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Ludology

Erica Hayes-Bouyouris, Sen-Foong Lim

Welcome to Ludology, an analytical discussion of the how's and why's of the world of board games. Rather than news and reviews, Ludology explores a variety of topics about games from a wider lens, and discusses game history, game design and game players.

Ludology is part of The Dice Tower Network, the premier board game media network.

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20 episodes
fortnightly
Avg 56 min
English

Episodes 20

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Wednesday · 1 hr 14 min
Ludology 365 Boardgames and Biographies
Designer and historian Amabel Holland (hollandspiele2@gmail.com) joins Erica and Sen on a trip down memory lane as she tells them about the highlights of her deep dives into discovering the often unknown designers of the mass market games of the 60s and 70s in North America. You can watch Amabel's historical journeys at https://www.youtube.com/@Hollandspiele
Wednesday · 1 hr 14 min
Ludology 365 Boardgames and Biographies
Designer and historian Amabel Holland (hollandspiele2@gmail.com) joins Erica and Sen on a trip down memory lane as she tells them about the highlights of her deep dives into discovering the often unknown designers of the mass market games of the 60s and 70s in North America. You can watch Amabel's historical journeys at https://www.youtube.com/@Hollandspiele
October 12 · 44 min
Pros and Cons Ep 21
Recorded in Summer of 2026, Sen talks to Ethan Yen at a cafe in lovely Wortley Village in South London. They discuss design philosophies and Ethan's solo RPG "Fetch My Blade" (which happens to be on Kickstarter for a few more days - check it out!) https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hitpointpress/fetch-my-blade-a-journaling-roleplaying-game
September 28 · 46 min
Ludology 364 The Cost of Complexity
Erica and Sen talk amongst themselves and discuss the topic of complexity in games from multiple angles. Whether you're choosing what to play at game night or designing the next big hit, complexity is something that impacts tabletop gaming maybe more than you think!
September 13 · 32 min
Pros and Cons Ep 20
Once again, Sen was in la belle province, recording at FLIM when he heard about *another* convention in Montreal! Ludicon offers open gaming, competitions, and merchandise in the heart of the city every November. Alain Fragman and Mario Haché brought Ludicon to life in 2024 and the 2026 edition will be on November 6-7-8 at Montreal's Palais des Congrès. They tell Sen all about the event and how it came into being in this installment of Pros and Cons. Check out www.ludicon.ca for more info. Sen hopes to be there this November, so come join him! (Side note: If you're interested in learning more about the Society of Curiosity's 5-bedroom B&B that is an overnight escape room experience in a Victorian manor, sign up for more info here: https://www.societyofcuriosities.com/immersive-overnight/manor-of-curiosities/ and check out Episode 29 1 Curiouser and Curiouser at https://ludology.libsyn.com/webpage/ludology-291-curiouser-and-curiouser to hear the purveyors of fine escape experiences describe their venue.)
August 29 · 1 hr 23 min
Ludology 363 Transformative
This week, Erica and Sen speak with Dr. Marc Engfield and Shawn Roske about the game they co-designed to explore and address issues surrounding managing Chronic Pain. Using Sarah Lynne Bowman's theories of Transformational Play as the backbone, "The Pain Clinic" has pairs of players take on the roles of a patient who is experiencing chronic pain and the doctor who is treating them. For more information about this game, please contact the creators at: marcengfield@gmail.com or shawn.roske@gmail.com
August 10 · 49 min
Ludology 362 Getting Graphic with Games
Sen and Erica talk with Steenz (www.oheysteenz.com), a St. Louis cartoonist and professor, about the graphic novel she illustrated, "Side Quest: A Visual History of Roleplaying Games". In the book, Steenz and co-creator Samuel Sattin take readers on a journey through time and space as they look at the historical roots of Roleplaying Games around the globe. Steenz talks about her own relationship with RPGs as well as what she found most fascinating while doing the research for the book.
July 26 · 25 min
Pros and Cons Ep 19
