Beyond Solitaire

This week on the pod, Dr. Shelly Jones drops by to discuss their work as a scholar who incorporates games and RPGs into their work--and their career as an author who has written a series of cozy mysteries set at a game store. https://shellyjonesauthor.com/ Check out The Blue Way: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/790bcea3-7482-4f7c-91cf-dc12da16cfeb/landing?ref=home-page Beyond Solitaire is...

This week on the pod, Denver Walker comes by to discuss her life as a co-owner and CEO of a wargame company, as well as her own game designs. https://flyingpiggames.com/ Check out The Blue Way: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/790bcea3-7482-4f7c-91cf-dc12da16cfeb/landing?ref=home-page Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Ga...

This week on the pod, Amabel Holland comes by to discuss her upcoming game--if it can be so called--and the mysteries that it holds. I am very excited to play it. https://hollandspiele.com/ Check out The Blue Way: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/790bcea3-7482-4f7c-91cf-dc12da16cfeb/landing?ref=home-page Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for...

This week on the pod, David Thompson drops in for our seasonal check-in! We discuss the progress of our games together, check in on David's work with several other co-designers, and discuss the status of our design philosophies in general.  Check out The Blue Way: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/790bcea3-7482-4f7c-91cf-dc12da16cfeb/landing?ref=home-page Beyond Solitaire is proudly sp...

This week on the pod, Tilak Vyas drops by to talk about his poetry game, Line by Line, that is forthcoming from Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations.  Check out The Blue Way: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/790bcea3-7482-4f7c-91cf-dc12da16cfeb/landing?ref=home-page Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's C...

This week on the pod, I chat with Alyssa and Ari, who coordinate gaming programs for teens in my local county library system. Some of them even include me!  Check out The Blue Way: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/790bcea3-7482-4f7c-91cf-dc12da16cfeb/landing?ref=home-page Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simul...

This week on the pod, Paul Wright and I discuss Foxes & Lions, how it has developed over the past year or so, and what we're excited about next. Also, it's on P500! Go support it here: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1229-foxes-and-lions-renaissance-city-states-in-the-age-of-machiavelli.aspx Check out The Blue Way: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/790bcea3-7482-4f7c-91cf-dc12da16c...

This week on the pod, Waleed Ma'arouf, a designer at Studio Big, discusses their work in education, how they joined the Arkham Horror LCG design team, and their current design work for a fresh crop of games.  Check out The Blue Way: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/790bcea3-7482-4f7c-91cf-dc12da16cfeb/landing?ref=home-page Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan Univ...

This week on the pod, Dr. Esther Wright (@enwright.bsky.social), a lecturer at the University of Cardiff, speaks about her work on Rockstar Games, the way they represent American history, and what we can learn from the stories they tell about America and themselves.  Check out The Blue Way: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/790bcea3-7482-4f7c-91cf-dc12da16cfeb/landing?ref=home-page Beyond S...

This week on the pod, Brooks Barber (rollplusfun@bsky.social) drops by to discuss his new venture, Hawk & Dove. He's starting a new historical games publishing business, moving his family to the Netherlands, and still designing games! https://www.hawkanddovegames.com/ Check out The Blue Way: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/790bcea3-7482-4f7c-91cf-dc12da16cfeb/landing?ref=home-pag...

This week on the pod, Danielle Reynolds (@tokengaymer.bsky.social) stops by to discuss her game design career, her current work at Relatable, and her dedication to paying it forward.  Check out The Blue Way: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/790bcea3-7482-4f7c-91cf-dc12da16cfeb/landing?ref=home-page Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learn...

This week on the pod, Taylor Shuss drops by to discuss his new game, Walkable City, which is all about urban planning. We also catch upon his historical designs and talk about design in general! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fowers/walkable-city-the-urban-planning-boardgame Check out The Blue Way: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/790bcea3-7482-4f7c-91cf-dc12da16cfeb/landing?ref=home...

