Decision Space

By Jacob Frydman, Brendan Hansen

Decision Space is a board game podcast about the decisions in games.... more

4.8

128128 ratings

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FAQs about Decision Space:

How many episodes does Decision Space have?

The podcast currently has 248 episodes available.

Decision Space episodes:

November 26, 2025 "Get Good?": What Motivates Us To Play Games
Decision Space is the podcast about decisions in board games.
Join our active and welcoming Discord community,
Join the crew today! (Decision Space Patreon), or
Leave us a review wherever you find this podcast!

Episode 242 - Evaluating Auction Games
Ok n00bs, it's time to get good. All four hosts are present to participate in a deep conversation about why we play games and whether getting good at them is a worthwhile endeavor.

There are a lot of references to the work of CT Nguyen, who was interviewed on this podcast way back in episode 67. Check it out

Timestamps
1:45- do you want to get good at games?
9:00- achievement play vs striving play
36:15- why we try to get good
1:08:00- does this connect to game design?
1:18:00- final thoughts

Preplanners
Next up is a deep dive on the donkey space of Hanamikoji and Agent Avenue

Music and Sound Credits
Thank you to Hembree for our intro and outro music from their song Reach Out. You can listen to the full song on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQuuRPfOyMw&list=TLGGFNH7VEDPgwgyNTA4MjAyMQ&t=3s
You can find more information about Hembree at https://www.hembreemusic.com/.
Thank you to Flash Floods for use of their song Palm of Your Hand as a sting from their album Halfway to Anywhere: https://open.spotify.com/album/2fE6LrqzNDKPYWyS5evh3K?si=CCjdAGmeSnOOEui6aV3_nA

Intermission Music:
music elevator ext part 1/3 by Jay_You -- https://freesound.org/s/467243/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
Bell with Crows by MKzing -- https://freesound.org/s/474266/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
hammer v2.wav by blukotek -- https://freesound.org/s/337815/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

Contact
Follow and reach us on social media on Bluesky @decisionspace.bsky.social.
If you prefer email, then hit us up at [email protected].
This information is all available along with episodes at our new website decisionspacepodcast.com.
Byeee!
...more
1h 23min
November 19, 2025 Evaluating Auction Games
Decision Space is the podcast about decisions in board games.
Join our active and welcoming Discord community,
Join the crew today! (Decision Space Patreon), or
Leave us a review wherever you find this podcast!

Episode 241 - Evaluating Auction Games
Going once, going twice... Pete, Paul, and Brendan chat about their favorite auction games and how different twists on the concept create unique, interactive decision spaces in games.

Timestamps
05:15- intro to auctions
24:15- Going Going Gone
30:30- Modern Art
34:00- Big Top
36:25- For Sale
43:30- Castles of Mad King Ludwig
47:00- Ra
56:10- QE
1:04:50- Skyrise
1:07:20- The Estates
1:09:30- Chicago Express
1:13:45- Rising Sun
1:15:15- Keyflower
1:20:15- No Thanks
1:24:30- Spyrium

Preplanners
Next up is a discussion on getting good!

Music and Sound Credits
Thank you to Hembree for our intro and outro music from their song Reach Out. You can listen to the full song on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQuuRPfOyMw&list=TLGGFNH7VEDPgwgyNTA4MjAyMQ&t=3s
You can find more information about Hembree at https://www.hembreemusic.com/.
Thank you to Flash Floods for use of their song Palm of Your Hand as a sting from their album Halfway to Anywhere: https://open.spotify.com/album/2fE6LrqzNDKPYWyS5evh3K?si=CCjdAGmeSnOOEui6aV3_nA

Intermission Music:
music elevator ext part 1/3 by Jay_You -- https://freesound.org/s/467243/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
Bell with Crows by MKzing -- https://freesound.org/s/474266/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
hammer v2.wav by blukotek -- https://freesound.org/s/337815/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

Contact
Follow and reach us on social media on Bluesky @decisionspace.bsky.social.
If you prefer email, then hit us up at [email protected].
This information is all available along with episodes at our new website decisionspacepodcast.com.
Byeee!
...more
1h 30min
November 12, 2025 Every Game I'm Shufflin': Deckbuilding 201 and Dune Imperium
Decision Space is the podcast about decisions in board games.
Join our active and welcoming Discord community,
Join the crew today! (Decision Space Patreon), or
Leave us a review wherever you find this podcast!

