Board Game Binge

Board Game Binge

Do you love board games? I do! But do you ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes? How do meet-up groups get organized? What is the difference between a successful and an unsuccessful Kickstarter campaign? How do publishers get their games to market? How are people reaching their market in an ever more competitive market? What type of social media personalities are springing up in support of this industry? James interviews experts from across the industry and takes a peak under the hood in his quest to understand this far reaching community. Each episode is bite-sized, clocking in around 30 minutes, so you can take nibbles, or binge several episodes at once.

Episodes

September 9, 2025 36 mins

Josh Roberts is the Co-Founder of Very Special Games, a two-person creative studio he launched with Evan in Memphis, TN in 2019. The duo started out scribbling their first prototype on sticky notes during lunch breaks at their old consulting jobs, which eventually grew into their first hit game, Charty Party, on Kickstarter. Since then, Josh has been helping create quirky, laughter-filled party games that bring people together—even...

Mark as Played

Whales Entertainment is a passionate game publisher co-founded by game enthusiasts Hanshi 'Hans' Li and Yue 'Luna' Ming, based in Los Angeles. We’re committed to providing a platform for Chinese designers to refine their creations and introduce them to a worldwide audience, building the bridge between Chinese and international board game communities. They we always welcome outstanding games from all over the world.

You can check out...

Mark as Played
August 26, 2025 33 mins

Mathias Wigge is a German game designer and graduate in business informatics. He became well-known through the game Ark Nova, published in 2021 by Feuerland Spiele. His debut work has won multiple awards, including the Deutscher Spielepreis 2022.

During his studies in business informatics in Paderborn, Mathias Wigge developed an interest in competitive card games. He devoted much of his free time to the tournament scene of Magic: Th...

Mark as Played
August 19, 2025 32 mins

ordan Plosky is the Co-Founder & CEO of Zoop Collective, Inc.  Started in 2020 as a full service crowdfunding platform, Zoop has expanded into the world of game development.  Care Bears is an officially licensed game from CloudCo Entertainment by the licensee of record, Naftos.  Zoop is providing design and development on the game, as well as handling the crowdfunding.

You can check out the campaign for Care Bears...

Mark as Played

Steven Aramini is an avid player, designer and publisher of board games. His first published game, Yardmaster, helped get his foot in the door in the industry in 2014 and he has continued designing ever since, creating such games as Animal Kingdoms, Sprawlopolis, Circle the Wagons, Ancient Realm, Station to Station and many others. In 2023, he ventured into the self-publishing realm, creating Write Stuff Games and publishing Flipto...

Mark as Played

Simon is an Italian-Canadian, raised in Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Canada, and has worked as a music teacher in New Zealand, the UAE, and now Ethiopia. He has designed One Card Maze, Hand of Cthulhu, Fave Game, Beginner Briscola, and Starter Scopa. When Simon isn't teaching music or game designing he is making digital art or playing music at school or venues around Addis Ababa. His passion lies in logo and poster design an...

Mark as Played

Since 2018, Dead Alive Games has aimed to design and publish high quality games that are inclusive and representative of the diverse gaming community they belong to. 

They are the designers, developers, and publisher who have successfully funded and fulfilled critically acclaimed games such as Omicron Protocol, Lunar Rush, Cyber Pet Quest.

Their newest entry into the board game world is Kittens in Space, which is now on Kickstar...

Mark as Played

Ammon Anderson is a lifelong creative. His background is in Fortune 500 corporate design and brand management. He is a game designer, graphic designer, Art director, illustrator, and public speaker.

He is the owner of Levity Games, a game design studio and Etsy shop that makes sticker upgrades for board games. 

Ammon is the designer of Gnome Hollow (also Illustrator), Twinkle Twinkle, Cats vs Cucumbers and T....

Mark as Played

With over 15 years experience as a branding and product design expert, Gavan has been creative director and overseen production for many board games. Gavan’s true passion lies in game design and development. Roxley’s most recent campaign was for Excalibur a 2-8 player lighthearted game of tomfoolery, scumbagger, and hilarious backstabbery.

Check it out: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/roxley/excalibur

WHERE TO BUY OUR BOOK: http...

Mark as Played

Josh Bowman is the COO of CakePie Games and Cohost of Tabletop Submarine. He is also a co designer of the game Guns or Treasure and contributor on the Level Up Board Game Podcast. He also has a passion for food as his day jobs is a Pitmaster at his families bbq join.

His current title, Beach Day, is currently on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/beachday/beach-day-a-relaxing-strategy-card-game

WHERE TO BUY OUR BOOK: h...

