Intertextual Experience: A Board Game Podcast

Ryan Vodnik
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Games
  • Updated Biweekly

A primarily interview-based podcast grounded in the board game hobby. By exploring the connections between board games and other mediums, Intertextual Experience is looking to tap into some links that may not have been considered much previously. Through interesting guests, audience feedback, and general revision, there is an experiential element of this channel to grow and change in unique ways. By keeping the door open to various forms of entertainment, the myriad of possibilities and combinations to consider and discuss is limitless. In addition to always trying to create cleverly constructed episodes and questions for the guests, another goal is to continually answer the question "why this podcast?" Those ideas serve as the pulse of this show, and I'm excited to keep trying to answer (and then re-answer) that question.

  1. 5d ago

    #46 - Amabel Holland: Episode of Six Video Essays

    Back like it never left, Intertextual Experience welcomes Amabel Holland—designer, video essayist, author, and co-owner of Hollandspiele—for its forty-sixth episode. Amabel has been making my favorite board game media through her video essays, so this conversation is in conversation with those videos. While the title of the episode is “Episode of Six Video Essays,” technically only four wind up being explicitly chosen through this installment’s game. With that being said, Amabel’s nuanced responses connect to more than the selected six, weaving in various other essays (future ones as well), games, movies, and more media to explore the ways in which art can impact us, why preservation is important, and how being unique and filling different niches will push boundaries of what games can do or be even if it might not be the most commercially viable strategy. Additionally, there is discussion of immersive sims and the correct way to eat skittles, some very impressive word game play, and much more. This is not an episode to miss. Speaking of things you don’t want to miss, check out following things from Amabel: Video Essays Hollandspiele Website Patreon Bluesky Here are the documents used in this episode: the reference document (serves as the games mentioned in this episode as well) and the word game itself. In order to not spoil too much, the sections of the episode are going to not have too many extra notes. Technically, you could cross reference the show notes, episode cover image, and the reference document to figure out what’s being talked about within each section; it’s a mini-puzzle in a sense. Regardless, each section is basically just the title of each video essay. Intro and State of the Video Essays (0:00) Should Board Games Be Frustrating (24:32) The general frame of the word game is described right at the beginning, and then it moves to frustration in some various games. Boxes: Selling, Framing, Meaning (44:42) [There is a small, fun, post-credit audio bit that was originally in this section.] Replay Value: Repetition, Ritual, and Improvement (57:07) Expanding Board Games (1:09:27) Wrap-up Questions (1:19:31) A text on Amabel’s mind and things to look forward to from her! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you like this show, liking it on whatever platform you listen to and writing a review would mean so much! Furthermore, it's as independent as it gets, so any financial support would help with the subscriptions that make this project go smoothly. That can be done by "buying me a coffee" and/or buying a copy of my board game (I like it). All of my socials and support information can be found here: Intertextual Experience Linktree

    #46 - Amabel Holland: Episode of Six Video Essays

  2. Apr 2

    #45 - Taylor Reiner: The Quiz 2 – Trick-Taking Romanticism – Everything’s a Sequel – You Can’t End on a Toot for Me, I’m Gonna Toot on You

    Taylor Reiner. The Quiz 2. Since Taylor was on the show in September 2023, he’s been busy with designing, developing, making videos, and more. We get to explore some of the things Taylor has been working on through the lens of sequels, other media, and just general chaos by the way of The Return of the Quiz. Check out Taylor’s Trick Taking Table See Taylor’s designs and developments. Follow Taylor’s Bluesky. Games Mentioned in this Episode Intro (0:00) Reflecting on my butchered introduction, the time that’s passed, and the extreme success of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring — Trick-Taking Game. Then we set up the quiz. The Quiz 2 (8:14) Can’t spoil the contents of the newest quiz, but there’s a new fun section called “The Tricky Minute.” Also, the question on everyone’s mind is if SSX Tricky makes a return. Home Alone 2 The Crew 2 Renaissance - Enlightenment - Romanticism 2 Mini-Director’s Commentary (55:45) Keeping the quiz short and then doing a full Director’s Commentary as a later episode that paired with this was an initial thought of mine. Fortunately that didn’t work out, especially as that will allow more breath and rumination for The Quiz 3. Taylor reflects on sequels in general, Slay the Spire 2, and Oreos here. Wrap-up Questions (1:05:32) A non-StS2 text on Taylor’s mind and what to look out for from him. There’s a 250 character limit for the titles, in case you’re wondering. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you like this show, liking it on whatever platform you listen to and writing a review would mean so much! Furthermore, it's as independent as it gets, so any financial support would help with the subscriptions that make this project go smoothly. That can be done by "buying me a coffee" and/or buying a copy of my board game (I like it). All of my socials and support information can be found here: Intertextual Experience Linktree

