This week on the pod, writer and game designer Calvin Wong Tze Loon (@ithayla) drops by to discuss the process of designing Mass Effect, which is a co-design with the legendary Eric Lang. Come to hear about Mass Effect, but stay to hear insightful commentary about using board games to create story. Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be both playful and compelling. Check them out here:...

This week on the pod, bestselling YA fantasy author Holly Black stops in to discuss a board game she designed based on her Folk of the Air series! She has a lot of interesting things to say about drafting games vs. books, the narrative potential of games, and more. Enemies and Lovers is a light 2-4 player card game coming to Kickstarter on May 2. KS Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hollyblack/enemies-and-lovers-the-crown-of-elfhame Hydrologic Cycle from CMU is on Kickstarter now!...

This week on the pod, soon-to-be UChicago PHD Eduardo García-Molina drops into discuss the Seleucids, how he learned to love them through Rome: Total War, and what video games can teach us about ourselves through the ways they present the ancient world.  Hydrologic Cycle from CMU is on Kickstarter now! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cmu/hydrologic-cycle?ref=discovery Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and...

This week on the pod, Joe Dewhurst (@joe-dewhurst), a freelance developer who works primarily for GMT, gives his insights into game development and his work on COIN solo bots.  Hydrologic Cycle from CMU is on Kickstarter now! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cmu/hydrologic-cycle?ref=discovery Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be both playful and compelling. Check them out here:...

This week on the pod, game designer Elizabeth Hargrave drops by to talk science games, design, development, and her newest project, the Tabletop Game Designers Association.  Elizabeth Hargrave's site: https://www.elizhargrave.com/ TTGDA: https://www.ttgda.org/ Hydrologic Cycle from CMU is on Kickstarter now! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cmu/hydrologic-cycle?ref=discovery Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and...

This week on the podcast, Alastair Kocho-Williams (@akochowi), a professor at Clarkson University, drops by to discuss how he's using wargames and game design to teach history to his students.  Hydrologic Cycle from CMU is on Kickstarter now! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cmu/hydrologic-cycle?ref=discovery Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be both playful and compelling. Check...

This week on the pod, author Weyodi OldBear drops by to discuss her work in science fiction and her involvement with Coyote & Crow, a tabletop RPG about indigenous people in a future unimpacted by colonialism.  Weyodi OldBear's site: https://www.weyodi.com/ Coyote & Crow: https://coyoteandcrow.net/ Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be both playful and compelling. Check them out...

In this week's episode, Jason Carr, Lead Developer at GMT, talks about his experiences in both design and development.  Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be both playful and compelling. Check them out here: https://www.cmich.edu/academics/colleges/liberal-arts-social-sciences/centers-institutes/center-for-learning-through-games-and-simulations  Check out CMU's game offerings here:...

This week on the pod, Dr. Jane Draycott (@jldraycott), a classicist who is also an expert on women in video games set in the ancient world, talks about her work, the world of archaeogaming, and her recent book, Cleopatra's Daughter. https://drjanedraycott.co.uk/ Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be both playful and compelling. Check them out here:...

This week on the pod, Dr. Henry Lowood, a video game scholar and archivist from Stanford, discusses a career spent playing, studying, and preserving games--mostly video games, but with more board game work to come! https://lowood.people.stanford.edu/ Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be both playful and compelling. Check them out here:...

This week on the pod, Verdis LeVar Robinson and Paul Otto discuss their recently-published Reacting to the Past game, which gives students insight into the birth of structural racism and its relationship to other community issues in the pre-revolution United States.  Game link: https://reactingconsortium.org/games/bacons1676 Verdis LeVar Robinson's website: https://www.rev-verdis.com/ Paul Otto's website: PaulAndrewOtto.com Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan...

This week on the pod, Hermann Luttmann pops by to discuss his design career so far, his future designs now that he is retired, and how he wants players to understand his body of work as a whole.  Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be both playful and compelling. Check them out here:...

