The why behind tabletop play.
Ludology treats games as things people build, teach with, learn from, and gather around. Its conversations follow designers, researchers, organizers, and publishers through the choices behind tabletop play.
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Ludology is a long-running conversation about tabletop games as designed experiences. It is less concerned with quick verdicts than with the mechanics, materials, communities, and learning outcomes behind play. The show regularly brings in designers, researchers, publishers, manufacturers, and event organizers to explain how games take shape before they reach a table. Recent episodes trace the fantasy role-playing design of Daggerheart with Spencer Stark, the educational aims behind Roll for Learning with Camilla Zamboni, and the production path from digital files to physical components with Lichen Gu and Mitch Zhang from Long Pack Manufacturing. The scope is wide. One episode can center on a solo horror game like Final Girl, while another treats DND as a structure used by mental health practitioners, therapists, and counselors. The throughline is design thinking. Guests are asked how ideas began, what problems the format solves, and how play changes what people notice, practice, or understand. Ludology also pays attention to the ecosystem around designers, including Unpub’s playtesting network and convention support for first-time and experienced creators. The pacing is conversational but intentional. A live convention chat about My Little Pony deck-building can sit comfortably beside a public health discussion about pro-social and pro-health behaviors. The show’s best moments come when practical details open into bigger questions: how feedback improves a prototype, how components affect production, or how classroom role-playing can support assessment and implementation. It is serious about games without sounding sealed off from the pleasure of them. The result is a useful listen for people who care about the craft behind play, not just the next title to buy.
Made for: Ludology is for board game designers, educators, researchers, publishers, and thoughtful players who want process-level conversations about tabletop games. It especially suits listeners interested in playtesting, learning, role-playing systems, and games used beyond entertainment.
What sets it apart: Ludology connects game design craft with education, manufacturing, public health, conventions, and community practice. Its interviews treat games as built systems with real-world uses, not just products awaiting review.
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.
D&D as exposure therapy is the sort of left turn your game-night brain came here for.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A clear look at how play can carry health work without losing the game.
Joe Mosisco, an assistant professor of public health at Wright State University in Ohio and a designer and researcher, gives Ludology a practical angle on where games meet health work.
A veteran designer uses a scout badge project to show how rules, testing, and observation shape play.
Ludology 319 uses a scout badge project to make game design feel unusually concrete. David Mullich's career gives the episode its range, from The Prisoner adventure game in 1979 to DuckTales for the Nintendo Entertainment System at Disney, Harlan Ellison's I Have No Mouth and I…
A clear look at jubensha, where story carries the whole experience.
Sen Fung Lim speaks with Z9 Mystery Jubensha Club, Canada's first English-language jubensha store, and the conversation opens a useful window onto a format many listeners may not know by name.
Nilay Patel presses tech and media CEOs on how they actually run their companies.
Dan Pashman revisits food science with Kenji López-Alt and rotating live comedy guests.
Ludology episode 319 features David Mullich, a veteran video game designer with 45 years of experience, discussing his role in creating the Boy Scouts of America Game Design Merit Badge.
This episode of Ludology interviews game designer Jonathan Chaffer about his work on escape room games and his personal preferences for puzzles.
Ludology hosts Z9 Mystery Jubensha Club, Canada's first English-language jubensha store, to explore this live-action murder mystery genre originating from China.
The hosts discuss the concept of familiarity in gaming, exploring how it influences game design, player attraction, and the balance between novelty and comfort in the hobby space.
This episode explores the Canadian board game and RPG design scene through a live roundtable discussion at Breakout Con, comparing conventions in Toronto and Vancouver.
Herb describes Crash Factor, a balancing strategy game descended from Mass Gammon, in which numbered weights interact with distance from a central ball fulcrum.
Ludology hosts Erika Bouiris and Sen Fong Lim interview FLIM organizer Marc-Antoine Doyon about Montreal's outdoor game festival, which drew around 43,000 people after organizers expected 5,000 to 6,000.
Ludology 360 features Jesper Mierfors, the original art director for Magic: The Gathering, describing how a construction-paper prototype led him to request Wizards of the Coast stock instead of unpaid wages.
Kathleen Mercury explains how her work as an educator and game designer led from Gen Con Trade Day to coordinating Gen Con’s Game Design Academy with Jeanette LeGault.
This episode features an interview with game designer Christopher Chung discussing his work on games like Lanterns and My Little Pony, his journey into game design, and his personal connection to the My Little Pony franchise.
This episode features an interview with game designer Spencer Stark discussing his work as lead designer on the fantasy RPG Daggerheart, his other projects, and the inspirations behind his designs.
This episode explores the role of play practitioners in using games for experiential learning, professional development, and creating meaningful impact through tabletop experiences.
This episode interviews Lichen Gu and Mitch Zhang from Long Pack Manufacturing to explore the complex process of turning digital game designs into physical board game components.
This episode interviews the organizers of Unpub, a convention series dedicated to playtesting and supporting tabletop game designers at all experience levels.
Ludology 351, "Better health through gaming," features host Erika Buguris and co-host Senfong Lim talking with Joe Mosisco, an assistant professor of public health at Wright State University in Ohio.
This episode interviews Evan Derrick, co-designer of the solo horror board game Final Girl, exploring its inspiration, design, and success in the gaming industry.
This episode features an interview with Camilla Zamboni, a professor and co-editor of 'Roll for Learning,' discussing the creation of a book containing 51 micro-tabletop role-playing games designed for educational use in classrooms.