Bonus Experience

Rai returns for a finale. We sort of talk about games, but mostly we just talk.

Today Monica gets together with Heather (her wife) to discuss one of their mutually shared core principles of game design: participation makes the game. If you remove players from play, you are denying them the chance to experience your game. We break down what this means as well as provide good and bad examples of designing for character creation, incapacitation, elimination, and replacement. We also discuss constructive self-entertainment vs. disruptive behavior and techniques for different designs and different styles of play.

Today I'm joined by friend and colleague Alex Guerrero to discuss how video games utilize narrative and setting design to create a sense of wonder and mystery - and how you can bring that to the table in your own tabletop RPGs!

D is back in the studio with me today to deliver on our promise to discuss exceptions-based rules design. We talk about Exalted: Essence an awful lot, but also talk about Malifaux, Chronicles of Darkness, and some upcoming games. We talk about good examples of how to build strong exceptions and an equal number of bad ones, and point out games that don't do this at all.

Today Monica sits down with friend and colleague Hiromi Cota to discuss how you can improve the accessibility of your tabletop RPG. We talk about making things accessible to folks with physical issues, but mental ones as well. We also talk about math a lot.

Today Monica is joined by the hosts of the Malifaux podcast, Steampowered Scoundrels, to have a lively discussion about being small content creators in a niche field, being the microest of micro celebrities, having relationships with tabletop game designers, and a lot, and I really mean a lot, of talk about Malifaux.

Here's another crossover with Mage: The Podcast. This time Danielle Lauzon joins us as we discuss the concept of design directives in games.

Today Monica is joined by Exalted developer, Elliott Freeman, to break down their favorite (and least favorite) characters sheets: what works, what doesn't, what they like to see, and so on.

Monica is joined by freelance author and designer, MJ Monleon, to discuss the ins, outs, and pitfalls of designing a competitive game. We focus mostly on traditional games like tabletop RPGs and card or board games and then wander off into the weeds of some of our favorite video games.

Monica joins Terry on Mage the Podcast to workshop the design concept of individual magic(k) merits, as well as temporary merits and experience rewards in Mage 20th.

Today Monica invites her friend, Jacqueline Bryk, to join her and discuss something she considers a blank spot in her traditional game literacy: LARP. We discuss what makes a LARP, and general LARP design principles as Jax gives a detailed 101 crash course. We also kick around designing our own together, for a bit.

In today's episode D and Monica sit down to get into the ins and outs of designing good resource management games. We talk about what you need to consider as a designer and break down how you can avoid common pitfalls. We also cite a handful of excellent games you can try that use their resources extremely well.

BXP is BACK for Season Six. We have some very important updates to the show as well as some super cool episodes coming up. Give it a listen. If you stayed a patron through the off-season, Monica shouts out your name.

This is the final episode of Season Five. Terry joins Monica again with the second half of their very long conversation about experiences with gaming and new people. Today we talk about character development in RPGs: what that means, what people want when they say they're into it, and how games do and don't support character growth over time. It's a very interesting discussion and a perfect send-off for our fifth season.

Terry (of Mage: the Podcast) joins Monica to talk about the wild experience of teaching Mage to new people and Monica commiserates about her experiences with teaching Exalted to beginners. We discuss the interesting cultural baggage that comes with most folks pop understanding of the hobby and what it's like to show folks new games.

Here's the long-awaited new episode. Chazz of Pain in the Dice, OPPCast and Systematic Understanding of Everything joins Monica to discuss games without randomizers. No cards. No dice. No coin flips - just a variety of narrative resolutions. We break down what we like about these games and what makes them work and (most importantly) what's worth stealing for your own homebrew.

Monica overheard a conversation about someone being nervous to play D&D for the first time and their worries about how to be a good player, so here's today's episode. Rai and Monica hang out to discuss what sort of things are good to keep in mind when you're a player for the first time - no matter what game you're playing.

Today Rai and Monica sit down to discuss a favorite internet discourse topic: does system matter? Can you just enjoy any game, regardless of system? Do you even NEED to be a game designer? You'll just have to listen to the whole thing if you want the answer.

While Rai sorts out a few life things, D joins us again for another deep dive. Today, Monica and Danielle discuss streamlining game systems - whether you're doing that on your own for fun or whether it's a professional job. We talk about the meaning, goals, and methods of streamlining and give some examples of systems we'd fix and systems we wouldn't.

We've really been going through it this year, so when we sat down to record our most recent episode we decided it would be fun and relaxing to just hang out instead. Here's nearly an hour of Monica and Rai talking about... everything and nothing.