Ludology

In this classic GameTek episode, Geoff takes a look at research that was done on the fairness of dice. How 'unfair' can standard off-the-shelf dice get?

Ryan and Geoff discuss the differences between turn-based and simultaneous-action games. What are the advantages of each type of design?

In this episode, Geoff explores the Ultimatum Game, which is used by social scientists to explore human concepts of fairness, competition, and cooperation.

Ryan and Geoff tackle another angle on story in games - the narrative arc. What creates rising tension, and what game elements can create a dramatic climax?

In this classic GameTek episode, Geoff talks about the iterated Prisoner's Dilemma, and what it implies about social science and evolution.

Ryan and Geoff are joined by special guest Andy Parks to begin their discussion on how games incorporate story and narrative structure elements. Andy is a game designer of many games including Ideology and Camelot Legends, and is the author of a recent article on creating narrative in games for the website Booklife.

In this classic GameTek episode, Geoff talks about the Prisoner's Dilemma and how it applies to board games.

Ryan and Geoff conclude their discussion of balance by looking at a variety of questions: What does it mean for a game to be balanced? What are the different types of balance? Can a game be too balanced?

In this classic GameTek segment Geoff takes a look at triangular numbers and the way they are used in game designs. Features a bonus appearance by Alan Moon (sort of)!

Games that seem to have multiple strategies sometimes end up having just one dominant strategy that players follow. In this episode, Ryan and Geoff discuss ways the pitfalls of game design that can lead to this, and ways designers avoid it.