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Lens and Veil Podcast

Garphill Games
Lens and Veil Podcast
Latest episode

33 episodes

  • Lens and Veil Podcast

    EP #33: Moon Colony Bloodbath

    23/03/2026 | 58 mins.
    🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.
    In this episode they discuss Moon Colony Bloodbath by Franz Vohwinkel. Moon Colony Bloodbath is an engine-building, engine-losing tableau game, with a shared deck the players build that makes things happen, many of them bad things that kill people in your moon colony, but some positive, and some that let you build up.
    📜Chapters:
    0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
    0:10:01 - Intro
    0:10:18 - Overview of Moon Colony Bloodbath
    0:13:51 - Discussion of Moon Colony Bloodbath
    0:51:28 - Questions for audience
    0:51:46 - Top 200 Draft: 151-160
    ⭐About the Cast
    Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).
    Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.
    Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order and The Great Sea together with Sam, and Spirited and Skute with both Shem and Sam.
    🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠
  • Lens and Veil Podcast

    EP #32: Ten Games That Made Us Part 2

    09/03/2026 | 1h 5 mins.
    🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.
    In this episode they each count down the ten games that made them the gamers and designers they are today, starting with games 5-1.
    📜Chapters:
    0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
    0:05:45 - Intro
    0:06:03 - Preamble & Criteria
    0:07:10 - Games 5-1
    0:58:39 - Questions for audience
    0:58:57 - Top 200 Draft: 131-140
    ⭐About the Cast
    Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).
    Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.
    Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order and The Great Sea together with Sam, and Spirited and Skute with both Shem and Sam.
    🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠
  • Lens and Veil Podcast

    EP #31: Ten Games That Made Us Part 1

    24/02/2026 | 59 mins.
    🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.
    In this episode they each count down the ten games that made them the gamers and designers they are today, starting with games 10-6.
    📜Chapters:
    0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
    0:05:24 - Intro
    0:05:45 - Preamble & Criteria
    0:07:24 - Games 10-6
    0:52:15 - Questions for audience
    0:52:31 - Top 200 Draft: 131-140
    ⭐About the Cast
    Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).
    Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.
    Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order and The Great Sea together with Sam, and Spirited and Skute with both Shem and Sam.
    🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠
  • Lens and Veil Podcast

    EP #30: First Rat

    03/02/2026 | 1h 12 mins.
    🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.
    In this episode they discuss First Rat by Gabriele Ausiello and Virginio Gigli. In First Rat, players take on the role of rats trying to build a rocket and take over the cheese moon. They do this by moving their rat meeples up the board (junkyard) and collecting junk which they can turn into rocket parts.
    📜Chapters:
    0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
    0:04:27 - Intro
    0:04:43 - Overview of First Rat
    0:11:33 - Discussion of First Rat
    1:02:53 - Questions for audience
    1:03:15 - Top 200 Draft: 121-130
    ⭐About the Cast
    Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).
    Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.
    Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order and The Great Sea together with Sam, and Spirited and Skute with both Shem and Sam.
    🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠
  • Lens and Veil Podcast

    EP #29: Spirited

    17/01/2026 | 1h 12 mins.
    🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements.
    In this episode they discuss Spirited, their first co-design all together. Spirited is a fast card driven game with push your luck elements where players must build wonders or forge allegiances with the numerous clans of the world. Featuring real historic civilisations interpreted by anthropomorphic animal characters.

    Spirited is live on Kickstarter now 👉🏽 https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shem/spirited?ref=apmko7

    📜Chapters:
    0:00:00 - Which would you prefer?
    0:07:08 - Intro
    0:07:24 - Overview of Spirited
    0:10:53 - Discussion of Spirited
    1:07:26 - Questions for audience
    1:07:44 - Top 200 Draft: 111-120
    ⭐About the Cast
    Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games, notably Raiders of the North Sea (Kennerspiel des Jahres Nominee) and Legacy of Yu (Golden Geek, Dice Tower Award, Origins Award for Best Solo Game of 2023).
    Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. He has gone on to design a number of other games, most notable among them is Paladins of the West Kingdom which is currently in the top 100 games on BGG.
    Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order and The Great Sea together with Sam, and Spirited with both Shem and Sam.
    🎵 Music licenced from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jessy Ribordy Studios⁠

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About Lens and Veil Podcast

🎙️Welcome to the Lens and Veil podcast, join Shem, Sam and Zach as they discuss games they've played together, specifically focusing on game design elements. - ⭐About the Cast - Shem Phillips is the owner of Garphill Games and has designed a fair few board games. - Sam Macdonald is a Game Designer and Developer at Garphill Games, bursting onto the scene with his co-design together with Shem, Architects of the West Kingdom. - Zach Smith works for Garphill Games as Marketing and Media Manager, but is also a credited designer, having co-designed Circadians: Chaos Order together with Sam.
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