Josh Wood, designer and developer at AEG, joins the show as I lead him on a tour of my great home state, Wisconsin. Despite my chaotic whims as a tour guide, Josh had some say in the destination choices, “drafting” between one of two locations for our third through sixth stops—with those selections discarding a different set of prepared questions. Fortunately for you, the third member of this trip, you were in for a treat no matter what locations/questions were selected, as Josh’s attention to detail, place, movement, stories, art, and experience leave you with a fantastic episode (and awesome games; go check out Josh’s games).

Josh’s:

BGG Page

Instagram

Bluesky

Let’s Go! To Japan Designer Diary #1…. and #2

Pre-timestamp/chapter notes note:

As the structure of this a selection between locations that each have their own linked question, these notes won’t explicitly spell out “where” we’re going or what the question is explicitly, but there will be a high-level idea mentioned. The first two locations were kind of linked to some introductory thoughts, so those will be more normal. Additionally, the travel distances will be posted on the Games Mentioned in this Episode Google Doc (click if you listened, otherwise you’ll be spoiled a bit).

Show Introduction and the Apostle Islands (0:00)

How Josh’s background in visual effects has entered his game design mixed in with some stories behind his art/art direction.

Spring Green/House on the Rock (10:33)

Josh talks about the story behind Let’s Go! To Japan and other autobiographical elements of his design. Some of the aforementioned focus on place and theme take place here as well.

[Semi-related, but I misspoke and said this was a Frank Lloyd Wright design. While he is a part of the story, he definitely wasn’t the person who designed it, as that was Alex Jordan Jr., so look up more of that story because it’s pretty interesting.]

All That Glitters is not Bronze? (28:33)

The first selected location!

Production, pieces, and tactility.

Dark of the Moon (37:50)

Development and curation.

On the Shoulders of Mammoths (46:24)

Movement as an extra dimension in games.

Burratahead (54:31)

Green and gold and cheesy goodness.

Wrap-up Questions (1:00:25)

We take an unexpected final stop to talk about the show’s expected final questions: some texts on Josh’s mind as well as designs and developments to look out for from him.

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Check out my game, Oversized Sandwich, on BGG and DriveThruCards (to purchase)‬

Chad Elkins, Founder and Lead Developer at 25th Century Games, joins the show for its 25th 36th episode. This episode is so piping hot that you’ll need your best stoneware mug to keep it contained. Through a ton of insightful commentary on general development, localization, and reprinting games, and the fun stories surrounding all of these processes, there are so many takeaways to things I’d been wondering about for some time. Chad also gives away the “formuoli” for getting the rights to something like Ra. With so much enjoyable conversation here, make sure you Run Run Run! to wherever you listen to your podcasts and check out this episode.

There’s a lot to look out for 25th Century Games, so check out their website, social media profiles, and current crowdfunding project (wrapping up soon, but there will be a late-pledge option on Kickstarter until the the pledge manager on Backerkit opens, where late-pledging will be available as well!)

25th Century Games Website

25th Century Games on Bluesky

Observatory and Star Gazers on Kickstarter

Intro, The State of 25th Century Games in 2025, and Mugs (0:00)

Chad and I technically connected first through mugs, so we start off the conversation chatting about those, a game group that's been going strong for one-tenth of a decade, and how 25th is doing in ‘25.

Some of that Sweet, Homegrown Localization [is that an oxymoron?] (20:39)

25th Century Games has published a whole bunch of games through several different means over not too long of a history. Listening to the process, care, and relationships built through different types of publications was a treat for me!

“I Invoke Ra!” (37:18)

We talk about Ra, which is pretty obvious based on this chapter title, BUT Chad also discusses different approaches when it comes to handling reworking games for reprints.

Furthermore, he brings up a fun fact about the number in the BGG url matching its entry in the site’s database (Ra being 12). When I was adding the links to the document that tries to capture all of the games mentioned in this episode (see below), I saw that Catan was 13th–fun coincidence.