Mark as Played

Simon Ennis is the award-winning director of the feature films Lunarcy! and You Might As Well Live. His work has screened at TIFF, SXSW, IDFA, CPH:DOX, Slamdance, True/False, & Fantasia, and been praised by the NY Times, Variety, IndieWire and the Toronto Star. The Hobby: Tales From The Tabletop, his latest feature documentary, had its world premiere at SXSW, is currently playing theatrically in Canada, and will be released on ...

Mark as Played

Waterworks Games is a Portland-based design studio crafting original board games that make game night memorable. From Alpenglow and PDX to Red Dog Junction (now live on Kickstarter), they design and publish games that blend strategy, theme, and fun. 

Sean Wittmeyer is a designer, architect, and systems thinker passionate about creating meaningful experiences—digital, physical, and social. With a background in architecture and s...

Mark as Played

Minor Disaster Games is a family business created by brothers Kristian and Liam as the design team, and Kristian’s wife Caley taking on the business and operation of the company. 

Their first game, Trouble On The Tempus is a co-op time travelling disaster management game.

Kristian is a writer, filmmaker, gamer, and all round creative scatterbrain who is always working on some project or other. He began working on "Trouble on the...

Mark as Played

Everland Studio is an enthusiastic new indie publisher and a sister brand to the established Lemery Games. Lemery Games, another independent board game publisher with a proven history of crafting and releasing games, has successfully managed and fulfilled five Kickstarter campaigns, showcasing their expertise in crowdfunding and delivering high-quality board games to backers worldwide. 

Dario:

Dario is a passionate board game de...

Mark as Played

Mike, Sean, & Logan are three friends with a shared dream to make games that bring people together. Glasshouse Games was born from their love of storytelling, strategy, and immersive worlds. They strive to make games, created by gamers, for gamers, while being wrapped in a beautifully curated world and design. Whisker Wars is their first (BIG) step toward that vision, and they’re thrilled to share it with you!

You can ...

Mark as Played

Jill Belli is the creator of Murder on the Rocks, a murder mystery game. When not designing games, she works in cyber forensics, holds a PhD in cybersecurity, and teaches in the field. Jill is also a proud volunteer firefighter, always looking for new ways to combine storytelling, strategy, and community.  

You can check out Murder on the Rocks here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/misfitmixers/murder-on-the-rocks-a-m...

Mark as Played
May 20, 2025 30 mins

Amir Kamal is an Italian board game designer living in Melbourne, Australia. He founded Game Tribe in 2022, and has been working on Nataterra for the past five years. Originally, Nataterra began as a story he was writing, and it felt natural to bring that world into the game as it developed. Alongside the game, he’s also releasing a short story set in the same universe. Nataterra is a bold attempt to bring the spirit of classic RTS...

Mark as Played

Nick is co-Founder of Bitewing Games, a tabletop game publishing company run by two dentists!  In dentistry a bitewing is an x-ray that allows us to analyze and view a tooth in a different way than is seen with the naked eye. Their goal is to create and share games in a way that, much like the x-ray, will provide you with a unique perspective and exciting new experience.  In short, they make classy board games that bite.

T...

Mark as Played

Artem Stepanov is an indie board game publisher from Tbilisi, Georgia and has been launching games on Kickstarter for the past 2 year.

His first Kickstarter game, Meenakshi Temple, recently fulfilled and now he is back with his next title Diceverse, a deep & addictive space-themed dice strategy gamein April.

To check out the campaign for DICEVERSE, click here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shviligames/fly-further

WHERE TO B...

Mark as Played

Konstantinos Manos is the CEO, of HIVE Interactive, a platform committed to developing potent tools tailored to empower Kickstarter creators. With a singular platform that tracks every facet of their journey —from pre-campaign preparations to the final delivery— HIVE ensures an easy, efficient, and comprehensive experience for creators. Konstantinos is also the CEO of the board game publisher Vesuvius Media.

To check out HIVE Intera...

Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.

    Dateline NBC

    Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.

    Stuff You Should Know

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    The Charlie Kirk Show

    Charlie is America's hardest working grassroots activist who has your inside scoop on the biggest news of the day and what's really going on behind the headlines. The founder of Turning Point USA and one of social media's most engaged personalities, Charlie is on the front lines of America’s culture war, mobilizing hundreds of thousands of students on over 3,500 college and high school campuses across the country, bringing you your daily dose of clarity in a sea of chaos all from his signature no-holds-barred, unapologetically conservative, freedom-loving point of view. You can also watch Charlie Kirk on Salem News Channel

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.