Finding Games
28 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 3 years ago -Presented by Sophie from Needy Cat Games, Finding Games is a journey into the weird world of the tabletop games industry. Each month Sophie will interview someone involved in the tabletop games in some kind of professional capacity; we'll hear from game designers, illustrators, graphic designers, writers, manufacturers, distributors and all sorts of others. Each episode will feature a conversation about how that month's guest ended up making games for a living - and some of their journeys might surprise you!
This podcast wouldn't be possible without the support of the Needy Cat Games Patreon supporters. Join their ranks at www.patreon.com/needycatgames!
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Episodes
Episode 25 - Juliana
July 14, 2021 11:21 - 41 minutes - 37.5 MBWelcome to episode 25 of the Finding Games podcast, where we talk to people who work in and around the tabletop games industry and find out how they got there. In this episode, we talk with Juliana, a tabletop game designer and founding member of the Wild Optimists who specialises in puzzle games. We talk about her experiences self publishing and her insights into the tabletop games industry plus she provides some amazing advice for people wanting to follow in her footsteps. Here's some mo...
Episode 24- Behrooz ‘Bez’ Shahriari
May 28, 2021 13:58 - 1 hour - 58.1 MBIt's Episode 24 of the Finding Games podcast, where we talk to people who work in and around the tabletop games industry and find out how they got there. In this episode, Sophie talks with Bez, who is a tabletop game designer, developer, consultant, artist, self-publisher, streamer, and reviewer. Bez currently streams daily at 10am UK-time covering everything from interviews to discussions, chats, and play-alongs. If you're interested in finding out more about Bez and her work, check out...
Episode 23 - James Naylor, Naylor Games
March 29, 2021 11:44 - 38 minutes - 28.6 MBIn this episode, Sophie is catching up with James Naylor. James is a London based board game designer and publisher who is passionate about product design and its role in creating game experience. His first game is Magnate: The First City, a midweight city building/property game. After a successful Kickstarter and a very positive critical reception, it will be coming to game retailers in the middle of 2021. James' Links: Twitter: https://twitter.com/naylorjames Naylor Games website: https:...
Episode 22 Stephen Hart
March 03, 2021 13:05 - 50 minutes - 57.8 MBStephen had a long career before decided to work in Tabletop Games and gives a great insight into his process and approach to breaking into the industry. A lovely chat which I hope you enjoy! Stephen Hart is a freelance RPG writer and producer. Publishes The Oracle, a monthly RPG magazine and run frequent crowdsourcing campaigns for creative RPG content - both 5e compatible and system-neutral. http://thegrinningfrog.com http://patreon.com/the_oracle Stephen also has one Kickstarter currentl...
Episode 21 - Amudha And Kara
February 15, 2021 12:20 - 55 minutes - 53.1 MBDespite the ongoing lockdown and the challenges of homeschooling a 5 year old, we're managing to claw our way back to some kind of schedule. Here's a new episode for you! This one is a real treat with Amudha and Kara who both work at Fantasy Flight Games. They have some great approaches to game design and the tips at the end for anyone looking to work in the industry are excellent. You can follow Aumdha on Twitter @mightymudha and you can follow Kara on Twitter @CHyphenD As ever, if you'd l...
Episode 20 - Tom McCredy
January 25, 2021 13:38 - 34 minutes - 33.5 MBThis time we talk to Tom McCredy, a freelance writer, editor and game designer. He's helped out on games like Blood Red Skies and Black Seas, and written articles for Wargames, Soldiers, and Strategy. Tom lives on top of a hill in Sheffield with his wife and cat Spaghetti. He loves medieval history and playing with toy soldiers. You can follow Tom on Twitter @TomMecredy Thanks for listening! Music from filmmusic.io (incompetech.com): "The Show Must Be Go" by Kevin MacLeod “Happy Boy End ...