This week on the pod, Joe Dewhurst discusses his upcoming game, The Pure Land, as well as his continued work as a game developer and COIN solo mode expert.  Check out The Blue Way: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/790bcea3-7482-4f7c-91cf-dc12da16cfeb/landing?ref=home-page Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simul...

Shadi Torbey, designer of the legendary Oniverse series, talks solo game design, running his own company, and being an opera singer. https://inpatience.com/ Check out The Blue Way: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/790bcea3-7482-4f7c-91cf-dc12da16cfeb/landing?ref=home-page Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simul...

This week on the pod, Bree Woodward of Asmodee's Studio Big drops by to discuss her current work as a creative director, how she got her start in video games, and her commitment to Women in Toys.  Check out The Blue Way: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/790bcea3-7482-4f7c-91cf-dc12da16cfeb/landing?ref=home-page Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University'...

This week on the pod, Dan Bullock drops into talk about Penitent, a new release from Lock Horns, his game press. We also discuss game developers and our mutual hatred of dice. If you want Penitent, there are only 200 copies and you can preorder one here: http://lockhornsgames.com/products/penitent Check out The Blue Way: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/790bcea3-7482-4f7c-91cf-dc12da16cfeb...

This week on the pod, Jason Morningstar joins me to talk about good RPG design and about his new edition of The Blue Way, forthcoming from Central Michigan University.  Check out The Blue Way: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/790bcea3-7482-4f7c-91cf-dc12da16cfeb/landing?ref=home-page Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Gam...

This week on the pod, I speak with  @PamWallsGameDesign about game design, making life work as a full-time independent game designer, and that time she made a game for Bush's chili.  Check out The Blue Way: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/790bcea3-7482-4f7c-91cf-dc12da16cfeb/landing?ref=home-page Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for L...

This week on the pod, Jeremiah McCall returns to talk about the publication of his book, Designing History Games for Class. We also chat about his current educational designs, and about how he assigns game design projects to his students so that they learn more about history. https://gamingthepast.net/about/ Register for Kathleen Mercury's course, Deep Dive by Doing: https://cmichpress.com/pr...

Welcome to Season 12 of the Beyond Solitaire podcast! To kick things off, Diana Toma from Meeple Foundry is here to talk about translation, graphic design, and building an international team to work on games.  Register for Kathleen Mercury's course, Deep Dive by Doing: https://cmichpress.com/product/course-registration-for-deep-dive-by-doing/ Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central M...

For the Season 11 finale, designer and developer Adam Blinkinsop (@blinks.itch.io) talks about development for GMT, his approach to game design, and his current project: Echo from the Dark. P500: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1144-echo-from-the-dark.aspx I have a game of my own up on Gamefound right now! Check out Queen of Spies, a solo game I co-designed with David Thompson: https://gamefound.com/en...

 This week on the pod, Ted Caya of Leder Games drops in to talk about his upcoming game, Take. Learn all about heists, why they are such oddly charming crimes, and how Ted translated that into board game form. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/take-game/take The Cracked Mirror: https://cmichpress.com/product/fyov-duet/ Art & System: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/central-michigan-univ...

This week on the pod, Jaysen Headley, aka Ezeekat, drops in to talk about his live as both a booktoker and a maker of board game videos. And, more recently, his imprint with Bindery, which gives him the opportunity to bring cool books into the world.  The Cracked Mirror: https://cmichpress.com/product/fyov-duet/ Art & System: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/central-michigan-university-pre...

This week on the pod, David Thompson and I had the illustrator for our game, Carlos Ureta, on to discuss his work with us. Thanks to him and to his colleagues at Meeple Foundry, our game looks great, if I do say so myself. Find him on Instagram at @carlosu.g to see more of his work. Queen of Spies comes to Gamefound on Dec. 4 and can be found here: https://gamefound.com/en/projects/saltandpepper/q...

This week on the pod, Fertessa Allyse (@fertessa.bsky.social), game designer and veteran of Prospero Hall, talks about how she got started in game design, what it's like to work on a large team, and how to design games for kids.  The Cracked Mirror: https://cmichpress.com/product/fyov-duet/ Art & System: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/central-michigan-university-press/art-system-gam...