
Game Mechanics - A Critical Tabletop Podcast
Logan Jenkins, Greg Leatherman·Hosted by Logan Jenkins and Greg Leatherman·77 episodes
Welcome to Game Mechanics, where we kick the tires and run diagnostics on tabletop experiences! Hosts Logan Jenkins and Greg Leatherman talk about everything tabletop; from board games, to roleplaying games, and even some video games that evoke the tabletop experience. Greg and Logan have been playing games for decades and have designed several games themselves.
Why listen
Game Mechanics is where two veteran tabletop game designers break down what makes games tick, from board games to TTRPGs. Logan and Greg deliver irreverent, deeply knowledgeable commentary on game industry news, releases, and design philosophy with a casual vibe that never takes itself too seriously.
Episodes
Greg and Logan had game nights! Hear about their experiences, new games and new versions of old games! We talk about Dragon Ball Z for quite a while, too. We wrap up talking about legacy games. Are legacy game limits a negative? Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Support us on Patreon. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
Logan just got back from Frolicon! He played Dread, and hey, let’s classify Dread using our TTRPG classifying system! We revisit our Culver’s funeral. Plants Vs. Zombies is releasing a very... timely... board game? And it's not the only video game board game! There's some more weirdness with payment processors restricting what content is allowed to receive money. Then we induct a new outlet into our super squad. But will they be a hero or a villain?? Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Support us on Patreon. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
Greg and Logan BOTH had a game night over the weekend. We talk about the games we got to the table and what we thought. Was Logan right about Ants? Plus, Logan begged his husband to play a 2 player game and it happened! Then a visit to Magic the Gaythering for One Ring that doesn't look different enough than the other One Ring. You know, Post Malone's one. We then get into Amazon's really bad decision to use AI art for products on their site. Finally, we get into TTRPG categorization. This is lighting our brains ON FIRE! Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Support us on Patreon. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
We talk video games for a bit, then get to Blue Bunny’s perplexing venture into board games. Greg brings a segment of Magic the Gaythering! We also talk weird multi-kickstarters, have a Boardgame 101 segment, and more! Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Support us on Patreon. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
The Mechanics talk about the Tiny Dice House, rentable in Logan's neck of the woods. Then, CMON, we were ROOTING FOR YOU! We discuss the bizarre decisions being made at the failing company. What's happening with Zombicide (previously a CMON game)? DC is getting a new TTRPG. What are your feelings about getting assigned jobs by Superman himself? We then move to the worst mechanics in games. What's your least favorite game? Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Support us on Patreon. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
You are considered beautiful by almost everyone you meet. You're beautiful and perfect. Congratulations! We introduce a new segment; That's Kinda Like a Video Game! Logan goes over some video games that feel like tabletop experiences. This week - Vampire Crawlers. And also, a bunch of tangents, of course. Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Support us on Patreon. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
There’s trouble in the gaming world. Some companies are losing money in a major way, others are moving away from US releases. And the mechanics talk about why AI is not the answer. Try chatting with Logan on our Discord instead! (Link below). We also speculate about the Game Changer at home game! Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Support us on Patreon. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
Greg just got back from Pax East. He shares a few thoughts, then we head into some interviews done on the floor at the event! Maybe through all of this, we'll find out what Pax East wants to be. Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Support us on Patreon. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
Logan didn't have Things in Rings, BUT he did want to play it. Hear what happened next! Then, we discuss game genres that we can't seem to get to the table. This is a cry for help, please play all the games with us. Then, Greg gets into his journey to Breakout Con! Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Support us on Patreon. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
The Neopets TTRPG saga continues! Greg dishes the hot gos. We talk about why the apology sent from Geekify is suspicious, and what it might mean for Neopets and Kickstarters generally. Then we talk about the extremely cute Keith Herring Monopoly. Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Support us on Patreon. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
International Board Game Day is just around the corner! We share some facts that claim to be fun. Then we talk about Logan's new board game obsession. Are board games good at teaching tough lessons? And what's new with CMON? Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Support us on Patreon. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
We have a special guest interview with Tim Gonzalez of Pirate Gonzalez games. We talk rogue likes and how those mechanics can lead to an interesting TTRPG.. Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Support us on Patreon. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
