The Tabletop Takeaway: A Board Game Design Podcast

How can you make negative events fun? When do players feel they are 'all in this together'? Charlie, Trevor, and Ananda work things out in Moon Colony Bloodbath.

Why do mysteries work well with time travel? How should you model NPC relationships? Ananda, Charlie, and Trevor try again in Tragedy Looper.

How complicated should recipes be? To what extent can they be customized? Ananda, Charlie, and Trevor talk about Recipe Fulfillment games.

Do resources need multiple uses? What is the appeal of resource compression? Ananda, Charlie, and Trevor join the old boy's club in Cannes.

What provokes revenge? How should you mitigate dice rolls? Charlie, Trevor, and Ananda pick their battles in Age of War.

What is the difference between recipe fulfillment and set collection? How much uncertainty is okay when completing a recipe? Trevor, Ananda, and Charlie age their spirits in Distilled.

How should civilizations interact? Why does obsolescence matter? Ananda, Charlie, and Trever talk about Civilization-building games.

Does slowing down resource recovery benefit players? Should bonuses have a cost? Charlie, Trevor, and Ananda join the cult in Terra Mystica.

How do you keep low-level abilities relevant? Is it okay to have broken combos? Ananda, Charlie, and Trevor demand you listen in Innovation.

How do opportunities drive decisions? What creates strategy? Trevor, Ananda, and Charlie build their wonders in Through The Ages.

In what ways can workers interact? How do you vary the efficiency of an action? Charlie, Trevor, and Ananda talk about Worker Placement Games.

How do you determine who goes first? Should you place workers one at a time or all at once? Ananda, Charlie, and Trevor publish or perish in Alchemists.

How many turns does a player actually need? Should personal actions be less efficient than public ones? Trevor, Ananda, and Charlie cross the bridge in The White Castle.

Do workers need to block each other? How do you limit exponential growth? Charlie, Trevor, and Ananda free their workers in Architects of the West Kingdom.

How do you identify genre-defining mechanics? When does replayability matter? Trevor, Ananda, and Charlie talk about Gateway Games.

What makes unique abilities legible to other players? When should victory points be spent as currency? Ananda, Charlie, and Trevor go into decline in Small World.

How do you escalate risk and reward? Should game markets be predictable? Charlie, Trevor, and Ananda make mosaics in Azul.

When are wildcards necessary? How do you reward topdecking? Trevor, Ananda, and Charlie punch their tickets in Ticket to Ride.

Should players roll defense dice? When should you use counterattacks? Ananda, Charlie, and Trevor discuss miniature wargames.

How do you represent momentum? What should be the consequences of holding debt? Charlie, Trevor, and Ananda shoot first in X-Wing.

What distinguishes melee and ranged attacks? Do persistent corpses enhance combat? Trevor, Ananda, and Charlie don their caster rings in Necromolds.

How do you make the entire map important? Does line of sight need to be complicated? Ananda, Charlie, and Trevor summon their warriors in Heroscape.

When is losing options a relief? How many cards should players be able to play per turn? Charlie, Trevor, and Ananda talk about card shedding games.

Must progression be personal? How can you customize a card? Trevor, Ananda, and Charlie craft heroes in Custom Heroes.

Why do game titles matter? What makes for a great game box? Ananda, Charlie, and Trevor search for patterns in I Know...You Don't.