Hello and welcome!
You’ve found Ludology, a podcast where we dig into what makes board games tick. We’re not about the latest news or reviews. Instead, we look at games from a bigger picture, exploring their history, how they’re made, and the people who play them.
We put out a new main episode every two weeks. In these, hosts Erica Bouyouris and Sen-Foong Lim dive deep into one part of game design. Often, they have a well-known guest from the game world with them. We mostly talk about tabletop games like board games and role-playing games. But we also bring in experts who know about all sorts of games, from video games to escape rooms and even slot machines.
On the weeks we don’t have a big episode, we’ll share shorter bonus ones. 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 adding 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 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 Story
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 from Ryan in 2015. Gil and Scott joined the show in 2017 when Mike moved on. Emma joined us in 2019 when Geoff stopped being a host. Emma left in 2021, and Erica and Sen came aboard. Since then, Scott left in 2022, and Gil will be leaving in 2023. That leaves Erica and Sen to keep this great show going.
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 what we talk about? We’d love for you to join the conversation on our guild on Boardgamegeek.
You can also send us an email.
Ludology is part of The Dice Tower Network, a top group 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 message for us to play on the show!
Burning Questions for Ludology
Help Support the Show
Ludology is made possible by listeners like you who 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 moments that helped shape the people who create today’s games
- Tales from the Designer Toolbox (monthly) – advice and tips from game 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 here. This link goes to Erica’s account. People who donate this way won’t get access to the Patreon page, sorry!
