PODCAST · leisure
Game Design Deep Dive
by Dan Bullock
Dan Bullock interviews game designers with a focus on the challenges of historical board game design.
Episodes
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Painkillers with Brooks Barber
For this episode, we chat with Brooks Barber, designer of Sykes-Picot (Hollandspiele) and his upcoming game Painkillers, which is being published by his new company Hawk & Dove. We discuss his Brooks' appetite for challenging historical topics and how it informs both his designs and what Hawk &...
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Chalice of Poison with Akar Bharadvaj
Akar Bharadvaj is designer of the upcoming game Chalice of Poison about the Iran-Iraq War from GMT and the Zenobia Award-Winning Tyranny of Blood. We chat about both designs, the future of the Zenobia awards, and much more. Hellcouch designed by Carol Mertz and Francesca Caletto-Leon also came up...
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Love This Giant with Cole Wehrle
We welcome back Cole Wehrle (who hopefully needs no introduction) for a wide ranging discussion about expansions, Buried Giant- his new publishing home, and much much more. Outro music: "King's Army" The Scarring Party Send us Fan Mail
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Interview with Liz Davidson
Liz Davidson has co-designed Queen of Spies and the forthcoming Night Witches with David Thompson. She is also the Creative Director at Leder Games, but you may know her best for her work on her Bobby Nunez-award winning Beyond Solitaire podcast. We chat about her work at Leder, her historical...
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Come Out Fighting with John Carnahan
Our guest is designer John Carnahan. His latest, Come Out Fighting will be on Kickstarter on November 30th. I am not sure how many listeners have dipped their toe in miniature games, but I had to invite John to discuss his latest design, because it incorporates something extraordinary and radical...
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Live from SD HistCon: Narrative in Solitaire Games
Recorded live at SD HistCon, our esteemed panel was comprised of designers John Butterfield (RAF, Enemy Action Series, D-Day Omaha, Ambush), David Thompson (Valiant Defense Series, War Story, Undaunted), and Jeremy White (Skies Above Series, Enemy Coast Ahead Series, Atlantic Chase). We discuss...
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Radical Rulebooks with Greg Loring-Albright, PhD
Greg Loring-Albright is the designer of Ahoy, Keep the Faith, and co-designed Bloc by Bloc: Uprising with T.L. Simmons. Moreover, he teaches Game Studies and Game Design at Harrisburg University. We discuss his recent zine RULEBOOKS FOR RADICALS on the importance of designing games in dire times....
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Trench Raid with Lisa Smedman
Lisa Smedman is a best-selling author, journalist, and designer of many RPG games and modules. We discuss Trench Raid, her first solitaire tabletop wargame for Compass, the tactical approach to the topic of WW1, and the relationship between serious games and design intent. Trench Raid from…
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Interview with Fred Serval
In this episode, a proper interview with Fred Serval, designer of A Gest of Robin Hood, Red Flag Over Paris, and A Very Civil Whist. Fred is also the host of an excellent channel dedicated to historical tabletop gaming, Homo Ludens. We discuss his design approach and how it informs critique of...
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Playing Oppression with Mary Flanagan
Mary Flanagan, is a game designer, professor, and an author. She joins us to discuss her book, co-authored with Mikael Jakobson, PLAYING OPPRESSION: THE LEGACY OF CONQUEST AND EMPIRE IN COLONIALIST BOARD GAMES. We discuss representation of non-western cultures, colonialist mechanisms, and whether...
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Interview with Brian Asklev
Brian Asklev designed my favorite wargame of last year, 1812: Napoleon's Fateful March. We discuss what went into his phenomenal design, his upcoming game Baltic Empires, event design, and the challenges of playtesting multiplayer games. Outro music: Sons of Kemet "The Hour of Judgement" Send us...
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Interview with Pako Gradaille
Pako Gradaille has flexed an impressive range of historical topics and systems with his designs Plantagenet, Cuius Regio, Habemus Papam, and Onoda. We discuss how solitaire games can present challenging narratives, considerations when designing negotiation-based systems, and much more....
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Interview with Joe Schmidt
SEASON FINALE: We welcome designer and developer Joe Schmidt to discuss In the Shadows: Resistance in France 1943-1944 (a game we designed together), his Levy & Campaign game Henry, solitaire design for Gunnar Holmback's Weimar Republic (GMT), and his development work on the forthcoming game...