This week on the pod, Betsy Joslyn (@WOPR_1983GTW) stops by to discuss her work in professional wargaming, as well as some of her upcoming designs.  Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be both playful and compelling. Check them out here: https://www.cmich.edu/colleges/class/Centers/CLGS/Pages/default.aspx Check out CMU's game offerings here: https://cmichpress.com/shop/ Sign up for an...

The Beyond Solitaire podcast is back for Season 8! This week, Pablo Clark talks about art, allegory, the importance of giving games the time they need to grow, and Eerie Idol's first game, The Old King's Crown. https://www.theoldkingscrown.com/ Hydrologic Cycle Prelaunch Page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cmu/hydrologic-cycle Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be both playful...

It's time for the Season 7 finale! For this episode, I got to interview Josh Sawyer from Obsidian Entertainment about his historical video game, Pentiment. If you can play it, you should—and if you want to hear about the thought that went into such a fantastic game, you should give this episode a listen!  Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be both playful and compelling. Check them out...

This week, Dr. Steven Dashiell (@dashiellsteven), a scholar who writes about social clout and gaming, talks about our beloved French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu and shows how we can apply his work to the subcultures within our hobby.  Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be both playful and compelling. Check them out here:...

This week on the pod, friends of the show Jason Perez and Paul Wright discuss Mr. President, the biggest board game to come out in 2023, and about heavy games in general.  Five Hundred Year Old Vampire: https://www.backerkit.com/c/central-michigan-university-press/five-hundred-year-old-vampire Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be both playful and compelling. Check them out here:...

In one of the coolest episodes this season, veteran gamers and brilliant academics Dr. TreaAndrea Russworm (USC) and Dr. Samantha Blackmon (Purdue) discuss their work on the Black Games Archive, which currently catalogues video games but will soon extend to the world of board games.  BGA: https://www.blackgamesarchive.org/ Not Your Mama's Gamer Podcast: https://www.nymgamer.com/?page_id=53 Five Hundred Year Old Vampire:...

This week on the pod, Rodney Smith of Watch It Played drops by to talk about his growing love affair with wargaming... and about his sordid past with SOLO board games!  Watch It Played: https://www.youtube.com/@WatchItPlayed Five Hundred Year Old Vampire: https://www.backerkit.com/c/central-michigan-university-press/five-hundred-year-old-vampire Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be...

This week on the pod, Egyptologist Jenny Cromwell (@papyrus_stories) discusses the intersection between the field of Egyptology, and her interest in educational gaming.  Five Hundred Year Old Vampire: https://www.backerkit.com/c/central-michigan-university-press/five-hundred-year-old-vampire Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be both playful and compelling. Check them out here:...

This week on the pod, Amabel Holland stops by to discuss her upcoming game, "Doubt Is Our Product," which focuses on misinformation spread by the tobacco industry. BGG: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/401361/doubt-our-product Five Hundred Year Old Vampire: https://www.backerkit.com/c/central-michigan-university-press/five-hundred-year-old-vampire Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can...

Join me for an interview with Luis Aguasvivas, a board- and video game critic who has worked for a number of outlets. We discuss approaches to game criticism, what makes a game worth writing about, and more.  Luis' contributions to PopMatters: https://www.popmatters.com/author/luisaguasvivas Five Hundred Year Old Vampire: https://www.backerkit.com/c/central-michigan-university-press/five-hundred-year-old-vampire Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center...

Join me for an interview with Jo Kelly, designer of Molly House--a game about Mollies of England in the 1700s who seek queer joy in the face of social pushback. The game is being published through Wehrlegig, and crowdfunding will be live on Backerkit tomorrow. Link: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/731f1519-b2cf-4176-976f-94d4bcbe5ef3/landing Previous interview with Jo: https://youtu.be/K20bQYPAJDo Five Hundred Year Old Vampire:...

This week on the pod, Cole Wehrle talks about Oath, as well as larger issues of history and allegory in board games. Plus we drop a few pieces of news about where Oath is headed next. ;)  Five Hundred Year Old Vampire: https://www.backerkit.com/c/central-michigan-university-press/five-hundred-year-old-vampire Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be both playful and compelling. Check them...