    #45 - Taylor Reiner: The Quiz 2 – Trick-Taking Romanticism – Everything’s a Sequel – You Can’t End on a Toot for Me, I’m Gonna Toot on You

  3. Feb 19

    #44 - Tom Brewster: Board Games, Board Games, and… Chip Cat Breach

    Shut Up & Sit Down’s Tom Brewster joins Intertextual Experience for our 44th episode, perhaps with the show’s most adventurous format yet (so adventurous that time stamps honestly wouldn’t make much sense–and that’s not just me trying to get out of doing the time stamps). In a roguelite/like/who the heck knows the difference (& don’t go barking at me; I’ve watched all the videos that try to differentiate them and then see everyone else still arguing in the comments) structure, we fight the Western canon, make bean wine, create and remix the game we’re playing in real time, converse about wanting to share the beautiful parts of our hobbies with others, and just have so many other great moments sprinkled within a pretty wild time. This “roguelike” winds up being “4X” in a sense; it explores exploration, experience, expectations, and extermination–poor bat. If none of that makes sense, you’ll just have to listen. If all of that makes sense, you’re in the right spot. You know where to find Shut Up & Sit Down, but here’s their YouTube channel & here’s Tom on Bluesky. In lieu of the various time-stamped sections, attached below is a comprehensive slides presentation that includes the slides for Chip Cat Breach, images of the games within the game, the character creation page, the games mentioned in this episode, and more? Tom does an excellent job of bringing the visual elements of this audio-only show to life. I suggest waiting until after a listen to check out these slides to see how everything matches up in your head, but you’re your own person. Click here for slides. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you like this show, liking it on whatever platform you listen to and writing a review would mean so much! Furthermore, it's as independent as it gets, so any financial support would help with the subscriptions that make this project go smoothly. That can be done by "buying me a coffee" and/or buying a copy of my board game (I like it). All of my socials and support information can be found here: Intertextual Experience Linktree

    #44 - Tom Brewster: Board Games, Board Games, and… Chip Cat Breach

  4. Jan 14

    #43 - Alex Hague: Gaming Through Magenta-Colored Glasses

    Intertextual Experience is ecstatic to bring in the New Year with Alex Hague, the CEO of board game company CMYK. For a show that likes to explore ideas and stories through different lenses, CMYK provides a perfect color model for us to create these different colored lenses. Through a twisted version of the game Figment, Alex is subjected to a slew of challenges and questions while coming out victorious. Come explore CMYK’s vision, the Hot Streak that was 2025 for the company, an alternate reality where CMYK is a war game publisher, and so much more. As an audio only podcast, you might feel as if you’re missing out on some of the fun, but do not anguish! Here is the slide show presented for Alex (and for the sake of saving links, the games mentioned in the episode will get their own slide after the main images of “the game”). Check out CMYK’s games here. Sign up for their newsletter at the bottom. Follow Alex on Bluesky “Oh, it's like the tip-off of a basketball game.” (0:00) Story, beginning, and a tale told through colors. “We're looking at, like, a… is that an axial view?” (17:07) Vibing. A throughline of sorts for CMYK games. Noted in this section! Recently, Alex was interviewed for one of Amabel Holland’s amazing video essay series. The most recent video titled “Boxes: Selling, Framing, Meaning” is linked. Check that out and then check out the rest of Amabel’s videos if you haven’t. “A series of concentric circles with some stars inside of it.” (38:44) Gaps/lines/connections were all possible topics for this one; based on Alex’s selection, the line of questioning was mostly focused on the first option, gaps.. Lacuna. “Anthropomorphic hot dog mascot with, you know, some, like, sort of soulless eye holes.” (49:52) All versions of this question focused on CMYK’s 2025 in some way (outside of one really out of pocket option). Wrap-up Questions (1:03:04) A text on Alex’s mind and things to look out for from CMYK in 2026 (don’t be greedy—wasn’t their 2025 output enough?!)! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you like this show, liking it on whatever platform you listen to and writing a review would mean so much! Furthermore, it's as independent as it gets, so any financial support would help with the subscriptions that make this project go smoothly. That can be done by "buying me a coffee" and/or buying a copy of my board game (I like it). All of my socials and support information can be found here: Intertextual Experience Linktree

