Study of games and the act of playing them
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As I was listening to an episode of the Ludology podcast recently, one focused on games and health, I started to think about how much the people we play with influence our gameplay experience. Selecting board games based on the audience is much more important than we may like to believe. Get it wrong, and you have one player rebelling and playing opposite to expectations, another disengaging completely, and the overall mood shifting from playful enjoyment to uncomfortable tension. In this article, I want to discuss how a mismatch can impact the enjoyment of the whole group, alter the tone of reviews, and even affect playtest outcomes.Read the full article here: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2025/12/30/socially-afflicted-how-people-affect-gameplay-experience-topic-discussion/Useful LinksLudology podcast episode 351, Better Health Through Gaming: https://ludology.libsyn.com/ludology-351-better-health-through-gamingPandemic review: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/2020/01/18/pandemic-saturday-review/Amit Bar's and Tobias Otterbring's study “The role of culture and personality traits in board game habits and attitudes” in the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969698921000722Qian Zhang's, JiaLe Ruan's and DingYong Xiong's study “Differential effects of exposure to cooperative versus competitive games on sharing behavior in young children" in Frontiers in Psychiatry: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12268353/Bez Shahriari's reflections on playtesting behaviour: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bez_ShahriariBoard Game Design Lab: https://boardgamedesignlab.com/Mahiro Egashira's, Daisuke Son's and Arisa Ema's study “Serious Game for Change in Behavioral Intention Toward Lifestyle Related Diseases” in JMIR Serious Games: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35188465/Ramy Hammady's and Sylvester Arnab's review “Serious Gaming for Behaviour Change, A Systematic Review” in Information: https://www.mdpi.com/2078-2489/13/3/142MusicIntro Music: Bomber (Sting) by Riot (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/)Music: "Epic Inspiration" by AShamaluevMusic.Website: https://www.ashamaluevmusic.comMusic: "Galaxy" by AShamaluevMusic.Website: https://www.ashamaluevmusic.comMusic: "Legend" by AShamaluevMusic.Website: https://www.ashamaluevmusic.comSupportIf you want to support this podcast financially, please check out the links below:Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/TabletopGamesBlogPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/tabletopgamesblogWebsite: https://tabletopgamesblog.com/support/
Victoria Banks on Dungeons, Dragons, and DiscourseIn this episode of Experience Points, Dave Eng interviews Victoria Banks, a Clemson University PhD student and video game scriptwriter, on using Dungeons & Dragons–inspired course design to engage students. She explains how mechanics like levels, boss battles, and character creation boost motivation and agency, while linking game rhetoric to classroom design. Sharing stories of students tickling dragons or exploiting overpowered abilities, Victoria reflects on balancing play and structure. The episode shows how games transform classrooms into spaces of creativity, choice, and discovery.If you liked this episode please consider commenting, sharing, and subscribing.Subscribing is absolutely free and ensures that you'll get the next episode of Experience Points delivered directly to you.I'd also love it if you took some time to rate the show!I live to lift others with learning. So, if you found this episode useful, consider sharing it with someone who could benefit.Also make sure to visit University XP online at www.universityxp.comUniversity XP is also on Twitter @University_XP and on Facebook and LinkedIn as University XPAlso, feel free to email me anytime at dave@universityxp.comGame on!Get the full transcript and references for this episode here: https://www.universityxp.com/podcast/154Support the show
Erica and Sen talk with Dr. Joe Macisco, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences at Wright State University's Boonshoft School of Medicine. Joe has been working on designing serious games for use in the public health field. Joe discusses how and why games can improve pro-health and pro-social behavioural changes.
Sen and special guest host Doug Levandowski (Kids on Bikes) talk with Noxweiler Ignatius Berf (or "Nox" for short) about his work on the storytelling game, Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees, based on the comic series of the same name. They discuss the game and it's mechanisms, how it stays true to the comic overall, and how it diverges at times.
Erica and Sen welcome Jordan Goddard of Indy Game Lab to talk about his company's newest product - family games that are packaged inside of Christmas ornaments. Currently on Kickstarter, Jordan discusses why he chose to create games that might only come out once a year.