Import Collections (52:32)

A quick bit where Chad has to guess my most played 25th Century Game.

Wrap-up Questions (1:01:29)

A text on Chad’s mind and things to look out for from 25th Century Games.

Games Mentioned in this Episode

If you like this show, liking it on whatever platform you listen to and writing a review would mean so much! Furthermore, it's as independent as it gets, so any financial support would help with the subscriptions that make this project go smoothly. That can be done here: Buy Me a Coffee

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Oversized Sandwich (to purchase) —check its BGG too—these show notes are too long with that hyperlinked (lol)

In the show’s 35th episode, we are super electrified to have designer Kaleb Wentzel-Fisher join us and to talk about Power Vacuum and so much more. The stories here might shock you! The puns I force Kaleb to make might make your hair stand on end! That’s all a part of the guarantee that you are in for a more fun time than a stroll down the aisle of your local appliance store.

But in all seriousness, this is a great episode. You already knew that.

Check out Kaleb’s work:

Website

Blue Sky

Power Vacuum (purchasable through Keen Bean Studio)

[The intro kind of forgot the number initially, making things sound a little funky–but that was corrected shortly after–lol.]

NEW SHOW NOTES FEATURE–Google Doc of Games Mentioned this Episode

Prologue (0:00)

Several fun introductory anecdotes, and Kaleb is set up with a task that will help “set the scene” for each of the following acts.

Act I (18:30)

Exploring Kaleb’s backgrounds in film and sound in order to see how they have made their way into Kaleb’s board game design thoughts. Kaleb and Malachi Ray Rempen (Keen Bean Studio) have a very interesting backstory, and Kaleb reflects on that here as well.

Act II (48:11)

Some quotes taken from The Death of Stalin, an inspiration for Power Vacuum, and some random questions based on those quotes.

Act III (1:15:16)

What constitutes an appliance?

How did Power Vacuum come to exist?

What is the meaning of life?

Two of those three questions are answered.

Probably.

Epilogue (1:41:26)

A text on Kaleb’s mind and things to look out for from him in the future.

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If you like this show, liking it on whatever platform you listen to and writing a review would mean so much! Furthermore, it's as independent as it gets, so any financial support would help with the subscriptions that make this project go smoothly. That can be done here: Buy Me a Coffee

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Oversized Sandwich BGG

Oversized Sandwich (to purchase)

An episode about show notes with my shortest show note section yet.

This episodes talks about the state of the show (all good and more good to come [sorry about any pause 😔], how I obsess over show notes (a bit too much), and genre and how different games have differing ease in returning to them.

To keep up the bit about the short notes here, there are no time stamps; it all kind of flows in and out with maybe sensible transitions, much like a dream (within a dream [within a...]).

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Oversized Sandwich BGG

Oversized Sandwich (to purchase)

In this interview, fun isn’t actually competing, but different types of fun and the way they interact with each other are being examined.

As a little thought experiment, which games pop into your head when you think about the thrill of danger?

Carl Robinson, designer of the hit game Kelp: Shark vs. Octopus, joins the show to discuss something that has been on his mind for quite some time, and that’s the way fun is discussed when examining board games. As a designer of a game that is a whole lot of fun, Carl has some great insights into this matter. And the discussion is well… it’s just fun. Enjoy!

Check out Carl’s work on BoardGameGeek and reflections on Bluesky.

Introductory Questions (0:00)

Carl’s early experiences with board games.

Introduction to this Episode’s Structure (12:38)

And why Carl has been thinking about this topic.

Here is the trimmed up sheet with the links and everything for all of the game’s Carl mentioned. It serves as a good extra set of show notes to link the BGG pages of the games (so you can all see credits on there), and it’s a fun look behind the scenes, of sorts.