Episode 52 means it's been a year of Game Mechanics! We talk about anniversaries, your favorite stuff from the show, and more! Also, we have a Patreon now! We're excited to give you cool extras! Support us on Patreon Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
We talk about some news, including AEG's firing of their COO after some pretty rough and silly statements. But has anyone considered how much time and food it takes for a baby to do math? Then we get into some wild Neopets news. Neopets is a high fantasy dungeon crawler... right? Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
New segment alert! It's Hasbro Watch, and we ain't watchin' 'em because they're good stewards of their brands, we can tell ya that. We've got some earnings reports to talk through and just to put it here, listeners, try some other games besides D&D! Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
We start with a Magic: the GAYthering segment, brought by Logan?! Then we move on to ancient board games. Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
Logan is back from Tantrum Con in Charlotte. Let's talk about the games he played! Also, StartPlaying.games put out a very interesting tabletop study that we discuss. There's also some bad stuff happening over at The Dice Tower that we go through. Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
Magic has some hot new cards and some weird new food, some of which is appetizing. And we weren't the last people to talk about the best board games of 2025. We found one who was later than us! Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
Game theory is a way that billionaires and corporations view the world. But are the tenants of Game Theory good for us? What cost do we pay when the most powerful people in the world view life as a zero-sum game? We talk about that along with games against fascism, because that's what we need right now. Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
There's a big shake-up at Leder games. What does it mean for the company and the people involved? Also, the original co-op trick-taking game, The Crew, has a new box coming out. But how will it stack up to the other entries in the space? Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
A new Magic set means a new Magic the Gaythering! Then we review some studies looking to see if board games make you smarter. And we end the show with some more serious discussion of the situation in Greg's home state. Help Minnesota out here: https://www.ilcm.org/ https://www.threads.com/@jesthehuman/post/DTOjbpuEvl4?xmt=AQF0-1uqolyYaAsN-oxgEesCztuZF2YYrSZldzGhlZcn0CtbLWXU-4UcZfV6CQ1QPXiLnIkU&slof=1 Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
We're looking back to 2025 to give our first annual Game Mechanics awards show! We've got lots of categories to hand out awards to. Come listen to the games we had great times with in 2025! Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
It's the holiday season, so whoopadeedoo. So let's talk about all the 'opolies there are. Maybe even some better options for game night. This one's a bit unhinged, ya'll. Meet us at Charlie Brown's brick wall if you want to talk more (our Discord). Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
This week, we spend the whole episode talking to Chris and Jim, the creators of Terra Clash, an upcoming card game. We talk about the game creation process, play testing, eureka moments, and more! Check out Terra Clash here. Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
It’s gifting time! We offer some tips for getting gifts your family and friends stuff that’ll make them smile! Then, Logan has some problems with an NPR podcast. Then, it's BACK to gift giving! Double-whammy! Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
Greg is on the scene at PAX Unplugged! Come listen in as he walks the floor and finds fun folks to interview about their games. What will their favorite game mechanics be? Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
Logan is back from ChYOGA... but what the heck is ChYOGA? Then the mechanics talk about rulebooks and ways to make your rulebook better. The article we discuss in this episode is here. Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
NEW SEGMENT ALERT: Board Games 101, this time we’re explaining Worker Placement, Tableau Builders, and a bunch of smaller words we tend to use often! Then we get into some anti-colonization games! Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
We have a quick recap of actual Halloween now that it is over and discuss the dangers of PG movies in the 1980s. Tariff talk is back and America is just not that trustworthy when it comes to trading. But that's ok because Hollywood is looking to make some big moves and even bigger movies. Will they be good? Concentrate and ask again. Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
Spooky season has concluded, but we still need to report back about our spooky game nights! We talk about the Planet Money board game podcast series and what their process says about marketing for tabletop stuff. We take a trip to Magic the Gaythering corner for a wider conversation on what the heck brackets are! We loop back around to Planet Money and talk some weird math, too. Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
It's still spooky season, so the mechanics are focusing up for the parties ahead. We talk about the upcoming year's competing themes, along with criticism and its interaction with fandoms. We discuss the process of making boardgames through exploring the very good article we mention here. Then, we move on to party games to bring some tabletop fun to your Samhain celebrations! Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
