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 224 - Board Game Junk Food

The gang gets slightly unhinged this week discussing what is the board game equivalent of trashy TV.  Also Brendan can't stop thinking about Doritos.

Game Timestamps

10:05- Hot Streak

15:00- Feudum

16:00- A Feast for Odin

16:45- Agricola: Dead Harvest

19:15- Strike

21:05- Pass the Pigs

22:30- Don't Break the Ice

23:00- Junk Art

25:30- My City

29:15- Lost Ruins of Arnak

30:30- Challengers

31:30- Magic the Gathering

32:50- Can't Stop

41:30- Skull King

42:50- Rebel Princess

46:00- The Resistance

50:50- Raiders of the North Sea

51:20- Dune Imperium Uprising

52:05- Marvel United

53:25- Roll for the Galaxy

54:50- Zoo Vadis

56:25- MLEM 

59:40- Dominion

1:00:07- Brass Birmingham

1:01:51- Thunder Road Vendetta

1:02:40- Cosmic Encounter

Preplanners

A few deep dives are in the works, so get in some plays of Apiary, Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Dominion, and more Root!

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

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!

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 223 - Ode to the Tile

In this quite academic episode, Paul goes into full teacher mode with Brendan to discuss the many ways different types of tiles are used in board games.  Stay tuned to hear Paul use the term "recreational mathematics" MULTIPLE times!

Timestamps

2:00- background

5:00- types of tile laying games

9:00- spatial puzzles and math stuff

16:00- tiles and theme

19:30- tiles and interaction

23:00- squares

32:00- dominos

35:20- polyominos

39:40- hexagons

47:00- other shapes

51:00- mechanical systems

Games Mentioned

Tigris & Euphrates, Tetris, Patchwork, My City, Isle of Cats, Stamp Swap, Renature, Blokus, Animalia, Isle of Skye, Glen More, Carcassone, Scrabble, Kingdomino, Dragomino, Renature, Gardlings, Barenpark, A Feast for Odin, Expeditions, Cascadia, Keyflower, Hex, My Island, Aqua, Flow, Alhambra, Miyabi, Akropolis, Llama Land, Honey Buzz

Preplanners

A few deep dives are in the works, so get in some plays of Apiary, Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Dominion, and more Root!

Also, start thinking about what your "guilty pleasure" board games are (if that's even a thing).

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

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!

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 222 - What have we been playing? 

In this very chill episode, Jake and Pete discuss some recent plays of some new and old games.  Listen for such unexpected topics as:

Pete talks about a trick-taking game???

Jake plays a Kramer and Kiesling game???

Game Timestamps

3:52- Earthborne Rangers

20:35- Linko

30:01- Nanatoridori

30:48- Calimala

40:08- Confusing Lands

48:05- Xylotar

52:57- Antike II

Preplanners

A few deep dives are in the works, so get in some plays of Apiary, Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Dominion, and more Root!

Also, start thinking about what your "guilty pleasure" board games are (if that's even a thing).

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

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!

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 221 - Balancing for Player Count (WWTA)

A game development episode in which Pete, Paul, and Brendan ask the important questions:

What makes games flexible or inflexible when it comes to player count?

Should a publisher put a suboptimal player count on a box?

Are there games that you would only play at one player count?

Timestamps

02:40- main topic begins

05:00- games with fixed player count

18:03- challenges and solutions for player count flexibility

30:00- game design discussion

40:30- player count variants

49:45- games that are naturally scalable

54:15- games you would only play at one player count

58:20- what player counts should go on the box?

1:08:50- closing thoughts

Games mentioned

Unrest, Werewords, Codenames, Star Realms, Magic the Gathering, A Feast for Odin, Fromage, Earth, Planet Unknown, Wingspan, Honey Buzz, Crits & Tricks, Lobby Snacks, Enchanted Plumes, Viticulture, Age of Innovation, Dune Imperium, Watches and Clocks of Dickory Docks, Robotrick, 7 Wonders, The Crew: Mission Deep Sea, Fellowship of the Ring the Trick-Taking Game, Santorini, Race for the Galaxy, Kingdomino, Cascadia, Incan Gold, Not Alone, A Game of Throne: The Board Game (second edition), Unlock, Tigris & Euphrates, Root, Orapa Mine, Santa's Workshop, No Loose Ends, Trinket Trove, El Grande

Pete's dev diary on No Loose Ends

https://boardgamegeek.com/blog/1/blogpost/175099/developer-diary-no-loose-ends

Preplanners

Pete is still putting Brenan through the reps of Root expansion factions so we can make part two of our deep dive on that game!

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

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!

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 220 - Listener Question Mailbag

A loose episode in which Jake, Brendan, and Pete answer such hard hitting questions as:

"Why do you play board games?"

"What designs are you working on?"

"Who is the hottest member of the Fellowship?" 