Episode 20 - Tom Mecredy
January 25, 2021 13:38 - 34 minutes - 33.5 MBThis time we talk to Tom Mecredy, a freelance writer, editor and game designer. He's helped out on games like Blood Red Skies and Black Seas, and written articles for Wargames, Soldiers, and Strategy. Tom lives on top of a hill in Sheffield with his wife and cat Spaghetti. He loves medieval history and playing with toy soldiers. You can follow Tom on Twitter @TomMecredy Thanks for listening! Music from filmmusic.io (incompetech.com): "The Show Must Be Go" by Kevin MacLeod “Happy Boy End ...
Episode 19 - Nathan Blades
December 28, 2020 12:00 - 48 minutes - 52.7 MBWe're nearly at the end of 2020 (finally) and here's another early access episode of Finding Games for you! This is Nathan Blades, who is a podcaster, streamer and occasional game designer. This is seriously one of the most enjoyable and interesting podcasts I have ever recorded and I had such a blast talking to Nathan. You really must check this one out. We cover all the topics we normally do in the podcast, Nathan's journey into where they are now and their tips for someone wanting to follo...
Bonus Episode - James M Hewitt, Needy Cat Games
December 18, 2020 11:13 - 45 minutes - 43.2 MBOh my, here's a blast from the past! Originally released in May 2019, this is Episode Zero of the Finding Games podcast, which was originally released as an exclusive at www.patreon.com/needycatgames. To keep the stakes low, Sophie interviewed James (the other half of Needy Cat Games). It's a pretty rambly chat, the audio quality's a bit poor, and Sophie's (undeservedly!) nervous about her interviewing skills. But it's still a fun chat, and it's a great chance to see how far we've come! ...
Episode 18 - Phoebe Wild
December 14, 2020 14:24 - 43 minutes - 42.5 MBIn Episode 18, I talk to Phoebe about her geek chic fashion boutique, Ludo Cherry and discuss her motivations for creating such an iconic brand. In her own words: Phoebe is the founder of LudoCherry, a company specialising in "geek chic" fashion. Their first series of designs were successfully funded on Kickstarter in April this year, and will be delivered to backers in October! Phoebe also previously worked for Bézier Games for three years as their social media manager and ran her own boa...
Episode 17 - Brian Steele
December 01, 2020 14:27 - 54 minutes - 52.9 MBIn Episode 17, I'm talking with Bryan. Bryan is a writer and he is frankly overflowing with advice for those wanting to follow in his footsteps and it's great to hear his take on how to get noticed. In his own words: Born in northern Indiana in the wake of the original Star Wars, Bryan grew up with a powerful imagination – something that has since fueled more than a million published words, countless plotlines, game designs and more. He grew up with his nose in comic books and roleplaying t...
Episode 16 - James Wallis
November 16, 2020 12:02 - 38 minutes - 38.2 MBIn Episode 16, I talk with the ever-lovely James Wallis. He has had a fascinating career from journalist to TV presenter to game designer and is now the Studio Manager for Green Board Games (who are the only UK-based game publisher for the Asmodee Group). Along the way, we talk about networking and building links in the community and James even puts out a call for submissions! Here he is in his own words: "Since starting his first RPG fanzine instead of revising for his O-Levels, James Wall...
Bonus Episode! We Love Stuff Episode 01 - Empire LARP
November 10, 2020 17:19 - 51 minutes - 43.7 MBHere's something a bit different for you! In an effort to combat the lockdown blues and remind ourselves that we do still have a life outside work - honest - we've decided to record some podcasts where we talk about things we love outside of tabletop gaming. In this one, we're talking about Empire LARP, which stole our hearts when we tried it out last year. We can't wait to get back into the field (erm... next Spring, at the very earliest) but we had a great time chatting about it, and why ...
Episode 15 - Maisy Hatchard
November 02, 2020 09:33 - 30 minutes - 38.2 MBHas it been two weeks already? It's time for another episode of Finding Games - and once again, if you were supporting us on Patreon, you'd have had access to this one last week! Just back us for a dollar for early access to future podcast episodes, as well as a whole host of game design tips and other goodies. That's www.patreon.com/needycatgames In this episode, Sophie is chatting to Maisy Hatchard, who we met through the Tabletop Mentorship Program that we talked about in episode 13. In h...
