Nerdlab Podcast

100 episodes! In this special anniversary episode, I take a look back at the journey that started in 2018. From nervously recording my first interviews to building Nerdlab Games and working on games like Mindbug, Agent Avenue, and Final Titan.

I’ll share some things I’ve never talked about before, the biggest lessons I’ve learned about game design, development, and publishing, and how my focus has changed over the years.

And most importantly: what’s next? For me, for Nerdlab Games, and for this podcast.

Expect more behind-the-scenes development stories, designer diaries, industry insights, interviews, and hopefully a few new game design experiments along the way.

Thank you for being part of the journey.
To the next 100 episodes!

In today’s episode, I’m going to walk you through the results of a Mindbug survey we ran last year, and explain how those insights shaped some of the most important design decisions we made for the future of Mindbug.

This is a great example of why I believe it’s incredibly important to involve your players or at least your players feedback in key design decisions. If you’re a game developer or if you work in any field where you serve passionate customers, I think actively including them in your process is extremely valuable, and it’s something we definitely want to do even more in the future.

Check out the new Mindbug Dinopunk campaign we built with your feedback from the survey: https://gamefound.com/projects/marvin-hegen/mindbug-dinopunk?refcode=Z02pRGkGMkGxnicXOqxiZQ

In this episode, we explore why some card games thrive for years while others disappear after just a few releases.

We break down the key drivers behind long-term success in card games: from metagame evolution and strategic depth to community engagement, competitive play, and emotional connection.

And then we make it practical:

How can these principles be applied to designing our own card games?

What design choices create lasting replayability, variety, and meaningful decisions?

If you’re designing your own card game or want to better understand what keeps players coming back, this episode is for you.

Topics covered:

Metagame evolution & mechanical innovation

Supporting different playstyles and formats

Community, theorycrafting & content

Product rhythm and long-term design thinking

Applying these ideas to Mindbug

Enjoy the episode and as always:

Keep designing & keep nerding like a boss.

An example we often use in this episode is our new Mindbug Dinopunk campaign: https://gamefound.com/projects/marvin-hegen/mindbug-dinopunk?refcode=YdIpSLo0fEuZkVFtJPpQ6g

Welcome back to The Nerdlab, where we transform our love for gaming into powerful game designs and uncover the secrets of what makes games truly shine.

In this special episode, things are a little different: Marvin hands over the microphone to Chris, who takes the lead as interviewer. Why? Because today, the spotlight is on Christian Kudahl, co-designer of Mindbug and long-time creative partner at The Nerdlab.

While Marvin has been busy building the publishing company behind the scenes, Christian has gone all-in on the art and craft of game design. In this conversation, Chris and Christian dive deep into the various aspects of a game designer’s life.

Chris, a podcast listener and fellow game designer, reached out wondering why there hadn’t been any new episodes lately. He generously offered to take on the role of interviewer for this episode, giving listeners an exclusive behind the scenes look at what’s been happening at Nerdlab Games over the past two years. We are talking about Game Design processes and our tasks and role as a small publishing company. I am incredibly grateful to Chris for the idea and for bringing this episode to life.