New Casual Catch-Up episode is now available! In this episode, we discuss our recent trip to Philadelphia for PAX Unplugged. You'll also hear from the designers and developers of several stand-out SM:TT games that we spoke with at the con.

In this episode, SM:TT is joined by Philip Stern, a historian of the British empire, to play John Company 2nd Edition, a game about the rise and fall of the British East India Company. They discuss the colonial origins of the modern corporation, the complex historical relationship between public and private interests, and the capacity for games to dramatize how an empire happens.

SM:TT is headed back to GenCon in a few short weeks! In this casual catch-up we chat about what we’ve been playing, and discuss the new games that we’re excited to preview at the con! If you’re attending the convention drop by our Trade Day session on Aug. 01 and say hi!

SMTT is joined by archeologist, Bryan Burns, to play the game POTS! Along the way they discuss ceramics, the virtues of friendship, and the iconography of social life in Ancient Greece.

SMTT sits down with space anthropologist, Savannah Mandel, to take up "humanity's greatest project"... Terraforming Mars!

Check out Savannah's projects:

https://www.savannahmandel.com/

More info on Terraforming Mars:

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/167791/terraforming-mars

Steve and Jordan play STRIKE!: The Game of Worker Rebellion with Chris Wike, a labor organizer with the United Steelworkers (USW). In this cooperative game, they attempt to outwit and outlast the tyranny of corporate rule by sustaining the movement, fighting back, and taking care of each other.

Jordan and Steve play Bee Lives with Heather Mattila, a biologist who studies the social behavior of honeybees. Together they race to dominate limited resources within a changing environment to see who will become the true Queen Bee! bzz bzz.

Check out our latest installment of the Designer Deep Dives, as SMTT talk with Cole and Drew Wehrle of Wehrlegig Games. Hear about the origin story of their company, and how they've crafted a unique approach to publishing subject matter designs that confronts the political questions we raise by playing games about the history of empire.

Follow @wehrlegig_games on instagram and @wehrlegig on twitter. You can also and check out their exciting new projects: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjN7JUA2dUI

In this episode, SM:TT is joined by Michael Goetjen, a musicologist whose research focuses on eighteenth-century opera and the music of Mozart, to play Lacrimosa, a game about Mozart’s final and unfinished composition: “The Requiem.” Together, they discuss the rumor mill of the 18th century music scene, the working conditions of classical composers, and the historical construction of Mozart’s persona as an “artistic genius.”

Join SMTT for their conversation with the internationally acclaimed board game designer, Elizabeth Hargrave! Hear about her approach to developing games with strong scientific themes, such as the renowned Wingspan and her forthcoming title, The Fox Experiment!

Find out what games we play during the spookiest season of the year... and which mechanics make them feel so scary!

Thanks to Justin Armstrong for the spooky intro/outro music!

Tune in for our first Designer Deep Dive with Omari Akil, CEO of Colorway Game Labs, diversity advocate, and table top auteur! Hear about the many ventures currently underway in the "Akilaverse"!

Check out Omari's wonderful projects:

https://www.omariakil.com/

https://www.colorwaygamelabs.com/

https://www.akilaverse.com/

https://ko-fi.com/akilaverse

Steve and Jordan sit down for another casual conversation about "trick-taking" and highlight a few particularly memorable games that thematically integrate this timeless game mechanic!

Jordan and Steve are back from GenCon 2022! In this Casual Catch-Up, hear about the highlights from their trip and find out which new games are being considered for future SMTT episodes!

In SMTT's first "Casual Catch-Up", Steve and Jordan discuss which games have caught their attention in the weeks leading up to their annual trip to GenCon!

Welcome to Subject Matter: Table Top! In this episode, get to know your hosts and learn about why they started this podcast.

Happy International Women’s Day! — In this episode, SM:TT is joined by Lisa Tetrault, a historian of U.S. democracy, to play Votes for Women, a game about the struggle for women’s suffrage in America and the historic passage of the 19th amendment. They discuss the obstacles faced by social movements throughout history, the ongoing struggle for voter rights today, and the challenge of making complex historical events more accessible through games.

At long last, the first full-episode of season 2 has arrived! — SM:TT sits down with MIchelle King and Heidi Kim, scholars of Chinese history and Asian American literature respectively, to play Jiangshi: Blood in the Banquet Hall, a tabletop RPG about an immigrant family struggling against discrimination while trying to manage their family business in a 1920’s Chinatown.  Along the way, they discuss the centrality of family in Chinese food cultures, the economic challenges faced by Asian immigrants in the twentieth century, and the potential pitfalls of pursuing the historical experiences of marginalized communities through play.

New casual catch-up is out! In this episode, Jordan and Steve spend some time discussing the impacts of settler-colonialism on board games, and celebrating the work of the indigenous designers whose games often cut against the grain of colonial play.

Games by Indigenous Creators

Dog Eat Dog by Liam and William Burke; Liwanag Press

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/198050/dog-eat-dog

https://liwanagpress.com/

Coyote & Crow by Connor Alexander et al.; Coyote and Crow LLC

https://coyoteandcrow.net/

https://coyoteandcrow.net/games-accessories/

Wolves by Connor Alexander; Coyote and Crow LLC

https://coyoteandcrow.net/wolves/

Potlatch by N.D.N. Players’ Research Group

https://www.ndnplayers.com/informaton-resources

https://www.ndnplayers.com/

Nunami by Thomassie Mangiok

http://www.nunamigame.com/index.php/en/

Burn the Fort by Klee Benally; Indigenous Action

https://burnthefort.com/

Further Reading / Viewing

No Pun Included, (2021). “Colonialism – The Board Game Struggle” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQuFSxs9VXA&t=21s

LaPensée, E. A., (2016). Indigenous Board Game Design in The Gift of Food. Analog Game Studies, 11(2). https://analoggamestudies.org/2016/03/indigenous-board-game-design-in-the-gift-of-food/

LaPensée, E. A., Laiti, O., & Longboat, M. (2022). Towards Sovereign Games. Games and Culture, 17(3), 328-343. https://doi.org/10.1177/15554120211029195

Murray, Soraya. (2021). On Video Games: The Visual Politics of Race, Gender, and Space. Bloomsbury Publishing. New York. https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/on-video-games-9781350217706/

In this designer deep dive, SMTT talks with Banana Chan, co-designer of Jiangshi: Blood in the Banquet Hall and owner and co-founder of Game and a Curry. Banana talks about finding a way into the world of RPG design, what types of games inspired the development of Jiangshi and offers some advice for aspiring designers hoping to write their own RPGs.

Check out Banana's work: https://www.gameandacurry.com/

Jordan and Steve catch up with each other after some time away from your feeds. In this episode, they spend a while discussing the many layers of time in tabletop gaming.

In this episode, SM:TT is joined by Corey the Village Dog Walker, to play Bark Avenue, a game about walking dogs in New York City. They discuss dog park etiquette, balancing people skills with pooch skills, and the various pressures, and pleasures, of working with animals on the bustling streets of New York.

SMTT sits down with game designer, Jo Kelly, to discuss their newly released Molly House, along with Cole Wehrle of Wehrlegig Games. Tune in to hear more about the inspiration behind Molly House, as well as the process of researching this important -- but often under-represented -- moment for queer history in the UK!