

Decision Space
Jacob Frydman, Brendan Hansen
Decision Space is a board game podcast about the decisions in games.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 8, 2025 • 1h 14min
Chunky Decisions and Other Design Lessons with Jon Perry
Decision Space is the podcast about decisions in board games.
Join our active and welcoming Discord community,
Join the crew today! (Decision Space Patreon), or
Leave us a review wherever you find this podcast!
Episode 235 - Design Lessons with Jon Perry
Tabletop and video game designer Jon Perry joins us for a discussion of the tabletop design lessons that inspire his own work.
Check out the GDC talk that inspired the episode here: https://gdcvault.com/play/1035154/How-Tabletop-Design-Helped-Shape
Timestamps
8:50- multi-use components
18:00- cutting complex rules
27:15- modular rules
40:15- chunky decisions
54:30- mechanism vs genre
Jon Perry games discussed in the episode
Hot Streak, Spots, Air Land and Sea, Scape Goats, UFO 50
Preplanners
Next up is our component draft! Also Brendan cannot wait to discuss the new fighting game Tag Team, so you may want to get some plays in for that one.
Music and Sound Credits
Thank you to Hembree for our intro and outro music from their song Reach Out. You can listen to the full song on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQuuRPfOyMw&list=TLGGFNH7VEDPgwgyNTA4MjAyMQ&t=3s
You can find more information about Hembree at https://www.hembreemusic.com/.
Thank you to Flash Floods for use of their song Palm of Your Hand as a sting from their album Halfway to Anywhere: https://open.spotify.com/album/2fE6LrqzNDKPYWyS5evh3K?si=CCjdAGmeSnOOEui6aV3_nA
Intermission Music:
music elevator ext part 1/3 by Jay_You -- https://freesound.org/s/467243/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
Bell with Crows by MKzing -- https://freesound.org/s/474266/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
hammer v2.wav by blukotek -- https://freesound.org/s/337815/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
Contact
Follow and reach us on social media on Bluesky @decisionspace.bsky.social.
If you prefer email, then hit us up at decisionspa@gmail.com.
This information is all available along with episodes at our new website decisionspacepodcast.com.
Byeee!

Oct 1, 2025 • 1h 17min
Deckbuilding 101 and Dominion
Decision Space is the podcast about decisions in board games.
Join our active and welcoming Discord community,
Join the crew today! (Decision Space Patreon), or
Leave us a review wherever you find this podcast!
Episode 234 - Deckbuilding 101 and Dominion
Pete and Brendan dig into one of the most popular mechanisms in modern gaming: deckbuilding? Why is it so popular? How does a deckbuilding decision space flip engine building on its head? For today's Deckbuilding 101 class, we of course use Dominion as our case study into the genre and examine whether the game still holds up in 2025.
Other Games mentioned
StarCraft, Magic the Gathering, Ascension, Star Realms, Great Western Trail, Clank, Shards of Infinity, Slay the Spire. Quest for El Dorado, Fort, Imperium: Legends, Tag Team
Preplanners
We have a special guest lined up as well as a special draft to round out our component series!
Music and Sound Credits
Thank you to Hembree for our intro and outro music from their song Reach Out. You can listen to the full song on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQuuRPfOyMw&list=TLGGFNH7VEDPgwgyNTA4MjAyMQ&t=3s
You can find more information about Hembree at https://www.hembreemusic.com/.
Thank you to Flash Floods for use of their song Palm of Your Hand as a sting from their album Halfway to Anywhere: https://open.spotify.com/album/2fE6LrqzNDKPYWyS5evh3K?si=CCjdAGmeSnOOEui6aV3_nA
Intermission Music:
music elevator ext part 1/3 by Jay_You -- https://freesound.org/s/467243/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
Bell with Crows by MKzing -- https://freesound.org/s/474266/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
hammer v2.wav by blukotek -- https://freesound.org/s/337815/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
Contact
Follow and reach us on social media on Bluesky @decisionspace.bsky.social.
If you prefer email, then hit us up at decisionspa@gmail.com.
This information is all available along with episodes at our new website decisionspacepodcast.com.
Byeee!

Sep 24, 2025 • 1h 14min
Meeples, Money, and Other Chit
Decision Space is the podcast about decisions in board games.
Join our active and welcoming Discord community,
Join the crew today! (Decision Space Patreon), or
Leave us a review wherever you find this podcast!
Episode 233 - Meeples, Money, and Other Chit
Our exploration of board game components continues! In this episode Jake, Brendan, and Paul talk about all the bits in a game! How do decisions about specific tokens and trackers impact the experience of playing a game? Do these production decisions change the decision space of a game?
Preplanners
Next week is deckbuilding 101 with a study of Dominion!
Music and Sound Credits
Thank you to Hembree for our intro and outro music from their song Reach Out. You can listen to the full song on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQuuRPfOyMw&list=TLGGFNH7VEDPgwgyNTA4MjAyMQ&t=3s
You can find more information about Hembree at https://www.hembreemusic.com/.
Thank you to Flash Floods for use of their song Palm of Your Hand as a sting from their album Halfway to Anywhere: https://open.spotify.com/album/2fE6LrqzNDKPYWyS5evh3K?si=CCjdAGmeSnOOEui6aV3_nA
Intermission Music:
music elevator ext part 1/3 by Jay_You -- https://freesound.org/s/467243/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
Bell with Crows by MKzing -- https://freesound.org/s/474266/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
hammer v2.wav by blukotek -- https://freesound.org/s/337815/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
Contact
Follow and reach us on social media on Bluesky @decisionspace.bsky.social.
If you prefer email, then hit us up at decisionspa@gmail.com.
This information is all available along with episodes at our new website decisionspacepodcast.com.
Byeee!

Sep 17, 2025 • 1h 13min
Brain Burning Decision Spaces and Castles of Mad King Ludwig
Decision Space is the podcast about decisions in board games.
Join our active and welcoming Discord community,
Join the crew today! (Decision Space Patreon), or
Leave us a review wherever you find this podcast!
Episode 232 - Brain Burning Decision Spaces and Castles of Mad King Ludwig
Pete and Brendan explore what types of games give us that satisfying (and sometimes exhausting) feeling of "brain burn". Why do we like this? Are board gamers a bunch of masochists?
Also, we deep dive the classic Castles of Mad King Ludwig, a game with its fair share of brain burning decisions.
Timestamps
5:00- brain burning decision spaces
29:45- deep dive on Castles of Mad King Ludwig
Games mentioned
Carcassone, Ginkgopolis, Calico, Decrypto, Scythe, Root, Mexica, Keyflower, My City, No Loose Ends
Preplanners
Next week is deckbuilding 101 with a study of Dominion! Also we'll be drafting our favorite game components soon!
Music and Sound Credits
Thank you to Hembree for our intro and outro music from their song Reach Out. You can listen to the full song on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQuuRPfOyMw&list=TLGGFNH7VEDPgwgyNTA4MjAyMQ&t=3s
You can find more information about Hembree at https://www.hembreemusic.com/.
Thank you to Flash Floods for use of their song Palm of Your Hand as a sting from their album Halfway to Anywhere: https://open.spotify.com/album/2fE6LrqzNDKPYWyS5evh3K?si=CCjdAGmeSnOOEui6aV3_nA
Intermission Music:
music elevator ext part 1/3 by Jay_You -- https://freesound.org/s/467243/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
Bell with Crows by MKzing -- https://freesound.org/s/474266/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
hammer v2.wav by blukotek -- https://freesound.org/s/337815/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
Contact
Follow and reach us on social media on Bluesky @decisionspace.bsky.social.
If you prefer email, then hit us up at decisionspa@gmail.com.
This information is all available along with episodes at our new website decisionspacepodcast.com.
Byeee!

Sep 10, 2025 • 1h 6min
Dice Are Nice
Decision Space is the podcast about decisions in board games.
Join our active and welcoming Discord community,
Join the crew today! (Decision Space Patreon), or
Leave us a review wherever you find this podcast!
Episode 231 - Dice Are Nice
Jake and Brendan present the fourth installment in our component series. This time, they dive deep into dice and all the interesting implications they bring to a game's decision space. Input randomness? We got that. Output randomness? You better believe it!
Timestamps
3:00- intro to dice
9:00- dice and output randomness
26:00- dice and input randomness
38:30- mitigating dice randomness
43:00- dice game case studies
Games mentioned
Can't Stop, Raiders of the North Sea, Yahtzee, Root, Arcs, Catan, Spots, Castles of Burgundy, Quantum, Claim It, Grand Austria Hotel, Troyes, Dungeons & Dragons, Liar's Dice, Railroad Ink, Twenty-One
Preplanners
A few deep dives are in the works, so get in some plays of Castles of Mad King Ludwig and Dominion! Also we'll be drafting our favorite game components soon!
Music and Sound Credits
Thank you to Hembree for our intro and outro music from their song Reach Out. You can listen to the full song on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQuuRPfOyMw&list=TLGGFNH7VEDPgwgyNTA4MjAyMQ&t=3s
You can find more information about Hembree at https://www.hembreemusic.com/.
Thank you to Flash Floods for use of their song Palm of Your Hand as a sting from their album Halfway to Anywhere: https://open.spotify.com/album/2fE6LrqzNDKPYWyS5evh3K?si=CCjdAGmeSnOOEui6aV3_nA
Intermission Music:
music elevator ext part 1/3 by Jay_You -- https://freesound.org/s/467243/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
Bell with Crows by MKzing -- https://freesound.org/s/474266/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
hammer v2.wav by blukotek -- https://freesound.org/s/337815/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
Contact
Follow and reach us on social media on Bluesky @decisionspace.bsky.social.
If you prefer email, then hit us up at decisionspa@gmail.com.
This information is all available along with episodes at our new website decisionspacepodcast.com.
Byeee!

