Decision Space Podcast By Jacob Frydman Brendan Hansen Pete Wissinger Paul Salomon cover art

Decision Space

Decision Space

By: Jacob Frydman Brendan Hansen Pete Wissinger Paul Salomon
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Decision Space is a board game podcast about the decisions in games.Copyright 2021 All rights reserved.
Episodes
  • Fun Through Frustration? Game Difficulty and Sail
    Mar 18 2026

    Episode 257- Game Difficulty and Sail

    What makes games difficult and why do we sometimes enjoy that? When does it go too far? Pete and Brendan explore the topic after discussing a very difficult game: the 2 player cooperative trick-taker Sail.

    Timestamps

    3:50- Sail deep dive 35:30- difficult games discussion

    Other Games Mentioned

    Final Girl, Palaces of Carrera, Pandemic, The Mind, Take Time, The Crew, Fellowship of the Ring Trick-Taking Game

    Preplanners

    Upcoming deep dives of Bus and Cardia will be in the coming weeks, so get those plays in so you're ready!

    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!

    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 26 mins
  • Isle of Skye: an Elegant Masterpiece of Variable Scoring
    Mar 11 2026

    Episode 256- Isle of Skye

    Jake and Paul deep dive the 2016 Kinnerspiel des Jahres Winner: Isle of Skye. Yo, that was 10 years ago? That's craaaazy! They go deep on the joys of variable scoring, catch up mechanisms, and the cozy vibes of building your own little thing.

    Timestamps

    4:30- Isle of Skye deep dive

    Other Games Mentioned

    Whispwood, Ohanami, Nimalia, Castles of Mad King Ludwig

    Preplanners

    Next week is a discussion of game difficulty and the 2p trick-taker Sail.

    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!

    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 22 mins
  • Is Art a Game? C. Thi Nguyen Answers Our Questions About Philosophy, Process, and Play
    Mar 4 2026

    Episode 255- Art and Games with C. Thi Nguyen

    Professor C. Thi Nguyen returns to the pod! We discuss process art, getting good, value capture, empathy, and his new book The Score.

    Timestamps

    2:00- about The Score 10:00- art is a game 18:30- how games affect us 25:00- depth and difficulty 32:30- getting good 45:00- empathy and intimacy 53:00- value capture 1:03:30- process art 1:18:00- closing thoughts

    Preplanners

    Next week is a discussion of Isle of Skye!

    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!

    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 25 mins
All stars
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I found this podcast a few months ago and have been listening to its backlog almost daily. Other board game podcasts tend to focus on whether a given game is worth buying/recommending. This podcast is more interested in dissecting the elements of its design. My favorite episodes are the “what we talk about” episodes, in which they take a word or phrase often used in board game discourse (e.g. “signposting” or “lifestyle games”) and dig into its meaning and applications. If I had one complaint about this podcast, it would be that the intro/outro music is too loud. Other than that, no notes.

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