Episode 240 - Deckbuilding 201
Part 2 of our deckbuilding series continues with hybrid designs! Pete and Jake discuss board games that utilize deckbuilding as a mechanism, with a special focus on Paul Dennen's Dune Imperium games. Also Jake comes to the realization that a deckbuilding game is really just a deck shuffling game. He was quite proud of this epiphany.

Also, DECISON SPACE MERCH! Get your sweet, sweet, podcast supporting t-shirts and hats right here - https://www.decisionspacepodcast.com/merch

Timestamps
02:30- Pete Essen recap
10:00- deckbuilding evolution
24:30- Clank!
31:45- Quest for El Dorado
37:00- Aeon's End
43:00- Lost Ruins of Arnak
46:30- Heat
50:30- Challengers
53:10- Undaunted
55:30- Dune Imperium

Preplanners
We're planning a WWTA episode on types of auctions in games!

Music and Sound Credits
Thank you to Hembree for our intro and outro music from their song Reach Out. You can listen to the full song on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQuuRPfOyMw&list=TLGGFNH7VEDPgwgyNTA4MjAyMQ&t=3s
You can find more information about Hembree at https://www.hembreemusic.com/.
Thank you to Flash Floods for use of their song Palm of Your Hand as a sting from their album Halfway to Anywhere: https://open.spotify.com/album/2fE6LrqzNDKPYWyS5evh3K?si=CCjdAGmeSnOOEui6aV3_nA

Intermission Music:
music elevator ext part 1/3 by Jay_You -- https://freesound.org/s/467243/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
Bell with Crows by MKzing -- https://freesound.org/s/474266/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
hammer v2.wav by blukotek -- https://freesound.org/s/337815/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

Contact
Follow and reach us on social media on Bluesky @decisionspace.bsky.social.
If you prefer email, then hit us up at [email protected].
This information is all available along with episodes at our new website decisionspacepodcast.com.
Byeee!
...more
1h 15min
November 05, 2025 Spatial Puzzles and Tile Laying Tropes
Decision Space is the podcast about decisions in board games.
Join our active and welcoming Discord community,
Join the crew today! (Decision Space Patreon), or
Leave us a review wherever you find this podcast!

Episode 239 - Spatial Puzzles and Tile Laying Tropes
Brendan and Paul dig deep into the mechanisms behind tile-laying games. What are the different decisions players make with tiles and what makes them special? Also, a mini deep dive on Paris: La Cite de la Lumiere

Also, DECISON SPACE MERCH! Get your sweet, sweet, podcast supporting t-shirts and hats right here - https://www.decisionspacepodcast.com/merch

Timestamps
04:30- adjacency
10:00- filling a frame
15:00- color matching
20:00- region closure
26:00- route building
36:15- tiling
39:30- tile stacking
47:15- pattern building
52:15- spatial combos
55:45- Paris: La Cite de la Lumiere case study

Games Mentioned
Carcassone, My City, Baren Park, Kingdominio, Floristry, Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Carpe Diem, Isle of Skye, Cascadia, Isle of Cats, Land vs Sea, Tsuro, Indigo, Karuba, Babylonia, Guild of Merchant Explorers, Blue Lagoon, Patchwork, Cuzco, Llama Land, Miyabi, Nimalia, Oddland, Honey Buzz, Paris La Cite de la Lumiere

Preplanners
More goodness coming soon...

