The Board Game Design Lab
Podcast Intelligence Profile

The Board Game Design Lab

Gabe Barrett

Recently Active · Publishes weekly

Key Metrics

Episodes
491
In catalog
Apple Rating
4.8 / 5
202 Apple ratings
Cadence
Weekly
~every 5 days
Avg Length
41m
Per episode
Latest
Oct 01, 2025
Recently Active

About the Show

The Board Game Design Lab was created for one purpose: to help you design great games people love. To accomplish that goal, this podcast interviews designers, publishers, and board game insiders on specific topics related to game design. I don’t waste time talking about recently played games or pop culture. Instead, the show does a deep dive into subjects that I hope you’ll find extremely valuable as you progress through your game design journey.

Partnership & Audience Signals

Guest Interviews

Regularly hosts outside guests

Established Catalog

491 episodes — long track record

Production & Distribution

Active Since
Dec 13, 2016
Format
Episodic
Hosting
boardgamedesignlab.com
Advanced RSS
License, Medium, Podping
3 features

Feed Capabilities Podcasting 2.0

Advanced RSS tags in this feed — signals for transcripts, dynamic ad insertion, and analytics support.

License Medium Podping

Recent Episodes

6 Takeaways from the game that took 10 years to make

Oct 01, 2025 22m

In this episode, I break down the six things I learned from the game that took 10 years to go from idea to published product. And you can find Football U on Kickstarter HERE The post 6 Takeaways from…

How to build a million dollar publishing company with Amy and Dusty Droz

Mar 20, 2025 1h 38m

Amy and Dusty Droz join me to talk about how they’ve built an extremely profitable publishing business in a relatively short amount of time. We talk about tariffs, fulfillment, audience, budgeting,…

Game Design Trends for 2025 with Jamey Stegmaier

Mar 20, 2025 45m

In this episode, Jamey Stegmaier and I chat about the various trends we’re seeing in the current game design landscape. We talk about solo and 2-player games, open worlds, licensed IPs, and more! The…

Game Marketing Made Simple with Andrew Lowen

Mar 20, 2025 1h 29m

In this episode, I chat with Andrew Lowen, from Crowdfunding Nerds, about how to make people aware your game exists. Also, be sure to check out Andrew’s crowdfunding marketing course, and if you sign…

My new book will help you find the FUN

Mar 20, 2025 2h 49m

My game design book, Find the Fun, recently came out, and in this episode, I do a brief synopsis and give you the audio version of the first three chapters. To check out Find the Fun on Amazon, go…

The design process of one of the world’s best designers, Corey Konieczka

Feb 26, 2024 1h 8m

In this BGDL rewind from June of 2020, Corey Konieczka breaks down his entire design process. Corey has several games ranked in the top 100 games of all time, and it was incredibly insightful to…

How to Design an Engine Building Game with Elizabeth Hargrave

Feb 19, 2024 53m

In this BGDL rewind from May of 2019, Elizabeth Hargrave dives into all the ins and outs of designing an engine-building game. We chat about her personal design process and all the interesting…

How to Design Games that Tell Stories with Ignacy Trzewiczek

Feb 11, 2024 1h 3m

In this BGDL rewind from April of 2020, Ignacy Trzewiczek, founder of Portal Games and designer of Robinson Crusoe, discusses his company’s motto: Games that tell stories. We go in-depth into…

Using math to make your games better with Emerson Matsuuchi

Jan 29, 2024 1h 12m

In this BGDL rewind from December of 2020, I chat with Emerson Matsuuch about all the many ways a designer can use math to create better games. We talk spreadsheets, game balance, mathematical…

Finding the Right Mixture of Luck and Skill with Richard Garfield

Jan 21, 2024 1h 2m

In this BGDL rewind from May of 2018, I chat with Richard Garfield about finding the right balance of luck vs skill when designing a game. The post Finding the Right Mixture of Luck and Skill with…

Your game design questions answered

Dec 16, 2023 43m

In this episode, I answer a bunch of questions that were submitted by BGDL community members! The post Your game design questions answered appeared first on Board Game Design Lab.

How to Publish Games with a Grassroots Approach | Joe Bragg

Nov 29, 2023 59m

In this episode, Joe Bragg, founder of the indie publishing company Meek Heroes Gaming, discusses the grassroots approach he’s taking to building his publishing company. We chat about why this…

How to Boost Creativity and Avoid Tropes | Jason Perez

Nov 21, 2023 1h 6m

In this episode, Jason Perez and I chat about how designers can boost their creativity by thinking outside the box, pushing past tropes, and being more intentional about their thematic choices. The…

Listen to this BEFORE you start an indie publishing company | John de Campos

Nov 14, 2023 1h 23m

In this episode, John de Campos, founder of Terrible Games, and I chat about the highs and lows of starting and running an indie publishing company in the board game industry. The post Listen to this…

Board Game Design Productivity Hacks with Gabe Barrett

Nov 09, 2023 59m

In this episode, I break down some game design productivity hacks that have been helping me lately, and I’m specifically talking about a concept called “habit fields.” This was a presentation I gave…

Do this BEFORE designing a game | Leo Taylor

Nov 03, 2023 1h 19m

In this episode, Leo Taylor, designer of games in the Risk, Clue, and D&D universes, breaks down his “key pillars of game design” as we chat through the many questions designers should think…

How to Make Money from Your Game Design Hobby with Joe Slack

Oct 25, 2023 1h 1m

In this episode, Joe Slack and I talk about how we’ve both been able to piece together lots of different revenue streams in the gaming industry to be able to make a full-time living from game design.…

Designing Games FOR and WITH Young Kids with Elan Lee

Oct 21, 2023 1h 8m

In this episode, Elan Lee, the creator of Exploding Kittens, talks about his venture into creating games for small children. Elan has been designing the games alongside his four-year-old daughter,…

4 Amazing (and Useful) Examples of Board Game Design Theory with Geoff Engelstein

Oct 13, 2023 1h 27m

In this episode, Geoff Engelstein and I chat about design theory and break down Geoff’s favorite examples and how they relate to designing games. Geoff’s book about loss aversion can be found here:…

Why You Should Create Print-n-Play Games with Jason Greeno

Oct 03, 2023 53m

In this episode, Jason Greeno and I chat about the current boom in the print-n-play side of the market, and we dive into how and why more designers should create printable versions of their…

Market Reports

Benchmark this show against its category and language peers.

Similar Podcasts

Comparable shows in the same category and language — useful for prospecting and competitive sets.

Profile compiled from public podcast metadata · Last refreshed June 15, 2026