
Decision Space
Decision Space is a board game podcast about the decisions in games.
Latest episodes

Sep 18, 2024 • 48min
Oops, We Played the Hotness (Stamp Swap, Wilmot's Warehouse and other Recent Plays)
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 183 - Oops, We Played the Hotness (Stamp Swap, Wilmot's Warehouse and other Recent Plays)
In this interlude episode, Jake and Brendan quickly discuss some games that have hit our tables lately and never previously discussed on the pod. Oops, we played some hot games. (Shut up.)
Timestamps
Intro - 0:00
Stamp Swap - 3:37
Courtesans - 13:09
Harmonies - 19:45
Wonderland's War - 28:09
Wilmot's Warehouse - 37:35
Pre-Planners
We'll be covering Five Tribes soon! Also, low-key, Jake wants to cover the Pokemon TCG Game Boy game.
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
Rules Overview Music:
Way Home by Tokyo Music Walker https://soundcloud.com/user-356546060 Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/tokyo-music-walker-way... Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/pJThZlOuDtI
Contact
We can be reached individually on Twitter at @jakefryd and @burnsidebh. You can also follow Decision Space on Instagram @DecisionSpacePod and talk to us there! 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 11, 2024 • 1h 2min
Playing on Hard Mode (What We Talk About)
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 182 - What We Talk About When We Talk About Playing on Hard Mode
This week, we discuss Dr. Richard Garfield's (Magic: The Gathering, Bunny Kingdom) blog post about playing games on hard mode. Consider reading it here on Board Game Geek before you listen to the episode. In this episode, we discuss the blog post, the merits, and the demerits of hard mode in the board game space.
Timestamps
Intro - 0:00
Playing on Hard Mode - 2:59
Pre-Planners
We'll be covering Five Tribes 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
Rules Overview Music:
Way Home by Tokyo Music Walker https://soundcloud.com/user-356546060 Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/tokyo-music-walker-way... Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/pJThZlOuDtI
Contact
We can be reached individually on Twitter at @jakefryd and @burnsidebh. You can also follow Decision Space on Instagram @DecisionSpacePod and talk to us there! 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 4, 2024 • 58min
Games We Love To Lose (What We Talk About)
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 181 - What We Talk About When We Talk About Games We Love To Lose
It's our first WWTA episode since April! In this one, we discuss the games we love to lose but then go deeper as we think about what characteristics give these games this unique quality. It's a great discussion that we hope you will join us for.
Timestamps
Intro - 0:00
Games We Love To Lose - 4:18
Cockroach Poker - 8:12
El Grande - 11:19
RoboRally - 15:21
Cascadia - 19:35
Poetry for Neanderthals/Wavelength/Monikers - 25:52
Barrage - 28:00
Ra/High Society - 32:18
Coconuts - 37:00
Galaxy Trucker - 39:54
Characteristics that Make Games Fun to Lose - 41:04
Games We Hate Losing - 51:01
Pre-Planners
We'll be covering Five Tribes 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
Rules Overview Music:
Way Home by Tokyo Music Walker https://soundcloud.com/user-356546060 Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/tokyo-music-walker-way... Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/pJThZlOuDtI
Contact
We can be reached individually on Twitter at @jakefryd and @burnsidebh. You can also follow Decision Space on Instagram @DecisionSpacePod and talk to us there! 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 29, 2024 • 57min
Azul Summer Pavilion - Does this Reimplementation Succeed?
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 180 - Azul Summer Pavillion
We discuss Azul Summer Pavillion and make the obvious comparison to the original Azul. We also consider board game implementations and ask the question if this one succeeds. Enjoy, friends, and it is good to be back after a short break!
Timestamps
Intro - 0:00
Ratings and Reviews - 3:11
Game Background - 8:07
Rules Overview and Comparison to Azul - 10:24
Pre-Planners
We'll be covering Five Tribes 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
Rules Overview Music:
Way Home by Tokyo Music Walker https://soundcloud.com/user-356546060 Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/tokyo-music-walker-way... Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/pJThZlOuDtI
Contact
We can be reached individually on Twitter at @jakefryd and @burnsidebh. You can also follow Decision Space on Instagram @DecisionSpacePod and talk to us there! 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 21, 2024 • 1h 10min
18: BOARD GAME SIGNPOSTS (Re-Listening Club)
Episode 18 of Decision Space, originally published May 26, 2021. Join us in the Discord community for the re-listening club discussion.
"In this "What We Talk About Episode" Jake and Brendan discuss signposts in board games. We ask important questions like what are they even? And further, what do they do? To this end, Jake becomes increasingly more confused. Fortunately, we eventually come to some steady footing and draw conclusions about this board game terminology that we believe will lead to even more productive board game discussions moving forward. If that sounds like a good time to you, then good lord and welcome, Decisionaught, you are most definitely in the right place. This is Decision Space!"

Aug 14, 2024 • 1h 11min
22: Castles of Burgundy (Re-Listening Club)
Episode 22 of Decision Space, originally published June 23, 2021. Join us in the Discord community for the re-listening club discussion.
"Today, friends, feast your ears on one of tastiest point-salad morsels ever served up by the master chef himself, Mr. Stefan Feld. The Castles of Burgundy is a great, great game. Quite possibly the best board game ever made by the tastes of one of our hosts. But why is it so good? What is it about the decision space that makes it an experience so many people want to return to time and time again. We'll try to unravel some of these mysteries in this week's episode of Decision Space. Hop in, there's no time to lose."