Social Interaction and Fellowship (23:11)

Discovery (26:53)

Winning/Competition (37:07)

Comedy (49:00)

Application of an Ability (54:25)

Being Silly (59:31)

Relaxation/Immersion/Submission (1:09:46)

Discovery Revisited (1:22:08)

Sensation (1:26:47)

Failing/”Stupid” Games (1:34:48)

Power (1:41:08)

Fun in Kelp! (1:51:07)

Wrap-up Questions (1:59:52)

A text on Carl’s mind, what to look out for from him, and how thinking about the focus of this episode has impacted those particular projects.

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If you like this show, liking it on whatever platform you listen to and writing a review would mean so much! Furthermore, it's as independent as it gets, so any financial support would help with the subscriptions that make this project go smoothly. That can be done here: Buy Me a Coffee

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A close second place option for the episode title was “Meeplekeeper’s Palace.”

Also, there’s a little bit of a note in the episodes after the credits (kind of as an epilogue). In the past, I’ve done a couple prologue/pre-show notes; if necessary, I’d do them again. This particular note makes more sense at the end, so make sure you’re tuned in until the “end end.”

ANYWAY, Candice Harris joins the show for a super special thirty-third episode! Candice is a lifelong musician and took a similar proclivity of deep-diving things she’s passionate about to board games, where she’s a media creator for BoardGameGeek. The list of things she doesn’t do there would be shorter than what she does, but a few of her contributions include hosting the BoardGameGeek Podcast, Cardboard Creations, TeaForge, The Quad, and probably something else I’m missing. Candice also writes, creates, and contributes in many other capacities, with recent work on BGG’s 25th Anniversary Hall of Fame Inductees (click here for video!).

The confluence of those interests is what this episode is about, and excitingly Candice has designed a board game, Rivals of Rock, coming to crowdfunding later this year (the game came up organically within some of the topics several times with fun and insightful stories from Candice, but I had a section with a few more questions 🙁 —this note is part of the epilogue). Subscribe to Rivals of Rock’s game page to receive updates about the game here!

Tune in for an amazing episode about board games, music, games about music, peculiar game night habits, reticular activating systems, and more!

Follow Candice's upcoming newsletter, Squawk 'N' Roll!

Intro (0:00)

Candice’s musical journey and current relationship with music.

Verse (11:31)

• Band Titles
• Music skills and approaches transferring into other elements of life
• Shows/movies that feature drums

Trick-taking Interlude (34:27)

In hindsight, I should’ve dubbed this one “trick-taking solo,” not as in solo trick-taking games but a section featuring trick-taking games—its solo.

Verse (52:09)

• Board games about music
• Music with games: Games with music created specifically for them, playlists, and other ways in which you can listen while playing
• Musically-driven board game characters

Outro (1:23:16)

A text on Candice’s mind and what to look out for from her!

****Drum kit image courtesy of Clker-Free-Vector-Images via Pixabay

Meeple picture taken by me.

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If you like this show, liking it on whatever platform you listen to and writing a review would mean so much! Furthermore, it's as independent as it gets, so any financial support would help with the subscriptions that make this project go smoothly. That can be done here: Buy Me a Coffee

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Designer Marceline Leiman joins the show for an episode that ebbs and flows in such an engaging way, much like the tides and other marvels in nature. Amongst many other games, Marceline recently designed High Tide, which was an extreme success at the Indie Games Night Market and serves as an anchor for much of this conversation. The game was handcrafted with so many unique considerations and stories that I was fortunate enough to hear, and you will be able to too now. In addition to this indie market release, there will be a subsequent production through Underdog Games!

I’m by no stretch an expert in the tides (or the ocean, or much of anything for that matter), but my cursory “research” shows that the biggest waves typically come in right before high tide. And a wave is an apt descriptor of how Marceline has been creating lately, with many things to look forward to from her. Grab yourself a tea (or coffee) and enjoy a wonderful episode.

