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Artwork for Game Design Deep Dive

Game Design Deep Dive

Dan Bullock
Game Design
Historical Board Games
Historical Games
War Of 1812
Wargame Design
Chicago 68
Historical Gaming
Board Game Design
A Glorious Chance
World War II
Social Movements
Collaboration
Board Game Complexity
Skies Above Britain
NATO
Land and Freedom
Stalin's Death
Educational Games
Colonialism
1968 Democratic National Convention

Dan Bullock interviews game designers with a focus on the challenges of historical board game design.

PublishesInfrequentlyEpisodes40Founded4 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
LeisureGames

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Artwork for Game Design Deep Dive

Latest Episodes

Akar Bharadvaj is designer of the upcoming game Chalice of Poison about the Iran-Iraq War from GMT and the Zenobia Award-Winning Tyranny of Blood. We chat about both designs, the future of the Zenobia awards, and much more. Hellcouch designed by Caro... more

We welcome back Cole Wehrle (who hopefully needs no introduction) for a wide ranging discussion about expansions, Buried Giant- his new publishing home, and much much more. 

Outro music: "King's Army" The Scarring Party 

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Liz Davidson has co-designed Queen of Spies and the forthcoming Night Witches with David Thompson. She is also the Creative Director at Leder Games, but you may know her best for her work on her Bobby Nunez-award winning Beyond Solitaire podcast. We ... more

Our guest is designer John Carnahan. His latest, Come Out Fighting will be on Kickstarter on November 30th. I am not sure how many listeners have dipped their toe in miniature games, but I had to invite John to discuss his latest design, because it i... more

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Recent Guests

Cole Wehrle
Game designer, founder of Buried Giant
Buried Giant
Episode: Love This Giant with Cole Wehrle
John Carnahan
Designer of the miniatures game Come Out Fighting
Cursed Captain
Episode: Come Out Fighting with John Carnahan
Fred Serval
Designer of several historical games including A Gest of Robin Hood
Homo Ludens
Episode: Interview with Fred Serval
Mary Flanagan
Game designer, professor, and author of Playing Oppression
Episode: Playing Oppression with Mary Flanagan
Pako Gradaille
Experienced game designer known for historical board games.
Episode: Interview with Pako Gradaille
Talia Rosen
Game designer and creator of First Monday in October
Fort Circle Games
Episode: Interview with Talia Rosen
John Butterfield
Legendary game designer known for titles like Ambush and RAF
Episode: Interview with John Butterfield
Yoni Goldstein
Filmmaker and game designer
The Dietz Foundation
Episode: Chicago '68 with Yoni Goldstein
Maurice Suckling
Game Designer known for innovative historical board games.
Worthington Games, Fort Circle
Episode: Interview with Maurice Suckling

Host

Dan Bullock
Host of the show, interviewing guests about game design

Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars from 18 ratings
  • Great interviews!

    This podcast does what it says on the tin! In-depth interviews with interesting designers, from the perspective of a fellow designer. Great balance between purely mechanical concerns and a more ethical, thematic discussion on the issues raised by wargames.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    AlexFontaineRousseau
    Canada3 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Listeners appreciate the balance between mechanical depth and ethical/narrative discussions.
Guests are described as insightful and articulate about the craft of design and critique.
Great interviews with designers who bring a practical and critical lens to wargame topics.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Apple Podcasts
#184
Italy/Leisure/Games
Apple Podcasts
#33
Netherlands/Leisure/Games
Apple Podcasts
#70
Spain/Leisure/Games
Apple Podcasts
#71
India/Leisure/Games
Apple Podcasts
#90
Finland/Leisure/Games
Apple Podcasts
#201
Netherlands/Leisure

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Interview with Liz Davidson
Q: Do you feel like there's any concern about how much bandwidth one would have for design outside of doing the adult work of interviewing candidates, project updates, progress huddles and things like that?
I'm not that worried about it. Basically, what I'm going to be cutting for the most part is freelance.
Interview with Brian Asklev
Q: Have you had an experience where you played something that influenced your designs to avoid specific elements?
Yes, Asklev dislikes when players can hold cards like weather influences to thwart attacks, as it diminishes immersion in the game, preferring mechanics that align with the players' historical roles.
Interview with Brian Asklev
Q: How do you cobble together in educating yourself on mechanisms and systems for your games?
Asklev stated he often starts with a game he admires and a topic he is passionate about, merging them in the design process, which can evolve into a unique creation.
Interview with Brian Asklev
Q: Where did your interest in designing games begin?
Brian Asklev shared that as a kid, he started creating variants for Risk, which sparked his interest in game design. Later, inspiration struck while playing Musket and Pike from GMT Games, leading him to pursue his own game designs.
Interview with Pako Gradaille
Q: Is it challenging to design games that would incorporate a fair amount of negotiation?
Pako acknowledges that while negotiation can deepen gameplay, he made sure that players could also approach 'Habemus Papam' as a Euro game if they chose to.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
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Frequently Asked Questions About Game Design Deep Dive

What is Game Design Deep Dive about and what kind of topics does it cover?

A thoughtful mix of design-focused conversations and practical insights, emphasizing historical board game design, post-release evolution, and how to balance authenticity with engaging gameplay. Episodes explore expansions, engine-building for long-running titles, and the tension between representation and playability, often grounding discussion with concrete case studies from well-known titles. The series also covers collaboration, playtesting, and how designers navigate ethics, narrative, and audience expectations in both traditional and solo/minis-based formats, with occasional forays into accessibility and scalability in game systems. A standout throughline is the emphasis on player experience, meaningful decisions, and the evolving rol... more

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Which podcasts are similar to Game Design Deep Dive?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Game Design Deep Dive:

1. Pushing Cardboard
2. Beyond Solitaire
3. So Very Wrong About Games
4. Space-Biff! Space-Cast!
5. Shut Up & Sit Down

How many episodes of Game Design Deep Dive are there?

Game Design Deep Dive launched 4 years ago and published 40 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on Game Design Deep Dive?

Recent guests on Game Design Deep Dive include:

1. Cole Wehrle
2. John Carnahan
3. Fred Serval
4. Mary Flanagan
5. Pako Gradaille
6. Talia Rosen
7. John Butterfield
8. Yoni Goldstein

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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