Hello and welcome!
You’ve found Ludology, a place where we dive deep into why and how board games work. Instead of just talking about game news or giving reviews, Ludology looks at games from a bigger picture. We explore game history, how games are made, and the people who play them.
We put out a new Ludology episode every two weeks. In these main episodes, our hosts, Erica Bouyouris and Sen-Foong Lim, focus on one specific part of game design. They often bring in a well-known person from the game world to join them. We mostly talk about games you can play at a table, like board games and role-playing games (RPGs). But we also talk to experts about all sorts of games, from video games to escape rooms and even slot machines.
On the weeks when we don’t have a full Ludology episode, we’ll share two shorter bonus episodes. Erica and Sen are excited to have Sarah Shipp from Shippboard Games and Stephanie Campbell from TTRPGKids joining us for the next year. They’ll be providing extra content between our longer shows.
Sarah’s part, called Thinking Beyond Mechanisms, comes out once a month. It looks at the parts of games that aren’t just the dice and cards we’re used to.
Stephanie’s segment, TTRPGKids, is all about how parents and teachers can use role-playing games with kids at home and in school.
We hope you enjoy this extra content!
Our Past
We try to make most Ludology episodes something you can listen to anytime, so feel free to check out all our past shows. Most of them should still be good to listen to. The podcast started back 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. Emma joined us in 2019 after Geoff stopped being a host. Emma left in 2021, and Erica and Sen came aboard. Since then, Scott left in 2022, and Gil is finishing up in 2023, leaving Erica and Sen to continue this great tradition.
Erica and Sen are working to bring new voices to Ludology and have some exciting things to share as more and more people get into gaming!
Get In Touch
Have your own ideas about the topics we discuss? We’d love for you to visit our group on Boardgamegeek to join the ongoing conversation.
You can also send us an email.
Ludology is part of The Dice Tower Network, which is the top network for board game media.
If you have questions you’d like us to answer on Ludology, let us know by filling out this Google Form. You can even leave a voice question if you like!
Burning Questions for Ludology
Help Support the Show
Ludology is made possible because people like you support us with donations.
We currently have 3 special series that go out to our Patrons before 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) – Advice and tips from game industry pros, learned from both good and bad experiences.
- Ludology Live – Recordings from game conventions all over the world.
Patrons also get a better chance at winning any giveaways we might have!
Become a Ludology Patron
You can also give a one-time donation or a monthly gift. The link will take you to Erica’s account. People who donate this way won’t get access to the Patreon page, sorry about that!
