AJ Porfirio, president of Van Ryder Games, joined me to talk about one of the most important topics in board gaming: shipping. Shipping can be difficult to predict, which causes great stress for publishers, and can feel like a "rip off" to buyers, which causes a great deal of agitation. Luckily, AJ was kind enough to share his thoughts.

Credits: 

Kathleen Mercury, teacher and board game designer, joined me to discuss gaming in the classroom. We focused on how she first started weaving gaming into her classroom and more importantly how she inspires students to design. She's awesome.

Mike Meyer, designer of many RPG supplements including the latest Vast Kaviya, joined me to discuss what goes into designing a supplement for an existing IP. We specifically discussed his latest endeavor, which is a sword & sorcery world filled with barbarism and dinosaurs.

If this sounds like something of interest to you, head to Game On Tabletop for more details.

Unlike lots of world maps, I did not leave New Zealand off my show. Shem Phillips, designer of the Raiders series and upcoming West Kingdom series, joined me to talk about his approach to game design and his many trilogies. It was an interesting look at someone who has a clear vision for his designs and company.

new zealand by Sharon Faria from the Noun Project

Dan Letzring and Nicholas Yu joined me to talk about their game Adventure Tactics Domianne's Tower. This is a deck-building board game homage to Final Fantasy Tactics, an amazing game from the PS1 era. We discussed how this game built a vibrant class system in the style of FFT among other topics.

Credits: adventure by Sukuasli from the Noun Project

Alexander Argyropoulis, founder of Mage Company, joined me to talk about sleeve production and the intricacies that go into producing sleeves and distinguishing one's company among the rest. Alex also talked about the various lessons he has learned over the last few years running Kickstarter campaigns.

Credit: sleeve by Llisole from the Noun Project

Rob Daviau, designer of many Legacy games, Fireball Island, and the upcoming Dark Tower, joined me to talk about the importance of components. This conversation is short but packed with lots of great insight from a guy who has had a long career designing fantastic products for gamers.

Credits: component by Gregor Cresnar from the Noun Project

Elizabeth Hargrave, the designer of Wingspan, joined me to talk about the game, it's reception, diversity in board gaming, and bird watching. We really ran the gamut here on topics. Check it out to hear what she has to say.

Bird by Ealancheliyan s from the Noun Project

Phil duBarry, designer of Embark and others, joined me to talk about his game coming out from TMG. We discussed the origins of the game and how it ended up in the Harbor-verse. We also delved a bit into the topic of colonization in board games.

Ship by indra anis from the Noun Project