Erica is just getting back from Japan and Sen is in Montreal for FLIM, so we're going to drop an interview from last year's inaugural Festival Ludique International de Montreal in which Sen speaks with designer, Herb Stanway, about the multi award-winning game, Crash Factor. To help you see exactly what Sen and Herb are talking about, check out the images of Herb's prototype on BGG: https://boardgamegeek.com/image/6850545/crash-factor
July 12 · 1 hr 18 min
Ludology 361 Joie De Vivre!
Sen and Erica are joined by Marc-Antoine Doyon, organizer behind the Festival Ludique International De Montreal (www.leflim.com), a free outdoor gaming festival that takes place from July 24-26 in Montreal's Latin Quarter. Marc-Antoine talks about what it take to bring something of this magnitude to life and what attendees can look forward to in the festival's second year.
July 5 · 46 min
Ludology 360 That Old Black Magic
Sen and guest host George Drayer (formerly from Meeple Syrup) speak with Jesper Myfors, the original art director of the game that changed the face of modern nerdom, Magic: The Gathering. They talk to Jesper about his involvement with the game, his role as art director, and his insight on evolution of the M:tG.
June 15 · 52 min
Ludology 359 I'd Like To Thank The Academy
Erica and Sen speak with game designer and educator, Kathleen Mercury, about the second annual Game Design Academy that runs concurrently with Gen Con. The Game Design Academy is an official professional development and formal education track that takes full advantage of the convention space as the lab for learning more about game design and the hobby gaming industry. For more info, check out: https://www.gencon.com/gen-con-indy/game-design-academy
May 31 · 1 hr 9 min
Ludology 358 What's Your Story?
Sen flies solo and interviews Yeonsoo Julian Kim, narrative designer behind "The Fog Knows Your Name" and "Undying Fortress" on Choice Of Games, about interactive fiction games, TTRPGs, horror, and more!
May 17 · 1 hr 3 min
Ludology 357 Unsettling Catan
Erica and Sen speak with author and academic, J. Rey Lee, about his book entitled, "Unsettling Catan: Detached Design in Eurogames". They discuss Catan's impact on the hobby, what detached design actually is, and what game designers can do to avoid detached design in practice. Check out https://lookingglance.com/ for more information and musings about boardgaming!
May 5 · 52 min
Ludology 356 Put A Little English On It
Sen and Erica interview George and Jack Furnival, the couple behind Carrooka - the tabletop snooker game. To see exactly what we're talking about on the podcast, check out pictures on their website: www.carrooka.com Be sure to listen to the companion episode about Crokinole featuring Jeremy Tracey on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/ludology
April 8 · 31 min
Pros and Cons Ep 18
Sen talks to Chris Chung at BreakoutCon 2025 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Chris talks about the origins of Lanterns, his work on the My Little Pony deckbuilder, and online playtesting.
March 25 · 1 hr 14 min
Ludology 354 Like A Dagger In My Heart
Erica and Sen speak with Spenser Starke about bringing Daggerheart, one of the new generation of tabletop role-playing games, to life.
March 9 · 1 hr 5 min
Ludology 353 The Power of Play
Sen and Erica speak with Peter Williamson, co-founder and partner at barometerxp.com and the executive director at gamegenius.org about creating tabletop experiences for non-profit organizations or doing professional development and team training to facilitate practical learning outcomes.
February 26 · 1 hr 12 min
Ludology 352 Making the Game
Sen and Erica speak with Liqin Gu and Mitch Zhang from Longpack Manufacturing to delve into the ins and outs of how boardgames are made and why they're predominantly made in China.
February 9 · 1 hr 7 min
Ludology 355 Rub a Dub Dub Let's Go To Unpub!
*Special Note* This episode is being released out of order. We will resume our previously scheduled numbering system in two week! Sen and Erica talk to Heather O'Neill and Hunter Johnson, members of the Unpub Board of Directors, about the upcoming Unpub Festival 2026. Hunter and Heather discuss what people can expect, why they should attend, and a few of the special events that will be featured at the Festival which takes place in Maryland from March 12-15, 2026.
January 27 · 32 min
Pros and Cons Ep 17
Sen speaks with Kristen Mott at Gen Con 2024 about her designs and publications leading into 2025. We talk homeschooling, scouting, co-design, and horses, of courses. Then we take a look into the crystal ball and make a predication that came true... sorta! Sen and Erica will be back with their regulars shows in February, so stay tuned!

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