Sep 3, 2025 • 1h 55min
Expanding Root (Deep Dive Part 2)
Decision Space is the podcast about decisions in board games.
Join our active and welcoming Discord community,
Join the crew today! (Decision Space Patreon), or
Leave us a review wherever you find this podcast!
Episode 230 - Expanding Root
Pete and Brendan bring you the jumbo sized sequel to episode 219. We dig into the decision spaces of all six Root expansion factions! We also talk about the new boards and cards. This is our sort of farewell love letter to this amazing game. We ran pretty long because I think we didn't want it to end!!!
Timestamps
3:45- updated impressions
10:15- expansion overview
22:30- adset
28:00- riverfolk company
36:30- lizard cult
43:30- corvid conspiracy
53:45- underground duchy
1:02:00- lord of the hundreds
1:12:00- keepers in iron
1:23:00- more vagabonds
1:30:00- expansion maps and deck
1:38:00- final thoughts
Preplanners
A few deep dives are in the works, so get in some plays of Castles of Mad King Ludwig and Dominion! Also our series on components continues soon with an exploration of dice!
Music and Sound Credits
Thank you to Hembree for our intro and outro music from their song Reach Out. You can listen to the full song on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQuuRPfOyMw&list=TLGGFNH7VEDPgwgyNTA4MjAyMQ&t=3s
You can find more information about Hembree at https://www.hembreemusic.com/.
Thank you to Flash Floods for use of their song Palm of Your Hand as a sting from their album Halfway to Anywhere: https://open.spotify.com/album/2fE6LrqzNDKPYWyS5evh3K?si=CCjdAGmeSnOOEui6aV3_nA
Intermission Music:
music elevator ext part 1/3 by Jay_You -- https://freesound.org/s/467243/ -- License: Attribution 4.0
Bell with Crows by MKzing -- https://freesound.org/s/474266/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
hammer v2.wav by blukotek -- https://freesound.org/s/337815/ -- License: Creative Commons 0
Contact
Follow and reach us on social media on Bluesky @decisionspace.bsky.social.
If you prefer email, then hit us up at decisionspa@gmail.com.
This information is all available along with episodes at our new website decisionspacepodcast.com.
Byeee!

Aug 27, 2025 • 1h 13min
Trick-Taking With A Twist
Explore the renaissance of trick-taking games and how designers are breathing new life into this classic genre. Discover innovative mechanics like shifting trump rules and unique scoring systems that challenge traditional gameplay. The hosts share personal experiences while discussing their favorite titles and emerging strategies. Get insights into the balance of skill and luck in game design, as well as thoughts on the future of trick-taking games and listener engagement in this lively conversation.

Aug 20, 2025 • 1h 3min
Apiary and Positive Player Interaction
Dive into the world of Apiary, where players maneuver hyper-intelligent space bees in a game of strategic depth and engine-building excitement. The hosts debate what truly constitutes "positive player interaction," exploring how game mechanics can enhance or hinder engagement. They discuss the nuances of worker placement and resource management, illustrating how player dynamics shift based on strategies and asymmetry. Tune in for spicy opinions, insightful analysis, and plans for future explorations on this fascinating topic!

Aug 13, 2025 • 1h 11min
All About Boards
Dive into the fascinating world of game boards! Explore the different types of boards and how they enhance gameplay. Discover the importance of board design, including communal hubs and spatial positioning. Hear about innovative mechanics and the unique charm of games like Broom Service and Ticket to Ride. The hosts also discuss the dynamics of player engagement and the thrill of modular and expansion boards. Plus, they invite listeners to share their favorite boards in an interactive community setting!

Aug 6, 2025 • 1h 10min
Exploring Cardboard Worlds: Earthborne Rangers and Vantage with Dan Thurot
In this engaging discussion, Dan Thurot, the insightful writer behind Space Biff, dives into the world of open-world board games like Earthborne Rangers and Vantage. He explores how these games blend narrative depth with player agency, creating unique storytelling experiences. Dan shares thoughts on character creation mechanics, emphasizing the distinct gameplay styles of both games. The conversation also touches on the joy of single-session adventures and the importance of community within gaming. Tune in for a fascinating exploration of modern board game design!