Episode 138: Balance, Pt. 2 (What We Talk About)

...And we're back with part two of the balance what we talk about episode. This time we dive into questions of perceived balance vs. objective balance, and do we really want an objectively balanced game? If so, who is that really serving? We talk about the ways designers might choose to balance the game, and *gasp* how they even use players to do this dirty work for them. Of course we give examples, and wrap up with a discussion of so what, why is it that we even care about balance, and what are the consequences of an under- or over-balanced game. Sheesh! That's a lot, we hope you enjoy it as today's in flight entertainment aboard the Interdecisional Spaceship!

Timestamps

Intro - 0:00
Discussion Start - 2:53
A Few Acres of Snow - 8:45
Citadels - 12:24
BattleCON - 13:39
Findorff - 15:16
Player Balance vs. Designer Balance - 17:30
Root - 18:00
Cosmic Encounter - 20:43
El Grande - 23:49
Zoo Vadis - 25:44
The Castles of Mad King Ludwig - 28:50
Isle of Skye - 30:33
Keyflower - 31:14
Bruges - 34:16
Magic: the Gathering - 35:10
Why do we care about balance - 36:10
Innovation - 44:10
Imhotep - 47:47
Diplomacy - 51:51
Freedom: The Underground Railroad - 52:58