Decision Space

You’re listening to this podcast on your commute. You pull into your parking space. You should make dinner. You should greet your family. You should change into some PJs. You have lots of ‘you shoulds,’ but you stay in your vehicle, listening. That’s the NPR effect and Decision Space has me full on addicted, NPR-effecting every time Iisten. Decision Space features dynamic and well-spoken hosts who aren’t merely game enthusiasts — though their enthusiasm for games shines in the podcast — they are players who understand games from the perspective of a game’s mechanisms, as designers themselves, and as highly analytical players who don’t simply analyze their next turn, but the game itself. Decision Space has many different episode types, which mixes things up nicely. Some of my favorites are the art awards, designer features, and single game deep dives. I listened to both their Feld feature episode and their Bonfire episode after acquiring Bonfire. (I even re-listened to the Bonfire episode after playing it!) The episodes got me hyped up to play the game, but also helped me to feel like I was connecting with others through a shared experience of this game — since Brendan and I both ‘broke’ the game by running out of actions before the game ended. I love that Jake and Brendan are not afraid to disagree with each other, nor are they bullheaded know-it-alls; each of them are open to revising their claims throughout their discussion in light of new information and points of view. They have the minds and attitudes of philosophers. Their intellectual stature might suggest they are ‘untouchables’ of the gaming community, but after joining their off-pod discussion group, I was welcomed warmly by Jake himself. All that’s left is to coin a new phrase for endlessly analyzing every nuanced aspect of board games: The Decision Space Effect.

I discovered Decision Space about a year ago, and it’s one of the few shows I check every Wednesday when a new episode drops. As a newbie game designer without a deep history of gaming myself, I enjoy all the episodes, from deep dives of games I’m not familiar with to game theory conversations. It’s a good sign when I find myself opening the Notes app on my phone to write down ideas from the show. The host chemistry and banter between Jake and Brendan is humorous and honest, and I love that it’s family friendly so my kids can listen along in the car. Keep up the good work, and know that you’ve made many of my car commutes and even waits in the checkout line at Walmart something I actually look forward to!

I don’t listen or watch most board game reviews because reviewing board games is very subjective, so it’s understandably difficult to make review podcasts/videos that will appeal to all 3 camps of listeners: 1) people who already like the game being reviewed, 2) people who don’t like the game being reviewed, and 3) people who haven’t played the game. If you’ve played the game and share the reviewer’s opinion, it can feel like an echo chamber. If you’ve played the game and have a differing opinion, you might think “well maybe we just don’t like the same games” and write off the rest of the review. For people who haven’t played the game, a bad review can turn a listener away from trying it (based on the reviewer’s subjective opinion) and a good review can boost sales. Many reviews don’t tell you much beyond “it just works” or “it’s just not fun.” I can take your word for it, but maybe we don’t have the same taste in games…it’s hard to extract much value from that review because you just enjoy different games. I like Decision Space a lot because their discussions feel valuable regardless of your pre-existing opinions of a game. The thing that separates Decision Space from the rest is that they go into depth about gameplay and decision-making in games in a way that’s interesting and insightful for listeners of all 3 camps. I don’t really care if their overall sentiments are positive/negative/mixed, because they cover strategy and playing experiences with enough nuance for me to have my own opinions and come to my own conclusions. It’s easy to listen to—there’s not a lot of fluff, but it doesn’t feel overly dry and analytical. Definitely 5/5 podcast, I highly recommend trying it out to anyone who likes board games. Maybe listen to an episode on a game you already have an opinion on, and see for yourself what I mean. The one thing I don’t love is the intro

Do you like board games? Give a listen. Do you really like board games? Give a good listen. Do you love board games? Do you love thinking about how they work? Please stop reading and start listening right away. This is a podcast where you come for the deep dives into games, the definitions about aspects in games, and the discussions (or debates) about board games. And you stay for the camaraderie! Full disclosure: I’m now a patron. I have been trying to write this every month or every other week for two years.