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 in conversation, and we are all about giving credit where due.

Outro music: Lifeguard "It Will Get Worse"

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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

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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 design work, and the transition from game critic to game designer. Note: This episode is tagged explicit solely for cussing.

Outro Music: Jonny Fritz "Debbie Downers"

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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 in that space.

Come Out Fighting on BGG

Come Out Fighting on Kickstarter

Outro Music: Gene Autry "Don't Fence Me In"

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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 embedded vs emergent narrative in historical games and how one leverage mechanisms to achieve the desired play experience in solitaire design.

Outro music: Might Hannibal "All Nite Long"

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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.

Outro music: Radioactivity "Time Won't Bring Me Down"

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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 Compass Games

Outro music: "Kingdom Come" by Cindy Lee

Cindy Lee is marvelous! Go check out Diamond Jubilee by Cindy Lee here: https://cindylee.bandcamp.com/album/diamond-jubilee

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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 other games.

Outro music: "All Good Things Will Come to Pass" - Lael Neale

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