Welcome!
Welcome to Ludology, an analytical discussion of the hows and whys of the world of board games. Rather than news and reviews, Ludology explores a variety of topics about games from a wider lens, as well as discuss game history, game design and game players.
We post a new Ludology episode every other week. In these episodes, hosts Erica Bouyouris and Sen-Foong Lim deep-dive into a single topic within game design, often with a well-regarded guest from the game industry. We generally focus on tabletop game design (mainly board games and RPGs), but we often pull in experts from all forms of games, from video games to escape rooms to slot machines.
On weeks where there is no flagship Ludology episode, we will alternate between two smaller mini-sodes. Erica and Sen are happy to announce that Sarah Shipp of Shippboard Games and Stephanie Campbell of TTRPGKids will be joining us for the next year, providing additional content between our longer episodes.
Sarah's segment, Thinking Beyond Mechanisms, is a monthly feature that dives deeper into the other aspects of games beyond the dice and cards we're all familiar with.
Stephanie's segment, TTRPGKids, explores how parents and teachers can use role playing games with children in the home and in the classroom.
We hope you enjoy the additional content!
Our History
We aim for most Ludology episodes to be timeless, so you are welcome to explore our entire catalog. Most of it should age quite well. The podcast was started in 2011 by Geoff Engelstein and Ryan Sturm, with Mike Fitzgerald taking over for Ryan in 2015. Gil and Scott joined the show in 2017 when Mike stepped aside, and Emma joined in 2019 when Geoff ended his tenure as host. Emma left in 2021, and Erica and Sen joined us. Since then, Scott stepped down in 2022 and Gil will be hanging up his mic in 2023, leaving Erica and Sen to carry on this amazing legacy.
Erica and Sen are working to bring new voices to Ludology and have some great things to announce as gaming expands to include even more people!
Contact Us
Have your own thoughts about our topics? We encourage you to visit us at our guild on Boardgamegeek to get involved in a continuing discussion.
You can also email us at hello@ludology.net.
Ludology is part of The Dice Tower Network, the premier board game media network.
If you have questions that you'd like answered on Ludology, let us know by filling out this Google Form; you can also leave an audio question that we can use on the show, if you wish!
Burning Questions for Ludology
Support the Show
Ludology is made possible through the support and donations of listeners like you.
We currently have 3 "First Listen" series that will go out to Patrons well in advance of the audio being released to the wider audience.
- The Memories that Made Us (monthly) - memories about gaming experiences that helped shape the people that bring modern games to life
- Tales from the Designer Toolbox (monthly) - tips and tricks from industry pros learned from both success and failure
- Ludology Live - recordings from conventions around the world
Patrons will also get extra consideration for any giveaways that we might have!
You can also make a one-time or monthly donation here. The link will take you to Erica's account. People who donate in this way will not have access to the Patreon page - sorry!
Aug 23, 2020
In the past few years, Ludology has recorded a live episode at Gen Con. We weren't going to let a global pandemic stop us this year!
Recorded as part of Gen Con Online 2020, Emma, Gil, and Scott streamed this recording live on Twitch. We had an excellent turnout in the chat, and everyone seemed to really enjoy this new twist on Ludology Live!
You can watch unedited video of this chat here.
It's possible we may return to this format in the future! Stay tuned…
SHOW NOTES
1m54s: We mention Gil's
Twitch channel several times in this episode.
2m13s: Of course, this note to turn it tickets doesn't apply to
people listening to the podcast. Don't let that note trigger any
vague feelings of guilt! Also, for reference, we began recording at
5 pm EDT.
3m29s: "This much on the timeline" - at this point, Gil is holding
up his finger and thumb with a few centimeters of space in
between.
4m46s: Scott is holding up a Gamemaster DVD at this
point.
5m40s: You can watch the Gen Con Gamemaster
panel here.
6m01s: The shot
in question (no Gil to be found, sadly).
7m16s: Alas, neither the Instagram Live nor Table Takes interviews
are archived anywhere. :(
8m36s: Remote
Playtesting (#rpt) is the playtest group that Gil helps to run.
You can see and buy
the t-shirt with Aaron Wilson's logo here.
8m54s: Aaron's new publishing company with Ian Zang, Gravitation Games.
9m55s: Here's Scott's
quarantine playlist.
10m10s:
Abandon All Artichokes
11m43s: High Rise
is almost sold out! And Rival
Networks pre-orders are still going strong.
12m02s: Check-In
Cards.
12m37s: Here's the video for Animal Crossing Fiasco. More
info for one of Gil's favorite games,
De Vulgari Eloquentia.
14m38s: draw.io, a
collaboration tool that Emma really likes.
14m56s: Here's a
tweet that sums up Emma's game Unravel quite well. Emma also
mentions the
Our Innermost Thoughts Kickstarter project by Travis Hill.
18m27s: More info on the Tabletop
Mentorship Program.
18m42s: Glenn Cotter's Fickle.
22m01s: Gil presented a lot of these thoughts in
this blog post.
25m47s: The "G" Gil is trying to point to would be a fraction of a
millimeter large in most screens.
26m21s: There will be another
Virtual Gaming Con in November.
32m59s: GenCan't has been an
online alternative to Gen Con for several years now.
36m21s: Here
is an example of BuonoCardboard making the rounds.
39m27s:
Scott's 50th episode of Biography of a Board Game just dropped,
and it's wonderful! He covers the history of his own game,
Rayguns and Rocketships.
40m24s: We at Ludology were all touched by
Marcel Claxton's thoughtful analysis of Ludology's recent
direction and its significance in the current age.
43m21s: Jason Morningstar appeared in
Ludology 161 - What's The Story Morning Glory?
50m32s: There aren't many board games about falling in love, but
quite a few digital and RPGs! (Gil would also like to suggest
wargames and games coming out of that historical/political sphere
as the board game parallel to documentaries.)
59m34s: For those who may not have heard of it, the MacArthur
Fellows Program is awarded to 20-30 Americans every year who
show "extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative
pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction." Between the
high criteria for being named and the generous amount of money
received ($625,000), it's nicknamed the "Genius Grant."
1h03m49s: Emma mentions a few tools here: Tabletop Simulator,
Tabletopia, Trello, and Slack.
1h06m25s: At this point, Scott holds up a Playstation
controller.
1h14m57s: This Discord
Has Ghosts In It.
1h17m57s: Scott's links: his blog, his Patreon,
his Twitter, and his
Instagram.
1h18m54s: Emma's links: her
website, her
Twitter, and her Instagram.
1h19m28s: Gil's links: his
company website, his personal
website, his Twitter,
and his Twitch.