In the Player Lair podcast, we delve into the process of making games and interview various game designers, publishers and people involved in the gaming community.
Ivan Alexiev is a game designer, developer, and public speaker, renowned for his expertise in game design. He runs Player Lair, a company specializing in playtesting and development services for board game publishers since 2020, Ivan has overseen the refinement and enhancement of over 200 games (as of 2024).
Renato Simões is a board game designer and editor from Brazil.
Simões started his career by designing and publishing "Piratas!", a simple, fast-paced Take That! card game, co-designed with Pedro Sales. From 2022 on, Renato has Jordy Adan as his main collaborator and fellow designer, having worked in several games together, such as "Ozob: A Cyberpunk Board Game", "FlipToons", "Trick 100", "Mala & Cuia", and much more to come. Both are partners in the board game studio "UaiPiá".
Zev Shlasinger has been in the hobby game industry for almost 30 years. He founded Z-Man Games in 1999, sold it in 2011, then worked for the new owners until mid-January 2016. At the end of January, he took the position of Director of Board Games with Wizkids. Some of the titles you might be familiar with are: Pandemic, Fantasy Realms, Agricola, Sidereal Confluence, Clash of Cultures, Merchants & Marauders, Tales of the Arabian Nights, Shadow Hunters, Arboretum, Tragedy Looper, Grave Robbers from Outer Space, Tournament at Camelot, Super Skill Pinball, and a host of others.