Beyond Solitaire

This week on the pod, Dr. Emily Friedman (@friede.bsky.social), an English professor at Auburn University, comes by to discuss her work on actual play and how it has become part of her scholarship and classroom practice. You can join her Patreon for free to read her posts: https://www.patreon.com/c/ecfriedman/home Art & System Backerkit: https://cmichpress.com/2025/06/10/new-game-series-art-sy...

This week on the pod, J. Rey Lee (@jreylee.bsky.social), author of Unsettling Catan, drops by to talk about his upcoming book--which also happens to be the beginning of a new series of academic books focused on individual board games. Book: https://press.umich.edu/Books/U/Unsettling-Catan Witch Hunt/Making History Backerkit: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/central-michigan-university-press/wi...

Welcome to Season 11! We are starting off with a delightful visit from Matteo Menapace, co-designer of Daybreak (Instagram: @ma.tteo.me). We talk about cooperative games, teaching game design, Matteo's future projects, and of course his experiences at the Spiel des Jahres last year.  Witch Hunt/Making History Backerkit: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/central-michigan-university-press/wi...

We've made it all the way to Episode 200! To celebrate the milestone, this is a mega episode filled with shorter interviews about the state of historical games and of "serious" games criticism. Thanks to all of you for coming along for the ride.  1:30 Volko Ruhnke 28:35 Efka Bladukas 46:40 Candice Harris 1:01:40 Dan Thurot 1:23:50 David Thompson 1:42:50 Sebastian Bae 2:08:35 Cole We...

Ian O'Toole joins David and me to talk about Night Witches art updates! We're getting there at last!  CLGS will be launching a new Backerkit campaign on July 8: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/16dd740a-2996-4b25-9b52-5ee83a2013ec/landing?ref=bk-ec-55405 Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations,...

This week on the pod, Ananda Gupta, co-designer of Twilight Struggle, stops by to talk about the anniversary edition of his game, but also about new board game work and his life as a designer for Riot Games.  CLGS will be launching a new Backerkit campaign on July 8: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/16dd740a-2996-4b25-9b52-5ee83a2013ec/landing?ref=bk-ec-55405 Beyond Solitaire is proudly sp...

This week on the pod, religious studies scholar Lars de Wildt discusses the prevalence of religion in "secular" video games--and the line between which religious affectations are considered "neutral" and which are not. Also, his book is free and can be found here: https://www.aup.nl/en/book/9789048555130/the-pop-theology-of-videogames Keep the Faith campaign: https://www.backer...

This week on the pod, Erin Escobedo talks about Meltwater, her game about the aftermath of a devastating nuclear war. It was originally published by Hollandspiele, but a new edition is coming out through Capstone. We also discuss fighting games!  Keep the Faith campaign: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing  Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by...

This week on the pod, Brooks Barber (rollplusfun@bsky.social) drops in to discuss several of his upcoming game designs, all of which are both very cool and historically inspired. Check out Sykes-Picot here: https://hollandspiele.com/products/sykes-picot Keep the Faith campaign: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing  Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponso...

This week on the pod, Mark Herman (@markherman45.bsky.social) drops by to tell us about his new book, "Wargames According to Mark," as well as his views on game design and the process of building a game.  Keep the Faith campaign: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing  Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University&apos...

This week on the pod, game designer Eric Lang (@ericlang.bsky.social) discusses his thoughts on game design, what makes projects exciting, the course of his long career, and how he's giving back.  Keep the Faith campaign: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing  Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for...

If you care about the board game industry, then you've been worrying about tariffs. In this episode, Jason Matthews (@jasondcmatthews.bsky.social) talks about what they are, their potential consequences for publishers and hobbyists, and what we can decide to do about it.  Keep the Faith campaign: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing  Beyond Sol...

This week on the pod, Michelle Strayer, a wargame designer and analyst at CNA, talks about how data for wargames is collected and how design teams ensure that what they collect is meaningful.  Keep the Faith campaign: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing  Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning...

This week on the pod, Lichao Zhu discusses several linguistics projects that look into the language we use when we play--and what that might mean. Keep the Faith campaign: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing  Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning...

This week on the pod, Ada Palmer (@adapalmer.bsky.social) speaks about her papal election LARP at The University of Chicago--but also about historical research, her work as a sci-fi author, and how both history and fiction can help us talk about today's world.  Keep the Faith campaign: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing  Beyond Solitaire is p...

This week on the pod, Amabel Holland drops by to discuss her new book, Cardboard Ghosts. We also talk about her excellent video essay work and upcoming games from Hollandspiele. https://www.youtube.com/@UCeCCgRim_uLg-clrSQGhQiQ  Keep the Faith campaign: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing  Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan U...

This week on the pod, Thomas Malaby joins us to discuss his work as an anthropologist who studies gaming, specifically contingency (i.e. gambling!) and the formation of digital cultures.  Keep the Faith campaign: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing  Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Thro...

This week on the pod, Professor Emily Knox, an expert on libraries and book banning, discusses why people ban books, why books are targeted more than other forms of media, and what we can learn from that. She's also a gamer!  Keep the Faith campaign: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing  Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan...

This week on the pod, Eric Zimmerman, a professor at NYU, talks about teaching game design, game design as an art form, and much more.  Keep the Faith campaign: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing  Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simulations, where learning can be bot...

This week on the pod, NYU professor Laine Nooney discusses their work on gaming and computer history, how we collect material artifacts that shed light on the digital past, and how to write about a computer system that for some has already entered the realm of myth. Also, they mention their journal, ROMchip, which is currently fundraising and which is a great cause to support. Go enjoy ROMchip&apo...

This week on the pod, Sreyashi Mukherjee discusses her love of reality TV dating shows--and what they have taught her about consent, stereotyping, and gaming's "magic circle." Also, she and Greg Loring-Albright co-designed a game that is available here: https://gregisonthego.itch.io/food-for-home Keep the Faith: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e72...

This week on the pod, Daniel Newman and Marceline Leiman drop in to discuss the Indie Games Night Market--which was a huge success at PAXU 2024--and also indie games in general.  Keep the Faith: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing  Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University's Center for Learning Through Games and Simu...

Welcome to the start of SEASON 10! I can't even believe it! This week, I'm speaking with Greg Loring-Albright about Keep the Faith, a light RPG that is about to be on Backerkit. It's being published through Central Michigan University and I'm writing the curriculum guide.  Keep the Faith: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing  Bey...

For the Season 9 finale, Paul Wright and I discuss Foxes & Lions, a game we are co-designing about the Italian Wars. Are you into Machiavelli, Renaissance Italy, and political chaos? Then this is gonna be a game for you.  Keep the Faith: https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/ffdefab3-adb6-48aa-8335-797e720c58a1/landing  Beyond Solitaire is proudly sponsored by Central Michigan University&ap...

This week on the pod, Natalia Zwarts and Chris Gledhill discuss their scholarly work on a game that explores the possibility of peace in Ukraine, and the linguistic conclusions that can be drawn from recordings of players as they work through the conflict.  Give to CLGS: https://giving.apps.cmich.edu/fund/9100111?fbclid=IwY2xjawG2oxNleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHdxwTfyHeJ_G366cXTnPqSfEmU_rGCY2cthqTHkM9hJWxzYT...