nineteenth episode of Designing Games with Game Designers featuring Peter Newland, designer of Wizard Dodgeball and Flapjack Flipout. In this episode we use the theme...

Who, What, Why S13.E08 :: Are You Not Entertained, 100110? from 2016-05-06T23:10:29

Volt, designed by Emerson Matsuuchi, is like robo-gladiators fighting in an arena to see who can be the first to score 5 points. The game is simple. There are 3 dice: red, white, and blue. Playe...

Who, What, Why S13.E07 :: Turn This Interview to 11 from 2016-04-28T02:55:31

Castle Dice is a castle-building, dice-drafting game where players get to roll handfuls of dice in order to collect resources and build pieces of a castle. What makes this game unique is the dic...

W3.E18 :: Who, What, Why with Scott King from 2016-04-22T22:03:06

Who, What, Why presents our eighteenth episode of Designing Games with Game Designers featuring Scott King, writer and photographer. He is the creator of the board game calendars. In this episod...

Who, What, Why S13.E06 :: To Infinity and Beyond the Final Frontier from 2016-04-16T22:00:43

Space Cadets Away Mission is the third game in the Space Cadets series, but the first game not designed by the...

W3.E17 :: Who, What, Why with JT Smith from 2016-04-12T22:29:53

Who, What, Why presents our seventeenth episode of Designing Games with Game Designers featuring JT Smith, owner of the Game Crafter and designer of The Captain Is Dead. In this episode we use t...

Who, What, Why S13.E05 :: Chocolate Chip Pancakes! Order up! from 2016-04-07T21:05:31

Flappin' Jack's Flipout is an unpublished game from Peter Newland and Chris Rowlands. It is a dexterity game abo...

Who, What, Why S13.E04 :: Witchcraft? Gamecraft! from 2016-03-26T15:33:04

J.T. Smith is both the designer of The Captain is Dead and owner of The Game Crafter. He joined me for a discussion of both his game and his company. Our discussion focused on the origins for Th...

W3.E16 :: Who, What, Why with Jason Tagmire from 2016-03-23T13:51:19

Who, What, Why presents our sixteenth episode of Designing Games with Game Designers featuring Jason Tagmire, owner of Button Shy Games, creator of the Board Game of the Month Club, and designer...

Who, What, Why S13.E03 :: Say Cheese, Agricola Animeeples! from 2016-03-18T02:31:30

Scott King is well known for his fantastic pictures of board games that have been turned into 3 successfully funded calendars. We invited Scott on to talk about how he got involved in creating t...

W3.E15 :: Who, What, Why with Bruno Faidutti from 2016-03-12T05:18:58

Who, What, Why presents our fifteenth episode of Designing Games with Game Designers featuring Bruno Faidutti, renowned designer of Citadels, Mission Red Planet, and Isla Dorada. In this episode...

Who, What, Why? S13.E02 :: Design and Critique, French Style from 2016-03-07T02:43:06

Bruno Faidutti, designer of games like Citadels and Raptor, has been designing games for 20 years and is one of the most well-known game designers today. We invited him on the show to talk about...

Who, What, Why? S13.E01 :: Let's Talk About Politics, Baby from 2016-02-26T22:57:14

Super PACS, co-designed by Brandon Patton, is a card game on Kicks...

W3.E14 :: Who, What, Why with Chip Beauvais from 2016-02-24T04:15:52

Who, What, Why presents our fourteenth episode of Designing Games with Game Designers which features Chip Beauvais, designer of Chroma Cubes. In this episode we use the themes, components, and m...

S12.E10 :: Two Computers Walk Into a War from 2016-02-17T04:13:36

Resistor_, designed by Nicole Kline and Anthony Amato, is a two-player game where players take on the roles ...

W3.E13 :: Who, What, Why with Ignacy Trzewiczek from 2016-02-13T02:13:25

Who, What, Why presents our thirteenth episode of Designing Games with Game Designers which features Ignacy Trzewiczek, designer of Robinson Crusoe, Imperial Settlers, and owner of Portal Games....

S12.E09 :: O' Fear? Oh, fir? Ophir! from 2016-02-06T19:00:29

Ophir, designed by Jason Kingsley and Charles Wright, is a resource management, pick-up-and-deliver game that uses dice in a really neat way. Players are merchants trying to trade good for money...

S12.E08 :: Beautiful Artwork From an Accomplished Artist from 2016-01-27T03:56:45

Vincent Dutrait, the well-known board game artist and illustrator, joined us for a chat about the process of illustrating art for board games. Vincent has illustrated a lot of popular board game...

W3.E12 :: Who, What, Why with Ludonaute and Cedrick Chaboussit from 2016-01-23T05:19:45

Who, What, Why presents our twelfth episode of Designing Games with Game Designers which features Cédrick Chaboussit, designer of Discoveries and Lewis & Clark, as well as Anne Cecile and Cédric...

S12.E07 :: Thoughts On Design From Across a Portal from 2016-01-16T18:54:05

Ignacy Trzewiczek, owner of Portal Games and designer of games like Robinson Crusoe and Imperial Settlers, shared his thoughts with us on board game design and publishing.

Our discussion ...

W3.E11 :: Who, What, Why with Jason Kinglsey and Charles Wright from 2016-01-12T05:11:40

Who, What, Why presents our eleventh episode of Designing Games with Game Designers which features Jason Kingsley and Charles Wright, designers of Ophir. In this episode we use the themes, compo...

