Subject Matter: Table Top – Details, episodes & analysis

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Subject Matter: Table Top

Jordan and Steve

Leisure

Frequency: 1 episode/84d. Total Eps: 29

From the dungeons of Gloomhaven and the battlefields of Root, to the shores of Catan and the rails of Ticket to Ride, popular board games couch complex subjects within richly thematic gameplay. Millions of people find joy in the experiences that these games create, but what else do we get from playing them? In this podcast, Steve Gotzler and Jordan Tynes explore the world of tabletop games with people who possess a deep understanding of the various themes, settings, systems, or content that we encounter in them. What does an economist think about while playing Monopoly? What about a quilter sitting down for a round of Patchwork? A planetary geologist and Terraforming Mars? Or a farmer and Agricola? Steve, Jordan, and their guests consider how games communicate information about the variety of subjects they take up. They also ask how games can influence players’ feelings about each other, and the world that they inhabit. From the physical components strewn about the table, to the rules we share while playing, sit down for a round of playful discussion about the cultural relevance of tabletop gaming.

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Apple Podcasts

🇨🇦 Canada - games
26/10/2025
#78
🇨🇦 Canada - games
25/10/2025
#41
🇨🇦 Canada - games
24/10/2025
#70
🇬🇧 Great Britain - games
24/10/2025
#74
🇬🇧 Great Britain - games
22/09/2025
#85
🇬🇧 Great Britain - games
12/09/2025
#72
🇫🇷 France - games
06/07/2025
#90
🇫🇷 France - games
05/07/2025
#76
🇫🇷 France - games
04/07/2025
#61
🇫🇷 France - games
03/07/2025
#51

Spotify

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https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/167791/terraforming-mars
107 shares
https://possumcreekgames.com/
41 shares
https://coyoteandcrow.net/
26 shares

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQuFSxs9VXA&amp
2 shares
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjN7JUA2dUI
2 shares

https://twitter.com/laxswamy
2 shares

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Score global : 48%

Publication history

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Causal Catch-Up #10: PAX Unplugged 2024

Season 2

vendredi 13 décembre 2024 • Duration 44:12

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.

John Company with Philip Stern

Season 2 · Episode 4

dimanche 28 juillet 2024 • Duration 01:23:06

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.

Casual Catch-Up #7: GenCon 2023 SMTT Takeaways

Season 2

jeudi 17 août 2023 • Duration 44:32

New Casual Catch-Up episode is now available! Hear us discuss some of our favorite SMTT games from GenCon, and share other highlights from an epic week in Indy!

Casual Catch-Up #6 GenCon 2023 SM:TT Preview

Season 2

mercredi 19 juillet 2023 • Duration 52:29

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!

Casual Catch-Up #5: Intro to Season 2

Season 2

mercredi 31 mai 2023 • Duration 20:19

Welcome to Season 2 of SMTT! Join Steve and Jordan as they briefly review the first season of the podcast and get excited for the year ahead!

Pax Pamir with Waleed Ziad

Season 1 · Episode 6

samedi 6 mai 2023 • Duration 01:24:56

SM:TT is joined by Waleed Ziad, a historian and professor of Religious Studies, to play Pax Pamir: 2nd Edition, a game about geo-political conflict in 19th century Afghanistan. They discuss the politics of colonial archives, war games, and the possibilities for dismantling historical narratives by playing with them.

Critical Care with Brandon Pang and Lakshman Swamy

Season 1 · Episode 5

dimanche 2 avril 2023 • Duration 01:31:44

SMTT sits down with Brandon Pang, a critical care doctor at Boston Medical Center to play Critical Care, a game about practicing medicine in the ICU. They are also joined by Lakshman Swamy, an attending intensivist at BMC, and the game’s designer! Along the way, they discuss the challenges of dealing with COVID-19 in the ICU, evolving philosophies of care, and the deeply collaborative nature of work in the healthcare system.Check out Critical Care here: https://www.criticalcaregame.com/Follow Lakshman on twitter: https://twitter.com/laxswamy

POTS! with Bryan Burns

Season 1 · Episode 4

jeudi 9 février 2023 • Duration 01:26:54

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.

Terraforming Mars with Savannah Mandel

Season 1 · Episode 3

jeudi 10 novembre 2022 • Duration 01:36:03

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

STRIKE! with Chris Wike

Season 1 · Episode 2

mercredi 8 juin 2022 • Duration 01:31:22

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.