Ludology

Designer and historian Amabel Holland ([email protected]) joins Erica and Sen on a trip down memory lane as she tells them about the highlights of her deep dives into discovering the often unknown designers of the mass market games of the 60s and 70s in North America. You can watch Amabel's historical journeys at https://www.youtube.com/@Hollandspiele

Recorded in Summer of 2026, Sen talks to Ethan Yen at a cafe in lovely Wortley Village in South London. They discuss design philosophies and Ethan's solo RPG "Fetch My Blade" (which happens to be on Kickstarter for a few more days - check it out!) https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hitpointpress/fetch-my-blade-a-journaling-roleplaying-game

Erica and Sen talk amongst themselves and discuss the topic of complexity in games from multiple angles. Whether you're choosing what to play at game night or designing the next big hit, complexity is something that impacts tabletop gaming maybe more than you think!

Once again, Sen was in la belle province, recording at FLIM when he heard about *another* convention in Montreal! Ludicon offers open gaming, competitions, and merchandise in the heart of the city every November. Alain Fragman and Mario Haché brought Ludicon to life in 2024 and the 2026 edition will be on November 6-7-8 at Montreal's Palais des Congrès. They tell Sen all about the event and how it came into being in this installment of Pros and Cons.  Check out www.ludicon.ca for more info. Sen hopes to be there this November, so come join him! (Side note: If you're interested in learning more about the Society of Curiosity's 5-bedroom B&B that is an overnight escape room experience in a Victorian manor, sign up for more info here: https://www.societyofcuriosities.com/immersive-overnight/manor-of-curiosities/ and check out Episode 29 1 Curiouser and Curiouser at  https://ludology.libsyn.com/webpage/ludology-291-curiouser-and-curiouser to hear the purveyors of fine escape experiences describe their venue.)

This week, Erica and Sen speak with Dr. Marc Engfield and Shawn Roske about the game they co-designed to explore and address issues surrounding managing Chronic Pain. Using Sarah Lynne Bowman's theories of Transformational Play as the backbone, "The Pain Clinic" has pairs of players take on the roles of a patient who is experiencing chronic pain and the doctor who is treating them. For more information about this game, please contact the creators at: [email protected]  or [email protected]