You’re listening to Ludology, where we take a deep look at the reasons and ways games work the way they do. Instead of just talking about game news or what we thought of a game, we explore different ideas about games from a bigger picture. We also chat about the history of games, how they’re made, and the people who play them.

We put out a new Ludology episode every two weeks. In these main episodes, hosts Erica Bouyouris and Sen-Foong Lim dive into one specific topic about game design. Often, they have a well-known guest from the game world join them. While we mostly focus on games you play at a table, like board games and role-playing games, we often bring in experts from all sorts of games. This includes video games, escape rooms, and even slot machines.

On weeks when we don’t have a full Ludology episode, we’ll share two shorter bonus episodes. Erica and Sen are excited to share that Sarah Shipp from Shippboard Games and Stephanie Campbell from TTRPGKids will be 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 children at home or in school.

We hope you enjoy this extra content!

A Little About 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 hold up well. The podcast first started 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 that’s when Erica and Sen came aboard. Since then, Scott left in 2022, and Gil will be 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 planned as more and more people get into gaming!

Get In Touch

Have your own thoughts on the topics we discuss? We’d love for you to join the conversation on our page on Boardgamegeek. You can find it by searching for our guild.

You can also send us an email.

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

If you have questions you’d like us to answer on Ludology, please let us know by filling out this form. You can even leave an audio question if you’d like us to play it on the show!

Burning Questions for Ludology

Help Support the Show

Ludology is made possible by the support and donations from listeners like you.

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 modern games.
• Tales from the Designer Toolbox (monthly) – Tips and tricks from game industry pros, learned from both successes and mistakes.
• 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 or monthly donation here. This link goes to Erica’s account. People who donate this way won’t get access to the Patreon page, sorry!