#244 Round Table on Matching Player Expectations

Kathryn joins Dirk and David to discuss some recent episodes. In response to the show with Ryan Scott, the trio talks game balance and the difficulty of meeting the expectations of different player types. Then they all discuss toxicity in board games and how it compares to the toxic culture of competitive online games like MOBAs. Finally, the three hosts chat about thematic games and what makes a game thematic for them. (A discussion on Rob Daviau’s design axiom was moved to the upcoming episode 245.) 

Episode Outline

00:45 Talking about Ryan Scott’s axiom: balanceable, not balanced.

13:16 Diverging from Ryan Scott’s axiom to talk about how designers look at their past creations.

19:31 A discussion on toxicity in board games and how does that influence game design for the hosts.

39:17 What makes a game richly thematic? How do you achieve that feeling?

In this Episode

Kathryn Hymes - @chicalashaw, thornygames.com
David V. Heron - @davidvheron
Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer