Hannah and Evan discuss Wonderland's first four-player playtest. When a playtest goes wrong, it can be tricky to diagnose the... more

Slow and steady wins the race... but does it work in a one-session RPG? From what we've seen in Escape... more

Sometimes a secret is worth more than gold. But how do you make concrete rules for something intangible? Hannah and... more

Even when things are going wrong for your characters, you as a player might feel rewarded by narrative twists and... more

When people decide what art is worth looking at, they look for the very best. In a world that demands... more

Is playtesting more of a science, or more art? How prepared should you be for a playtest if you're testing... more

Our newest game, Escape from Wonderland, began as a hack of Questlandia. But what happens when the mechanics of an... more

We often ask ourselves, "Do we need a mechanic for that?" In our newest game, Escape from Wonderland, we want... more

We're taking a week off to recharge! We'll see you back in two weeks with a new episode of Design... more

We recently realized that we’ve drifted apart not just from our games community, but from our community at large. Now,... more

The Kickstarter for Escape from Wonderland is LIVE! Support the game here! How do you know when a game is ready... more

The first conversation we've had about cover design in games! We discuss how book covers are often the first thing... more

One of the hardest lessons in game design is coming to terms with the fact that many of our favorite... more

Evan and Hannah try playing their new game with a very rough draft of the rules, in a cross between... more

We're joined by public historian and musical improviser Alanna Shaffer to discuss real-world amusement park horror and Dippin' Dots scams... more

We continue our design of a creepy amusement park game, starting with the question, "What does bad behavior look like... more

How can you use simple rules to create a complex setting? In the second part of this live design series,... more

What makes a game hack manageable in scope and size? Hannah and Evan delve back into game design to create... more

Hannah and Evan face off in a battle of inspiration and ego to outdo each other's most founder ideas. Then,... more

From Mood, Moments, Mechanics, Materials (MMMM) to "Be aware, be charming," our Design Doc conversations over the years have inspired... more

Public radio icon Ira Glass has a famous quote describing the gap between taste and talent in trying to hone... more

Hannah and Evan talk about how to transform a beloved movie, book, or show into a game, using their latest... more

In a perfect world, we'd make a living just making roleplaying games. But sometimes, duty calls, and you've got to... more

What’s the difference between a “theme” and an “obsession?” Inspired by a classic writing book from the ‘80s, we share... more

Kickstarter stretch goals are notorious for getting project creators into trouble. Sometimes, they over promise content. Other times, they create... more

In this episode, Hannah talks about the art of doing creative work alone. As part of a game design duo... more

We love making solo RPGs, but we don't always love playing them. In this episode we brainstorm ideas for a... more

Hannah and Evan talk about the strange designs and abandoned places of Six Flags New England, the latest of a... more

Former historical interpreter Enzo joins us to talk about interpreting history! A few months ago we visited Old Sturbridge Village,... more