Episode 14 - Calvin Wong Tze Loon
October 19, 2020 10:20 - 1 hour - 75.8 MBIn case you missed the announcement, Finding Games is moving to a fortnightly release schedule. There are currently eight or nine episodes recorded and awaiting editing, and Sophie's recording more every week, so we're really confident about sticking to that. If you'd like to get episodes early - as soon as they're edited! - you can back us for $1 or more over at www.patreon.com/needycatgames. Anyway, on with the episode! This might be our longest one yet, and it's a goodie. In Episode 14...
Episode 13 - Mike Belsole and Grace Kendall, the Tabletop Mentorship Program
October 07, 2020 16:20 - 41 minutes - 38.8 MBIt's Episode 13 of the Finding Games podcast, where we talk to people who work in and around the tabletop games industry and find out how they got there. Mike Belsole (he/him) and Grace Kendall (they/them) are the organizers of the Tabletop Mentorship Program. Both are avid game designers and have worked at many conventions, and now can be spotted working at a board game cafe in Ohio. Grace's game Celestial Stories came out from Inkwell Games this summer, and they have a co-designed riddle-...
Episode 12 - Victoria Cana, Wizards of the Coast / Cat Quartet Games
September 14, 2020 14:43 - 36 minutes - 42.8 MBIt's Episode 12 of the Finding Games podcast, where we talk to people who work in and around the tabletop games industry, and find out how they got there. This time around, Sophie's chatting to Victoria Caña. By day, Victoria is a producer at Wizards of the Coast where she leads a team of game designers in the Magic R&D department. By night, she is an award-winning indie game designer and co-founder of Cat Quartet Games, a boutique publishing company that focuses on bringing fun, fast, and ...
Episode 11 - AnnaMaria Jackson-Phelps, Girls Game Shelf
September 01, 2020 11:36 - 35 minutes - 41.9 MBOur accelerated release schedule continues with another cracking interview - this time, with AnnaMaria Jackson-Phelps, Editor-in-Chief of Girls Game Shelf. In addition to creating media for the table top game industry, she also designs board games and is on the quest for the perfect taco. They had a great chat, covering - among other things - Jaffa Cakes, AnnaMaria's journey into the industry, and the upcoming online convention Shelf-a-pa-Luza (https://www.shelfapaluza.com/) Give it a li...
Episode 10 - Ross Connell, More Games Please
August 19, 2020 15:25 - 43 minutes - 37.5 MBIt's Episode 10! This time, Sophie's chatting to another one of our Nottingham buds - not that we've seen Ross in the flesh since lockdown began. Ross (aka More Games Please) is a freelance tabletop photographer and community manager for Alley Cat Games, and has been working in the industry since 2018. His photography has appeared in publications such as Tabletop Gaming magazine and Senet, as well as on countless websites, online stores, and Amazon. He has photographed board games raising o...
Episode 09 - Zachary Cox, SoulMuppet Publishing
July 29, 2020 10:44 - 46 minutes - 42.2 MBEpisode 9 is here! We'll get back to a monthly release schedule soon, but in the meantime we're catching up with some quickfire releases. In this episode, Sophie chats to our Nottingham industry buddy Zachary Cox, who's a genuine inspiration. We both wish we'd had his drive and dedication in our early twenties! (I'll be honest, I wish I had his drive and dedication *now*.) Zach runs SoulMuppet Publishing, an indie RPG company. He is the writer behind Best Left Buried and A Doom To Speak, ...
Episode 08 - Sophie Williams, Needy Cat Games
July 28, 2020 13:36 - 1 hour - 79 MBBoom! Back from our unannounced hiatus, it's Episode 8 of the Finding Games podcast! As ever, we're talking to someone who works in or around the tabletop games industry to find out how they got there... but in celebration of our triumphant return, this episode's a little different. Sophie Williams is normally our host, but this time around she's moving to the other side of the desk and being interviewed by Needy Cat Games co-conspirator James Hewitt. Needy Cat Games is a family business t...