Game Timestamps

02:20- Clockwork Wars

03:40- Fishing

05:30- It's a Wonderful World

11:10- TRICKTAKERs

12:30- Voyages of Marco Polo

14:40- BattleCON

20:36- My Favorite Things

24:28- Enchanted Plumes, Cascadia, Babylonia

25:15- The Crew, Root, El Grande

26:06- Bruges, Challengers, the Resistance

27:10- Honey Buzz, Isle of Skye, Star Realms

44:30- First Class Letters

47:15- Nimalia

48:13- Gudnak

48:44- Typeset, Signal, Here Lies

49:45- Food Chain Magnate

50:50- That's Not a Hat

51:01- Bomb Busters

51:35- Final Binary

53:20- Barrage

56:01- Root

1:06:40- Babylonia

1:07:25- Bottle Imp, Schadenfreude

1:08:50- Chicky Boom

1:09:40- Slap Jack

Preplanners

Unsure what's next, but Pete wants to deep dive Dominion.  Play it!  It's still amazing!  Also, Root expansion episode will happen once Brendan gets enough plays in with those factions.

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

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!

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 219 - Root Deep Dive (part 1)

Buckle in for a long one!  Pete and Brendan go DEEP on Cole Wehrle's Root.  Did Brendan enjoy exploring Pete's favorite game?  Is the Vagabond OP?  Do the Cats suck?  Is this game too hard to learn?  

Timestamps

3:20- reviews

12:50- game background

18:14- basic rules overview

22:00- faction overview

34:30- the cards

36:00- battles

38:30- back to the cards

42:00- core decision space

54:00- marquise de cat

1:02:00- eyrie dynasties

1:12:10- woodland alliance

1:21:05- vagabond

1:31:25- table politics

1:36:00- final thoughts

1:43:20- plans for the future

Preplanners

Send up questions for an AMA episode through email or by joining our discord!

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

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!

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 218 - Lifestyle Games 

What we talk about when we talk about lifestyle games.  Are they worth sinking all your time and money into?  Let's discuss!

Timestamps

4:15 what is a lifestyle game?

30:00 what do we like about lifestyle games?

37:00 what do we dislike about lifestyle games?

52:00 can board games be lifestyle games?

1:02:00 designing lifestyle games today

1:08:00 do you miss having a lifestyle game?

Preplanners

Send up questions for an AMA episode through email or by joining our discord!

Next week is the first of at least two episodes deep diving Pete's favorite game of all time: Root!

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

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!

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 217 - The Wow Factor 

What makes you stop and say "wow" when playing a game?  Listen to Jake workshop his newly patented "Six Kinds of Wow"!  

Special guest Bill Collins!

Game Timestamps

3:00 Vivo

4:10 Anachrony

6:30 Cat in the Box

10:00 Yahtzee

10:30 Just One

11:20 Cryptid

12:00 Arcs

16:40 Jenga

18:30 Calico

19:00 Tichu

23:30 The Resistance

24:30 Princes of Florence

25:00 The Thing

26:00 Hearts

27:00 Dune Imperium / Dune Imperium Uprising

30:00 High Society

30:30 Tikal

31:00 Eclipse Second Dawn for the Galaxy

32:00 A Game of Thrones the Board Game

32:45 Food Chain Magnate

35:00 Magic the Gathering

36:30 Lords of Waterdeep

38:40 Innovation

39:00 Root

39:20 Scythe

40:40 Imperium the Contention

41:30 Twilight Struggle

44:30 Wavelength / Lacuna / Hot Streak

46:00 Return to the Dark Tower

51:30 Robo Rally

53:30 Cascadia

Preplanners

Game design discussion on balancing for player count hosted by Paul coming up soon?! 

Also a double header of episodes about deckbuilding and the long awaited deep dive of Root!

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

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!

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 216 - Innovation and Games without Guard Rails (Look Mom, No Hands!)

Look mom, no hands! Brendan and Pete are diving into a discussion without guard rails (games) and then review Carl Chudyk's, Innovation.

Timestamps

Show Business - 0:00

Games Mentioned

lost ruins of arnak, Keyforge, Magic: the Gathering, Tigris & Euphrates, Modern Art, Root, and Innovation

Preplanners

Game design discussion on balancing for player count hosted by Paul coming up soon?! Also, "wow" factor 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

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!

SUPPORT ST. LOUIS TORNADO RELIEF EFFORTS HERE - https://foodcitystl.org/

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 215 - The Laughing Table Friends Played Hot Games at Geekway To the West! 

Jake alongside fellow Laughing Table Friends members Luke Williams (first time on the pod!) and Jared Ingersoll (returning guest) talk about the fun we had at Geekway To the West 2025. We break our discussion into three awards: best new to me game, best single play, and best moment. We save some time at the end to talk about a few of the other games of note that we played.

Timestamps

Show Business - 0:00

Games Mentioned

Games mentioned - Downfall of Pompeii, Bomb Busters, The Gang, El Grande, Inis, Santiago, The Resistance: Avalon, Molly House, Spectre Ops, Hot Streak, Black Forest, Soda Jerk, Fishing

Preplanners

Game design discussion on balancing for player count hosted by Paul coming up 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

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!