Here Be Monster AI
Fun By Design
Yarr, we still be thinkin' 'bout pirates, but now we consider a pirate's natural foe -- monsters! And what good is a monster without an algorithm or AI behind it to help bring it to life. We talk about what factors help make monster AI feel smooth in board games, and go on a bit of a design break tangent working on an AI system for a theoretical board game designer board game (how meta)! This is our last episode (for now) focused on our brand new game Buckaneers. Our just finished up, but we are still taking late orders, so tell your friends if they missed out! Intrigued by the discussion of...
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The Price of Playtesting
Fun By Design
Fresh off our trip to GenCon 2024, we sit down with slam b productions dev Lillian and talk about our recent playtesting experience. We walk through the experience of playtesting at the First Exposure Playtest Hall, explain our general approach to making the most of playtesting, and talk about real player feedback we've received. Even the most unexpected player feedback can still hold a nugget of truth if you're willing to dig for it. This is the second part of a collection talking all about our newest game, Buckaneers. But that's not all -- we have an extra episode for the collection...
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Secretly Derivative
Fun By Design
We're back! And we're here to tell you all about secret, open, and derivative information, and how that impacts the way we think about design. But that's not all -- this episode is actually a time machine that lets you peek behind the curtains and hear us discuss our brand new game when it was still a wee thing. This is the first part of a two-part collection talking all about our newest game, Buckaneers -- launching on Kickstarter, August 2024. For more info, check out our , or follow us on , , or .
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Design Break - Good eluC
Fun By Design
Time for a design break! In this episode Sam and Amelia start with two arbitrary elements - deckbuilding & a Clue-like hidden sleeve - and brainstorm the starting elements for a brand new game. Would you like to play as a detective framing other detectives for murder? Do you think "logic" should be a damage type? And what's the difference between a loving parody and a total rip-off anyway? Tune in to find out!
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The Sheep the Wheat and the Design Fork
Fun By Design
Expansions are an important way to increase the longevity of a boardgame, but why do some expansions become must-plays while others gather dust in the back of the closet? We talk about making expansion mechanics that tie back to the base game, and how that impacts our enjoyment of expansions to the modern classic Catan. This tine, it's modular (or parasitic)!
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Hidden Roles and Cinnamon Buns
Fun By Design
Ah, the hidden role game. From the college dorm rec room to the gaming nerd's basement, we chat about what makes these games so appealing to so many. Then we flash back to the 90s for the subject of our design break. Fresh cinnamon bun-zuh to everyone who guesses the book series most in need of a hidden role game!
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High Five and Lo Fi
Fun By Design
We're back at it again with the RPG talk. This time it's a delicious digression on D&D 5e, both its merits and its, uh, flaws. We spice up advantage, wax (and wane) nostalgically for 3.5, lament tables, and discover one of doesn't know the ninth letter of the alphabet. But to find out which one, you'll have to smash that play button, yo!!
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Tabletops and Fabletops
Fun By Design
This week, we meet up with our good friend Ryan and branch out into the exciting territory of tabletop RPGs! We monologue our backstories, talk about finding the right system for your game, and extol the virtues of DMing for the budding game designer. Rocks fall, everyone dies.
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Desperate for Applause
Fun By Design
As board game lovers, we'd like to think that board games are for everybody. But specific games are appealing to specific people. What does designing for an audience look like? How should mechanics and themes changes for different numbers and relationships of people? Most important, how many family members can you stuff into a co-op board game before it explodes? The answer may surprise you!
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Agent Agency
Fun By Design
Card games can be fun because they're L0L so random! XD But Agent Agency is here to give you back some meaningful play interactions and keep the chatspeak jokes to a minimum. We talk about Fluxx, Boss Monster, and our very own game Farms & Factories, and how we balanced the line between randomness and player agency.
info_outlineExpansions are an important way to increase the longevity of a boardgame, but why do some expansions become must-plays while others gather dust in the back of the closet? We talk about making expansion mechanics that tie back to the base game, and how that impacts our enjoyment of expansions to the modern classic Catan. This tine, it's modular (or parasitic)!