Music and Sound Credits
Thank you to Hembree for our intro and outro music from their song Reach Out. You can listen to the full song on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQuuRPfOyMw&list=TLGGFNH7VEDPgwgyNTA4MjAyMQ&t=3s
You can find more information about Hembree at https://www.hembreemusic.com/.
Thank you to Flash Floods for use of their song Palm of Your Hand as a sting from their album Halfway to Anywhere: https://open.spotify.com/album/2fE6LrqzNDKPYWyS5evh3K?si=CCjdAGmeSnOOEui6aV3_nA

Intermission Music:
music elevator ext part 1/3 by Jay_You -- https://freesound.org/s/467243/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
Bell with Crows by MKzing -- https://freesound.org/s/474266/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
hammer v2.wav by blukotek -- https://freesound.org/s/337815/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

Contact
Follow and reach us on social media on Bluesky @decisionspace.bsky.social.
If you prefer email, then hit us up at [email protected].
This information is all available along with episodes at our new website decisionspacepodcast.com.
Byeee!
...more
1h 24min
October 29, 2025 Fighting Games of Understanding and Tag Team Review with Luke Williams
Decision Space is the podcast about decisions in board games.
Join our active and welcoming Discord community,
Join the crew today! (Decision Space Patreon), or
Leave us a review wherever you find this podcast!

Episode 238 - Fighting Games and Tag Team
Jake, Brendan, and special guest Luke Williams of the Laughing Table Friends are here to talk about the fighting game video game genre and review a new card game that simulates the very same thing, Tag Team. Also, we announce DECISON SPACE MERCH! Get your sweet, sweet, podcast supporting t-shirts and hats right here - https://www.decisionspacepodcast.com/merch

Timestamps
0:00 - Special Announcement (Merch!)
3:15 - Fighting Games
39:40 - Tag Team

Preplanners
Tiles part 2 is coming at you next week from Paul and Brendan.

Music and Sound Credits
Thank you to Hembree for our intro and outro music from their song Reach Out. You can listen to the full song on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQuuRPfOyMw&list=TLGGFNH7VEDPgwgyNTA4MjAyMQ&t=3s
You can find more information about Hembree at https://www.hembreemusic.com/.
Thank you to Flash Floods for use of their song Palm of Your Hand as a sting from their album Halfway to Anywhere: https://open.spotify.com/album/2fE6LrqzNDKPYWyS5evh3K?si=CCjdAGmeSnOOEui6aV3_nA

Intermission Music:
music elevator ext part 1/3 by Jay_You -- https://freesound.org/s/467243/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
Bell with Crows by MKzing -- https://freesound.org/s/474266/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
hammer v2.wav by blukotek -- https://freesound.org/s/337815/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

Contact
Follow and reach us on social media on Bluesky @decisionspace.bsky.social.
If you prefer email, then hit us up at [email protected].
This information is all available along with episodes at our new website decisionspacepodcast.com.
Byeee!
...more
1h 24min
October 22, 2025 Design Day Recap: Feedback, Feelings, and Fun
Decision Space is the podcast about decisions in board games.
Join our active and welcoming Discord community,
Join the crew today! (Decision Space Patreon), or
Leave us a review wherever you find this podcast!

Episode 237 - Design Day Recap
Pete, Paul, and Jake share their experiences at Stonemaier Design Day 2025. They discuss games they demoed and played while shooting the breeze about what to do with player feedback and how to figure out the next steps for your designs.

Timestamps
04:30- What is Stonemaier Design Day?
13:20- Grand Tournament of Arcanists (Jake's game)
30:35- Guesstimates (Pete's game)
46:30- upcoming GameHead games (Paul's company)
1:00:00- other games we playtested at Design Day

Preplanners
Tag Team deep dive is up next!