On this SECOND SPOOKY EPISODE, we discuss giving appropriate warnings to players about horror subjects and how to go about it. Then, we jump into our favorite TTRPG systems for horror. One-shots or campaigns, we'll give you some guidance for your next terrifying tabletop experience! Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
On this SPOOKY EPISODE, we discuss some of the final wishes of Greg and Logan. We move to an even spookier topic - several NEW Magic sets! And then we talk about spooky board games for this Halloween season! Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
The mechanics explore a recent study on board games. Are you one of the 41% of millennials that experience joy while playing board games? Or are you potentially the elusive Gen X person that's ever experienced joy of any kind? Come Let us know in our Discord! Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
The mechanics discuss some company woes and doomed Kickstarters. Then we move into recommending some good games that aren't super expensive, even in this weird moment. Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
Things are looking pretty dire for the tabletop industry right now. We talk about some companies that are in trouble, and more bad stuff on the horizon. Then, to lighten the mood a bit, the mechanics share some of their favorite games for autumn. Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
The Mechanics are back from Dragon Con and talk about the experience of the con. Then we get into some AI discussion (spoiler: it's bad) and a greater conversation about what art is and the value of making something as a creative outlet. Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
RIP Ruth, you would've loved this butter burger. Sign up to be an organ donor here. Logan asks Greg about his process for writing games, and how to actually get a game ready for publishing! Greg's new game, Domeskai Tamers, is launching on Kickstarter soon. Bookmark it here. Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
We open talking about presents and gift lists and why you should USE THEM! Then we talk about some creator stuff we did at GenCon. And just a little bit of rage bait article, as a treat. Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
We have a Magic the Gaythering segment! And then we get into what we got into at Gencon! Find out Logan's Game of The Con (tm) and how many cute games Greg got. Also, Greg has OPINIONS on Daggerheart. Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
In a very special episode of Game Mechanics, we're in the dealer hall at Gencon interviewing lots of game creators as we go! Come listen to find out what all of their favorite game mechanics are. I hope they say Logan and Greg! Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
We get an installment of Magic: The Gaythering, then we get into some heavier topics. The nature of recording episodes a couple weeks in advance means we are a bit behind on the current situation. We are excited that there seems to be positive movement on the payment processor front. Let's keep this top of mind and keep Mastercard and others' inboxes full! Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
We talk some beautiful Magic lands, Donkey Kong, and long games. Like... life commitments. Have you ever played a game for enough minutes to make a Broadway tune? We sure haven't, but let's think about it for a while. Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
We have some news that's less relevant with the current itch situation (this is a factor of recording 2 weeks early, we'll get to it!) After that, Logan and Greg have their lists of games they're excited about for Gencon. Related: we'll be at Gencon! Come find us and maybe we can play a game or two! Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
Logan always puts together a list of games to check out at Gencon. He hasn't made that list just yet... but he does have a bunch of games he's excited about anyway! We talk about those games, other Gencon stuff, and other things we're excited about right now! Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
Today we talk about storytelling games; experiences that have creative storytelling elements, but aren't quite roleplaying games. Come listen as we explore some of the most fun games we've played in this genre. Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
Logan is still playing (mostly the intro of) Sunderfolk. Greg is playing less Sentinels of the Multiverse because he loves it so much. And Citadels has an... interesting picture in its Board Game Geek gallery. We also talk hot goss with Daggerheart, and more! Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
Hoo wee. Sometimes, when you podcast, you just sorta go into a fugue state and emerge having recorded the most unhinged episode you’ve ever done. Anyway, here’s our Daddies Day episode. Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Join our Discord! Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
It’s not us, it’s the game. We go over our breakups with games we once enjoyed, but are only cordial with at parties now. Have you ever broken up with a game? Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Join our Discord! Email us at [email protected]. Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
It's pride! We talk about games from queer creators, some history about pride, and some games that are themed around that history. Find Logan's stuff at LoganJenkins.com. Find Greg's stuff at Leatherman.Games. Email us at [email protected]. Game Mechanics is hosted and supported by The Moonshot podcast network.
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