The Play to Win Podcast from Aconyte Books – Series 1: Everybody Wins by James Wallis

Aconyte Books
  • 5.0 (2)
  • GAMES

This is the Play to Win Podcast from Aconyte Books. This first series of the podcast accompanies the book Everybody Wins: Four Decades of the Greatest Board Games Ever Made by James Wallis, charting the rise of the modern board game over the past forty years. In this accompanying podcast series, James chats with some of the people who were there to see it happen.

Episodes

  1. 30 Years of Legend of the Five Rings Episode 6 – Interview with Luke Peterschmidt

    JAN 22

    30 Years of Legend of the Five Rings Episode 6 – Interview with Luke Peterschmidt

    “30 Years of Legend of the Five Rings” is a series of interviews celebrating 30 years since the debut of L5R. This second series of the Play to Win podcast from Aconyte Books explores the perspectives of the people who had a hand in L5R’s making, past and present. In Episode 6, host Katrina Ostrander talks to game designer and tabletop industry veteran Luke Peterschmidt. He was the brand manager for L5R for part of the Wizards of the Coast era, and he also served as the head of Office Dog Games, the studio responsible for the critically acclaimed L5R board game River of Gold. Check it out on the studio’s website: https://www.officedoggames.com/game/river-of-gold/ Stay up to date with all the news from Rokugan, and sign up for the official newsletter, at L5R.com. Subscribe to the Play to Win podcast from Aconyte Books wherever you listen to podcasts for more episodes of “30 Years of Legend of the Five Rings.” This recording © Asmodee North America 2025. Legend of the Five Rings, the Legend of the Five Rings logo, and the Aconyte name and logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Asmodee North America, Inc.

    40 min
  2. 30 Years of Legend of the Five Rings Episode 5 – Interview with Julie Kagawa and J.T. Nicholas

    JAN 7

    30 Years of Legend of the Five Rings Episode 5 – Interview with Julie Kagawa and J.T. Nicholas

    “30 Years of Legend of the Five Rings” is a series of interviews celebrating 30 years since the debut of L5R. This second series of the Play to Win podcast from Aconyte Books explores the perspectives of the people who had a hand in L5R’s making, past and present. In Episode 5, host Katrina Ostrander speaks with Julie Kagawa and J.T. Nicholas, whose journey started with the roleplaying game and led them to writing official novels for Aconyte Books. Visit their author websites at JulieKagawa.com and JTNicholas.com. A Throne Betrayed by Julie Kagawa and J.T. Nicholas, the first book in the Clan Wars series of novels, is available in print or ebook from these retailers: https://books2read.com/L5RAthroneBetrayed You can learn more about Julie Kagawa’s Shadow of the Fox series on her website: juliekagawa.com/bookshelf/the-shadow-of-the-fox/ Finally, check out the current edition of Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying, available from Edge Studio: https://www.edge-studio.net/categories-games/l5r/ Stay up to date with all the news from Rokugan, and sign up for the official newsletter, at L5R.com. Subscribe to the Play to Win podcast from Aconyte Books wherever you listen to podcasts for more episodes of “30 Years of Legend of the Five Rings.” This recording © Asmodee North America 2025. Legend of the Five Rings, the Legend of the Five Rings logo, and the Aconyte name and logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Asmodee North America, Inc.

    50 min
  3. 30 Years of Legend of the Five Rings Episode 4 – Interview with Steve Horvath

    12/18/2025

    30 Years of Legend of the Five Rings Episode 4 – Interview with Steve Horvath

    “30 Years of Legend of the Five Rings” is a series of interviews celebrating 30 years since the debut of L5R. This second series of the Play to Win podcast from Aconyte Books explores the perspectives of the people who had a hand in L5R’s making, past and present. In Episode 4, host Katrina Ostrander is joined by Steve Horvath. He’s been involved with Legend of the Five Rings for its entire history, from before the game’s official launch to his retirement from Asmodee in late 2024.Stay up to date with all the news from Rokugan, and sign up for the official newsletter, at ⁠https://www.legendofthefiverings.com/. Subscribe to the Play to Win podcast from Aconyte Books wherever you listen to podcasts for more episodes of “30 Years of Legend of the Five Rings.”This recording © Asmodee North America 2025. Legend of the Five Rings, the Legend of the Five Rings logo, and the Aconyte name and logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Asmodee North America, Inc.

    45 min
  4. 30 Years of Legend of the Five Rings Episode 3 – Interview with D.J. Trindle

    12/04/2025

    30 Years of Legend of the Five Rings Episode 3 – Interview with D.J. Trindle

    “30 Years of Legend of the Five Rings” is a series of interviews celebrating 30 years since the debut of L5R. This second series of the Play to Win podcast from Aconyte Books explores the perspectives of the people who had a hand in L5R’s making, past and present. In Episode 3, host Katrina Ostrander is joined by D.J. Trindle, wearer of many hats at AEG during the card game’s early years, and line editor for the first edition of the Legend of the Five Rings Roleplaying Game. Download the free rules and printable dice faces for Fortunes & Winds, the dice game mentioned in this episode, at https://www.legendofthefiverings.com/fortunes-and-winds/ Stay up to date with all the news from Rokugan, and sign up for the official newsletter, at L5R.com. Subscribe to the Play to Win podcast from Aconyte Books wherever you listen to podcasts for more episodes of “30 Years of Legend of the Five Rings.” This recording © Asmodee North America 2025. Legend of the Five Rings, the Legend of the Five Rings logo, and the Aconyte name and logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Asmodee North America, Inc.

