Playing the Cards You're Dealt: Hand Management (What We Talk About)

Playing the Cards You're Dealt: Hand Management (What We Talk About)

From Decision Space by Jacob Frydman, Brendan Hansen, Pete Wissinger, Paul Salomon

June 24, 2026 · 1h 15m · Episode 275

About this episode

Pete and Brendan discuss the concept of hand management in tabletop games and its appeal.

Episode 271- Hand Management Pete and Brendan dissect one of the most ubiquitous mechanisms in tabletop games: hand management. What kinds of puzzles can a hand of cards present to players and what makes it so timelessly satisfying? Timestamps 3:00- defining hand management18:00- why we love hand management29:00- types of hand management36:15- trick-taking and ladder climbing42:45- hand management as a core mechanism57:30- hand management as a support mechanism Games Mentioned love letter, dominion, enchanted plumes, concordia, el grande, scout, haggis, fox in the forest, inis, race for the galaxy, arboretum, seer's catalog, hanabi, lost cities, battle line, hanamikoji, fantasy realms, 6nmmt, 7 wonders, twilight struggle, frosted blooms, gloomhaven, modern art, arcs, magic the gathering, keyforge, mind bug Preplanners Look out for the long awaited deep dive of Old King's Crown! Music and Sound Credits Thank you to Hembree for our intro and outro music from their song Reach Out. You can listen to the full song on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQuuRPfOyMw&list=TLGGFNH7VEDPgwgyNTA4MjAyMQ&t=3s You can find more information about Hembree at…

People in this episode

Hosts: Pete, Brendan

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: love letter, dominion, enchanted plumes, concordia, el grande, scout, haggis, fox in the forest, inis, race for the galaxy

More episodes of Decision Space

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Decision Space podcast page.