Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be both playful and compelling. Check them out here: https://www.cmich.edu/academics/colleges/liberal-arts-social-sciences/centers-institutes/center-for-learning-through-games-and-simulations Check out CMU's game offerings here: https://cmichpress.com/shop/ Sign up for an online game design class here: https://www.cmich.edu/academics/colleges/liberal-arts-s...
Sep 22, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Season 11Ep. 209
This week on the pod, I am joined by Pat Harrigan, who has published several academic volumes about games--most recently Zones of Control, which is co-edited with podcast alum Matthew Kirschenbaum. https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262547925/zones-of-control/ Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be both playful and compelling. Check them out here: https://www.cmich.edu/academics/colleges/liberal-ar...
Sep 15, 2025•55 min•Season 11Ep. 208
This week on the pod, Professor Clifford Ando of The University of Chicago drops by to talk about the effects of cutting humanities programs. As historical games enthusiasts, we should care about this issue. One article: https://www.compactmag.com/article/the-crisis-of-the-university-started-long-before-trump/ Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be both playful and compelling. Check them out ...
Sep 08, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Season 11Ep. 207
This week on the pod, Suzanne Sheldon (@425suzanne.bsky.social) drops in to talk about her work at Restoration Games, what it means to "restore" a game, and how to create an experience that really connects with players. Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be both playful and compelling. Check them out here: https://www.cmich.edu/academics/colleges/liberal-arts-social-sciences/centers-institut...
Sep 01, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Season 11Ep. 206
This week on the pod, Nigel Scarfe drops by to discuss how his company, Imagination Gaming, helps students learn both academic and emotional skills in schools--and how games can also improve life in other settings, including prisons. https://imaginationgaming.co.uk/ Art & System Backerkit: https://cmichpress.com/2025/06/10/new-game-series-art-system-games-for-expanded-play/ Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulation...
Aug 25, 2025•1 hr•Season 11Ep. 205
This week on the pod, Gabe Barrett, publisher of the Solo Game of the Month series, drops in to talk about how he maintains such an intense publication pace and about what makes a good solo game. https://bestwith1.com/ Art & System Backerkit: https://cmichpress.com/2025/06/10/new-game-series-art-system-games-for-expanded-play/ Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be both playful and compel...
Aug 18, 2025•57 min•Season 11Ep. 204
This week on the pod, Dr. Emily Friedman (@friede.bsky.social), an English professor at Auburn University, comes by to discuss her work on actual play and how it has become part of her scholarship and classroom practice. You can join her Patreon for free to read her posts: https://www.patreon.com/c/ecfriedman/home Art & System Backerkit: https://cmichpress.com/2025/06/10/new-game-series-art-system-games-for-expanded-play/ Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's...
Aug 11, 2025•1 hr 17 min•Season 11Ep. 203
This week on the pod, J. Rey Lee (@jreylee.bsky.social), author of Unsettling Catan, drops by to talk about his upcoming book--which also happens to be the beginning of a new series of academic books focused on individual board games. Book: https://press.umich.edu/Books/U/Unsettling-Catan Witch Hunt/Making History Backerkit: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/central-michigan-university-press/witch-hunt-1649-making-history-a-game-double-feature Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central ...
Aug 04, 2025•58 min•Season 11Ep. 202
Welcome to Season 11! We are starting off with a delightful visit from Matteo Menapace, co-designer of Daybreak (Instagram: @ma.tteo.me). We talk about cooperative games, teaching game design, Matteo's future projects, and of course his experiences at the Spiel des Jahres last year. Witch Hunt/Making History Backerkit: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/central-michigan-university-press/witch-hunt-1649-making-history-a-game-double-feature Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michig...
Jul 28, 2025•1 hr 14 min•Season 11Ep. 201
We've made it all the way to Episode 200! To celebrate the milestone, this is a mega episode filled with shorter interviews about the state of historical games and of "serious" games criticism. Thanks to all of you for coming along for the ride. 1:30 Volko Ruhnke 28:35 Efka Bladukas 46:40 Candice Harris 1:01:40 Dan Thurot 1:23:50 David Thompson 1:42:50 Sebastian Bae 2:08:35 Cole Wehrle 2:24:05 Amabel Holland CLGS will be launching a new Backerkit campaign on July 8: https://www.backerkit.com/cal...
Jun 09, 2025•2 hr 44 min•Season 10Ep. 200
Ian O'Toole joins David and me to talk about Night Witches art updates! We're getting there at last! CLGS will be launching a new Backerkit campaign on July 8: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/16dd740a-2996-4b25-9b52-5ee83a2013ec/landing?ref=bk-ec-55405 Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be both playful and compelling. Check them out here: https://www.cmich.edu/academics/colleges/lib...
Jun 02, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Season 10Ep. 199
This week on the pod, Ananda Gupta, co-designer of Twilight Struggle, stops by to talk about the anniversary edition of his game, but also about new board game work and his life as a designer for Riot Games. CLGS will be launching a new Backerkit campaign on July 8: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/16dd740a-2996-4b25-9b52-5ee83a2013ec/landing?ref=bk-ec-55405 Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where lea...
May 26, 2025•1 hr 3 min
This week on the pod, religious studies scholar Lars de Wildt discusses the prevalence of religion in "secular" video games--and the line between which religious affectations are considered "neutral" and which are not. Also, his book is free and can be found here: https://www.aup.nl/en/book/9789048555130/the-pop-theology-of-videogames Keep the Faith campaign: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Mic...