This episode, Sen welcomes Pete, Felix, and Daniel from Zed9 Mystery Club (www.zed9jubensha.com) in Richmond, BC to talk all about Jubensha (a.k.a. Murder Script Games). Originally developed in Chinese-speaking countries, Jubensha have been making their way to wherever the Chinese diaspora has settled and now English speakers can partake in these immersive murder mystery role playing experiences as well! The Zed9 team explains what these games are, how they're designed, hosted, and played.
Erica and Sen welcome designers of the award-winning Endeavor: Deep Sea, Carl de Visser and Jarratt Gray, along with their publishers, Helaina and Josh Cappel (Burnt Island) and Marc Specter (Grand Gamers Guild) to talk about the past, present, and future of the game. What has changed over the years and what does the future hold for this excellent exploration system?
It's the return of Erica! Sen got to goof off most of the summer without her, but now she's back and she has a great topic to start off Q3-Q4 of 2025 - Familiarity. Erica and Sen discuss how designers and publishers may want to think about familiarity when producing games. While the saying usually goes something like "familiarity breeds contempt," Erica and Sen argue that a little familiarity goes a long way to increase a game's approachability. *Audio note* Sen's mic was acting up during recording; please excuse the subtle phasing you may hear.
Sen is back after a short hiatus, this time speaking with fellow podcaster, Kristin Vermilya, about her endeavour to document the 50+ year history of role playing games in her forthcoming audio documentary series, Out of the Dungeon. For more information on Kristin's work, check out: https://www.kristinvermilya.com/dungeon We look forward to Erica's return in 2 weeks for a whole new season of Ludology!
While Erica is on vacation, Sen takes the opportunity to speak with Daniel Newman about how his love of trick-taking games lead to the inception of the Indie Games Night Market. If you're interested in selling your games at this year's IGNM at PaxU 25, please check apply at www.newmillindustries.com/ignm
Erica and Sen discuss some of the games from their childhoods that featured electronic components heavily and wonder if, in this day and age when smartphones are ubiquitous, the hobby is ripe for another wave of games that are facilitated by quirky little bespoke electronic devices.
This episode, Sen and Erica talk to Simon Ennis, professional filmmaker and avid boardgamer, about his most recent release, "The Hobby: Tales from the Tabletop", that features game designers, reviewers, and community members alike. Check out the trailer for The Hobby as well as the IMDB listing. Erica and Sen will be at the June 18th showing of The Hobby at the TIFF Lightbox in Toronto, ON, Canada along with Elizabeth Hargrave, Daryl Andrews, and Eric Lang. Find Canadian show dates in Toronto, Edmonton, Vancouver, Hamilton including select Q&A sessions with Simon and Elizabeth Hargrave. https://www.route504pr.com/the-hobby
Erica and Sen recorded this episode live in March 2025 at BreakoutCon in Toronto, ON, Canada. They spoke with guests Helaina Cappel (Publisher, Kids Table Board Games and Burnt Island Games) and Daniel H Kwan (Designer, Ross Rifles and Wandering Blades) about what makes a game "Canadian", advice for Canadian designers and publishers in the current economy, developing a Canadian identity and community as games industry creatives, and more!
Erica and Sen welcome Dekan Wheeler to the show to talk about his work at UltraPro, making accessories for many of the hobby's most beloved games. We discuss card sleeves, digital calipers, bead towers, diamond corners, Delicious in Dungeon, and more! Note: Dekan has since moved on from UltraPro and is now a brand manager at Critical Role. Congrats, Dekan! We'll have to have you back to talk about the ins and outs of that position!
Sen and Erica talk with Ellie Dix about her work in making corporate games. Whether they're to increase brand recognition or for team building and training purposes, Ellie describes her process when designing games outside of the hobby sphere.
Erica and Sen welcome Matt Leacock to talk about one of the hobby's staples - Pandemic. First published in 2008, the Pandemic system has been expanded and used to fight viruses, rising tides, Elder Gods, and now - the forces of evil that seek the One Ring. They talk all things Pandemic, from it's ideation to its many iterations, from fighting back chain reaction of diseases on Earth to fighting back hordes of orcs and other minions of Sauron in Middle Earth.
