Best Geoffrey Engelstein Podcasts (2025)

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Thinking Beyond Mechanisms Ep 20 7:21

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2d ago7:21

7:21

Erica and Sen welcome Sarah Shipp, guest host of the Thinking Beyond Mechanisms segment, to discuss cognitive load and addressing the impact of it through intentional design. Read Ludology co-founder Geoff Engelstein's article on the subject that Sarah refers to here: https://gametek.substack.com/p/grand-unified-gateway-theory…

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Ludology 342 Games on the Big Screen 54:09

9d ago54:09

54:09

This episode, Sen and Erica talk to Simon Ennis, professional filmmaker and avid boardgamer, about his most recent release, "The Hobby: Tales from the Tabletop", that features game designers, reviewers, and community members alike. Check out the trailer for The Hobby as well as the IMDB listing. Erica and Sen will be at the June 18th showing of The…

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TTRPGKids Ep 24 14:25

16d ago14:25

14:25

In their final segment, Steph Campbell talks about using TTRPGs at home or in the classroom to teach social studies. Sen and Erica thank Steph for their dedication to the use of games in education and wishes them all the best with TTRPKids in the future!

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Ludology 341.5 Oh Canada! 1:07:51

23d ago1:07:51

1:07:51

Erica and Sen recorded this episode live in March 2025 at BreakoutCon in Toronto, ON, Canada. They spoke with guests Helaina Cappel (Publisher, Kids Table Board Games and Burnt Island Games) and Daniel H Kwan (Designer, Ross Rifles and Wandering Blades) about what makes a game "Canadian", advice for Canadian designers and publishers in the current …

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Thinking Beyond Mechanisms Ep 19 7:00

1M ago7:00

7:00

Erica and Sen welcome Sarah Shipp, guest host of the Thinking Beyond Mechanisms segment, to discuss how designers might approach the dreaded human factor we call "Analysis Paralysis" or AP.

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Ludology 341 Accesorize Your Games 1:03:11

1M ago1:03:11

1:03:11

Erica and Sen welcome Dekan Wheeler to the show to talk about his work at UltraPro, making accessories for many of the hobby's most beloved games. We discuss card sleeves, digital calipers, bead towers, diamond corners, Delicious in Dungeon, and more! Note: Dekan has since moved on from UltraPro and is now a brand manager at Critical Role. Congrats…

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TTRPGKids Ep 23 9:54

1M ago9:54

9:54

Erica and Sen welcome guest host Steph Campell on this week's installment of TTRPGKids. In their segement, Steph talks about the power of writing and journaling in TTRPGs and how writing in game can positively impact writing in the classroom.

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Ludology 340 Corporate Game Play 1:09:21

2M ago1:09:21

1:09:21

Sen and Erica talk with Ellie Dix about her work in making corporate games. Whether they're to increase brand recognition or for team building and training purposes, Ellie describes her process when designing games outside of the hobby sphere.

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Thinking Beyond Mechanisms Ep 18 6:18

2M ago6:18

6:18

Erica and Sen welcome Sarah Shipp, guest host of the Thinking Beyond Mechanisms segment, to talk about events in game design. Sarah talks about how to use well-designed events to provide variety, increase challenge, change up the narrative, and more when it comes to design a tabletop game.

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Ludology 339 History of the Game - Pandemic 41:10

2M ago41:10

41:10

Erica and Sen welcome Matt Leacock to talk about one of the hobby's staples - Pandemic. First published in 2008, the Pandemic system has been expanded and used to fight viruses, rising tides, Elder Gods, and now - the forces of evil that seek the One Ring. They talk all things Pandemic, from it's ideation to its many iterations, from fighting back …

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TTRPGKids Ep 22 8:34

3M ago8:34

8:34

This week, special guest host Steph Campbell discusses the importance of why learning should be fun and how TTRPGs can bring fun to what can be a very complex situation.

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Ludology 338 America's Top Model(er) 1:09:19

3M ago1:09:19

1:09:19

Erica and Sen talk to Matt Gubser, modeler and comedian, about his work in the tabletop industry and the shift from traditional to digital modeling techniques.

