The podcast

New episodes every other Tuesday

  1. Getting Ready for Gen Con

    As we prep for the First Exposure Playtest Hall at Gen Con, we get real advice from designers at the East Bay Board Game Con. We sharpen our elevator pitches and learn what makes a great demo.

  2. The Game of Followers

    We pause our abstract board game design to play the real game: chasing likes, shares, and followers. We’re pulling back the curtain on our marketing—sharing stats, analytics, and what’s working (or not) as we try to build an audience before...

  3. Playtesting in the Wild

    We took our abstract game into the wild—to Golden Gate Gamemakers, to friends, to family—and came back with real feedback and big takeaways. Plus, we debut a new segment on the show called Not A Game.

  4. No Theme? No Problem

    We dig into the mechanics of our abstract strategy game—how tiles interact, the patterns they create, early balance issues, and the ongoing challenge of designing a system for drawing new tiles.

  5. Dark Forest

    A dark forest would be a great setting for Animal Kingdom. However, it has become the basis for a pivot. Listen in to hear about the new direction we are heading as Gen Con and Indianapolis loom over us.

  6. Unstucking

    If we can invent the word unstucking, we'd better figure out how to do it. We talk through the sticky stuff and create a plan to continue moving forward. Plus, we lighten things up with a game where we try to guess board game titles.

  7. Design Block

    We know creative blocks come with the creative process—and we’re squarely in one. Do we change direction? Scrap everything? Simplify? Or maybe just admit our game will never be as good as Monopoly and move on?

  8. The Way We Designed It

    We laugh at a ridiculous misplay we made in our own game. A broken strategy in Animal Kingdom forces us back to the redesign table. Along the way, we dive into gamer identities and how they shape both playstyles and game design.

  9. 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.

  10. 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.