S12.E06 :: Innovation Comes in Taking Risks from 2016-01-06T22:05:38

Jason Tagmire, owner of Button Shy Games and designer of Seven 7's among others, brings to the hobby a concept similar to a Wine of the M...

S12.E05 :: Jeu de société from 2015-12-26T17:00

This episode is jammed pack with guests. We have Cédrick Chaboussit, designer of Discoveries along with Anne ...

W3.E10 :: Who, What, Why and Alexander Argyropoulus from 2015-12-22T17:00

Who, What, Why presents our tenth episode of Designing Games with Game Designers which features Alexander Argyropoulus, general manager of Mage Company. In this episode we use the themes, compon...

S12.E04 :: Design Thoughts From Across an Ocean from 2015-12-16T21:10:19

Bruno Cathala is a French game designer responsible for such games as Abyss, Five Tribes, 7 Wonders Duels, and Shadow...

W3.E09 :: Who, What, Why and Jon Gilmour from 2015-12-11T05:37:25

Who, What, Why presents our ninth episode of Designing Games with Game Designers which features Jon Gilmour, co-designer of Dead of Winter. In this episode we use the themes, components, and mec...

S12.E03 :: If Mike Cho is in your podcast feed ... from 2015-12-06T17:00

Dead of Winter, co-designed by Jon Gilmour and Isaac Vega, is a cooperative betrayer game like Battlestar Galactic...

S12.E02 :: Good luck with layoffs, all right? from 2015-11-25T22:43:30

You're Fired, designed by Doug Levandowski, is a 2-player small box game like Love Letter where each play...

W3.E08 :: Who, What, Why and Ben Rosset from 2015-11-23T20:29:25

Who, What, Why presents our eighth episode of Designing Games with Game Designers which features Ben Rosset, designer of Brewcrafters and the Brewcrafters Card Game. In this episode we use the t...

S12.E01 :: Dexterity and Dice Aboard the Starship from 2015-11-18T00:35:16

Space Cadets, designed by Geoff Engelstein and his kids, is a series of games set in a cartoon Star Trek-inspir...

W3.E07 :: Who, What, Why and Geoff Engelstein from 2015-11-11T17:00

Who, What, Why presents our seventh episode of Designing Games with Game Designers which features Geoff Engelstein, designer of Space Cadets, Space Cadets: Dice Duels, and the forthcoming Surviv...

S11.E10 :: The Wizard of Publishers from 2015-11-06T17:00

MAGE Company, managed by Alexander Argyropoulos, is a board game publisher that has brought the community games such as Raid & Trade, 12...

S11.E09 :: To Game or Not to Game? from 2015-10-27T02:35

Kill Shakespeare is a comic series created by Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery. In 2014 IDW published a game of the same name based on the comic series. The comic story follows the ad...

W3.E06 :: Who, What, Why and David Miller from 2015-10-23T23:49:20

Who, What, Why presents our sixth episode of Designing Games with Game Designers which features David Miller, designer of the handmade Mint Tin series of games. In this episode we used the theme...

S11.E08 :: Agricola for Beer Lovers! from 2015-10-19T01:16:05

Brewcrafters, designed by Ben Rosset, is a worker placement game about designing a brewery, brewing beer, and selling that delicious beer to win the game. Brewcrafters can be compared to Agricol...

W3.E05 :: Who, What, Why and Christophe Raimbault from 2015-10-13T02:52:54

Who, What, Why presents our fifth episode of Designing Games with Game Designers which features Christophe Raimbault, designer of the 2015 Spiel des Jahres winner Colt Express. In this episode w...

S11.E07 :: Warning! Don't Eat Components! from 2015-10-07T03:52:11

Mint Tin games, designed by David Miller, is a series of (currently) 3 games that fit entirely in small Altoid-sized tin. The 3 games are Listen

S11.E06 :: I Want My N(etwork)TV! from 2015-09-26T22:35:18

The Networks, designed by Gil Hova, is a game about running a t.v. station, developing shows, and scoring the mos...

W3.E04 :: Who, What, Why and Eduardo Baraf from 2015-09-23T02:30:23

Who, What, Why presents our fourth episode of Designing Games with Game Designers featuring Eduardo Baraf, designer of GemPacked Cards, Lift Off, and Murder of Crows. In this episode we forego t...

S11.E5 :: Train Robbin', Cowboy Shootin', French Speakin' from 2015-09-17T23:20:18

Colt Express, designed by Christophe Raimbault, is a programmed movement game where the coolest feature is n...

W3.E03 :: Who, What, Why and Ewen Cluney from 2015-09-11T16:00

Who, What, Why presents our third episode featuring Ewen Cluney, designer of Channel A and blogger at Yaruki Zero Games. His four premis...

S11.E04 :: An AudioPacked Podcast About a GemPacked Game from 2015-09-08T00:10:10

GemPacked Cards, designed by Eduardo Baraf, is a game that brings swipe-three-style app games to the tab...

S11.E03 :: There's Gold in Them Hills! from 2015-08-26T16:00

Pay Dirt, designed by Tory Niemann, is an auction and engine building game about mining for gold in Alaska. Players must bid...

W3.E02 :: Designing Games with John Ariosa from 2015-08-22T16:00

Our second episode features John Ariosa, well-known board game artist. Some of his games include Mice and Mystics, Floating Market, and Bullfrogs. His four premises were cute school girl...