    41 min
  5. 30 Years of Legend of the Five Rings Episode 2 – Interview with John Zinser and Ryan S. Dancey, Part 2

    11/20/2025

    30 Years of Legend of the Five Rings Episode 2 – Interview with John Zinser and Ryan S. Dancey, Part 2

    “30 Years of Legend of the Five Rings” is a series of interviews celebrating 30 years since the debut of L5R. This second series of the Play to Win podcast from Aconyte Books explores the perspectives of the people who had a hand in L5R’s making, past and present. In Episode 2, host Katrina Ostrander continues her conversation with Legend of the Five Rings co-creators John Zinser and Ryan Dancey of Alderac Entertainment Group. Stay up to date with all the news from Rokugan, and sign up for the Legend of the Five Rings newsletter, at ⁠L5R.com⁠. Subscribe to the Play to Win podcast from Aconyte Books wherever you listen to podcasts for more episodes of “30 Years of Legend of the Five Rings.” This recording © Asmodee North America 2025. Legend of the Five Rings, the Legend of the Five Rings logo, and the Aconyte name andlogo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Asmodee North America, Inc.

    1h 2m
  6. 30 Years of Legend of the Five Rings Episode 1 – Interview with John Zinser and Ryan S. Dancey

    11/06/2025

    30 Years of Legend of the Five Rings Episode 1 – Interview with John Zinser and Ryan S. Dancey

    “30 Years of Legend of the Five Rings” is a series of interviews celebrating 30 years since the debut of L5R. This second series of the Play to Win podcast from Aconyte Books explores the perspectives of the people who had a hand in L5R’s making, past and present. In Episode 1, host Katrina Ostrander is joined by two of the people responsible for the collectible card game’s creation, John Zinser and Ryan S. Dancey. Stay up to date with all the news from Rokugan, and sign up for the Legend of the Five Rings newsletter, at L5R.com. Subscribe to the Play to Win podcast from Aconyte Books wherever you listen to podcasts for more episodes of “30 Years of Legend of the Five Rings.” This recording © Asmodee North America 2025. Legend of the Five Rings, the Legend of the Five Rings logo, and the Aconyte name andlogo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Asmodee North America, Inc.

    58 min
  7. Episode 6 – Everybody Wins

    03/06/2023

    Episode 6 – Everybody Wins

    This is the Play to Win Podcast from Aconyte Books. This first series of the podcast accompanies the book Everybody Wins: Four Decades of the Greatest Board Games Ever Made by James Wallis. In this episode, James wraps up a look at the last four decades of board games with guests Tim Harford, Christopher John Eggett and Holly Nielsen.

    59 min
  8. Episode 5 – A New Direction

    02/20/2023

    Episode 5 – A New Direction

    This is the Play to Win Podcast from Aconyte Books. This first series of the podcast accompanies the book Everybody Wins: Four Decades of the Greatest Board Games Ever Made by James Wallis. In this episode, James discusses party games, co-op games and more with Jenga creator Leslie Scott and Pandemic designer Matt Leacock.

    1 hr
  9. Episode 4 – Identity Crisis

    02/06/2023

    Episode 4 – Identity Crisis

    This is the Play to Win Podcast from Aconyte Books. This first series of the podcast accompanies the book Everybody Wins: Four Decades of the Greatest Board Games Ever Made by James Wallis. In this episode, James is joined one of the world's best-known games designers, Reiner Knizia, as well as author and board game reviewer Tim Clare, to discuss the era when board games went mainstream.

    54 min
  10. Episode 3 – The Golden Age

    01/23/2023

    Episode 3 – The Golden Age

    This is the Play to Win Podcast from Aconyte Books. This first series of the podcast accompanies the book Everybody Wins: Four Decades of the Greatest Board Games Ever Made by James Wallis. In this episode, James discusses tabletop gaming's Golden Age of the 1990s with two of its central figures – Peter Adkison, founder of Wizards of the Coast and the man who first published Magic: The Gathering, and John Kovalic, designer of Apples to Apples, creator of Dork Tower, and illustrator of the legendary Munchkin card game.  If you enjoyed this podcast, visit www.aconytebooks.com for more information on Everybody Wins: Four Decades of the Greatest Board Games Ever Made by James Wallis.

    1h 2m

  11. 01/10/2023

    Episode 2 – Settlers & Co

    This is the Play to Win Podcast from Aconyte Books. This first series of the podcast accompanies the book Everybody Wins: Four Decades of the Greatest Board Games Ever Made by James Wallis. In this episode, James chats with two of the most significant figures in the British games industry from the 1980s onwards – legendary Games Workshop games designer Jervis Johnson and Fighting Fantasy editor and founder of Black Library Marc Gascoigne. If you enjoyed this podcast, visit www.aconytebooks.com for more information on Everybody Wins: Four Decades of the Greatest Board Games Ever Made by James Wallis.

    1h 29m

  12. 12/19/2022

    Episode 1 – Opening Moves

    This is the Play to Win Podcast from Aconyte Books. This first series of the podcast accompanies the book Everybody Wins: Four Decades of the Greatest Board Games Ever Made by James Wallis. In this first episode, James chats with two giant figures from the gaming world of the 1970s – Sir Ian Livingstone, founder of Games Workshop, and David Parlett, designer of Hare & Tortoise, the first game ever to be awarded the prestigious Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year) Award.  If you enjoyed this podcast, visit www.aconytebooks.com for more information on Everybody Wins: Four Decades of the Greatest Board Games Ever Made by James Wallis.

    55 min
  • 12 Episodes

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

This is the Play to Win Podcast from Aconyte Books. This first series of the podcast accompanies the book Everybody Wins: Four Decades of the Greatest Board Games Ever Made by James Wallis, charting the rise of the modern board game over the past forty years. In this accompanying podcast series, James chats with some of the people who were there to see it happen.

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