Fun By Design

Fun By Design is a board game design & development podcast by sibling game designers Sam & Amelia Browning. We'll discuss the mechanics & game philosophies of our most & least favorite games, recount our own design & playtest stories, and take part in improv design challenges! Board game lovers should tune in every other week to hear about how to make games fun -- not by chance, but by design.

Here Be Monster AI 10/02/2024

Here Be Monster AI 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 monster battles? You can try out the game for yourself on . And make sure to follow us on , , or our to hear all the latest updates. /episode/index/show/funbydesign/id/33305762

The Price of Playtesting 09/04/2024

The Price of Playtesting 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 coming in two weeks. In the meantime, check out our game Buckaneers and consider pledging to our ! And for more info, visit our , or follow us on , , or . /episode/index/show/funbydesign/id/32897797

Secretly Derivative 07/30/2024

Secretly Derivative 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 . /episode/index/show/funbydesign/id/32344742

Design Break - Good eluC 09/30/2021

Design Break - Good eluC 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! /episode/index/show/funbydesign/id/20666144

The Sheep the Wheat and the Design Fork 07/31/2021

The Sheep the Wheat and the Design Fork 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)! /episode/index/show/funbydesign/id/19991507

Hidden Roles and Cinnamon Buns 07/17/2021

Hidden Roles and Cinnamon Buns 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! /episode/index/show/funbydesign/id/19842584

High Five and Lo Fi 06/04/2021

High Five and Lo Fi 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!! /episode/index/show/funbydesign/id/19336049

Tabletops and Fabletops 05/24/2021

Tabletops and Fabletops 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. /episode/index/show/funbydesign/id/19211603

Desperate for Applause 05/07/2021

Desperate for Applause 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! /episode/index/show/funbydesign/id/18974924

Agent Agency 04/16/2021

Agent Agency 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. /episode/index/show/funbydesign/id/18586928

Into A Dark Night 04/02/2021

Into A Dark Night For the start of our podcast adventure, we venture forth into the topic of replayability. What makes a game replayable? Are fun games always replayable, and vice versa? And why are we making cow noises? Probably some of these questions will be answered, so join us for our first discussion about game design! /episode/index/show/funbydesign/id/18586730

Fun By Design

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