What is Building the Game about?

Building the Game is about tabletop game design, from early ideas and playtesting to publishing, conventions, rules, mechanics, and creative problem solving.

Who hosts Building the Game?

Building the Game is hosted by Jason Slingerland, who regularly talks with designers, developers, and other tabletop game creators.

How long are Building the Game episodes?

Most recent Building the Game episodes run about 55 to 75 minutes, giving conversations enough room for design details and creative tangents.

How often does Building the Game release?

Building the Game releases weekly, with new numbered episodes appearing on a regular cadence.

Where can I listen to Building the Game?

Building the Game is available on Podfriend and any podcast app that supports RSS, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Building the Game

Jason Slingerland·798 episodes

LeisureGamesTabletop designDesigner conversationsWeekly55-75 min/epProcess-focusedGame creator friendly

Why listen

Building the Game is a long-running, conversational look at tabletop game design with Jason Slingerland and a rotating mix of designers, developers, and creative guests. Episodes feel like sitting in on a working design chat, with real talk about drafts, playtesting, publishing, rules, conventions, and the strange little decisions that make games work. It is a strong fit for board game designers, RPG creators, and hobbyists who like process-heavy conversations with a playful edge.

Series(3)

2 eps

0/2

Series

Development Job

4 eps

0/4

Series

Building the Product

2 eps

0/2

Series

Writing the Game

Episodes

1 hr 4 min

Jun 1, 2026Episode 731

Dancers on a Hex Grid

Jason Chats with Emily Vincent and Ted Schaller.

1 hr

May 25, 2026Episode 730

Can You Replay This Episode?

Emily Vincent chats with Jonathan Chaffer.

56 min

May 17, 2026Episode 729

Sinclair’s Law

Jason Chats with Rosco Schock.

52 min

May 10, 2026Episode 728

Seeding Packets

Jason chats with Tony Tran.

1 hr

May 3, 2026Episode 727

I Feel Like You Need to Look in the Wedding Favors Aisle

Jason chats with Emily Vincent

1 hr 11 min

Apr 27, 2026Episode 726

Writing the Game: Part 2 of…

Jason chats with Gene Koo and Paul Czege

1 hr 14 min

Apr 19, 2026Episode 725

I Could Start Listing Pants But That’s Not Gonna Be Helpful

Jason Chats with Emily Vincent and Jonathan Chaffer.

1 hr 7 min

Apr 13, 2026Episode 724

Don’t Hate the Draft, Hate the Game

Jason Chats with Emily Vincent.

1 hr 16 min

Apr 6, 2026Episode 723

When Your Cat Dev is a Dog Person

Emily Chats with David Kessler and Tony Tran

55 min

Mar 30, 2026Episode 722

Assistant to the Regional Dinosaur

Jason Chats with Emily Vincent.

1 hr 5 min

Mar 23, 2026Episode 721

This Is My Jeff Goldblum

Jason chats with Jack Rosetree.

1 hr 6 min

Mar 16, 2026Episode 720

Mixed Emotions

Jason Chats with Eric Dittmore.

57 min

Mar 8, 2026Episode 719

What’s The Scenario?

Jason Chats with Ted Schaller.

1 hr 5 min

Feb 28, 2026Episode 718

A Gammon Plus Back

Jason Chats with Rosco Schock

1 hr 12 min

Feb 23, 2026Episode 717

Tricky Definitions

Jason Chats with Emily Vincent and Jonathan Chaffer.

55 min

Feb 15, 2026Episode 716

Don’t Be Like Croquet

Jason Chats with Emily Vincent

1 hr 16 min

Feb 8, 2026Episode 715

Writing the Game: Part 1 of…

Jason Chats with Gene Koo and Paul Czege.

1 hr 1 min

Feb 2, 2026Episode 714

Top 5 Lanes

Jason chats with Emily Vincent and David Masnato.

1 hr 1 min

Jan 26, 2026Episode 713

Not Bad

Jason Chats with Connor Wake

55 min

Jan 19, 2026Episode 712

A Lot of Random Pitches

Jason Chats with Emily Vincent.