Check out Marceline on Bluesky and BoardGameGeek

Intro and Character/Craft/Creation (0:00)

Tea

Seeing something and feeling the human creation that went into it

Thermostat boxes

“I [the tide] am inevitable.” (35:18)

After discussing a lot of the physicality and process of creating everything needed to play the game, Marceline dives into stories of how the game plays–how a main focus was the intentionality of having the game constantly moving forward.

“To Indie or Not to Indie?” (50:00)

This sub-header probably isn’t the most apt, but I liked it.

Anyway, Marceline reflects on researching games throughout history, the purposefulness of seeing those connections in modern games, and how that’s being worked into her designs.

Bluer Skies Ahead (1:12:50)

In addition to appreciating Marceline’s designs, I cannot overstate how thoughtful her social media presence is. The threads read like stories and touch on game design, social issues, the overlap between them, and a multitude of other things. Thank you, Marceline!

Wrap-up Questions (1:30:27)

A text on Marceline’s mine and future games to look out for.

***The cover image is currently a picture from Marceline, posted on BGG and elsewhere. As I like trying to personally make unique episode images, I have a plan for something here (just not the time, as I want this one to be really good/different; there are a couple others I want to go back and redo). Regardless, this is a gorgeous picture, and you get to see the awesome production of the game from it being the current image.***

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If you like this show, liking it on whatever platform you listen to and writing a review would mean so much! Furthermore, it's as independent as it gets, so any financial support would help with the subscriptions that make this project go smoothly. That can be done here: Buy Me a Coffee

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Intertextual Cardboard Experience is excited to start the new year in atypical fashion, and it couldn’t be more exciting. Cole Wehrle, Creative Director at Leder Games and Co-Founder of Wehrlegig Games, joins the show, and I had the bright idea of having us not talk about board games… In all seriousness, we do talk directly about board games a handful-ish times, but, for the most part, those thoughts are scattered between some deep and personal insights that Cole shares about a couple of other things: reading (specifically Pynchon) and running. Through Cole’s reflections on these topics, approaching a text where it’s trying to meet you, and other ideas that Cole elaborates a lot more eloquently than I could put here, beautiful intersections in these hobbies are highlighted, demonstrating how those intersections translate into lifestyle choices and creative approaches.

Wehrlegig Games

Leder Games

Cole on Bluesky

Introduction (0:00)

A little bit of context behind the idea of the episode and a formative gaming memory.

“Beyond the Board Game” (10:00)

This section explores Cole’s experiences and thoughts reading Gravity’s Rainbow (amongst other related topics).

“What does running mean to you?” (58:26)

Short answer: a lot (for both of us). But Cole shares a powerful account of his running history here, and we just chat about running for a bit.

Wrap-up Questions (1:26:00)

A text on Cole’s mind and what work you should be on the lookout for.

Random note: Listening back to this episode, I noticed that I said some iteration/tense of "(insert person here) tried to do (insert something here)" a couple of times, and I say that with no negative connotation. It's meant to be something where I'm trying to acknowledge authorial intent, not saying that whoever tried to do something didn't (probably beyond unnoticeable and/or is being heard the way I intended it to be—just a phrase that gave me a slight pause).

The episode logo is me trying to sketch a version of the kid on the cover of Fort that's holding a book but with them running instead of standing and shouting. My apologies to Kyle Ferrin for butchering that.

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If you like this show, liking it on whatever platform you listen to and writing a review would mean so much! Furthermore, it's as independent as it gets, so any financial support would help with the subscriptions that make this project go smoothly. That can be done here: Buy Me a Coffee

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Part of me wanted to jokingly name this episode, “The Official Podcast of Indie Games Night Market,” but it would have probably been more confusing than funny.

