Episodes

3 days ago
Mail Time! (Ask Us Anything)
3 days ago
3 days ago
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 220 - Listener Question Mailbag
A loose episode in which Jake, Brendan, and Pete answer such hard hitting questions as:
"Why do you play board games?"
"What designs are you working on?"
"Who is the hottest member of the Fellowship?"
Game Timestamps
02:20- Clockwork Wars
03:40- Fishing
05:30- It's a Wonderful World
11:10- TRICKTAKERs
12:30- Voyages of Marco Polo
14:40- BattleCON
20:36- My Favorite Things
24:28- Enchanted Plumes, Cascadia, Babylonia
25:15- The Crew, Root, El Grande
26:06- Bruges, Challengers, the Resistance
27:10- Honey Buzz, Isle of Skye, Star Realms
44:30- First Class Letters
47:15- Nimalia
48:13- Gudnak
48:44- Typeset, Signal, Here Lies
49:45- Food Chain Magnate
50:50- That's Not a Hat
51:01- Bomb Busters
51:35- Final Binary
53:20- Barrage
56:01- Root
1:06:40- Babylonia
1:07:25- Bottle Imp, Schadenfreude
1:08:50- Chicky Boom
1:09:40- Slap Jack
Preplanners
Unsure what's next, but Pete wants to deep dive Dominion. Play it! It's still amazing! Also, Root expansion episode will happen once Brendan gets enough plays in with those factions.
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
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!

Wednesday Jun 18, 2025
Root: the Greatest Game of All Time?
Wednesday Jun 18, 2025
Wednesday Jun 18, 2025
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 219 - Root Deep Dive (part 1)
Buckle in for a long one! Pete and Brendan go DEEP on Cole Wehrle's Root. Did Brendan enjoy exploring Pete's favorite game? Is the Vagabond OP? Do the Cats suck? Is this game too hard to learn?
Timestamps
3:20- reviews
12:50- game background
18:14- basic rules overview
22:00- faction overview
34:30- the cards
36:00- battles
38:30- back to the cards
42:00- core decision space
54:00- marquise de cat
1:02:00- eyrie dynasties
1:12:10- woodland alliance
1:21:05- vagabond
1:31:25- table politics
1:36:00- final thoughts
1:43:20- plans for the future
Preplanners
Send up questions for an AMA episode through email or by joining our discord!
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
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!

Wednesday Jun 11, 2025
Lifestyle Games (What We Talk About)
Wednesday Jun 11, 2025
Wednesday Jun 11, 2025
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 218 - Lifestyle Games
What we talk about when we talk about lifestyle games. Are they worth sinking all your time and money into? Let's discuss!
Timestamps
4:15 what is a lifestyle game?
30:00 what do we like about lifestyle games?
37:00 what do we dislike about lifestyle games?
52:00 can board games be lifestyle games?
1:02:00 designing lifestyle games today
1:08:00 do you miss having a lifestyle game?
Preplanners
Send up questions for an AMA episode through email or by joining our discord!
Next week is the first of at least two episodes deep diving Pete's favorite game of all time: Root!
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
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!

Wednesday Jun 04, 2025
The Wow Factor of Games
Wednesday Jun 04, 2025
Wednesday Jun 04, 2025
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 217 - The Wow Factor
What makes you stop and say "wow" when playing a game? Listen to Jake workshop his newly patented "Six Kinds of Wow"!
Special guest Bill Collins!
Game Timestamps
3:00 Vivo
4:10 Anachrony
6:30 Cat in the Box
10:00 Yahtzee
10:30 Just One
11:20 Cryptid
12:00 Arcs
16:40 Jenga
18:30 Calico
19:00 Tichu
23:30 The Resistance
24:30 Princes of Florence
25:00 The Thing
26:00 Hearts
27:00 Dune Imperium / Dune Imperium Uprising
30:00 High Society
30:30 Tikal
31:00 Eclipse Second Dawn for the Galaxy
32:00 A Game of Thrones the Board Game
32:45 Food Chain Magnate
35:00 Magic the Gathering
36:30 Lords of Waterdeep
38:40 Innovation
39:00 Root
39:20 Scythe
40:40 Imperium the Contention
41:30 Twilight Struggle
44:30 Wavelength / Lacuna / Hot Streak
46:00 Return to the Dark Tower
51:30 Robo Rally
53:30 Cascadia
Preplanners
Game design discussion on balancing for player count hosted by Paul coming up soon?!
Also a double header of episodes about deckbuilding and the long awaited deep dive of Root!
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
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!

