x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

The Tabletop Takeaway: A Board Game Design Podcast

Ananda Guneratne, Charlie McCarron, Trevor Muller-Hegel

Join game designers Ananda Guneratne, Charlie McCarron, and Trevor Muller-Hegel as they analyze published games from a game developer"s perspective. Each month, they pick a new game mechanic and three games to play in that genre. Each episode is 20 minutes of pure game design nerdiness!

leisure games

All Episodes

18:50

111. Hey, That's My Fish!

The Tabletop Takeaway: A Board Game Design Podcast ·

2025/12/17

How do you design zero level heuristics for abstract strategy games? What are the benefits of limiting how many actions a player can perform? Charlie, Trevor, and Ananda break the ice in Hey, That's My Fish!

en-us

18:56

110. Element

The Tabletop Takeaway: A Board Game Design Podcast ·

2025/12/10

What is better, strategy or tactics? How does attack-left benefit multiplayer games? Trevor, Ananda, and Charlie manipulate nature in Element.

en-us

46:52

109. Iron Designer Challenge 2025

The Tabletop Takeaway: A Board Game Design Podcast ·

2025/12/03

Trevor, Ananda, and Charlie run the 2025 Iron Designer Challenge, a game jam event.

en-us

27:15

108. Auction Games

The Tabletop Takeaway: A Board Game Design Podcast ·

2025/11/26

How do you get players to value things differently? What styles of auction are there? Trevor, Ananda, and Charlie talk about Auction games.

en-us

21:03

107. Indonesia

The Tabletop Takeaway: A Board Game Design Podcast ·

2025/11/19

Where should the money from an auction go? Does research need to be complicated? Ananda, Charlie, and Trevor merge companies in Indonesia.

en-us

22:42

106. Cyclades

The Tabletop Takeaway: A Board Game Design Podcast ·

2025/11/12

How do you encourage players to lead with their best bid? Why are catchup mechanics so important in auction games? Charlie, Trevor, and Ananda petition the gods in Cyclades.

en-us

13:53

105. No Thanks!

The Tabletop Takeaway: A Board Game Design Podcast ·

2025/11/05

Should currency be hidden? Why is liquidity so powerful? Trevor, Ananda, and Charlie pass the buck in No Thanks!

en-us

27:12

104. Trick Taking Games

The Tabletop Takeaway: A Board Game Design Podcast ·

2025/10/29

How do you make a game fun when players lose most of the hands they play? Should cards have effects when played? Trevor, Ananda, and Charlie talk about trick takers.

en-us

17:48

103. Fishing

The Tabletop Takeaway: A Board Game Design Podcast ·

2025/10/22

Should players be encouraged to exploit catch-up mechanics? What are the benefits of stacking decks? Ananda, Charlie, and Trevor trawl the depths in Fishing.

en-us

14:08

102. Cat in the Box

The Tabletop Takeaway: A Board Game Design Podcast ·

2025/10/15

Why is bidding popular in trick-taking games? What is a suit, really? Charlie, Trevor, and Ananda collapse superpositions in Cat in the Box.

en-us

16:20

101. Hearts

The Tabletop Takeaway: A Board Game Design Podcast ·

2025/10/08

How do you make each suit feel different? Why shoot the moon? Trevor, Ananda, and Charlie avoid the queen in Hearts.

en-us

1:14:20

100. Top 10 Takeaways

The Tabletop Takeaway: A Board Game Design Podcast ·

2025/10/01

Ananda, Charlie, and Trevor each give their top 10 takeaways in this very special 100th episode.

en-us

27:28

99. Listener Takeaways

The Tabletop Takeaway: A Board Game Design Podcast ·

2025/09/24

Charlie, Trevor, and Ananda respond to listener takeaways in this special 99th episode.

en-us

24:24

98. Route Building Games

The Tabletop Takeaway: A Board Game Design Podcast ·

2025/09/17

What should happen when two locations are joined by a route? Which mechanics work well with route-building? Charlie, Trevor, and Ananda talk about Route-Building games.

en-us

21:14

97. Bus

The Tabletop Takeaway: A Board Game Design Podcast ·

2025/09/10

Do routes need to branch? How do you get players to care about action resolution order? Ananda, Charlie, and Trevor build a public transit network in Bus.

en-us

21:07

96. Wabash Cannonball

The Tabletop Takeaway: A Board Game Design Podcast ·

2025/09/03

When players share control of assets, how do you give them unique advantages? What should happen to the money spent in an auction game? Trevor, Ananda, and Charlie listen to the jingle, the rumble, and the roar in Wabash Cannonball.

en-us

16:49

95. Akrotiri

The Tabletop Takeaway: A Board Game Design Podcast ·

2025/08/27

Can victory points and progression go together without snowballing? How can you draw a map to something when even the game doesn't know where it is? Charlie, Trevor, and Ananda discover temples in Akrotiri.

en-us

36:19

94. Tabletop RPGs

The Tabletop Takeaway: A Board Game Design Podcast ·

2025/08/20

How should authority be divided amongst players? How should conflicts be resolved? Trevor, Ananda, and Charlie discuss tabletop role-playing games.

en-us

29:04

93. Dread

The Tabletop Takeaway: A Board Game Design Podcast ·

2025/08/13

How does the illusion of control affect players' perception of conflict resolution mechanics? Can players be made to look forward to their elimination? Charlie, Trevor, and Ananda face their fears in Dread.

en-us

58:02

93b. RPG Session Three - Dread Part 2

The Tabletop Takeaway: A Board Game Design Podcast ·

2025/08/11

Broken glasses, angry ghosts, and dwarven journalists. Charlie, Trevor, and Ananda seek justice.

en-us

118 results

Similar Podcasts

Expres Ráno

Expres FM

詭哭郎嚎

郎祖筠 & FMTaiwan製作團隊

Ron en Erik Podcast

Ron en Erik

Poor Man"s Pinball Podcast

Poor Men Ian and Drew

WeAreChange on Odysee

WeAreChange