

Ludology
Erica Hayes-Bouyouris, Sen-Foong Lim
Welcome to Ludology, an analytical discussion of the how's and why's of the world of board games. Rather than news and reviews, Ludology explores a variety of topics about games from a wider lens, and discusses game history, game design and game players.
Ludology is part of The Dice Tower Network, the premier board game media network.
Ludology is part of The Dice Tower Network, the premier board game media network.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 25, 2026 • 1h 15min
Ludology 354 Like A Dagger In My Heart
Erica and Sen speak with Spenser Starke about bringing Daggerheart, one of the new generation of tabletop role-playing games, to life.

Mar 9, 2026 • 1h 5min
Ludology 353 The Power of Play
Sen and Erica speak with Peter Williamson, co-founder and partner at barometerxp.com and the executive director at gamegenius.org about creating tabletop experiences for non-profit organizations or doing professional development and team training to facilitate practical learning outcomes.

Feb 26, 2026 • 1h 12min
Ludology 352 Making the Game
Sen and Erica speak with Liqin Gu and Mitch Zhang from Longpack Manufacturing to delve into the ins and outs of how boardgames are made and why they're predominantly made in China.

Feb 9, 2026 • 1h 7min
Ludology 355 Rub a Dub Dub Let's Go To Unpub!
*Special Note* This episode is being released out of order. We will resume our previously scheduled numbering system in two week! Sen and Erica talk to Heather O'Neill and Hunter Johnson, members of the Unpub Board of Directors, about the upcoming Unpub Festival 2026. Hunter and Heather discuss what people can expect, why they should attend, and a few of the special events that will be featured at the Festival which takes place in Maryland from March 12-15, 2026.

Jan 27, 2026 • 32min
Pros and Cons Ep 17
Sen speaks with Kristen Mott at Gen Con 2024 about her designs and publications leading into 2025. We talk homeschooling, scouting, co-design, and horses, of courses. Then we take a look into the crystal ball and make a predication that came true... sorta! Sen and Erica will be back with their regulars shows in February, so stay tuned!

Jan 13, 2026 • 40min
Pros and Cons Ep 16
Recorded live at Gen Con 2024, Sen interviews Sarah Dahlinger, a comparative anatomy fueled creature creator who's made some of your favourite monster art and sculpted the minis as well for companies such as Cephalophair Games, Monte Cook Games, and more. Sarah is also the author/artist behind Astra Fauna: Expeditions and hopes to bring her world of science and adventure to life on the tabletop.

Dec 15, 2025 • 59min
Ludology 351 Better Health Through Gaming
Erica and Sen talk with Dr. Joe Macisco, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences at Wright State University's Boonshoft School of Medicine. Joe has been working on designing serious games for use in the public health field. Joe discusses how and why games can improve pro-health and pro-social behavioural changes.

Dec 8, 2025 • 7min
Thinking Beyond Mechanisms Ep 24
Sen and Erica welcome Sarah Shipp, guest host of Thinking Beyond Mechanisms, to talk about some of the ways in which theme can be measured and how that affects game design.

Dec 1, 2025 • 1h 3min
Ludology 350 Beneath The Trees
Sen and special guest host Doug Levandowski (Kids on Bikes) talk with Noxweiler Ignatius Berf (or "Nox" for short) about his work on the storytelling game, Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees, based on the comic series of the same name. They discuss the game and it's mechanisms, how it stays true to the comic overall, and how it diverges at times.

Nov 16, 2025 • 59min
Ludology 349 Reindeer Games
Erica and Sen welcome Jordan Goddard of Indy Game Lab to talk about his company's newest product - family games that are packaged inside of Christmas ornaments. Currently on Kickstarter, Jordan discusses why he chose to create games that might only come out once a year.


