Friends! Happy Holidays! I hope everyone here in the states had a great Thanksgiving. And for those of you not in the states happy......December? Kidding aside, I had a killer time interviewing Evan D'Alessandro, a Ph.d. student in the Department of War Studies at Kings College London. Besides being a great guy and an interesting chat, Evan has done a lot in the field of wargaming. He's design and large many large scale games, and his website is filled with great information about the world of professional wargaming. I previously met Evan at the Connections Conference this summer, where I saw him deliver a fascinating presentation on the role dice play in many of our games. It was one of those episodes that immediately sparked topics for 3 more- all of which I hope Evan will be part of. Please enjoy!

https://evandalessandro.com/

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Ryan L. Schaaf is an associate professor of Educational Technology at Notre Dame of Maryland University and a graduate faculty member in the DALET program for the Johns Hopkins School of Education. Before higher education, Ryan was a public-school teacher, instructional leader, curriculum designer, and technology integration specialist in Maryland. In 2007, he was nominated as Maryland Teacher of the Year.

Ryan enjoys presenting sessions and workshops with passionate people about teaching the digital generations, modern-day teaching and learning skills, game-based learning, and emerging technologies, practices, and trends in education.

Ryan has published several research articles related to the use of digital games as an effective instructional strategy in the New Horizons for Learning and the Canadian Journal of Action Research. 

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Friends- please enjoy our most recent podcast with a true pioneer in the field of wargaming- Matthew B. Caffrey Jr. Matt is one of the kindest guys you'll ever meet- super easy to talk to, with tremendous amounts of knowledge about wargaming at the highest levels. Some of his stories, which came out in this episode, are absolutely fascinating, and he is true gem in our small, niche world of wargaming. I first met Matt at this summer's Connections Conference, held in Maryland, where the 20SG team ran a demo of Challenge to Power: The Medieval World. Hysterically, and without knowing it, Matt's family were the first folks to chat with us about the game, and gave us some incredible feedback. The next day, I was able to connect with Matt- and here we are! Please enjoy the episode!

https://sites.google.com/view/matthew-b-caffrey-jr/home?authuser=0

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Podcast Listeners- this episode was definitely a bucket list interview! For the next 90 minutes, enjoy our conversation with wargames author Simon Miller. Most well known for "To the Strongest", Simon is an experienced gamer and rules designer who, in my humble opinion, has done a lot for the world of ancient, medieval, and renaissance miniature wargaming. While TTS can be played in a competitive environment, it's one of those systems that lends itself to narrative games, and feels more like an ancient battle compared with the more geometric games of the 80s and 90s. Simon is a prolific collector and has massive armies, and is a consistent presenter and game master at wargaming conventions across the UK. Also- you'll get to relive my trauma of playing DBA (which don't get me wrong, I do like!) as a child in the early 90s! Enjoy the episode!!! Huge thanks to Peter Anderson, who co-hosted the episode, and introduced me to TTS roughly 10 years ago.

https://bigredbatshop.co.uk/pages/about-us

https://blundersonthedanube.blogspot.com/

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Friends- please enjoy my conversation with author Damond Crump, author of "Patrol: World War Two". It was fantastic chatting with Damon and hearing his story of growing up in the gaming community. He talks quite a bit about game design, the Pacific Northwest, and his relationship with Bryan Shein of Pacific Sky Games. I absolutely love what this company is doing, and their new website looks fantastic. Please enjoy the episode, and get a copy of Damond's game today!

https://pacificskygames.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoqIPfcOtL_9QLjUVpK1jiGS7N1QWiqzXgUjPeQRdFmkX3X43iKn

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Friends- please enjoy my conversation with Rick Priestley, who returns from Episode #1 with a new game to discuss! Space Battles is a fascinating game, written by Rick and published by Wombat Wargames. There are a bunch of supplements, a miniatures line, and a ton of promise for future releases! The game has a modern feel, with vintage aesthetics. Rick is always a blast to chat with- we had an awesome time with this one. Have fun with this one! Here are some links for the game:

https://wombatwargames.com/

https://www.ralparthaeurope.co.uk/shop/wombat-wargames-c-251/

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Friends- please enjoy the most selfish episode I've ever recorded- my conversation with Skaff Elias, one of the original playtesters, developers, and right hand man to Richard Garfield of Magic the Gathering the fame. As many of you know, Challenge to Power will be 20SG's first published game (more on this soon), and as it turned out, I knew that I would be talking with Skaff for the show. It seemed like a win-win to discuss game design with him. Easily one of the most enriching conversations I've had on the show. If I enjoyed it, I surmise you will as well! Get into it!

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Friends- please enjoy my chat with friend and gaming contemporary Tony Marano of Little Wars TV! We focused our discussion on Tony and his love of old school RPGs. He is a veteran game master, storyteller, and all around D&D guru, and we had a blast talking about the history of RPGS, their connections with miniatures, and some strategies for running a good game. Have fun with this episode!

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If you haven't had the chance, check out this article on game based learning written by Keith Law, in which he interviewed yours truly!

https://www.endlessmode.com/article/how-board-games-are-used-in-the-classroom

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Folks- this is a two part episode spliced into one! It begins with a monologue about my history/gaming trip to Edinburgh, Scotland back in June of 2025. The first 45 minutes of the episode is about my experience in the city, and the historical tour I took to Stirling, Bannockburn, and a few other locations. If you don't wanna hear the monologue, fast forward to........

..........the 50 minute mark, where the episode transitions into a chat with the one and only Iain McDonald of "Flags of War". He is arguably one of finest makers of miniature wargaming flags around. Silly me when I realized he was from Scotland, and I could have worked out this interview in person! Regardless, this was a ton of fun to record- many of the experiences I recount happened hours after the actual events. If you get a chance, make your way to Edinburgh!

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Hey Folks! Recently, I sat down with Matthew Farber and Tracy Fullerton to discuss their recent book, "The Well-Read Game: On Playing Thoughtfully". I've included a description of the book below. Critics have been raving about it, and it such an honor to discuss the purpose of their book, and connection to education. PS- you may notice that this episode still has the old intro/outro- apologies for that!

https://www.thewellreadgame.com/

In The Well-Read Game, Tracy Fullerton and Matthew Farber explore the experiences we have when we play games: not the outcomes of play or the aesthetics of formal game structures but the ephemeral and emotional experiences of being in play. These are the private stories we tell ourselves as we play, the questions we ask, and our reactions to the game’s intent. These experiences are called “readings” because they involve so many of the aspects of engaging with literary, cinematic, and other expressive texts. A game that is experienced in such a way can be called “well-read,” rather than, or as well as, “well-played,” because of the personal, interpretive nature of that experience and the way in which it relates to our reading of texts of all kinds.

The concept of the “well-read game” exists at the convergence of literary, media, and play theories—specifically, the works of Louise Rosenblatt’s reader-response theory, Brian Upton’s situational game theory, Tracy Fullerton’s playcentric design theory, and Bernie DeKoven’s well-played game philosophy. Each of these theories, from their own perspective, challenges notions of a separate, objective, or authorial meaning in a text and underscores the richness that arises from the varied responses of readers, who coauthor the meaning of each text through their active engagement with it. When taken together, these theories point to a richer understanding of what a game is and how we might better value our experiences with games to become more thoughtful readers of their essential meanings.

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