Theresa Duringer is the owner and CEO of Temple Gates Games, a San Francisco–based digital board game studio known for best-in-class adaptations of modern tabletop games. Her team has brought Ascension to VR and developed acclaimed digital versions of Dominion, Race for the Galaxy, Shards of Infinity, and more, with a relentless focus on speed, clarity, and intuitive UI. Theresa works closely with designers and publishers to translate complex tabletop systems into digital experiences that feel natural, responsive, and faithful to the original games, helping players around the world connect and play together online. In this episode, she shares insights on what makes a great digital adaptation, why performance and UX are inseparable from game design, and how to bridge the gap between physical and digital play without losing what makes tabletop special.

About Jaimie

Jaimie Wolanski has over 20 years of experience in the games industry, with a career spanning major brands and mass-market hits. She’s worked as a sales rep bringing games into stores like Target and Barnes & Noble, and has helped launch titles like Shopkins, Catan, Ticket to Ride, Bananagrams, and Exploding Kittens. She even worked with Justin to bring You Gotta Be Kitten Me to market. In this episode, Jaimie shares what it takes to succeed in a crowded space, how to build teams you can trust, and why knowing when to let go of a project can be just as important as seeing one through. If you care about the business of games—especially the part that happens after the prototype—this conversation is packed with sharp insights and real-world experience.

About Vlaada

Vlaada Chvátil is one of the most influential game designers of the modern era. As the creative force behind classics like Through the Ages, Codenames, and Galaxy Trucker, and a co-founder of Czech Games Edition (CGE), he’s built a career defined by curiosity, craft, and an uncompromising commitment to making games he actually wants to play. Vlaada’s path—from programming and digital game development to shaping some of the most enduring tabletop designs of the last 20 years—has given him a rare perspective on iteration, collaboration, and long-term creative sustainability. In this episode, we explore how he chooses projects, why great development beats marketing every time, and how designing for joy has fueled both his games and his company.

Ah-Ha Moments

We Sell Games So We Can Make Games: Vlaada reframes the entire business of game design. The purpose of publishing is to fund the next act of creation, not to chase sales targets. This mindset frees designers to make bolder, more honest games, because success is measured by creative momentum, not quarterly performance.

The Best Marketing Is Ruthless Investment in Development: CGE spent its early years with no marketing team at all, because they didn’t need one. Vlaada’s long-term strategy is simple and difficult: invest heavily in development and let quality do the work. Great games create their own momentum. Word of mouth, sustained sales growth, and long tails are the natural result of excellence.

The Golden Rule of Collaborative Design: When collaborators disagree, Vlaada avoids persuasion entirely. Instead of fighting to prove one idea right and the other wrong, the goal is to find a third solution neither person originally proposed, but that both genuinely like. This reframes disagreement as a creative engine, not a conflict, and almost always leads to stronger, more resilient designs.