Anyway, this one is a special episode for so many reasons! First off, it’s the first time the show has had a repeat guest. It’s also the first time there have been guest episodes released in back to back weeks, as this “bonus” episode gets to serve as a little holiday present, making it the year’s twentieth guest episode (I had four solo, rambly things to make the total count for the year twenty-four) and thirtieth guest episode overall. I am very proud of this. None of that would have been possible without awesome guests, so a huge thank you to Daniel for mentioning he’d chat with me on the podcast about the FIRST EVER Indie Games Night Market. It was a smashing success, and I was extremely fortunate to have been a part of it with a game of my own (a couple notes on that below). With Game Market West and Indie Games Night Market being the first couple of independent events like this in the states, there’s a huge wave of excitement to see where this goes, and I’m here for it.

Check out Daniel’s site, New Mill Industries, for the two games he brought to the event (and many more awesome titles currently there while also being on the lookout for that batch of climbers he mentions are coming in February as well!!. The site also has a link to some information on Indie Games Night Market.

Daniel on Bluesky

A Discord for indie markets (seems like the link might expire, so check out US Indie Markets [Board Games] on Discord).

As this episode is a little treat for you, I’m treating myself to not breaking this one up into chapters. Honestly, everything here kind of just flows from the episode’s main idea.

My game! It’s called Oversized Sandwich. There’s a BGG page. The deck is available for purchase on DriveThruCards. In the product’s description, I try to make it very clear that there were elements of what I took to IGNM that aren’t present when you buy just a deck, but you’d still be able to play the game if you pull up the rules. Check it out; I think it’s cool.

I typically try to come up with a "clever" episode logo, but Daniel's logo for IGNM is just really cool as is, so that's from his site.

If you like this show, liking it on whatever platform you listen to and writing a review would mean so much! Furthermore, it's as independent as it gets (pretty fitting for this episode), so any financial support would help with the subscriptions that make this project go smoothly. That can be done here: Buy Me a Coffee

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Prolific designer Matthew Dunstan joins the show in a unique opportunity to link to the last episode as well as Intertextual Cardboard Experience’s famous Collabstraction Trilogy. There are many unique topics discussed here, and, to me, the ethos of most everything we talked about boiled down to the idea of community and the relationships Matthew has with others in the gaming space. Unsurprisingly, this episode is a real treat.

Last episode, I was fortunate enough to chat with Rory Muldoon, Matthew’s partner at Postmark Games. If you haven’t, check out that episode. Additionally, keep refreshing your browser until 52 Realms: Adventures is available on the Postmark site (some time in January). Matthew on Bluesky

Intro and Matthew’s Version (0:00) Matthew talks about a special person in his life that fostered an early love for gaming. The story of the “Cambridge Cabal” or Cambridge design groups had been discussed a few times on the show. Hearing a little bit more from another perspective, keeps adding to that fun. Some of the Collabstraction staples make it into here, and Matthew discusses some of the decision making behind whether a game will be a solo design or co-design.

A Little Voyage to Postmark (23:55) This section introduces the aforementioned episode with Rory. In this portion, I do correctly say that I’m going to bring up portions of the conversation with Rory where he asked (or just mentioned) that I ask or bring up certain things to Matthew. In later parts, I think I accidentally kind of clump that verbiage into saying that Rory asked me to ask you this. Anyway, in this introductory part, I tell Matthew to bring back his designer live streams (a request from Rory [and me and others!]).

Continued Adventures (33:17) This portion dives into some design decisions made for 52 Realms: Adventures, the idea of community, and how the design relationship between Rory and Matthew works so well. Matthew also reflects on some other possibilities for games designed specifically for print and play.

Wrap-up Questions (1:00:36) A couple of texts on Matthew’s mind and what to look out for from him next!

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***Postcard image courtesy of Schmidsi via Pixabay

***Other images from Postmark's site

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If you like this show, liking it on whatever platform you listen to and writing a review would mean so much! Furthermore, it's as independent as it gets, so any financial support would help with the subscriptions that make this project go smoothly. That can be done here: Buy Me a Coffee

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