The Tabletop Takeaway: A Board Game Design Podcast

Can players distinguish themselves when all are adding to the same challenge? How do you incentivize players to make a challenge the right difficulty? Charlie, Trevor, and Ananda build an obstacle course in Ultimate Chicken Horse.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of roll-and-writes for designers and publishers? How do you ensure dice rolls are exciting? Ananda, Charlie, and Trevor discuss Roll-and-Write games.

What are the advantages of scoring an objective twice over the course of a game? How can you represent combat in a roll and write? Charlie, Trevor, and Ananda map the territories of Cartographers Heroes.

How can you create tension between waiting for bonuses and actively pursuing them? What are the benefits and drawbacks of action bonuses? Trevor, Ananda, and Charlie reap their rewards in Three Sisters.

Can you incorporate player interaction into a roll-and-write? How do you encourage players to engage with all scoring categories? Ananda, Charlie, and Trevor serve up some insights in That's Pretty Clever.

Why should the active player gain a special bonus? What sorts of choices can you give players after rolling dice? Ananda, Charlie, and Trevor talk about Probability Farming games.

What are some ways to manipulate probability space? How can players benefit from complicated triggered effects during other players' turns? Trevor, Ananda, and Charlie deploy their thoughts about Space Base.

How can take-that mechanics benefit from randomness? What other dimensions can you add to a simple number line? Charlie, Trevor, and Ananda roll dice and take coins in Machi Koro.

What makes progress cards feel better than development cards? How do you get opponents to work together for the good of all? Ananda, Charlie, and Trevor settle the score in Catan: Cities and Knights.

What should happen when a hider is found? Should hiders have a goal besides avoiding capture? Trevor, Ananda, and Charlie talk about Hidden Movement.