Erica and Sen talk to Matt Gubser, modeler and comedian, about his work in the tabletop industry and the shift from traditional to digital modeling techniques.
Sen and Erica welcome Evan Derrick from Van Ryder Games to discuss the past, present, and future of Final Girl - a highly expandable, solo, horror boardgame co-designed by Evan and AJ Porfirio. Evan talks about the game from inception to evolution and gives us some insight into what makes it tick.
Episode 32 - Sen-Foong Lim Sen-Foong Lim can be found on Twitter @SenFoongLim, on the Meeple Syrup Show, and the podcast Ludology. Support us on Patreon Find us on Twitter @CultClassicPod Find us on Instagram @CultClassicCallbackLinsae Find more episodes at boardsalivepodcast.com/category/cult-classic-callback Theme song "Ghost Run" by Jean-Marc Giffin @JeanOfmArc
Steph Campbell brings their segment, TTRPGKids, to Ludology. This week, they breakdown their TTRPG "Photosynthians" that they made as a resource to demonstrate how to teach science with TTRPGs and how to integrate lesson plans and other classroom basics into the game itself for designers. The game is free and part of the classroom-ready toolkit that Steph made and is available here: https://ttrpgkids.itch.io/the-classroom-ready-ttrpg-toolkit (name your price)
Sen and Erica welcome Professor Camilla Zamboni to discuss "Roll for Learning", a book she co-edited that contains 51 microRPGs that are intended for use in K-12+ classrooms in fields as diverse as STEM, SEL, and the Humanities. You can download the pdf of the book for free here: https://playstorypress.org/books/roll-for-learning/
In this Host Roundtable, Erica and Sen talk about the importance of understanding who the audience for a specific game is during the design, development, and publication process. They discuss some of the ways in which they determine who the audience is and how knowing the key characteristics and desires of the demographic can help them make a game that satisfies the core consumer by design.
Sen and Erica welcome Jay Cormier of Off the Page Games to the podcast to talk about his penchant for making puzzley games that make players feel clever while giving them a sense of exploration and adventure, Jay discusses his first time at PAXU as well as his newest releases, Corps of Discovery and Design Your Destiny.
Have you ever wondered what it takes to keep a FLGS afloat in this age of online retailers and Amazon Prime? Sen and Erica welcome Caleb Wunderlich, Assistant Manager at Millennium Games in Rochester, NY - the biggest game store in the USA - to talk about building community, running events, and catering to customers' needs.
Sen and Erica welcome former host Scott Rogers back to the show to dive into his latest book, "Your Turn: The Guide to Great Tabletop Game Design" and tell us what he's been up to as of late.
Erica and Sen welcome Theresa Duringer to talk about her role as a tabletop game app developer at Temple Gates Games. They discuss what it takes to make an app translation of a tabletop hit, what some differences might be between the physical and digital versions, how the AI opponents are trained, and more!
Sen and Erica welcome Dr. Mary Flanagan and Max Seidman from Resonym Games to talk about their latest game, Phantom Ink, that has generated a lot of buzz around the industry as it made the SdJ short list for 2024. They discuss design, international licensing, and even the afterlife!
Sen and Erica talk to Jonathan Chaffer, designer and illustrator of the Holiday Hijinks series of 18-card puzzle games. We chat about Jonathan's take on puzzle design, his use of technology to drive the component-light system, and his opinion on things like clues vs. hints and the concept of red herrings.
Sen and Erica welcome Daniel Cunningham (AKA Iron Kitten Games) to discuss his role as a mechanical engineer and how he parlays those skills into helping publishers design storage trays, dice towers, and cardboard constructibles for modern tabletop games.
Erica and Sen talk to Michael Orion of www.rollingwizards.com about his recent move to Vietnam and his thoughts on the country's developing game design scene and, more broadly, the tabletop scene across South East Asia.