    #43 - Alex Hague: Gaming Through Magenta-Colored Glasses

  5. Jan 2

    Vodcast 7 - ID EST What ID EST—2025 Reflection

    Happy New Year! In a couple weeks, the show returns with an awesome guest. If you hang around here with me for just a little bit though, you'll get to hear about the state of the show (changes were made this year, and things have been a little slower than desired anticipated—all good though), some video and board games I rank quite highly in my end of year thoughts, and a potential giveaway. My logged plays from this year (a bit wonky—explained in episode). The Steam link mentioned. Board Game Giveaway Bohnanza! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you like this show, liking it on whatever platform you listen to and writing a review would mean so much! Furthermore, it's as independent as it gets, so any financial support would help with the subscriptions that make this project go smoothly. That can be done by "buying me a coffee" and/or buying a copy of my board game (I like it). All of my socials and support information can be found here: Intertextual Experience Linktree

    Vodcast 7 - ID EST What ID EST—2025 Reflection

  6. 12/03/2025

    #42 - Ray Billings — The Host: A Board Game Virus (or How Authenticity Will Cure Virality)

    Ray Billings, Digital Content Specialist for The Op, joins the show to share her expertise in all things related to marketing and creating media for board games. Don’t let my lack of knowledge on the subject make you Tapple out of this conversation, as Ray’s wit and wisdom will provide many Hues and Cues as to how you too can authentically create for the things you are passionate about. Cheesiness aside, this episode is amazing. Being able to look at board games through this lens provides a ton of insight not just for the sake of how we might pitch games as products, but also as to how we can create and talk in ways that make games a more welcoming space. Additionally, there’s talk about Katamari, email factories, live streaming, lingo, and so much more. Check out Ray’s work on The Op’s TikTok page, her own Bluesky account, the R&R Show, and the BoardGameWire feature discussed in the episode! Games Mentioned in this Episode ⚀ Intro (0:00) The moment where Ray’s skills and interests intersected. Also, job titles. ⚁ Hats (10:23) The aforementioned “Email Factory” is just a part of Ray’s day to day. Furthermore, the day to day will vary with all sorts of different days at the office, conventions, and everything else that can pop up. Ray also talks about being on the R&R Show, live streaming, and other fun work stories. ⚂ “How board game maker The Op got 8 million TikTok views last month” (31:19) Early in her position at The Op, Ray wrote a feature for BoardGameWire based on some wild success she achieved. This section discusses the article, both from how that core vision holds and how things have changed with time/changes in media/experience. ⚃ Hypotheticals (40:26) “How would you approach digital media and marketing if you were the Digital Content Specialist of …?” That’s this section. ⚄ Wrap-up Questions (59:12) A big shout out for the fact that Ray was recently recognized as a finalist for the Wonder Woman Award for Women in Toys nonprofit organization! Per usual, we’re talking about some texts on her mind and looking forward to some things in Ray’s future. ----------------------------------------------------------------- If you like this show, liking it on whatever platform you listen to and writing a review would mean so much! Furthermore, it's as independent as it gets, so any financial support would help with the subscriptions that make this project go smoothly. That can be done by "buying me a coffee" and/or buying a copy of my board game (I like it). All of my socials and support information can be found here: Intertextual Experience Linktree

    #42 - Ray Billings — The Host: A Board Game Virus (or How Authenticity Will Cure Virality)

