The podcast

New episodes every other Tuesday

  1. Breakout Rooms

    We attend our first Golden Gate Gamemakers event at Guildhouse in San Jose, where we meet Board Game Casual. We also share highlights from recent meetings, including one with breakout rooms to spark new ideas and get things done.

  2. Playtesting with Randy O'Connor

    We chat with game designer Randy O'Connor from Randy O Games, creator of Roll in One and Gun It. We explore the art of playtesting—especially defining "the turn", the moment when you’ve gone from idea to game.

  3. Parallel Kingdoms

    We discuss our latest playtest of Animal Kingdom, inspired by a fresh take on the game. Plus, we attempt a round of board game trivia—but it doesn’t go exactly as planned.

  4. Community with City Square Studios

    We sit down with the talented and creative minds behind City Square Studios, a game design team from New Zealand. They share their story, their ethos about sustainability in games, and give us a glimpse into their brand, including 52 Pickup and the...

  5. Protocol in Action

    Our playtest protocol has been put into action for the first time with Animal Kingdom this season. Tuckman would be proud! Plus, we share a quote from our notes—what were we thinking?

  6. Shaping Game Feel

    We begin defining how we want our game to feel. From physical engagement to the atmosphere we create, and the emotions we want players to experience, we explore the three levels of feelings in game design.

  7. It’s Time to Build

    In this season opener, we reveal the board game we've chosen to build. We hone our design skills in a quickfire challenge inspired by the word “tender” and share our roadmap for the year ahead. We’re officially ready to bring our board game to life!

  8. A Misplay Carol

    We’re visited by three ghosts and take a spirited journey through our podcast past, present, and future. We reflect on what we’d do differently if we could start from scratch, celebrate what’s going well, and share lessons learned as we look ahead...

  9. Two Roads

    The team is zeroing in on a game direction! We dive into each game, Depths and Animal Kingdom, and share key takeaways from their playtests. Next time, we’ll face the challenge of making the final decision.

  10. Panic Mode

    Try not to let the clickbait title fool you—we’re definitely not in panic mode. Nope. Not even close. Couldn’t be further from panicking. Not us. Never ever. Instead, we’re diving into Tuckman’s Group Theory and breaking down how our team is...