Join game designers Ananda Guneratne, Charlie McCarron, and Trevor Muller-Hegel as they analyze published games from a game developer's perspective. Each month, they pick a new game mechanic and three games to play in that genre. Each episode is 20 minutes of pure game design nerdiness!
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How do you make terrain types feel different from each other? Why do players need to know the distribution of tiles? Should you use multiplication for scoring? Join Trevor, Ananda, and Charlie for the pilot episode in which they talk about Kingdomino, a light tile drafting game.
When are rivals willing to cooperate? Should players draw their next tile at the start or end of their turn? What is the purpose of the abbot? Ananda, Charlie, and Trevor discuss the classic tile placement game, Carcassonne.
Can a game be more fun to lose than to win? How do you make a game accessible to new players when there are so many different tiles to remember? Is real-time play compatible with turn-based mechanics? Charlie, Trevor, and Ananda talk about Galaxy Trucker, where you build a spaceship out of sewer pipes and see how far you can fly before it explodes.
Bonus Episode! Trevor, Ananda, and Charlie talk about tile placement games in general. How will they use this mechanic in future games they're designing?
What is the difference between induction and deduction? How do you make logic-heavy games friendly and approachable? Ananda, Charlie, and Trevor get started on the logical induction genre with Zendo, the classic game of scientific inquiry.
Do induction games always need unambiguous secret rules, or can fuzzy rules work? Can asymmetric roles work with induction? Check out the Visitor in Blackwood Grove with Trevor, Ananda, and Charlie.
How do you avoid unintentional information leaks due to player choices? How can you avoid making people feel dumb in games about being clever? What should happen when a player makes the wrong guess? Charlie, Trevor, and Ananda discuss Turing Machine, the Punch-Card Computer.
In this extra-fun episode, Trevor, Ananda, and Charlie discuss logical induction games and their design.
What are the advantages of only allowing players to move one piece per turn? Are one-hit kills broken? Should you design a variant? Charlie, Trevor, and Ananda discuss the classic game of strategy: Chess.
How granular does a representation of space actually need to be? Can you really give players access to their entire deck without overwhelming them? Where does simultaneous gameplay best fit into a game? Ananda, Charlie, Trevor talk Mage Wars.
How do you make progression fun when players are getting weaker over time? Does AI for tactical combat need to be complicated? Can you have too much content? Trevor, Ananda, and Charlie analyze Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion.
In this special episode, Ananda, Charlie, and Trevor discuss the tactical combat genre.
How much communication do players need in a coop game? What happens when somebody loses the game for everybody? What makes for a good twist on a familiar mechanic? Charlie, Trevor, and Ananda discuss The Crew: Mission Deep Sea.
Why should you foreshadow random events? How do you encourage players to stay on-theme for their characters? Do games need strict turns and timing? Join Ananda, Charlie, and Trevor as they talk about Spirit Island.
How do you represent the duality between a superhero and their alter ego? Can you have different types of resources that can still be used interchangeably? What should you do when a player is eliminated? Trevor, Ananda, and Charlie give their thoughts on Marvel Champions.
How do you encourage interactions when it is the players versus the game? What makes an AI opponent compelling? Charlie, Trevor, and Ananda wrap up the cooperative game genre.
Do players need to know what team they are on? What is the purpose of minion roles? What are the benefits of super-short games? Trevor, Ananda, and Charlie talk about One Night Ultimate Werewolf.
Why should you balance information and doubt in social deduction games? How do you encourage people to talk to each other? Is dying actually good for the good team? Join Ananda, Charlie, and Trevor for Blood on the Clocktower.
What happens when the traitor is left in the dark? Can you have a social deduction game without conversation? Charlie, Trevor, and Ananda discuss A Fake Artist Goes to New York.
What can you do to make games less stressful for the evil team? How do you structure interesting puzzles when information is not trustworthy? Learn about social deduction with Ananda, Charlie, and Trevor on this bonus episode!
What are the advantages and disadvantages of untargeted attacks? How do you teach new players lessons that might be counterintuitive? Is it more fun to gain something good or eliminate something bad? Charlie, Trevor, and Ananda talk about Dominion.
What are the benefits of having a card market? How does forcing players to play all their cards change the dynamics of a deckbuilding game? Trevor, Ananda, and Charlie discuss Clank!
Do victory point cards need to be useless? How can you reward players for helping each other to spell words? Ananda, Charlie, and Trevor take a look at Paperback.
Do deckbuilders need any choices besides which cards to add? What are the differences between drawing from a deck and drawing from a bag? In this bonus episode, Trevor, Ananda, and Charlie talk about deckbuilding games.
What sorts of puzzles work well for pattern recognition games? How do you introduce perception-based catchup mechanics? Do skill-based games need progression? Trevor, Ananda, and Charlie draw lessons from Set.