Music and Sound Credits
Thank you to Hembree for our intro and outro music from their song Reach Out. You can listen to the full song on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQuuRPfOyMw&list=TLGGFNH7VEDPgwgyNTA4MjAyMQ&t=3s
You can find more information about Hembree at https://www.hembreemusic.com/.
Thank you to Flash Floods for use of their song Palm of Your Hand as a sting from their album Halfway to Anywhere: https://open.spotify.com/album/2fE6LrqzNDKPYWyS5evh3K?si=CCjdAGmeSnOOEui6aV3_nA

Intermission Music:
music elevator ext part 1/3 by Jay_You -- https://freesound.org/s/467243/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
Bell with Crows by MKzing -- https://freesound.org/s/474266/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
hammer v2.wav by blukotek -- https://freesound.org/s/337815/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

Contact
Follow and reach us on social media on Bluesky @decisionspace.bsky.social.
If you prefer email, then hit us up at [email protected].
This information is all available along with episodes at our new website decisionspacepodcast.com.
Byeee!
...more
1h 15min
October 15, 2025 The Best Components of All Time
Decision Space is the podcast about decisions in board games.
Join our active and welcoming Discord community,
Join the crew today! (Decision Space Patreon), or
Leave us a review wherever you find this podcast!

Episode 236 - The Best Components of All Time
The whole gang is together for a VERY silly episode that acts as a finale to our component series. We do a competitive draft to see who has the best collection of components and also pick out some of our favorite board game productions of all time.

Timestamps
05:25- component draft
35:00- wrap up discussion
45:30- our favorite components

Preplanners
Stay tuned for a recap of Stonemaier Design Day as well as a deep dive on Tag Team!

Music and Sound Credits
Thank you to Hembree for our intro and outro music from their song Reach Out. You can listen to the full song on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQuuRPfOyMw&list=TLGGFNH7VEDPgwgyNTA4MjAyMQ&t=3s
You can find more information about Hembree at https://www.hembreemusic.com/.
Thank you to Flash Floods for use of their song Palm of Your Hand as a sting from their album Halfway to Anywhere: https://open.spotify.com/album/2fE6LrqzNDKPYWyS5evh3K?si=CCjdAGmeSnOOEui6aV3_nA

Intermission Music:
music elevator ext part 1/3 by Jay_You -- https://freesound.org/s/467243/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
Bell with Crows by MKzing -- https://freesound.org/s/474266/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
hammer v2.wav by blukotek -- https://freesound.org/s/337815/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

Contact
Follow and reach us on social media on Bluesky @decisionspace.bsky.social.
If you prefer email, then hit us up at [email protected].
This information is all available along with episodes at our new website decisionspacepodcast.com.
Byeee!
...more
55min
October 08, 2025 Chunky Decisions and Other Design Lessons with Jon Perry
Decision Space is the podcast about decisions in board games.
Join our active and welcoming Discord community,
Join the crew today! (Decision Space Patreon), or
Leave us a review wherever you find this podcast!

Episode 235 - Design Lessons with Jon Perry
Tabletop and video game designer Jon Perry joins us for a discussion of the tabletop design lessons that inspire his own work.
Check out the GDC talk that inspired the episode here: https://gdcvault.com/play/1035154/How-Tabletop-Design-Helped-Shape

Timestamps
8:50- multi-use components
18:00- cutting complex rules
27:15- modular rules
40:15- chunky decisions
54:30- mechanism vs genre

Jon Perry games discussed in the episode
Hot Streak, Spots, Air Land and Sea, Scape Goats, UFO 50

Preplanners
Next up is our component draft! Also Brendan cannot wait to discuss the new fighting game Tag Team, so you may want to get some plays in for that one.

Music and Sound Credits
Thank you to Hembree for our intro and outro music from their song Reach Out. You can listen to the full song on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQuuRPfOyMw&list=TLGGFNH7VEDPgwgyNTA4MjAyMQ&t=3s
You can find more information about Hembree at https://www.hembreemusic.com/.
Thank you to Flash Floods for use of their song Palm of Your Hand as a sting from their album Halfway to Anywhere: https://open.spotify.com/album/2fE6LrqzNDKPYWyS5evh3K?si=CCjdAGmeSnOOEui6aV3_nA

Intermission Music:
music elevator ext part 1/3 by Jay_You -- https://freesound.org/s/467243/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
Bell with Crows by MKzing -- https://freesound.org/s/474266/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
hammer v2.wav by blukotek -- https://freesound.org/s/337815/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

Contact
Follow and reach us on social media on Bluesky @decisionspace.bsky.social.
If you prefer email, then hit us up at [email protected].
This information is all available along with episodes at our new website decisionspacepodcast.com.
Byeee!
...more
1h 15min
October 01, 2025 Deckbuilding 101 and Dominion
Decision Space is the podcast about decisions in board games.
Join our active and welcoming Discord community,
Join the crew today! (Decision Space Patreon), or
Leave us a review wherever you find this podcast!