  7. 10/24/2025

    #41 - Ruel Gaviola: Seventh Inning Stretch—Roll Out the Board Games

    2025 World Series Game One Release Date Intertextual Experiences enthusiastically welcomes back the once 16th guest of the show, Ruel Gaviola. Ruel’s passion for baseball was made known to me through our first episode, seeing his social media posts (check out Ruel’s Bluesky), and running into Ruel in his vibrant Dodger blue hat at Gen Con. So when “my” Brewers (attempted to) face his Dodgers, I knew I had to reach out. In this episode, we chat about baseball, a couple baseball related games, seventh-inning stretches, what a “seventh-inning stretch” type of game could be, baseball movies, and so much more. Come for the baseball, stay for a delightful conversation with insights about how constantly refocusing in the midst of creating media that brings people joy so that things are well-balanced while one (Ruel in this instance) is making so ——reword In addition to his Bluesky, check out Ruel’s YouTube channel, Good Morning Society, and The R&R Show (on Rahdo’s Runthrough–just linked an episode here. Much like a seventh inning stretch, where you’re trying to cram in a bathroom break, vending trips for a hot dog, maybe some nachos, beers (?), and, of course, singing, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” this episode tries to pack a lot into a short period of time. The chapters will just be the three “outs” of an inning because the sections in this episode are a little less concrete than normal (which is saying something), which kind of makes sense within the context of an inning’s structure. First Out (0:00) Welcoming back Ruel to the show Ruel’s love of the game Going to the ballpark Baseball movies Ted Lasso? More Second Out (19:57) Seventh-inning stretch board games? Seventh-inning stretch in general Mascot races Baseball scorekeeping Baseball board games More Final Out (46:03) Usual wrap-up questions: A text on Ruel’s mind & where to check out Ruel and his work! Games mentioned in this episode document. Episode Image Credits: Image by Books Sun from Pixabay ----------------------------------------------------------------- If you like this show, liking it on whatever platform you listen to and writing a review would mean so much! Furthermore, it's as independent as it gets, so any financial support would help with the subscriptions that make this project go smoothly. That can be done by "buying me a coffee" and/or buying a copy of my board game (I like it). All of my socials and support information can be found here: Intertextual Experience Linktree

    #41 - Ruel Gaviola: Seventh Inning Stretch—Roll Out the Board Games

  8. 10/01/2025

    #40 - Pete Wissinger—Crit(ical Thinking Skill)s and Trick(y question)s: A Back to School Special

    Intertextual Experience is now over the hill with its 40th guest and is also over the moon that it’s with designer, developer, and podcaster, Pete Wissinger. Pete’s also a teacher, so this episode thinks about the relationships between teaching and gaming as well as how the unique schedule of being a teacher can aid and/or hinder being creative in the board game space. We talk about coffee consumption, games that work well in the classroom, the idea of learning in general, designer diaries, cursed concoctions of board game mechanisms, and so much more. Check out Pete on the Decision Space Podcast, Bluesky, and BoardGameGeek. The show is structured around a “Play-CT” test, which isn’t really like the ACT in any way whatsoever. While having the freedom to choose going through this line of questioning in any way he’d like, Pete—**spoilers**—chooses to go through it chronologically. The document provided for Pete is going to be linked here, and I’ll also add the games mentioned in the episode at the bottom of that document: That document Seeing as the document provides all of the questions and it’s easily accessible, the chapter breakdowns will be short (and/or goofier than normal, if possible). Intro (0:00) English (13:19) It’s all about context here. Some introductory questions in addition to chatting about what designer diaries can add to the experience of all parties involved. Quick Math (43:20) Only the most accurate percentages are accepted as correct answers here, and there’s a Google Drawn balancing scale thing on the document linked above that’s definitely worth checking out. Reading [Into Things] (55:00) This section is mostly about connections: Links between designing, podcasting, and developing People to the hobby itself etc. Science? (1:11:56) Like a peanut butter and mayo sandwich, Pete concocts some game combinations that might sound disgusting but are actually delicious (the game ideas do actually sound fun though—that sandwich would be puke-inducing). Writing and Extra Credit (1:17:01) Writing here is the substitute for the usual wrap-up questions, and extra credit is extra credit. ----------------------------------------------------------------- If you like this show, liking it on whatever platform you listen to and writing a review would mean so much! Furthermore, it's as independent as it gets, so any financial support would help with the subscriptions that make this project go smoothly. That can be done by "buying me a coffee" and/or buying a copy of my board game (I like it). All of my socials and support information can be found here: Intertextual Experience Linktree

    #40 - Pete Wissinger—Crit(ical Thinking Skill)s and Trick(y question)s: A Back to School Special
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About

A primarily interview-based podcast grounded in the board game hobby. By exploring the connections between board games and other mediums, Intertextual Experience is looking to tap into some links that may not have been considered much previously. Through interesting guests, audience feedback, and general revision, there is an experiential element of this channel to grow and change in unique ways. By keeping the door open to various forms of entertainment, the myriad of possibilities and combinations to consider and discuss is limitless. In addition to always trying to create cleverly constructed episodes and questions for the guests, another goal is to continually answer the question "why this podcast?" Those ideas serve as the pulse of this show, and I'm excited to keep trying to answer (and then re-answer) that question.

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