Ludological Alchemy: The Hypothesis – Details, episodes & analysis

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Ludological Alchemy: The Hypothesis

Luke Crane & Christopher Badell

Leisure

Frequency: 1 episode/31d. Total Eps: 29

From the brains in jars behind Ludological Alchemy come words for your ears! The Hypothesis is a monthly podcast about the whys and wherefores of games, how they're designed and developed, and what they mean. We release episodes the final Wednesday of each month at 11 AM, Eastern time.

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Data updated on 18/10/2026

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🇨🇦 Canada - Games
18/10/2026
#65

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The Hypothesis Volume 3: Episode 04

Wednesday, August 26, 2026 • Duration 01:35:13

Seekers of Truth,

This year at Gen Con Christopher and I altered our traditional format and instead ran a traditional game design advice panel at Gen Con in the guise of your humble Ludological Alchemists. We had a fair turnout, many of whom had not heard of our stygian recordings of our maundering.

For the topic, we elucidated nine questions that Alchemist Luke had posed to his students regarding their final assignments for his Tabletop RPG Design class in April.

9 Questions for RPG designers

What is the game about? What's the concept? What genre or format does the game take? What materials does the game use? The number of players and their roles. Session time, number of sessions. What is the content of a session?
What themes does the game address?
What is the setting of the game? What is the critical problem of the setting? How does the problem in the setting reflect theme? What's causing this world to fall apart? How is this fatal flaw reflected in the theme?
Who are the characters that the players adopt? How are they affected by the world's fatal flaw? What tension prevents the characters from simply curing the world's problems? How is the theme manifested in the characters?
How do we create characters? How do the players use their characters to address the world's flaws? Again, how is this interaction tied into the game's theme?
How do to the characters' abilities connect to the uncertainty system?
How do the abilities and uncertainty systems simulate activities, conflicts and challenges for the characters?
How do the players interface with the uncertainty system and simulations? Are there incentives or disincentives for them to earn and spend? Who operates the uncertainty engine and how?
How do the rules address the players as individuals, friends, strangers, etc.? What are the roles in the operation of the game? How do the rules address the social layer of the people at the table?

You might have reached this point in reading this post and think, "Could you give an example of how to answer each of these questions?" To which We respond:

Kagematsu
Blue Beard's Bride
Dungeons & Dragons Basic Edition
Lacuna and the Girl from Blue City
Polaris
3:16: Carnage Amongst the Stars

These texts all answer each of these questions in flavorful and even provocative ways.

As ever we are—
—Your Humble Alchemists

Please help us continue Hypothesizing on our Substack.

Or if you'd prefer a non-Substack donation link.

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The Hypothesis Volume 3: Episode 03

Wednesday, July 29, 2026 • Duration 58:49

Star Knights,

Long ago, the people were dying at the end of the world.

But hope was not yet lost, for Christopher and Luke discuss one of the most fascinating RPGs of the past 20 years: Polaris: Chivalric Tragedy at the Utmost North. Polaris confronts the most persistent problem in all RPGs: how to resolve conflict through dialogue alone. It's ambitious design, dripping with flavor that cloaks its unique system.

Listen to your alchemists seek the deepness in this sacred text!

Please help us continue Hypothesizing by checking out our Substack.

Or if you'd prefer a non-Substack donation link, this one might do.

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The Hypothesis Volume 3: Episode 02

Wednesday, June 24, 2026 • Duration 01:03:42

Humble Supplicants,

Seekers of knowledge, I bring to you a conversation with one of our game design titans — Greg Costikyan. Greg is a designer of war games, board games, computer games and roleplaying games. His roleplaying games credits include Bug-Eyed Monsters, Toon, Paranoia, Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game, The Price of Freedom and Violence: The Roleplaying Game of Egregious and Repulsive Bloodshed.

We talk about his start in games as an eager, earnest 14-year-old playtester who evolved into a developer at game designer at SPI and West End Games.

A few things that we touch on with Greg during the interview:

Poverty is a motivator for young game designers.
System must be tailored to setting.
Defining games is fascism.

Please help us continue Hypothesizing by visiting our Substack.

Or if you'd prefer a non-Substack donation link.

I Have No Words but I Must Design

You can find Greg's clear-eyed 2002 essay here.

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The Hypothesis Volume 3: Episode 01

Thursday, May 28, 2026 • Duration 01:15:51

Fiends,

There was no guarantee that we achieve this momentous step. And yet, through sheer grit and determination, we have arrived at the first episode of our third volume. In this episode we talk about podcast money, why we make games and then dive deep into Gregor Hutton's 2008 masterpiece, 3:16: Carnage Amongst the Stars.

To learn more, see some cool images, comment, and potentially optionally support our endeavors, visit our now-free Substack!

Ad Astra!