Episode 234 - Deckbuilding 101 and Dominion
Pete and Brendan dig into one of the most popular mechanisms in modern gaming: deckbuilding? Why is it so popular? How does a deckbuilding decision space flip engine building on its head? For today's Deckbuilding 101 class, we of course use Dominion as our case study into the genre and examine whether the game still holds up in 2025.

Other Games mentioned
StarCraft, Magic the Gathering, Ascension, Star Realms, Great Western Trail, Clank, Shards of Infinity, Slay the Spire. Quest for El Dorado, Fort, Imperium: Legends, Tag Team

Preplanners
We have a special guest lined up as well as a special draft to round out our component series!

Music and Sound Credits
Thank you to Hembree for our intro and outro music from their song Reach Out. You can listen to the full song on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQuuRPfOyMw&list=TLGGFNH7VEDPgwgyNTA4MjAyMQ&t=3s
You can find more information about Hembree at https://www.hembreemusic.com/.
Thank you to Flash Floods for use of their song Palm of Your Hand as a sting from their album Halfway to Anywhere: https://open.spotify.com/album/2fE6LrqzNDKPYWyS5evh3K?si=CCjdAGmeSnOOEui6aV3_nA

Intermission Music:
music elevator ext part 1/3 by Jay_You -- https://freesound.org/s/467243/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
Bell with Crows by MKzing -- https://freesound.org/s/474266/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
hammer v2.wav by blukotek -- https://freesound.org/s/337815/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

Contact
Follow and reach us on social media on Bluesky @decisionspace.bsky.social.
If you prefer email, then hit us up at [email protected].
This information is all available along with episodes at our new website decisionspacepodcast.com.
Byeee!
...more
1h 17min
September 24, 2025 Meeples, Money, and Other Chit
Decision Space is the podcast about decisions in board games.
Join our active and welcoming Discord community,
Join the crew today! (Decision Space Patreon), or
Leave us a review wherever you find this podcast!

Episode 233 - Meeples, Money, and Other Chit
Our exploration of board game components continues! In this episode Jake, Brendan, and Paul talk about all the bits in a game! How do decisions about specific tokens and trackers impact the experience of playing a game? Do these production decisions change the decision space of a game?

Preplanners
Next week is deckbuilding 101 with a study of Dominion!

Music and Sound Credits
Thank you to Hembree for our intro and outro music from their song Reach Out. You can listen to the full song on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQuuRPfOyMw&list=TLGGFNH7VEDPgwgyNTA4MjAyMQ&t=3s
You can find more information about Hembree at https://www.hembreemusic.com/.
Thank you to Flash Floods for use of their song Palm of Your Hand as a sting from their album Halfway to Anywhere: https://open.spotify.com/album/2fE6LrqzNDKPYWyS5evh3K?si=CCjdAGmeSnOOEui6aV3_nA

Intermission Music:
music elevator ext part 1/3 by Jay_You -- https://freesound.org/s/467243/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
Bell with Crows by MKzing -- https://freesound.org/s/474266/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
hammer v2.wav by blukotek -- https://freesound.org/s/337815/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

Contact
Follow and reach us on social media on Bluesky @decisionspace.bsky.social.
If you prefer email, then hit us up at [email protected].
This information is all available along with episodes at our new website decisionspacepodcast.com.
Byeee!
...more
1h 14min

FAQs about Decision Space:

How many episodes does Decision Space have?

The podcast currently has 248 episodes available.

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