1 hr 7 min

Jan 12, 2026Episode 711

Can I Pet That Dog?

Jason Chats with Jack Rosetree.

59 min

Jan 4, 2026Episode 710

Fresh Fridays

Emily Chats with Sabrina Culyba.

1 hr 10 min

Dec 29, 2025Episode 709

Looking Back on a Very Long Year

Emily Chats with Sabrina Culyba.

1 hr 4 min

Dec 22, 2025Episode 708

Grinches, Games, Gradient

Jason Chats with Xoe Allred and Matthew Hocker.

1 hr 1 min

Dec 15, 2025Episode 707

Factoring Forms

Jason Chats with Emily Vincent.

1 hr 13 min

Dec 7, 2025Episode 706

Is It Cereal, Joe?

Jason Chats with Joe Kell

1 hr 3 min

Nov 30, 2025Episode 705

The Spirit of the Market

Jason chats with Eric Dittmore.

1 hr 12 min

Nov 24, 2025Episode 704

PAXU WAS NUTS

Jason Chats with so many awesome people!

59 min

Nov 16, 2025Episode 703

Building the Pyramid

Jason chats with Emily Vincent and Rosco Schock.

1 hr 9 min

Nov 9, 2025Episode 702

Should You Even Germany?

Jason chats with Emily Vincent

58 min

Nov 2, 2025Episode 701

Idea Smash

Jason chats with Rosco Schock

1 hr 2 min

Oct 26, 2025Episode 700

A Guided Journey

Jason chats with Emily Vincent AND Chris Michaud.

Oct 19, 2025Episode 699

Trading Topics

Jason chats with Emily Vincent.

1 hr 2 min

Oct 14, 2025Episode 698

Technically, It Is Debt

Jason chats with Emily Vincent and Jack Rosetree.

1 hr 2 min

Oct 13, 2025Episode 698

Technically, It is Debt

Jason chats with Emily Vincent and Jack Rosetree.

Oct 5, 2025Episode 697

Take a Park and Put it in Your Pocket

Jason chats with Jason Wong.

Sep 29, 2025Episode 696

Adulting is Six Seven

Jason chats with Eric Dittmore.

Sep 21, 2025Episode 695

Jason Misses Puns

Jason chats with Jack Rosetree.

Sep 14, 2025Episode 694

Purposely Seeking Inspiration

Jason chats with Emily Vincent

Sep 7, 2025Episode 693

Martyrdom is Never Expected but is Appreciated

Jason chats with Maia Thomas Valdez

Aug 31, 2025Episode 692

Lessons From Rogue Jokers

Jason chats with Rosco Schock

Aug 25, 2025Episode 691

Honestly, We Talked Way More About Hills Than I Expected

Jason chats with Emily Vincent.

Aug 17, 2025Episode 690

Emily and the J-Squad go to JenCon

Emily chats with Jonathan Chaffer, Joseph Frederick, Jeff Grisenthwaite, Jack Rosetree, and JC Wolfslayer.

Aug 10, 2025Episode 689

Joetospiel

Jason chats with Joe Kell.

Aug 3, 2025Episode 688

Loosey Boothy

Jason chats with Emily Vincent and Sabrina Culyba and JC Wolfslayer.

Jul 27, 2025Episode 687

Love is a Personalized Axe

Jason chats with Emily Vincent and Nicole Amato

Jul 21, 2025Episode 686

Is It Rich or Is It True

Jason chats with Emily Vincent

Jul 12, 2025Episode 685

How to Let it Go

Jason chats with Rosco Schock

Jul 7, 2025Episode 684

Audience Agency

Jason chats with Zach Morris.

Jun 29, 2025Episode 683

Another Greek Word

Jason chats with Jonathan Chaffer.

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Listening context

Casual listening

Best for: commutes, long drives, housework, creative work breaks

Tone: conversational, practical, playful, nerdy

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