-Luke

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The Hypothesis Volume 2: Episode 12

Wednesday, April 29, 2026 • Duration 01:58:19

Tyros,

As by now you have detected, when we make promises we move our heavens and earths to deliver on those promises. This episode is one such example. We promised to divulge to you the secrets of selling 5,000 copies of your game and in this very recording, Christopher divulges his mystical secrets! Not only do we learn that Christopher is indeed a werewolf, but we gain his formula for successfully birthing a game into this burning and damned world of ours.

Also

If you have not been following this saga closely, Interceptor, the game Luke developed publicly on our Substack, is near completion. We'll launch it this summer, likely in June.

Finally

This is the last episode of this Volume. But we're not throwing in the proverbial towel just yet! If you're enjoying listening to us, please do rate and review this podcast on whatever platform you partake. And join us next month for more insights, more stories, and more alchemy.

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The Hypothesis Volume 2: Episode 11

Wednesday, March 25, 2026 • Duration 01:11:29

Hello seekers of knowledge,

There exists a silent force at every table. It does not take turns. It has no victory condition. And yet, it determines whether your game lives or dies.

This episode, we turn our attention to the most underestimated element of game design: how players learn.

How do we transmute a designer's intent into a player's understanding? We dive deep into the arcane architecture of the manual, the tactical utility of the reminder card, and the subtle art of the "teaching aid." We explore the friction between a comprehensive reference and a functional tutorial, and ask the forbidden question: can a game truly teach itself, or are we all just wandering in a wilderness of unread errata?

We examine the layered ecosystem of understanding:

First contact (the rulebook)
Guided onboarding (a teacher or tutorial)
In-play reinforcement (reference materials)
Long-term mastery (internalization and memory)

Best to listen first. Then ask your question on our Substack, armed with context.

-Luke & Christopher

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The Hypothesis Volume 2: Episode 10

Wednesday, February 25, 2026 • Duration 01:04:03

Squad,

Focus yon mind, tense thine muscles. Here in we explore forbidden and speculative lore.

In this tenth episode of our second volume of recordings, Luke enlists Sam and Christopher to speculate on a world in which RPGs possessed the might and support of the culture-media juggernaut that is the National Football League.

How do we form teams in the league?
How do the teams compete?
How are the commercial breaks inserted?
How does color commentary work?

Listen and discover our answerless answers!

Link Notes

The NFL started paying some of its taxes in 2015.

NFL 2025 Rules document

Chuck Klosterman's book, Football.

Join the discussion on our substack!

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The Hypothesis Volume 2: Episode 9

Wednesday, January 28, 2026 • Duration 01:42:12

Tyros,

Pour the ablutions, purify thyself and cast spells of warding for the words we speak in this episode are words of secret knowledge and power. To come at them unprepared and you risk self-destruction.

In this ninth episode of our second volume of recordings, Christopher dispenses true knowledge: the process for publishing a tabletop game. Numbers, figures and procedures swirl from his lips like stars in a constellation.

Delirium and the Incompressible Work of Publishing

Christopher and Luke return to the mic still deep in the ever-shifting flavors of delirium, including a callback to the legendary Philly Taco and an unsuspecting bystander's awakening.

From there: finals are in, grades are posted, and Christopher talks about last semester's biggest win and biggest regret, including a painfully familiar story about perfectionism, momentum, and failing to land the plane.

The rest of the episode lives in the sticky boundary layer between game design and publishing: how to find an audience, why "I have a game, now I'll find a publisher" is often wishful thinking, what conventions are actually good for, and why "self-publishing" is not a magical third option.

Links and references

What conversations precipitated the need for such links? You must listen and learn…

The Hypothesis Volume 2: Episode 8

Wednesday, December 24, 2025 • Duration 01:14:24

Hopefuls,

On this eve of this pagan night, we pray we are unvisited by the terrible saint, punisher of children. To propitiate the saint, we present an auditory offering to you.

In this eighth episode of our second volume of recordings, we interview storied game designer Tim Hutchings. Tim is an artist, the founder of Plagmada and the author of games like Thousand Year Old Vampire.

Fun fact: Luke's favorite thing that Tim has created is his Homage to the Player's Handbook.

To see it and to get more notable show notes, check out our Substack!

Yule love it.

— Luke & Sam

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The Hypothesis Volume 2: Episode 7

Wednesday, November 26, 2025 • Duration 01:09:05

One and all,

Beyond the confines of our small, forlorn tower, Marraskuu, the Month of Death, is in full bloom. Life withers as the days grow ever shorter. Within our fastness we huddle around a wavering flame, watching and waiting.

But tonight, we do not wait alone. Trapped in here with us is one Robert Reichle, a friend of ours and now an (unwitting) guest on our humble podcast. In our discussion, we touch on two major topics: the purpose of visual design in games…and the purpose of a Philly cheesesteak married to a piece of pizza.

Show Notes

There are images aplenty on our Substack.

Best to listen first and look later.

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Ludological Alchemy: The Hypothesis – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

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Ludological Alchemy: The Hypothesis – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Other22

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Other22

Substack12

Wikipedia4