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Decision Space is a board game podcast about the decisions in games.
Episodes
Wednesday Aug 27, 2025
Wednesday Aug 27, 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 229 - Trick-Taking With A Twist
Pete and Paul dive deep into the twists behind the modern trick-taking renaissance. How have designers been keeping this centuries old style of card game fresh for players? How far can you twist the decision space of playing into a trick? Listen to us gush about these games! We also offer a bit of advice for folks interested in designing their own trick-taker!
Game Timestamps
7:15- Wizard
13:20- Tricky Time Crisis
16:40- Aurum
20:40- Lobby Snacks
23:05- Savage Bowl / Pinatas
26:00- Best of Neapolitan
30:20- Bug Council of Backyardia
32:40- Mori
35:10- Skull Queen
37:45- Short Zoot Suit
39:45- 9 Lives
41:15- Fives
42:30- 12 Chip Trick
44:15- Fox in the Forest
48:30- Cat in the Box
50:45- Crits and Tricks
52:15- Charms
53:40- Lunar
54:15- Trick to the Future
55:00- Tricky Kids
55:30- Xylotar
56:00- Luz
57:00- Nokosu Dice
58:00- Mythical Dice
59:13- Milkuro
1:00:00- Kansas City
Preplanners
A few deep dives are in the works, so get in some plays of Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Dominion, and more Root! Also our series on components continues soon with an exploration of dice!
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
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 Aug 20, 2025
Wednesday Aug 20, 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 228 - Apiary and Positive Player Interaction
Jake and Pete do a semi deep dive on Apiary and follow it up with a sort of debate about what does and does not qualify as "positive player interaction." Things get spicy enough that we're already planning a follow-up episode on the topic!
Timestamps
2:35- Apiary deep dive
40:25- discussion of positive player interaction
Games Mentioned
Apiary, Hansa Teutonica, Race for the Galaxy, Catan, Terra Mystica, Irish Gauge, Wingspan
Preplanners
A few deep dives are in the works, so get in some plays of Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Dominion, and more 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 Aug 13, 2025
Wednesday Aug 13, 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 227 - All About Boards
Jake and Brendan continue our series on game components with a deep dive on BOARDS! What types of boards exist? How do they enhance the experience of playing a game? What are the best boards? Are tiles also boards?
Timestamps
5:00- what are boards?
13:30- network boards
27:45- other types of boards
32:05- information on boards
46:15- game progress on boards
48:05- scaling boards
50:35- alternate / expansion boards
53:00- players creating the board
57:05- modular boards
59:35- signposting on boards
1:03:05- favorite boards
Games Mentioned
Catan, Quantum, Broom Service, Pax Pamir, Agricola, Ticket to Ride, Root, Castles of Burgundy, Pandemic, Scrabble, Tigris and Euphrates, Blood Rage, Heat, Barrage, Lost Ruins of Arnak, Molly House, Sky Team, Troyes, Santiago, El Grande, Hansa Teutonica, Mexica, Five Tribes, Babylonia, Hey That's My Fish, Arcs, Tikal, Carcassone, Praga Caput Regni, Findorff, Great Western Trail
Preplanners
A few deep dives are in the works, so get in some plays of Apiary, Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Dominion, and more 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 Aug 06, 2025
Wednesday Aug 06, 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 226 - Exploring Cardboard Worlds
Special guest Dan Thurot of Space Biff joins Pete for a discussion about open worlds games. They get into the different design philosophies of these games in different mediums and use Earthborne Rangers and Vantage as case studies for modern board games.
Check out Dan's excellent writing:
Timestamps
5:35- open world games
24:10- Earthborne Rangers
40:00- Vantage
59:20- Sleeping Gods
Preplanners
A few deep dives are in the works, so get in some plays of Apiary, Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Dominion, and more Root! Also we'll be continuing our series of episodes on game components with an exploration of BOARDS!