May 19, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Season 10Ep. 197
This week on the pod, Erin Escobedo talks about Meltwater, her game about the aftermath of a devastating nuclear war. It was originally published by Hollandspiele, but a new edition is coming out through Capstone. We also discuss fighting games! Keep the Faith campaign: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be...
May 12, 2025•1 hr 1 min
This week on the pod, Brooks Barber (rollplusfun@bsky.social) drops in to discuss several of his upcoming game designs, all of which are both very cool and historically inspired. Check out Sykes-Picot here: https://hollandspiele.com/products/sykes-picot Keep the Faith campaign: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learnin...
May 05, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Season 10Ep. 195
This week on the pod, Mark Herman (@markherman45.bsky.social) drops by to tell us about his new book, "Wargames According to Mark," as well as his views on game design and the process of building a game. Keep the Faith campaign: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be both playful and compelling. Check them o...
Apr 28, 2025•1 hr 12 min•Season 10Ep. 194
This week on the pod, game designer Eric Lang (@ericlang.bsky.social) discusses his thoughts on game design, what makes projects exciting, the course of his long career, and how he's giving back. Keep the Faith campaign: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be both playful and compelling. Check them out here:...
Apr 21, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Season 10Ep. 193
If you care about the board game industry, then you've been worrying about tariffs. In this episode, Jason Matthews (@jasondcmatthews.bsky.social) talks about what they are, their potential consequences for publishers and hobbyists, and what we can decide to do about it. Keep the Faith campaign: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulati...
Apr 14, 2025•53 min•Season 10Ep. 192
This week on the pod, Michelle Strayer, a wargame designer and analyst at CNA, talks about how data for wargames is collected and how design teams ensure that what they collect is meaningful. Keep the Faith campaign: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be both playful and compelling. Check them out here: htt...
Apr 07, 2025•55 min•Season 10Ep. 191
This week on the pod, Lichao Zhu discusses several linguistics projects that look into the language we use when we play--and what that might mean. Keep the Faith campaign: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be both playful and compelling. Check them out here: https://www.cmich.edu/academics/colleges/liberal...
Mar 31, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Season 10Ep. 190
This week on the pod, Ada Palmer (@adapalmer.bsky.social) speaks about her papal election LARP at The University of Chicago--but also about historical research, her work as a sci-fi author, and how both history and fiction can help us talk about today's world. Keep the Faith campaign: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where ...
Mar 24, 2025•1 hr 22 min•Season 10Ep. 189
This week on the pod, Amabel Holland drops by to discuss her new book, Cardboard Ghosts. We also talk about her excellent video essay work and upcoming games from Hollandspiele. https://www.youtube.com/@UCeCCgRim_uLg-clrSQGhQiQ Keep the Faith campaign: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be both playful and ...
Mar 17, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Season 10Ep. 188
This week on the pod, Thomas Malaby joins us to discuss his work as an anthropologist who studies gaming, specifically contingency (i.e. gambling!) and the formation of digital cultures. Keep the Faith campaign: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be both playful and compelling. Check them out here: https://...
Mar 10, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 10Ep. 187
This week on the pod, Professor Emily Knox, an expert on libraries and book banning, discusses why people ban books, why books are targeted more than other forms of media, and what we can learn from that. She's also a gamer! Keep the Faith campaign: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be both playful and com...
Mar 03, 2025•1 hr
This week on the pod, Eric Zimmerman, a professor at NYU, talks about teaching game design, game design as an art form, and much more. Keep the Faith campaign: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be both playful and compelling. Check them out here: https://www.cmich.edu/academics/colleges/liberal-arts-social...
Feb 24, 2025•1 hr
This week on the pod, NYU professor Laine Nooney discusses their work on gaming and computer history, how we collect material artifacts that shed light on the digital past, and how to write about a computer system that for some has already entered the realm of myth. Also, they mention their journal, ROMchip, which is currently fundraising and which is a great cause to support. Go enjoy ROMchip's stream about it this Saturday, Feb. 22: https://donate.romchip.org/ Keep the Faith STREAM: https://ww...
Feb 17, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Season 10Ep. 184
This week on the pod, Sreyashi Mukherjee discusses her love of reality TV dating shows--and what they have taught her about consent, stereotyping, and gaming's "magic circle." Also, she and Greg Loring-Albright co-designed a game that is available here: https://gregisonthego.itch.io/food-for-home Keep the Faith: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through G...
Feb 10, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Season 10Ep. 183
This week on the pod, Daniel Newman and Marceline Leiman drop in to discuss the Indie Games Night Market--which was a huge success at PAXU 2024--and also indie games in general. Keep the Faith: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be both playful and compelling. Check them out here: https://www.cmich.edu/acad...
Feb 03, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Season 10Ep. 182
Welcome to the start of SEASON 10! I can't even believe it! This week, I'm speaking with Greg Loring-Albright about Keep the Faith, a light RPG that is about to be on Backerkit. It's being published through Central Michigan University and I'm writing the curriculum guide. Keep the Faith: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, whe...
Jan 27, 2025•54 min•Season 10Ep. 181
For the Season 9 finale, Paul Wright and I discuss Foxes & Lions, a game we are co-designing about the Italian Wars. Are you into Machiavelli, Renaissance Italy, and political chaos? Then this is gonna be a game for you. Keep the Faith: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be both playful and compelling. ...
Dec 09, 2024•55 min•Season 9Ep. 180
