Fun Problems
Board game design is a deep and often challenging pursuit. We explore all aspects of game design and the fun problems (and solutions) that come with it.
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Episodes
Sunday Aug 01, 2021
Sunday Aug 01, 2021
Today we are talking to Jeff Fraser about his experience codesigning Cartouche, and touch on many other topics, such as rule book writing, the psychology of numbers, and more! Cartouche is coming to KS Aug 3, sign up to get notified when it launches here; https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/peterchayward/cartouche You can try Cartouche right now for free on TTS here; https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2545396343 If you want to ask us a fun question, or contact us for any other reason send us a message to the email below. :) Contact Jeff here; jwfraser.ca funproblemspodcast@gmail.com Facebook/Twitter: @FunProblemsPod Steam curator page - https://store.steampowered.com/cur.../40748469-Fun-Problems/A big thanks to Eduard Matei for our theme song!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Friday Jul 16, 2021
Friday Jul 16, 2021
Today we are talking about how to think about genres from new angles by considering the core of what makes games tick. We hope you enjoy! Cartouche TTS mod - https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=25453963430 Player game - https://youtu.be/N-BbgqOjIqk MDA original - https://users.cs.northwestern.edu/~hunicke/MDA.pdf Extra Credits has a great breakdown of aesthetics and added the "dominance" aesthetic to the original list here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uepAJ-rqJKA If you want to ask us a fun question, or contact us for any other reason send us a message to the email below. :) funproblemspodcast@gmail.com Facebook/Twitter: @FunProblemsPod Steam curator page - https://store.steampowered.com/cur.../40748469-Fun-Problems/A big thanks to Eduard Matei for our theme song!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Tuesday Jul 06, 2021
Tuesday Jul 06, 2021
Today we are talking about how to keep depth in your game without overwhelming players with complexity. We hope you enjoy!Steam curator page - https://store.steampowered.com/cur.../40748469-Fun-Problems/Pitch Meeting - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAhKOV3nImQNewsletter - https://jellybean.games/funproblems/Toby Macguire in the MCU (AJ's 3 favourite clips) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F91UO9xmwohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR-OSmOgPr4https://youtu.be/p_fm-Cf8qDc?t=469 If you want to ask us a fun question, or contact us for any other reason send us a message to the email below. :) funproblemspodcast@gmail.com Facebook/Twitter: @FunProblemsPodA big thanks to Eduard Matei for our theme song!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Thursday Jul 01, 2021
Thursday Jul 01, 2021
Today we are talking about naming games. Specifically we work through naming an upcoming title! This is a bonus episode so it's a bit shorter and won't follow our usual format. We hope you enjoy! If you want to ask us a fun question, or contact us for any other reason send us a message to the email below. :) funproblemspodcast@gmail.com Facebook/Twitter: @FunProblemsPodA big thanks to Eduard Matei for our theme song!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Tuesday Jun 15, 2021
Tuesday Jun 15, 2021
Today we are talking about onramping; how to get new players into playing and having fun as easily and quickly as possible. Our topics include everything from scenario design to rulebooks to component design and more!Jeff Fraser - jwfraser.ca If you want to ask us a fun question, or contact us for any other reason send us a message to the email below. :) funproblemspodcast@gmail.com Facebook/Twitter: @FunProblemsPodA big thanks to Eduard Matei for our theme song!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Wednesday Jun 02, 2021
Wednesday Jun 02, 2021
Join us for an in depth conversation on game design! Today we are talking about board game terms; what they mean, and why they are important and useful. If you want to ask us a fun question, or contact us for any other reason send us a message to the email below. :) funproblemspodcast@gmail.com Facebook/Twitter: @FunProblemsPod A big thanks to Eduard Matei for our theme song!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Saturday May 15, 2021
Saturday May 15, 2021
Join us for an in depth conversation on game design! Today we are talking about board game terms; what they mean, and why they are important and useful. Extra Creditshttps://www.youtube.com/user/ExtraCreditzMechanics, Dynamics, Aestheticshttps://users.cs.northwestern.edu/~hunicke/pubs/MDA.pdfThe Characteristics of Gameshttps://amzn.to/3v3zc56If you want to ask us a fun question, or contact us for any other reason send us a message to the email below. :) funproblemspodcast@gmail.com Facebook/Twitter: @FunProblemsPod A big thanks to Eduard Matei for our theme song!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sunday Apr 25, 2021
Sunday Apr 25, 2021
Join us for an in depth conversation on game design! Today we are talking about board game terms; what they mean, and why they are important and useful. Peter's talk on the "shape" of the game:https://genesisoflegend.podbean.com/e/episode-181-the-shape-of-your-game/Peter's talk on "blind/cold" playtesting:https://boardgamedesignlab.com/the-secret-sauce-of-game-design-with-peter-c-hayward/Output/Input Randomness thread:https://twitter.com/peterchayward/status/1140663740804861952?s=20The thread Peter referenced about verb based design: https://twitter.com/coilingoracle/status/1237931019153674240 Here are all the books we referenced:1984: https://amzn.to/3sNJh4zThe Princess Bride: https://amzn.to/3dRvGVHFifth Business: https://amzn.to/3dP1sTcThe Uploaded: https://amzn.to/2QUUMtHS.: https://www.amazon.ca/S-Doug-Dorst/dp/0316201642If you want to ask us a fun question, or contact us for any other reason send us a message to the email below. :) funproblemspodcast@gmail.com Facebook/Twitter: @FunProblemsPod A big thanks to Eduard Matei for our theme song!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Monday Mar 15, 2021
Monday Mar 15, 2021
Join us for an in depth conversation on game design! Today we are talking about "elevator pitches" that members of the community have sent in. What they get right and where they can improve. If you want to ask us a fun question, or contact us for any other reason send us a message to the email below. :) funproblemspodcast@gmail.com Facebook/Twitter: @FunProblemsPod A big thanks to Eduard Matei for our theme song!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Thursday Feb 25, 2021
Thursday Feb 25, 2021
Join us for an in depth conversation on game design! If you want to ask us a fun question, or contact us for any other reason send us a message to the email below. :) funproblemspodcast@gmail.com Facebook/Twitter: @FunProblemsPod Noah "Angels" clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbkjkJzREd4 A big thanks to Eduard Matei for our theme song!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.