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Interview with Talia Rosen
Today, I chat with Talia Rosen, designer of First Monday in October which is a game about the history of the US Supreme Court coming soon to Kickstarter from Fort Circle Games. We discuss what inspired Talia's first design and the challenges of modeling the supreme court. Outro music: "The…
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Interview with John Butterfield
As a designer, John Butterfield is a bit of a troublemaker. He likes to insert friction in his designs where wargamers aren’t used to finding it. His games don’t just tell stories, they host a space for players to make their OWN stories. His titles include Ambush, RAF, Enemy Action: Ardennes &...
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Chicago '68 with Yoni Goldstein
For this episode, we chat with filmmaker and game designer Yoni Goldstein about his upcoming game Chicago '68 from The Dietz Foundation about the 1968 DNC protests and his journey in game design. Chicago '68 on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dietzfoundation/chicago-68 Jean…
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Narrative in Boardgames with Dan Thurot
We decided to break from our usual format. Dan Thurot of Space Biff joins us for a discussion about narrative and storytelling in board games, particularly how it relates to historical boardgames. SPACE-BIFF! | Fiercely Independent. Independant? Crap. (spacebiff.com) Outro Music: Sun Ra Arkestra…
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Interview with Maurice Suckling
Maurice Suckling is a screenwriter, author, teacher of design as well as vast experience in various roles of video game production. We discuss his recent design Crisis 1914 from Worthington, the upcoming Peace 1905 from Fort Circle, and Operation Barclay (currently on Gamefound). Send us Fan Mail
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Interview with Sebastian Bae
Sebastian Bae is a research scientist and senior game designer for the Center of Naval Analyses' Gaming and Integration Program as well as a faculty advisor for the Georgetown University Wargaming Society. He has two commercial designs, Littoral Commander: Indo-Pacific with Dietz Foundation and a...
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Interview with Carlos Marquez Linares
Carlos Marquez Linares is the designer of TWO upcoming games, The Other Side of the Hill from NAC Wargames and Imperial Fever from GMT (currently on the P500). We discuss his controversial topics and his design approach in each of the aforementioned games. Send us Fan Mail
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Interview with Natalia Wojtowicz
Natalia Wotjowicz has written an excellent book called Wargaming Experiences about approaches to professional wargame design informed by her experience with the NATO Civil-Military Cooperation Center of Excellence. Her book offers a lot of guidance relevant to both historical games and wargames…
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Interview with Gina Willis
Gina Willis has designed A Glorious Chance, an excellent solitaire game about naval operations during the War of 1812 and collaborated with Jeremy White on the design of Skies Above Britain. We discuss both of these games, the emphasis on narrative in solitaire design, age of sail, and much more.…
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Interview with Jo Kelly
On this episode, I chat with Jo Kelly to discuss their upcoming game Molly House which is being published by Wehrlegig (maybe you heard of it) and is coming to Backerkit on October 17th. Jo Kelly is also a Zenobia finalist. We talk about the making of Molly House, Zenobia, and much much more.…
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Interview with Domhnall Hegarty
Domhnall Hegarty and his Citog Creative have provided graphic design for a number of high profile and award-winning releases, such as Fire & Stone: Siege of Vienna, People Power, Red Flag Over Paris, The Vote, and more. We chat about the considerations that go into his work and the discussion...
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Interview with Brian Train
Brian Train has been at the forefront of designing games about insurgency and urban warfare. He is probably best known for his COIN volumes: A Distant Plain & Colonial Twilight, his District Commander Series, Nights of Ire, Brief Border Wars and much more. We discussed designing for insurgency,...
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Interview with Mark Herman
Mark Herman's work is vast and influential in the world of wargaming. We narrowed our chat in May to discussing his co-design with D.B. Dokter covering the first three months of the Russia-Ukraine War, the challenges of designing the first draft of history, and how he views the moral quandary of...
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Interview with Harold Buchanan
Harold Buchanan’s contributions to historical games go above and beyond his celebrated designs: Flashpoint South China Sea, Liberty or Death and Campaigns of 1777. Harold has been very active launching the San Diego HistCon, the Summit Award and the webzine Conflicts of Interest. We discuss...
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Interview with Alex Knight
Alex Knight is the designer of an outstanding new game Land and Freedom, published by Blue Panther. We discuss his unique take on the Spanish Civil War, Land of Freedom and his design journey. More info on Land of Freedom here: https://www.bluepantherllc.com/products/land-and-freedom Send us Fan...
