

Ludology
Erica Hayes-Bouyouris, Sen-Foong Lim
Welcome to Ludology, an analytical discussion of the how’s and why’s of the world of board games. Rather than news and reviews, Ludology explores a variety of topics about games from a wider lens, and discusses game history, game design and game players.
Ludology is part of The Dice Tower Network, the premier board game media network.
Ludology is part of The Dice Tower Network, the premier board game media network.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 9, 2025 • 1h 9min
Ludology 336 Roll For Learning
Sen and Erica welcome Professor Camilla Zamboni to discuss "Roll for Learning", a book she co-edited that contains 51 microRPGs that are intended for use in K-12+ classrooms in fields as diverse as STEM, SEL, and the Humanities. You can download the pdf of the book for free here: https://playstorypress.org/books/roll-for-learning/

Feb 3, 2025 • 9min
TTRPGKids Ep 20
In this episode of TTRPGKids, Steph Campbell provides excellent ideas on how to use TTRPGs to teach STEM subjects in the classroom and at home.

Jan 26, 2025 • 1h 4min
Ludology 335 Who's This For?
In this Host Roundtable, Erica and Sen talk about the importance of understanding who the audience for a specific game is during the design, development, and publication process. They discuss some of the ways in which they determine who the audience is and how knowing the key characteristics and desires of the demographic can help them make a game that satisfies the core consumer by design.

Jan 21, 2025 • 6min
Thinking Beyond Mechanisms Ep 15
On this month's installment of Thinking Beyond Mechanisms, special guest host, Sarah Shipp, dives into the mechanism of bluffing and gives her thoughts on why it's more that merely mechanical.

Jan 12, 2025 • 57min
Pros and Cons Ep 11
Sen speaks with Nick Yu while their families are on vacation together in the Berkshires - so a very smol con, indeed. They discuss an IP they are working on with the creator called Tankhead by Emerson Tung (www.emersontung.com/tankhead). The two discuss their journey in designing a series of games for potential self-publication along with a plan to document their progress in a short form monthly podcast series.

Dec 22, 2024 • 12min
TTRPGKids Ep 19
In this episode of TTRPGKids, Steph Campbell differentiates between an RPG that could be used in an educational setting and an one that is classroom-ready! Steph provides a list of all the things you need to move from A to B in about an hour!

Dec 18, 2024 • 1h 6min
Ludology 334 Let's Call a Spade a Spade
Sen and Erica welcome Jay Cormier of Off the Page Games to the podcast to talk about his penchant for making puzzley games that make players feel clever while giving them a sense of exploration and adventure, Jay discusses his first time at PAXU as well as his newest releases, Corps of Discovery and Design Your Destiny.

Dec 10, 2024 • 6min
Thinking Beyond Mechanisms Ep 14
In this installment of Thinking Beyond Mechanisms, Erica and Sen welcome host Sarah Shipp to talk about failure and how loss can drive gameplay.

Dec 1, 2024 • 54min
Ludology 333 Bigger Than A Breadbox
Have you ever wondered what it takes to keep a FLGS afloat in this age of online retailers and Amazon Prime? Sen and Erica welcome Caleb Wunderlich, Assistant Manager at Millennium Games in Rochester, NY - the biggest game store in the USA - to talk about building community, running events, and catering to customers' needs.

Nov 24, 2024 • 8min
TTRPGKids Ep 18
Erica and Sen welcome guest host Steph Campbell to talk about Arithmagine (https://luckoflegends.itch.io/arithmagine), a setting-agnositic TTRPG focused on teaching mathematics, on this episode of TTRPGKids.