Theme

Ryan Laukat, designer of Sleeping Gods, talks about designing open world games. Sleeping Gods is a phenomenal example of how a board game can pull off the open world experience, and we do a deep dive into basically every aspect of its design. I’ve also been working on an open world game of my own…

Kathleen Mercury, designer of Greece Lightning, talks about designing race games. We talk about meshing a racing theme with mechanisms that actually feel like a race, different ways to win, general design concepts, and more.

Tyler Langtimm, designer of Moxie: A Journey of Monsters, discusses how to design a game about monster taming (think Pokemon). Tyler has been working on a monster hunting/taming game for a while (and so have I), so we have quite a lot to talk about. We get into exploration, combat, puzzles, progression, and more.

Dave Beck, designer of Distilled, talks about improving games through experiential graphic design.Dave did a TON of research for his latest game, hired experts, and dove as deeply into the theme as he could. So, he’s got a lot of advice for anyone wanting to make a super thematic game. And be sure to check out Dave’s game, Distilled, on…

Lori Love and Lea Velocci, founders of People for Goldfish, discuss the ins and outs of designing word games.We talk about components, scoring systems, accessibility, fun factor, and more. And be sure to check out Lori and Lea’s game Word Hustle on Kickstarter HERE.​​

Alex Hague, designer of Wavelength, discusses all the ins and outs of designing a party game. We talk about simplicity, expectations, scoring systems, time constraints, and more! And be sure to check out Alex’s game, The Fuzzies, on Kickstarter HERE.

Juma Al-JouJou, designer of Clans of Caledonia, discusses the design process for a farming centric game. We talk about market economies, resources, balance, and more.

Erica Bouyouris, designer of Bosk, discusses what all goes into designing a nature-themed game.  We talk about bringing a theme to life, mechanisms, art, components, and more.

Mike Gnade, designer of Maximum Apocalypse, Set a Watch, The Few and Cursed, discusses what all goes into designing an adventure game.  We talk about open worlds, story moments, combat, events, luck, and all sorts of other things that come together to make a good adventure game.

Chris Totten, designer of La Mancha, discusses the intersection of the fine arts and modern gaming. Chris is a professor of game design at Kent State University and has written several books on game design.

Omar Tarancon, designer of Safari Turbo, discusses how to design a racing game. We talk about creating tensions, special abilities, board design and more.

Tobias Olsson and Samuel Sapire, from Tea Time Productions, discuss how they get the most out of the themes in their games. We talk about starting with a theme in mind and making the mechanisms bring it to life, and we go into how to start with mechanisms and add a theme to the mix. And check out…

Wes Woodbury, designer of Legends of Novus, discusses how to design a fantasy-themed game. We talk about world-building, combat systems, art, and more.  And be sure to check out Wes’s fantasy-themed board game on Kickstarter HERE.

Geert Sillevis, founder of Mystery City Games, discusses how to design an outdoor escape room type of game. Geert’s game, “A Secret Sender,” is designed to help tourists experience Amsterdam while also enjoying a mystery game. (And it has a 5-star rating on Trip Advisor.)

Tom Butler, designer of Patriots and Redcoats, discusses the design of historical games.  Tom has specialized in creating games based on history and has lots of interesting insight on the topic. And be sure to check out Tom’s new game, Paradise Lost, on Kickstarter HERE.

Adam Chunn and Woody Hutsell discuss designing economic games. Adam and Woody have years of experience working in the real world of finance and economics and decided to design a game that translates those concepts into game mechanics. Check out their back-alley economic game set in a fantasy world, Plunderbund, on Kickstarter HERE.

John Coveyou, founder of Genius Games, discusses how to design games that also happen to be educational. John is the designer of Cytosis, Subatomic, Ion, and several other well-received science based games, and he’s really figured out how to take scientific ideas and translate them into enjoyable games. 

David Abelson, founder of Fisher Heaton Games, talks about designing abstract games.David’s abstract game, Intelle, is a brain burning 2 player experience with a theme that actually makes sense. And be sure to check out the solo expansion for Intelle on Kickstarter HERE.

Bez Shahriari, designer of Yogi, discusses the ins and outs of creating a game made specifically for families. We go into why family games are so good for helping kids as they grow up, and we talk about a lot of things to consider when making these types of games.

Ted Alspach, designer Suburbia of and founder of Bezier Games, discusses city building games.Suburbia is ranked 94th on Board Game Geek and is easily on the Mount Rushmore of city building games, so Ted really knows what he’s talking about when it comes to designing one of these types of games.

Brad Talton, designer of BattleCon and Pixel Tactics, discusses dueling games. Brad has been creating dueling combat games for years and has found incredible success with his company, Level 99 Games.

Jerry Hawthorne, designer of Stuffed Fables, discusses story driven games and how to use narrative to create incredible gaming experiences.Jerry is a long-time veteran of the industry and specializes in games that evoke stories.

Jon Gilmour, designer of Dead of Winter, discusses how to design the experiences and themes that people can’t wait to get their hands on. Jon just seems to have an innate ability to design games that go hand in hand with what people are excited about, and he gives me a tour behind the curtain…

Andrew Harmon, designer of Portals and Prophets, discusses religious themed games.Andrew designed a time travel game with a Biblical theme, and we talk the ins and outs of how to bring a religious themed game to life. We also talk about how not to offend too many people along the way. Also, Andrew’s game is out on Kickstarter right now….

Evan Derrick, designer and part owner of Van Ryder Games, discusses theme and how to really bring it to the forefront in a game.Evan designed “Detective: City of Angels” which is one of the most thematic games I’ve ever seen, so I pick his brain on what makes a theme really come together.

Danny Lott, designer of Coma Ward, discusses how to design a horror themed game and really evoke a creepy experience. This episode has a ton of great advice, but I’m not gonna lie, it gets a little weird in the middle. (You’ll hear what I mean…) We finish strong though, haha.

Fabio Del Rio, owner of CSE Games, discusses the ins and outs of sports themed games. We go into mechanics, marketability, licensing, challenges, success stories, and more. Fabio has been publishing sports games for over a decade and brings a lot of wisdom and insight to the episode.

Chris Kirkman, designer of Fate of the Elder Gods, discusses Cthulhu themed games and what makes them so popular. There’s just something about Cthulhu that continues to intrigue people, and even with all the Cthulhu games that have come out, there’s still a great deal left to be explored.

Richard Launius, designer of Arkham Horror, gives incredible game design advice, talks Cthulu and what makes a great Cthulu game, and goes into how to make games that create epic experiences that stand the test of time. This episode is packed full of wisdom from a game design legend.