Game Changers Episode 14: End-of-Game Scoring
In the epic finale to Season One, David looks back on what he learned by trying to tell the story of Modern Tabletop, and looks forward to Season Two.
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Game Changers Episode 13 Part 2: A New Game In Town
Wingspan's status as Tabletop most recent Game Changer stems less from its design than its designer. Elizabeth Hargrave's choice of theme, and her outspoken involvement in Tabletop culture, portends …
Game Changers Episode 13 Part 1: New Game In Town
Who could have ever predicted a game about birds would become the monster hit of 2019? Our final Game Changer is Wingspan, and in Part 1 we look at how Elizabeth Hargrave came to design it.
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Game Changers Episode 12 Part 2: A nEurogues Gallery
In this episode we look at four of the most prominent Teutonic designers and their major works: two Germans (Feld; Cramer) and two Austrians (Pfister and Warsch). While Pfister is expanding the narra…
Game Changers Episode 12 Part 1: A nEurogues Gallery
A new wave of European designers crashed ashore in the 2010's who had grown up playing first-gen Euros and therefore hungered for something more complex. In Part One, we look at various national "sty…
Game Changers Episode 11 Part 3: Citizen Game
Isaac Childres had only one published game under his belt when he began dreaming about an open-world RPG-style game. He never intended to produce the biggest Tabletop game (in all senses) of all time…
Game Changers Episode 11 Part 2: Citizen Game
In Part 2, we look at how the boundaries between role-playing games and "regular" Tabletop got blurrier as the 2010's wore on.
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Game Changers Episode 11 Part 1: Citizen Game
This Episode's Game Changer was the product of two trends cresting in the mid 2010's. In Part 1, we look at how Tabletop becoming big(ger) business began to affect both publishers and gamers..
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Game Changers Episode 10 Part 2: Less Is More
Love Letter was not the first microgame--but it spurred the creation of many more, and helped open the door for a new generation of Asian designers.
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Game Changers Episode 10 Part 1: Less is More
As the 2010's dawned, games began to appear by designers from the Far East, who brought different sensibilities and design ideas into the Tabletop mix.
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Game Changers Episode 9 Part 2: Brother, Can You Spare a Crime
In Part 2 of this Episode, we examine the party game phenomenon that is Cards Against Humanity. What does it, and its story, say about Tabletop culture?
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Game Changers Episode 9 Part 1: Brother, Can You Spare a Crime
Episode Nine's Game Changer traces its roots back through 1970's game shows and 1950's Golden Age Television all the way back to Edwardian England.
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Game Changers Episode Eight Part 2: Resistance Is Not Futile
Two small games, both released in 1981 by small publishers, were the spiritual parents of the social deduction game that broke through to a wider audience.
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Game Changers Episode Eight Part 1: Resistance Is Not Futile
In this episode we trace the history of party games, from ancient drinking games through the boom years of Trivial Pursuit and beyond.
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Game Changers Episode 7 Part 2: Deck the Halls
Donald X. Vaccharino's 2008 game Dominion introduced the deckbuilding genre. In the second half of Episode 7, we look at its wide-ranging influence, both in Tabletop and in videogames.
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Game Changers Episode 7 Part 1: Deck the Halls
In this episode we tell the story of how in 2008 an unknown designer, Donald X. Vaccarino, sprang onto the world Tabletop stage with Dominion, the first deckbuilding game.
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Game Changers Episode 6 Part 2: Farmville
Until 2007, Uwe Rosenberg was known for light card games. Then he changed course and began designing heavy Eurogames, starting with Agricola. In Part 2 we look at how Agricola managed to be both a ga…
Game Changers Episode 6 Part 1: Farmville
How did the rise of BoardGameGeek contribute to the success of Uwe Rosenberg's Agricola? Listen in and find out.
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Intro Mus…
Game Changers Episode 5 Part 2: War and Pieces
David takes a look at the long are varied history of war games in this episode of the Game Changers.
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Intro Music: Violet W…
Game Changers Episode 5 Part 1: War and Pieces
David takes a look at the long are varied history of war games in this episode of the Game Changers.
Check out David's writing at The Daily Worker Placement.
Support us on Patreon!
Intro Music: Violet W…