Episode 07 - Danielle Reynolds, DMR Creative Group
December 03, 2019 12:47 - 38 minutes - 35.4 MBIt's episode 7 of the Finding Games podcast, where we speak to people who work in and around the tabletop games industry and find out how they got there! Danielle Reynolds is a Chicagoland designer that co-hosts design meetups, organizes gaming fundraisers and pitches at conventions. She has spent the past 2 years diving into the industry and all that it offers. You can follow Danielle at the links below: Facebook: www.facebook.com/DMRCreativeGroup Twitter: @CreativeDmr Website: https://w...
Episode 06 - John Mizon, South West Megagames
October 03, 2019 13:46 - 38 minutes - 34.8 MBJohn Mizon runs South West Megagames, a full-time endeavour that aims to bring megagaming to the South-West of the UK (and sometimes beyond). Megagames are still a surprisingly niche hobby, which have started to see more mainstream appeal in the last few years after a Shut Up & Sit Down video brought many new eyes to the genre. These games are massive day-long experiences that blend roleplaying, board game-style mechanics, social gameplay and model-UN style simulation to a venue filled with a...
Episode 05 - Rob Burman, Mantic Games
September 09, 2019 15:39 - 35 minutes - 32.4 MBNOTE! We had some audio issues with this one, but it's a great episode so we didn't want to lose it. We're renewing our audio recording setup before the next ep, so everything should be a lot smoother. Sorry about this! Rob Burman is the social media and online sales manager for Mantic Games, a publisher of board game and miniature games based in Nottingham. He is responsible for marketing a wide variety of tabletop games, from licensed properties such as Hellboy and The Walking Dead, to mo...
Episode 04 - Jack Caesar, River Horse Games / Caesar Ink
August 01, 2019 14:57 - 44 minutes - 41.1 MBAs a game designer for River Horse and independently as Cæsar ink, Jack spends much of his time thinking about fun ways to randomly generate numbers, the life cycles of monsters, and why a wizard decided to make a talking sword in the first place. He can be found designing cool new dungeons on twitch every Monday at 8.00 GMT. Music from filmmusic.io (incompetech.com): "Happy Boy End Theme" by Kevin MacLeod "The Show Must Be Go" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) "Lobby Time" by Kevin MacLe...
Episode 03 - Nathan Dowdell, Modiphius
July 12, 2019 14:02 - 35 minutes - 32.2 MBEpisode Three of the "Finding Games", a podcast by the people behind Needy Cat Games which showcases talented individuals from the tabletop industry and finds out how they ended up doing such a weird job. In Episode Three, Sophie catches up with our old friend Nathan Dowdell, who's been writing roleplaying games professionally for the best part of a decade. He cut his teeth on Warhammer 40,000 roleplaying games like Black Crusade and Only War, before working for Modiphius on Mutant Chronicle...
Episode 02 - Matt Jarvis, Tabletop Gaming
May 24, 2019 00:00 - 37 minutes - 34.4 MBEpisode Two of the "Finding Games", a podcast by the people behind Needy Cat Games which showcases talented individuals from the tabletop industry and finds out how they ended up doing such a weird job. In Episode Two, Sophie has a chat with Matt Jarvis. Since 2016 Matt has been the editor of Tabletop Gaming, the UK’s leading magazine and website about board games, card games, miniatures and RPGs. The magazine was launched in the summer of 2015 and has since exploded in popularity, going fro...
Episode 01 - Annie Norman, Bad Squiddo Games
May 09, 2019 00:00 - 28 minutes - 26.5 MBEpisode One of the "Finding Games", a podcast by the people behind Needy Cat Games which showcases talented individuals from the tabletop industry and finds out how they ended up doing such a weird job. In Episode One, Sophie strolls down the hall to talk to Needy Cat Neighbour Annie Norman, a.k.a. Bad Squiddo Games. Annie's had a really unusual career path by normal standards, but as you'll see as this series progresses it's more normal than you might think in this industry! Finding Games ...