Ryan and Geoff tackle reviews and criticism. What are the different types? What drives people to write reviews? How do people use them? Do game reviews need to differ from film or book reviews? All these questions, and more, are discussed, dear listener, in this latest episode of Ludology.

Duration: 1:05

In this classic GameTek, Geoff talks about the characteristics of a good trading game. What drives the gameplay? How much does value need to be obscured? Is it better or worse to have stuff worth more to some players than others?

Duration: 5 minutes

Ryan and Geoff conduct a 'virtual interview' with William Attia, the designer, most notably, of Caylus.  Ryan declares that Caylus is the "most important game since Puerto Rico". Can he support that bold contention?

Note: This file has corrected the 'stereo' issue with the earlier posting.

Well before the current wave of online boardgames, both web-based and mobile, Geoff reflected on his experience with PBEM gaming back in the dark ages in this classic GameTek episode.

05:00

Geoff and Ryan field several listener questions this episode, weighing in on quite a diverse range of topics. To add to the difficulty, Ryan responds to all questions with the flu.

Length: 1:01

In this classic GameTek Geoff looks at research linking temperature to social interactions. When should you give your opponents a cup of coffee instead of a soda?

We have also started a new file naming scheme with this episode that hopefully will meet everyone's needs.

Ryan and Geoff continue their discussion of the Auction mechanic. How much should the true value of what you're bidding on be hidden? And how can that be done? Plus, mechanics that really are auctions but don't look like one, and the Sturm Theory of Unified Prioritization.

In this classic GameTek, Geoff discusses the concept of Visibility in computer games versus board games, using the PC game Armageddon Empires as a case study. How do board games and computer games differ in the way they present information to players?

Note that this was put out many years before smart phones, so there are many more boardgame implementations that you can carry around on a portable device. But the contrast still remains relevant.

Ryan and Geoff begin their two-part exploration of auction mechanics. Auctions are a part of many games, sometimes just as a minor role, and sometimes as the star.

What are the advantages of the auction mechanic? What are the different ways it can be implemented? And what would we like to see more and less of?

49' 26"

This classic GameTek was originally broadcast during a Dice Tower episode on Train Games. Geoff explores the connections (get it - connections?) between creating rail networks and the branch of mathematics called Graph Theory.

5' 35"