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Thinking Beyond Mechanisms Ep 17 7:06

3M ago7:06

7:06

In this special guest episode, Sen and Erica welcome Sarah Shipp to talk about how designers can raise the stakes to strengthen a game's hook, taking it from bland to bold!

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Ludology 337 How To Be A Final Girl 1:06:14

3M ago1:06:14

1:06:14

Sen and Erica welcome Evan Derrick from Van Ryder Games to discuss the past, present, and future of Final Girl - a highly expandable, solo, horror boardgame co-designed by Evan and AJ Porfirio. Evan talks about the game from inception to evolution and gives us some insight into what makes it tick.

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TTRPGKids Ep 21 7:33

4M ago7:33

7:33

Steph Campbell brings their segment, TTRPGKids, to Ludology. This week, they breakdown their TTRPG "Photosynthians" that they made as a resource to demonstrate how to teach science with TTRPGs and how to integrate lesson plans and other classroom basics into the game itself for designers. The game is free and part of the classroom-ready toolkit tha…

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Thinking Beyond Mechanisms Ep 16 5:57

4M ago5:57

5:57

Sen and Erica welcome guest host Sarah Shipp to her segment, Thinking Beyond Mechanisms. In this installment, Sarah looks at designing games that ask players to be creative. Sarah examines some of the common pitfalls you can encounter when you ask players create content for the game and discusses how to avoid them.…

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Ludology 336 Roll For Learning 1:08:55

4M ago1:08:55

1:08:55

Sen and Erica welcome Professor Camilla Zamboni to discuss "Roll for Learning", a book she co-edited that contains 51 microRPGs that are intended for use in K-12+ classrooms in fields as diverse as STEM, SEL, and the Humanities. You can download the pdf of the book for free here: https://playstorypress.org/books/roll-for-learning/…

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TTRPGKids Ep 20 9:22

5M ago9:22

9:22

In this episode of TTRPGKids, Steph Campbell provides excellent ideas on how to use TTRPGs to teach STEM subjects in the classroom and at home.

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Ludology 335 Who's This For? 1:03:43

5M ago1:03:43

1:03:43

In this Host Roundtable, Erica and Sen talk about the importance of understanding who the audience for a specific game is during the design, development, and publication process. They discuss some of the ways in which they determine who the audience is and how knowing the key characteristics and desires of the demographic can help them make a game …

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Thinking Beyond Mechanisms Ep 15 6:04

5M ago6:04

6:04

On this month's installment of Thinking Beyond Mechanisms, special guest host, Sarah Shipp, dives into the mechanism of bluffing and gives her thoughts on why it's more that merely mechanical.

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Pros and Cons Ep 11 57:24

5M ago57:24

57:24

Sen speaks with Nick Yu while their families are on vacation together in the Berkshires - so a very smol con, indeed. They discuss an IP they are working on with the creator called Tankhead by Emerson Tung (www.emersontung.com/tankhead). The two discuss their journey in designing a series of games for potential self-publication along with a plan to…

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TTRPGKids Ep 19 11:30

6M ago11:30

11:30

In this episode of TTRPGKids, Steph Campbell differentiates between an RPG that could be used in an educational setting and an one that is classroom-ready! Steph provides a list of all the things you need to move from A to B in about an hour!

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Ludology 334 Let's Call a Spade a Spade 1:06:22

6M ago1:06:22

1:06:22

Sen and Erica welcome Jay Cormier of Off the Page Games to the podcast to talk about his penchant for making puzzley games that make players feel clever while giving them a sense of exploration and adventure, Jay discusses his first time at PAXU as well as his newest releases, Corps of Discovery and Design Your Destiny.…

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Thinking Beyond Mechanisms Ep 14 5:47

7M ago5:47

5:47

In this installment of Thinking Beyond Mechanisms, Erica and Sen welcome host Sarah Shipp to talk about failure and how loss can drive gameplay.

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Ludology 333 Bigger Than A Breadbox 54:20

7M ago54:20

54:20

Have you ever wondered what it takes to keep a FLGS afloat in this age of online retailers and Amazon Prime? Sen and Erica welcome Caleb Wunderlich, Assistant Manager at Millennium Games in Rochester, NY - the biggest game store in the USA - to talk about building community, running events, and catering to customers' needs.…