Aug 7, 2024 • 1h 26min
The Ultimate Stefan Feld Tier List with Tyler Hackmann
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 179 - The Ultimate Stefan Feld Tier List with Tyler Hackmann
This week we undertake a voyage that we have never dared to attempt before -- to create an ultimate, near-comprehensive tier list of Stefan Feld Games. We knew we couldn't do it alone, so we brought in friend and fellow interdecisional spaceship traveler, Tyler Hackmann to help us out. Enjoy!
Timestamps
Intro - 0:00
Tier List Starts - 3:30
Notre Dame - 8:43
Castles of Burgundy the Card Game - 11:46
Marrakesh - 14:41
The Castles of Tuscany - 17:35
Aquasphere - 21:42
Amerigo - 26:20
Speicherstadt - 30:05
Luna - 34:33
La Isla - 37:24
In the Year of the Dragon - 41:07
Carpe Diem - 45:43
Merlin - 48:35
Bonfire - 50:56
Kokopelli - 55:13
Bruges/Hamburg - 57:32
Macao/Amssterdam - 1:01:46
Oracle of Delphi - 1:05:07
Bora Bora - 1:09:45
Trajan - 1:12:20
The Castles of Burgundy - 1:16:52
Pre-Planners
Re-listening club episodes for the next two weeks while Jake is out of town, then Azul: Summer Pavillion.
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
Rules Overview Music:
Way Home by Tokyo Music Walker https://soundcloud.com/user-356546060 Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/tokyo-music-walker-way... Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/pJThZlOuDtI
Contact
We can be reached individually on Twitter at @jakefryd and @burnsidebh. You can also follow Decision Space on Instagram @DecisionSpacePod and talk to us there! 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!

Jul 31, 2024 • 1h 2min
More Design Problems and Games that Solve Them with Jamey Stegmaier
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 178 - More Design Problems and Games that Solve Them with Jamey Stegmaier
We bring back the design problems and games that solve 'em format, and we've brought in a ringer to help us with the topic. We welcome Stonemaier Games' own Jamey Stegmaier back aboard the Interdecisional Spaceship to shout out some ingenious solutions to sticky game design problems. Enjoy!
Timestamps
Intro - 0:00
Captain Flip - 4:08
Planet Unknown - 7:18
The Castles of Burgundy - 12:00
Let's Go To Japan - 15:35
Bonfire - 18:59
Nimalia - 23:15
Isle of Skye - 25:34
Settlers of Catan/Wingspan/Apiary/Oracle of Delphi - 28:52
A Feast for Odin - 32:30
Charcuterie - 33:48
MLEM - 34:44
Babylonia - 37:30
Cascadia - 43:18
Viticulture - 45:55
Challengers/Balatro - 52:30
Pre-Planners
Azul Summer Pavillion, Stefan Feld Games Tier List
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
Rules Overview Music:
Way Home by Tokyo Music Walker https://soundcloud.com/user-356546060 Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/tokyo-music-walker-way... Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/pJThZlOuDtI
Contact
We can be reached individually on Twitter at @jakefryd and @burnsidebh. You can also follow Decision Space on Instagram @DecisionSpacePod and talk to us there! 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!

Jul 24, 2024 • 1h 4min
Tikal - Digging the Jungle
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 177 - Tikal
Tikal, designed by Decision Space favorites Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling, is back on the menu. Boosted by a great implementation on Board Game Arena, we have gotten enough plays to give this great game the full deep dive experience.
Timestamps
Intro - 0:00
Ratings and Review - 1:04
Game Background - 5:31
Rules Overview - 12:37
Tikal Deep Dive - 14:12
Pre-Planners
More Design Problems, Azul Summer Pavillion, Stefan Feld Designer Space?!E
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
Rules Overview Music:
Way Home by Tokyo Music Walker https://soundcloud.com/user-356546060 Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/tokyo-music-walker-way... Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/pJThZlOuDtI
Contact
We can be reached individually on Twitter at @jakefryd and @burnsidebh. You can also follow Decision Space on Instagram @DecisionSpacePod and talk to us there! 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!

Jul 18, 2024 • 58min
Arcs, Food Chain, and the $%@! List (What We're Playing)
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 176 - Recent Plays Arcs, Food Chain, and the $%@! List
It's a what we talk about episode on progression and the two ways it shows up in board games -- progression through games and progression in games. Decisionaughts, let's rock!
Games Mentioned
Arcs, Food Chain Magnate, Marabunta, El Grande, Veil of Eternity, My City, and Wavelength.
Pre-Planners
Tikal, More Design Problems, and Azul Summer Pavillion
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
Rules Overview Music:
Way Home by Tokyo Music Walker https://soundcloud.com/user-356546060 Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/tokyo-music-walker-way... Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/pJThZlOuDtI
Contact
We can be reached individually on Twitter at @jakefryd and @burnsidebh. You can also follow Decision Space on Instagram @DecisionSpacePod and talk to us there! 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!