Games! Play! Fun! Addiction? Flim-flam? From the origins of tabletop classics to the future of VR, Dr. Jane McGonigal answers our burning questions. This video game developer, TED speaker and bestselling author is an expert on how playing -- and especially video games -- can motivate, soothe and connect us. Will video games turn your child into a future car thief? How do they make you stronger? How much is too much? What about slot machines? Everyone who loves games (and everyone who hates games) should hear this one.Dr. McGonigal's website and XDr. McGonigal's book “Imaginable”A donation went to AbleGamers Full-length (*not* G-rated) Ludology episode + tons of science linksMore kid-friendly Smologies episodes!Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, masks, totes!Follow @Ologies on X and InstagramFollow @AlieWard on X and InstagramSound editing by Zeke Thomas Rodrigues & Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam MediaMade possible by work from Mercedes Maitland, Noel Dilworth, Susan Hale, Kelly R. Dwyer, Emily White, & Erin TalbertSmologies theme song by Harold Malcolm
Sen and Erica welcome Lin Codega and Chase Carter from Rascal News to talk about the importance of independent journalism in the tabletop gaming space. Rascal News has a few weeks left in their funding drive, so if you value the independent press, support efforts like theirs at www.rascal.news
Sen and Erica interview Rebecca Strang, a librarian and game designers who promotes gaming in libraries and is active on the Gaming Round Table of the American Library Association. Rebecca was also recently featured in "Games for a Rainy Day," a book with 54 micro-games, puzzles, and more. Why do boardgames and libraries go hand in hand? Let's find out!
Jeff Engelstein joins us today to share his expansive journey in the gaming world. An award-winning tabletop game designer, Jeff has crafted acclaimed titles such as Space Cadets, The Fog of War, Pit Crew, and Super Skill Pinball. Beyond game design, Jeff is an adjunct professor at the NYU Game Center, where he imparts his deep knowledge of game mechanics and theory. He has contributed extensively to the Dice Tower podcast series on the math, science, and psychology of games and has hosted the Ludology podcast, diving into the intricacies of game design. With a degree in physics and electrical engineering from MIT and leadership roles at companies like Mars International, Mind Bullet Games, and Navar Engelstein Associates, Jeff brings a unique blend of analytical rigor and creative insight to his work. In this episode, Jeff discusses his origin story, the impact of psychology on gameplay, and the evolving tools and techniques that shape game design today. Tune in to uncover the depth of Jeff Engelstein's expertise and his contributions to the games industry. Get full access to Think Like A Game Designer at justingarydesign.substack.com/subscribe
Sen and Erica welcome Whitney Red Loraine to the podcast to talk about how her experiences as a boardgame cafe owner / operator has informed her as she transitioned to become a boardgame designer.
To start off their second year with Ludology, Steph Campbell of TTRPGKids sets the stage for the next 12 episodes that will deal with using TTRPGs for educational purposes. They start the discussion off by talking about the various ways that TTRPGs can help students connect more with learning materials versus more traditional routes.
Sen and Erica welcome Nat Delaney-John and Cam Jasson, creators and publishers of That Sound Game - a noisy game for weird people to Ludology to talk about how they connected with their audience in order to take a different road to publication than what it typically done these days.
Erica and Sen welcome Mandi Hutchinson from Salt & Sass to talk about trends in videogames using tabletop gaming mechanisms as well as ports from the console to the tabletop.
Sen and Erica interview Rita Orlov, the mind behind the enchanting and challenging Postcurious line of puzzle games, or puzzletales as she calls them. Find out more about how Rita conceptualizes, designs, and tests her games and what's so intriguing about them.
In this episode, Sen and Erica speak with Laia Gonzales, one half of Wonderbow Games about their amazingly successful Kickstarter project, Kelp, and the unfortunate issues that arose because of said success. Laia talks about the illicit copies of Kelp that were being sold even before their campaign ended and the continuous struggle she experiences as she wages war against the counterfeiters.
