This time it's board games. Other than the books.
By now you've likely heard of Vantage, the ambition first-person exploration game about surviving and thriving on an alien planet. For today's Space-Cast!, we're joined by Jamey Stegmaier to discuss the eight-year inception, development, and eventual appearance of this wonderful and strange artifact. Along the way, we discuss Vantage's inspirations, how design constraints can engender greater freedom, and games within games.
Computers! They're always doing pesky things like falling in love. For today's episode, we're joined by Michael Yang to discuss Compile, his hit lane-battler that sees two rival programs compete to expand their nascent sentience. Along the way we discuss the game's inception during the pandemic, the joys of nailing that first pitch, and the heartbreak of having your publisher dissolved by venture capital.
Hot Streak! Off-brand mascots and gambling degeneracy have never been more in fashion. For today's Space-Cast!, we're joined by Jon Perry to discuss his mascot-racing board game, its connections to the digital collection UFO 50, and the particulars of adaptation and artistic medium. Now that's a mouthful!
Is Jono Naito-Tetro a designer? A collective? A publisher? ALL OF THE ABOVE? On today's Space-Cast!, we sit down with Jono to chat about a wide range of exciting titles. From the creative crime-sleuthing of Here Lies to the garbled transmissions of Signal and the unexpected antagonists of Scream Park, join us as we dig into what makes DVC Games one of the most exciting independent publishers operating today.
Molly House! There's a good chance you've heard of this recent release about queer joy in 18th-century London. Today we're joined by Jo Kelly to discuss the origins, development, and challenges of creating such a game, including the perils of "emotional hit points," the difficulties of representing queer joy, and why it's so important that betrayal was included as an in-game option.
The Illuminati! Aside from being a cabal of lizard-people who rule the world through the United Nations, they are now also the topic of a board game, Pax Illuminaten. On today's Space-Cast!, we're joined by designer Oliver Kiley to discuss three very different histories of this secret society.
In 1956, not-yet-famous author Kurt Vonnegut unsuccessfully attempted to publish a board game. That game, GHQ, was then stored in a box for decades until designer Geoff Engelstein read about it in a biography and began the long process of restoring this historical artifact. On today's Space-Cast!, we sit down with Geoff to discuss how GHQ traveled across time, its surprising innovations, and what it might say about Vonnegut's efforts to contextualize his wartime experiences.
On today's Space-Cast!, we're joined by Pako Gradaille to discuss his recent board game Onoda, about the Imperial Japanese officer who continued to wage the Second World War for nearly thirty years on the island of Lubang. Along the way we discuss why Gradaille was drawn to Hiroo Onoda, how board games can express alienation and discomfort, and both the necessity and perils of ambiguity in art.
Dr. David King's Wilmot's Warehouse has been described as a magic trick, a miracle, and one heck of a fun time. On today's Space-Cast!, we're joined by King to discuss the ins and outs of his creation, along with how he began teaching game design, his breakout browser game Tiny Islands, and the role of failure and memory in making a board game worthwhile.
Politics! There's no avoiding them. In today's space-cast, we're joined by John du Bois to talk about two of his designs that encourage political awareness and human empathy: Heading Forward, about recovering from a traumatic head injury, and Striking Flint, focused on the 1936 General Motors sit-down strike. Along the way, we cover topics ranging from triggers and spoons to the banning of Matteo Menapace from the Spiel des Jahres.
Ever heard of Arcs? Cole Wehrle has! Today on the Space-Cast!, we're joined by the little-known indie designer himself to discuss Arcs from a few unusual angles: the debt it owes to trick-taking, the many literary inspirations behind the game, and its unusual development process. Also of note, some comparisons between Arcs and Brian Boru, a sidebar book recommendation, and Wehrle's wariness of Balatro. Truly, we're covering everything!
What's that on the horizon? It's a leviathan! This month on the Space-Biff! Space-Cast!, we're joined by Justin Kemppainen to discuss Leviathan Wilds, the inaugural title of his new studio, Moon Crab Games. Along the way, we also spill tea about the ups and downs of working at a major studio after its acquisition by megacorporation Asmodee, the apprehensions of founding an independent imprint, and the inspirations behind a game about stabbing giants in their flashing weak points.
In her second-ever appearance on the Space-Cast!, today we're joined by Matilda Simonsson, designer of hand-crafted games Turncoats and Pax Penning! As we discuss her second hit, we also delve into why she decided to create an entry in the Pax Series, the difficulty of writing history, and how every single historical board game except hers is wrong to use coins as their primary form of currency.
The climate crisis! That's a dour topic, isn't it? Today we're joined by Matteo Menapace and Matt Leacock to discuss Daybreak, their board game about world governments coming together to combat climate change. Along the way we discuss cardboard incentives, producing board games without plastic, and why optimism is necessary when thinking about big problems.