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Interview with Cole Wehrle
Cole Wehrle has designed Pax Pamir, John Company and Infamous Traffic as well as fan favorites Root, Oath and (most recently) Arcs. We chat primarily about his historical designs, discussing Kevin Zucker's Napoleon's Last Battles, second editions, model-driven history versus polemics, and much...
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Interview with Robert DeLeskie
In this episode, I chat with filmmaker and game designer Robert DeLeskie about his designs The Wars of Marcus Aurelius, Stilicho, and the recently released Fire & Stone: Siege of Vienna. We discuss the role of narrative and some of the unique considerations that go into designing a siege game.…
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Interview with Betsy Joslyn
For this episode, I chat with Betsy Joslyn, a Research Associate for the Joint Advanced Wargaming Division at the Institute for Defense Analysis. Her recent design TURNING TIDES is a microgame demonstrating competing interests between nations to reduce global greenhouse gases at a geopolitical...
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Interview with Taylor Shuss, Justin Fassino and Non-Breaking Space
I chat with 3 first-time designers that I met at San Diego HistoCon. We spoke with Taylor Shuss, designer of Stonewall Uprising(Catastrophe Games), Justin Fassino, designer of Seljuk: Byzantium Besieged (GMT) and with Non-Breaking Space, designer of Cross Bronx Expressway (GMT). Send us Fan Mail
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Interview with Matilda Simonsson
Matilda Simonsson is a brilliant designer from Sweden that incorporates handmade components into some incredibly clever games about historical subjects that fuse the intimate with the abstract. I chat with her about her recent release Turncoats, upcoming projects and her collaboration for the...
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Interview with David Thompson
We chat with prolific designer David Thompson of the Undaunted Series (Osprey), Valiant Defense Series (DVG) and his recent collaborations Sniper Elite and Resist! Send us Fan Mail
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Interview with Volko Ruhnke
In the final episode of Season 1, I chat with Volko Ruhnke. His designs have covered everything from insurgencies in Andean Abyss & Labyrinth to medieval warfare in his Levy & Campaign Series, so his insights draw on a broad design palette. We chat about the impact of assumptions held by…
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Interview with Kai Jensen
For a change of pace, we discuss game development with Kai Jensen. Her recent credits include Dominant Species: Marine, SpaceCorp, Welcome to Centerville and Downfall. We discuss her collaborations with the late Chad Jensen, the upcoming Downfall and Kai offers some great development insight for...
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Interview with Catherine Ramen & Fred Serval
In a special crossover episode with Homo Ludens, I chat with Catherine Ramen, designer of Red Carnations on a Black Grave and Fred Serval, designer of Red Flag Over Paris to discuss their distinct approaches to the Paris Commune in their designs while we explore what we can learn from how...
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Interview with Emily Yoder & Sebastian Bae
I sat down with Emily Yoder and Sebastian Bae to chat about their brilliant design Malign, which was developed to explore the impact of misinformation/malinformation influence campaigns. We discuss their game, malign influence and the differences in approach between the world of professional...
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Interview with Amabel Holland
Amabel Holland has one of the most varied design catalogs, having created train games, dinosaur games, wargames, and unapologetically weird games. She is also one half of the creative force behind the publisher Hollandspiele. We discuss her catalogue, the upcoming Siege of Mantua and much much...
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Interview with Damon Stone
In this episode we chat with Damon Stone. Damon has considerable design experience, having created expansions for Netrunner, Call of Cthulhu and Game of Thrones LCGs. He has recently been putting the finishing touches on his board game design Liberation Haiti, which was a Zenobia Award finalist...
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Interview with Jeremy White
In this episode I talk to Jeremy White (whom I call Jerry nonstop throughout the episode). Jerry has designed some incredibly innovative games like Atlantic Chase, Skies Above the Reich, Enemy Coast Ahead and more. Right now, he has two projects being published by GMT: Skies Above Britain...
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Game Design Deep Dive have?
Game Design Deep Dive currently has 41 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Game Design Deep Dive about?
Dan Bullock interviews game designers with a focus on the challenges of historical board game design.
How often does Game Design Deep Dive release new episodes?
Game Design Deep Dive has 41 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Game Design Deep Dive?
You can listen to Game Design Deep Dive on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Game Design Deep Dive?
Game Design Deep Dive is created and hosted by Dan Bullock.
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