Wednesday May 28, 2025
Innovation and Games without Guard Rails (Look Mom, No Hands!)
Wednesday May 28, 2025
Wednesday May 28, 2025
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 216 - Innovation and Games without Guard Rails (Look Mom, No Hands!)
Look mom, no hands! Brendan and Pete are diving into a discussion without guard rails (games) and then review Carl Chudyk's, Innovation.
Timestamps
Show Business - 0:00
Games without Guard Rails - 3:08
Innovation - 20:54
Games Mentioned
lost ruins of arnak, Keyforge, Magic: the Gathering, Tigris & Euphrates, Modern Art, Root, and Innovation
Preplanners
Game design discussion on balancing for player count hosted by Paul coming up soon?! Also, "wow" factor in games!
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
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!

Wednesday May 21, 2025
Wednesday May 21, 2025
SUPPORT ST. LOUIS TORNADO RELIEF EFFORTS HERE - https://foodcitystl.org/
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 215 - The Laughing Table Friends Played Hot Games at Geekway To the West!
Jake alongside fellow Laughing Table Friends members Luke Williams (first time on the pod!) and Jared Ingersoll (returning guest) talk about the fun we had at Geekway To the West 2025. We break our discussion into three awards: best new to me game, best single play, and best moment. We save some time at the end to talk about a few of the other games of note that we played.
Timestamps
Show Business - 0:00
Geekway Overview - 4:06
Game of the Con - 5:58
Favorite Single Play - 20:53
Best Moment - 37:19
Other Games - 48:29
Games Mentioned
Games mentioned - Downfall of Pompeii, Bomb Busters, The Gang, El Grande, Inis, Santiago, The Resistance: Avalon, Molly House, Spectre Ops, Hot Streak, Black Forest, Soda Jerk, Fishing
Preplanners
Game design discussion on balancing for player count hosted by Paul coming up 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
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!

Wednesday May 14, 2025
Top 10 Games of All Time (5 to 1)
Wednesday May 14, 2025
Wednesday May 14, 2025
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 214 - Top 10 Games of All Time of All Hosts in 2025 (5 to 1)
We finish off our top 10 lists, counting down from 5 to 1!
Timestamps
0:00 - Show Business
The Resistance - 3:35
Imhotep - 5:38
Dune Imperium: Uprising - 9:09
Keyflower - 12:30
El Grande - 15:40
Isle of Skye: From Chieftan to King - 22:12
Nokosu Dice - 26:00
6 Nimmt - 29:22
Unlock - 34:20
Babylonia - 38:06
Ra - 43:47
Incan Gold - 46:52
Haggis - 50:32
Broom Service - 52:25
Tikal - 55:10
Priests of Ra - 59:50
Root - 1:02:24
The Resistance - 1:11:22
Preplanners
Next week's episode will finish counting down our four hosts' top 10 games of all time!
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
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!

Wednesday May 07, 2025
Top 10 Games of All Time (10 to 6)
Wednesday May 07, 2025
Wednesday May 07, 2025
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 213 - Top 10 Games of All Time of All Hosts in 2025
All four hosts are here to share the first half of our top 10 games of all time lists. That is Paul, Pete, Jake, and Brendan counting down games number ten through six of our lists.
Timestamps
0:00 - Show Business
4:05 - Modern Art
6:32 - Imperium deck builder
9:53 - Wonderlands War
13:46 - Civolution
17:05 - My City
21:57 - Age of Innovation
25:49 - Miyabi
28:52 - Broom Service
32:25 - BattleCON
37:56 - Inis
42:48 - Lunar Architects
46:35 - Nokosu Dice
50:58 - Cascadia
53:12 - The Crew: Mission Deep Sea
57:53 - Warsaw: City of Ruins
1:00:47 - Challengers
1:05:23 - Tigris and Euphrates
1:10:15 - The Resistance: Avalon
1:14:45 - Specter Ops
1:17:34 - Magic: the Gathering
Preplanners
Next week's episode will finish counting down our four hosts' top 10 games of all time!
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
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!