For this month's episode, we're unexpectedly joined by Amabel Holland to discuss board games — except this time, we cover three titles in total, ranging from Kaiju Table Battles to Doubt Is Our Product and But Then She Came Back. Along the way, we dive into the advantages of board games over other artistic mediums, that New Yorker article, and Amabel's birthday orgy. Be warned: there's a chance that this episode should not be played at work, in the presence of impressionable children, or at chur...
Which is more unexpected, science-fiction bees or realistic dragons? For today's episode, we're joined by Connie Vogelmann to discuss that very issue. In addition to discussing Apiary and Wyrmspan, we also dig into how these games came to be, the benefits of grounding a setting, and the behavioral biology of leaving negative ratings on a game one hasn't played.
How much work goes into a successful social deduction game? If Blood on the Clocktower is anything to go by, a whole lot. Today we're joined by Steven Medway, designer of this long-awaited game about the improper use of timekeeping apparatuses, to discuss unreliable identities, player elimination, and how chaos fosters memorable stories.
Jenna Felli is the well-known designer of some truly unique board games, among them Shadows of Malice, Zimby Mojo, Bemused, Dûhr: The Lesser Houses, Cosmic Frog, and The Mirroring of Mary King. Despite her relative fame, however, Jenna is appearing for the first time on today's episode. Join us as we discuss chaos, identity, and authenticity in board games and in life.
As befits as large and ambitious a game as Undaunted: Stalingrad, today on the Space-Cast! we're joined by Trevor Benjamin and David Thompson to discuss WWII, inclusions and omissions in historical games, and whether board games are art — or at least what it means for them to have authorial intent.
On this day in 1969, a police raid in Greenwich Village sparked three days of intense rioting by members of the gay community. This was the turning point in the fight for LGBT+ rights in the United States. Today we're joined by Taylor Shuss, designer of Stonewall Uprising, to discuss how his game charts the beginnings of the Pride movement, wading into the muddy waters of gamifying the AIDS epidemic, and how playing as history's baddies can give players a deeper perspective on civil rights....
What's the commonality between Shackleton's voyage to the Antarctic, brain hemorrhages, and the virtue of watching R-rated movies? Today, it's Amabel Holland's Endurance , a board game about the strength of the human spirit in the face of abject misery. Join Dan and Amabel as we chat about this game's difficult development, throwing out historical determinism, and why not every game should have a victory condition.
Ever wondered what a translator's life is like? R.F. Kuang's Babel lends readers an accurate impression of higher education, British colonialism, and the magical powers of silversmithing. Join Brock, Summer, and Dan as we discuss this wonderfully dense and evocative book.
The politics of the Spanish Civil War are complicated — which only makes it all the more impressive that Alex Knight's Land and Freedom distills them so elegantly into a three-player scrum for control of the Second Republic. Today, Alex joins us to discuss the genesis of his game, including how he solved the semi-cooperative problem with a silk bag, evolving the card-driven formula so popular in wargames, and the factional politics behind the gameplay.
Dan Bullock is one of a handful of up-and-coming wargame designers determined to do things a little differently. Today, we sit down to chat about some of his games, including No Motherland Without, 1979: Revolution in Iran, and the yet-unpublished Blood & Treasure. Sadly, this was recorded before I'd played Bowie. Although maybe that's a good thing, since otherwise that's all we would have talked about.
Now that Tory Brown's supernal Votes for Women has escaped into the wild, it's time to sit down and discuss the important questions. Listen in as we chat about approachable "war" games, the importance of understanding one's political opposition, and why Brown chose to include a guano magnate's whining about Emmeline Pankhurst. As a bonus, we also delve into the game's relevance today.
What's the difference between a puzzle and a game? Heck if we know. Today's Space-Cast delves into two puzzle titles by designer Blaž Gracar, the 18-card microgame All Is Bomb and the pen-and-transparent-sheet game LOK. Listen in as we discuss both games, the value of nonsense words, and share some of our favorite puzzle recommendations.
Like everybody else, Jon Perry and Dan Thurot have been playing Marvel Snap. Unlike everybody else, Jon Perry has designed games such as Time Barons, Scape Goat, and — more relevantly — Air, Land, & Sea. Listen in as we discuss lane battlers, Marvel Snap, the perils of porting digital games to tabletop, and much more.
Once again we're joined by Amabel Holland. This year, we discuss her forthcoming freebie game Watch Out! That's a Dracula!, along with legacy games, textually queer games, and a transition in the tone of her work.
After a bit of a pause, the Space-Biff! Book-Space! returns to discuss natural magic vs. orderly magic, crusty old wizards vs. vigorous young witches, and Naomi Novik's Uprooted.
Have you ever gone mad pursuing a parent's ambition? That's the topic of T.C. Petty III's My Father's Work, a game of intergenerational trauma, weird science, and scaring off your loved ones. Also an app.
