Welcome to Ludology, a podcast where we talk about how and why board games work the way they do. Instead of just giving you news and reviews, Ludology looks at all sorts of game topics from a bigger picture. We also discuss the history of games, how games are made, and the people who play them.

We put out a new Ludology show every other week. On these shows, your hosts Erica Bouyouris and Sen-Foong Lim really dig into one specific part of game design. They often have a well-known guest from the game world join them. We mostly focus on games you play at a table, like board games and role-playing games (RPGs). But we also bring in experts from all kinds of games, from video games to escape rooms and even slot machines.

On the weeks when there isn’t a main Ludology show, we will have two shorter mini-shows. Erica and Sen are happy to share that Sarah Shipp from Shippboard Games and Stephanie Campbell from TTRPGKids will be joining us for the next year. They will provide extra content between our longer episodes.

Sarah’s part of the show, called ‘Thinking Beyond Mechanisms,’ comes out once a month. It looks deeper into the parts of games that aren’t just about the dice and cards we all know.

Stephanie’s part, ‘TTRPGKids,’ shows parents and teachers how they can use role-playing games with children at home and in the classroom.

We hope you enjoy these extra shows!

Our Story

We try to make most Ludology episodes last forever, so you can listen to any of our old shows whenever you like. Most of them should still be interesting. The podcast started in 2011 with Geoff Engelstein and Ryan Sturm. Mike Fitzgerald took over for Ryan in 2015. Gil and Scott joined the show in 2017 when Mike left, and Emma joined in 2019 when Geoff stopped being a host. Emma left in 2021, and that’s when Erica and Sen came on board. Since then, Scott left in 2022, and Gil will be leaving in 2023, leaving Erica and Sen to keep this amazing show going.

Erica and Sen are working hard to bring new voices to Ludology and have some exciting news to share as gaming grows to include even more people!

Get in Touch With Us

Do you have your own ideas about the things we talk about? We invite you to visit our group on Boardgamegeek to join in the ongoing discussions.

Ludology is part of The Dice Tower Network, which is the top place for board game media.

If you have questions you’d like us to answer on Ludology, please let us know by filling out our Google Form. You can also leave a question as a voice message that we might use on the show, if you want!

Burning Questions for Ludology

Help Support the Show

Ludology is able to keep going because of the help and gifts from listeners like you.

We currently have three special series called ‘First Listen’ that go out to our supporters much earlier than they are released to everyone else.

• ‘The Memories that Made Us’ (monthly) – stories about gaming experiences that helped shape the people who create today’s games.
• ‘Tales from the Designer Toolbox’ (monthly) – helpful hints and tricks from experts in the game industry, learned from both good times and bad.
• ‘Ludology Live’ – recordings from game conventions all over the world.

Supporters will also get extra chances to win any prizes we might give away!

You can also give a one-time or monthly donation here. This link will take you to Erica’s account. Please note that people who donate this way will not be able to access the special supporter page.

Sen is back after a short break, and this time he’s talking with another podcast host, Kristin Vermilya. They are discussing her project to record the more than 50-year history of role-playing games in her upcoming audio series, ‘Out of the Dungeon.’

For more details about Kristin’s work, you can check out her website. We are looking forward to Erica coming back in two weeks for a brand new season of Ludology!