This episode, Erica and Sen welcome David Mullich to the show. David is a game designer and educator who was involved with outlining the requirements for the Game Design Merit Badge for the Boy Scouts of America. We talk about all of the things a Scout must accomplish to earn this badge as well as David's long and storied career in making games.
Erica and Sen welcome Asger Granerud to the podcast to talk about the design decisions behind the hit deckbuilder, Heat: Pedal to the Metal, Asger also discusses his new publishing partnership, Sidekick Games, and their mission to create generational games like their forthcoming title, Aqua.
Erica and Sen welcome the Podfather of Gaming, Stephen Buonocore. to the show for his annual update on what is currently impacting the tabletop gaming industry. Stephen talks about everything from post-lockdown fallout to AI use. Listen to see what he thinks about many of the pressing issues hobby gaming is facing. What are your thoughts?
Do you play D&D? Do you have a friend who does, but you don't totally *get* what it is? Did you see the recent film Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and think "wow, that role playing game went MAINSTREAM!?" Then this episode is sure to satisfy your curiosity about this zeitgeisty game! Hannah, who herself plays D&D, leads Marcelle through a history of the tabletop role-playing game created by Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax, tracing its origins all the way to Dungeons & Dragons 5E (the most recent edition). They then use ludology, the study of games and gaming, to understand the unique role D&D has at the intersection of gaming and narrative. And then, as always, the episode is wrapped up with a beautifully tied together thesis (from Hannah) about the transformation, or rather, realization of the game through the radical acts of people playing it. To learn more about the research that went into today's episode, be sure to follow Witch, Please Productions on Substack at https://ohwitchplease.substack.com! And if you like our show, please share it with family and friends! Word-of-mouth is the primary way we reach new listeners who are interested in feminist materialist critique, pop culture and laughing at and from within *the discourse.*We'll be back in two weeks for another episode, but until then, be sure to check out all the bonus content we have on our Patreon at Patreon.com/ohwitchplease. You can learn more about the show at ohwitchplease.ca and on our instagram at instagram.com/ohwitchplease! Want more from us? Check out our website ohwitchplease.ca.***Material Girls is a show that aims to make sense of the zeitgeist through materialist critique* and critical theory! Each episode looks at a unique object of study (something popular now or from back in the day) and over the course of three distinct segments, Hannah and Marcelle apply their academic expertise to the topic at hand.*Materialist Critique is, at its simplest possible level, a form of cultural critique – that is, scholarly engagement with a cultural text of some kind – that is interested in modes of production, moments of reception, and the historical and ideological contexts for both. Materialist critique is really interested in the question of why a particular cultural work or practice emerged at a particular moment. Music Credits:“Shopping Mall”: by Jay Arner and Jessica Delisle ©2020Used by permission. All rights reserved. As recorded by Auto Syndicate on the album “Bongo Dance”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Dave Chalker (co-designer of Restoration Game's Thunder Road) joins Erica and Sen to talk about toys, games, and toyetic games.
Erica and Sen make some resolutions about game design and predictions about the tabletop industry to ring in the new year!
This week, Erica and Sen welcome writer, designer, and relucatant movie star Calvin Wong Tze Loon 黃子倫 to talk about his piece in "What Board Games Me To Me: Tales from the Tabletop," an anthology of short essays written by people from across the board game industry that was recently published by Aconyte Books. Join us as we find out more about the book and what Calvin finds so humanizing about games in their many forms.
Erica and Sen speak with Ami Baio of Pink Tiger Games about her line of social communication games, how she makes them, and how she's able to find success outside of traditional markets for board games.
Sen and Erica ask each other questions collected from our Patreon supporters about the differences between designing a board game and an RPG, what working for a mass market game company is like, how we balance games, what we did to break into the industry, and more!
Will Meadows from the Tantrum House channel joins Erica and Sen to talk about his recent experience at the board gaming convention to end all board gaming conventions - Spiel in Essen, Germany. Having been four times, Will is a veteran Spiel-goer and he talks about all of the sights he saw and games he played while there this year. Since Will had to go eat dinner, Erica and Sen finish he Ludological Lightning Round by asking each other the questions they intended to ask Will!
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