Join hosts Dirk Knemeyer and David Heron as they welcome back Cole Werhle, the designer of hits like Root and Oath. In this episode, Cole details his major career move from Leder Games to founding Buried Giant Studios. He explains his unique business philosophy of making “fewer games more slowly” to focus on dense games and sustainable creative infrastructure. The conversation explores how digital playtesting revolutionized his design process, the development of his massive project Arcs, and his insights on why the board game industry should remain “small and homey” compared to the volatile video game market

Episode Outline

0:00 Beginning of Show

0:50 End of Intro

1:15 The Transition to Buried Giant Studios – Cole explains why he and his team split for Leder Games to form a new studio that aligns with their specific creative goals

12:30 The “Fewer Games, More Slowly” Philosophy – A deep dive into building a sustainable business by focusing on dense, rewarding games rather than chasing yearly release cycles

25:45 The Digital Playtesting Revolution – How moving to digital testing during the pandemic allowed for “patch notes,” faster iteration, and 10 times more playtests than previous projects

38:20 Tabletop vs. Video Game Industry – Cole reflects on his GDC experiences, the “out of balance” nature of video game budgets, and the importance of being “cheap” and process-oriented

49:10 Future Roadmap: Arcs, Oath 1.1, and Opium Wars – Cold discusses the massive scope of Arcs, upcoming expansions, and the manufacturing challenges of the An Infamous Traffic second edition

51:00 Outro

51:40 End of Show