I recently heard an episode of Radiolab where one of their producers interviewed their top reporter on how he finds some of the more ‘out there’ stories they broadcast, and, of course, (everything seems to…) got me thinking about board game themes and mechanics. Take a second and listen to it here:
Episode: BONUS: Radiolab Scavenger Hunt | Radiolab | WNYC Studios
We’re finally starting to break out of the patterns from the last decades, of the endless stream of games published with themes of history and colonialism and the western world, but it’s still early days of breaking out of that mould, because it’s still often notable when it happens.
Now, for this specific podcast; First, I was inspired by list of techniques Latif employs to dig into things that others aren’t reporting on. (In college, we referred to what he does with Wikipedia as a “wiki-wander”… and they cost many hours of what should have been study time.) But moreso, his final take that there are a practically infinite number of stories that could be told, and that there’s no sense in hiding his discovery techniques, because there’s plenty for everyone was great, and relatable, as there are almost certainly an infinite number of board games, including countless untapped themes and undiscovered mechanisms.