How To Academy Podcast Award-winning Novelist Joanna Kavenna - How to Play a Game Without Rules
Feb 10, 2026
Joanna Kavenna, award-winning novelist of Seven, blends philosophy, satire and travel writing. She talks about inventing the mysterious board game Seven and how rules shape meaning. Conversations roam AI as an opponent, games as intimate mind-reading, comedy and absurdity in fiction, and the tension between human ambiguity and algorithmic metrics.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Author Playtests The Game
- Joanna played prototype versions of Seven with mock-ups and her children, who promptly beat her.
- She tested rule variants including spirals, obstructions, angels and dragons to see what worked.
When Rules Make Games Unplayable
- Some rule-iterations render a game unplayable when they demand answers to metaphysical questions.
- Joanna uses that to explore when play stops being a practicable activity.
Games Mirror Mindful Contemplation
- Playing a two-player game intensifies contemplation of another mind through anticipating moves and tells.
- Joanna links that mental duel to the writer-reader relationship and deep empathy.