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 Jul 30, 2025
Wednesday Jul 30, 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 225 - Best Games of the 2000s
In a bit of friendly competition, we attempt to draft the best set of games from the first decade of the century that have stood the test of time. Pete is the real villain of this one. Be sure to hop on discord and vote for the host who drafted the best games!
Game Timestamps
07:30- The Resistance
09:20- Dominion
11:15- Ticket to Ride
13:05- Twilight Struggle
15:20- Brass Lancashire
16:15- Coloretto
17:25- Race for the Galaxy
21:10- The Princes of Florence
26:00- Twilight Imperium 3rd Edition
29:50- Tower of Babel
33:50- Mexica
37:10- Puerto Rico
37:40- Agricola
40:30- Cosmic Encounter
44:30- Telestrations
48:40- Glory to Rome
Preplanners
A few deep dives are in the works, so get in some plays of Apiary, Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Dominion, and more Root! Also we'll be continuing our series of episodes on game components with an exploration of BOARDS!
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 Jul 23, 2025
Wednesday Jul 23, 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 224 - Board Game Junk Food
The gang gets slightly unhinged this week discussing what is the board game equivalent of trashy TV. Also Brendan can't stop thinking about Doritos.
Game Timestamps
10:05- Hot Streak
15:00- Feudum
16:00- A Feast for Odin
16:45- Agricola: Dead Harvest
19:15- Strike
21:05- Pass the Pigs
22:30- Don't Break the Ice
23:00- Junk Art
25:30- My City
29:15- Lost Ruins of Arnak
30:30- Challengers
31:30- Magic the Gathering
32:50- Can't Stop
41:30- Skull King
42:50- Rebel Princess
46:00- The Resistance
50:50- Raiders of the North Sea
51:20- Dune Imperium Uprising
52:05- Marvel United
53:25- Roll for the Galaxy
54:50- Zoo Vadis
56:25- MLEM
59:40- Dominion
1:00:07- Brass Birmingham
1:01:51- Thunder Road Vendetta
1:02:40- Cosmic Encounter
Preplanners
A few deep dives are in the works, so get in some plays of Apiary, Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Dominion, and more 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 Jul 16, 2025
Wednesday Jul 16, 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 223 - Ode to the Tile
In this quite academic episode, Paul goes into full teacher mode with Brendan to discuss the many ways different types of tiles are used in board games. Stay tuned to hear Paul use the term "recreational mathematics" MULTIPLE times!
Timestamps
2:00- background
5:00- types of tile laying games
9:00- spatial puzzles and math stuff
16:00- tiles and theme
19:30- tiles and interaction
23:00- squares
32:00- dominos
35:20- polyominos
39:40- hexagons
47:00- other shapes
51:00- mechanical systems
Games Mentioned
Tigris & Euphrates, Tetris, Patchwork, My City, Isle of Cats, Stamp Swap, Renature, Blokus, Animalia, Isle of Skye, Glen More, Carcassone, Scrabble, Kingdomino, Dragomino, Renature, Gardlings, Barenpark, A Feast for Odin, Expeditions, Cascadia, Keyflower, Hex, My Island, Aqua, Flow, Alhambra, Miyabi, Akropolis, Llama Land, Honey Buzz
Preplanners
A few deep dives are in the works, so get in some plays of Apiary, Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Dominion, and more Root!
Also, start thinking about what your "guilty pleasure" board games are (if that's even a thing).
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 Jul 09, 2025
Wednesday Jul 09, 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 222 - What have we been playing?
In this very chill episode, Jake and Pete discuss some recent plays of some new and old games. Listen for such unexpected topics as:
Mac Gerdts designs a rondel game???
Pete talks about a trick-taking game???
Jake plays a Kramer and Kiesling game???
Game Timestamps
3:52- Earthborne Rangers
20:35- Linko
30:01- Nanatoridori
30:48- Calimala
40:08- Confusing Lands
48:05- Xylotar
52:57- Antike II
Preplanners
A few deep dives are in the works, so get in some plays of Apiary, Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Dominion, and more Root!
Also, start thinking about what your "guilty pleasure" board games are (if that's even a thing).
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!