Liz Davidson’s Beyond Solitaire podcast wins debut Bobby Nunes Memorial Award, celebrating exceptional media coverage of historical gaming cultural issues

A new award recognising historical gaming’s most exceptional culture writers, podcasters and video essay makers has unveiled interview podcast series Beyond Solitaire as its inaugural winner.

Liz Davidson, a long-time classics teacher who was hired as solo games specialist by Root publisher Leder Games earlier this year, told BoardGameWire she launched the podcast during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 “because I wanted an excuse to talk to people”.

She has since put out 180 episodes across nine separate seasons, exploring gaming history, historical games and their cultural significance with a string of guest interviewees.

Recent episodes have included Natalia Zwarts and Chris Gledhill discussing their scholarly work on a game exploring the possibility of peace in Ukraine, Dr Cosima Werner on her current project examining whiteness within the board gaming hobby in Germany, and designer Yoni Goldstein speaking about Chicago ’68, his game about the Democratic National Convention riots which took place that year.

The Bobby Nunes Memorial Award was launched this year in memory of the eponymous Robert “Bobby Factor” Nunes – a hugely popular figure in historical gaming circles who was central to the recent growth of the San Diego Historical Games Convention – who died of cancer in March.

The award’s judges praised Davidson’s podcast for “welcoming both interviewees and listeners into the world of historical gaming and beyond, making connections between designers, educators, professional wargame designers, and the rest of the hobby, and providing timeless, cultural discussions that remain fresh and applicable”.

Davidson herself drew particular praise as an interviewer for insightful, incisive, and well-developed questions, for allowing her guests to speak at length, and for addressing critical issues in gaming.

The judges cited aspects of Davidson’s work, including the welcoming approach, the connection-building, and the willingness to address significant cultural issues, as reminiscent of Nunes’ work in the hobby over the years.

Dan Bullock, chair of the award committee, said, “Liz Davidson’s interviews highlight the contributions of designers and academics that examine the culture surrounding historical games.

“In Liz’s work, we see a lot of the shared enthusiasm Bobby had for this corner of the hobby as well as a kindred spirit and boisterous presence that welcomes players to their table.”

Beyond Solitaire’s fellow finalists for the award included board game designer and Hollandspiele co-founder Amabel Holland, nominated for her string of YouTube video essays challenging commonly-held ideas in gaming, and board game writer and reviewer Dan Thurot, whose site Space-Biff shines out as a bastion of thoughtful insight and commentary about the deeper nature, workings and cultural positioning of tabletop game designs.

The final nominee was podcast We Intend To Move On Your Works, which discusses American Civil War game mechanics, the effectiveness of individual titles as games, depictions of the history involved and the connections (or lack of) to the Lost Cause narrative – which attempts to claim that the Confederacy’s cause was just and heroic rather than being centred on slavery.

The judges had high praise for all of the finalists, and noted how all felt connected to Nunes’ work in the gaming hobby.

Davidson told BoardGameWire, “I started my podcast in 2020 while we were all quarantined because I wanted an excuse to talk to people, and my seasons are only 20 episodes long because at the time I wasn’t sure I could get more than 20 people to come on the show!

“Beyond Solitaire also emerged from my own desire to hear more conversations about games that went beyond ‘is this fun or not’, and I didn’t feel there was enough media like that at the time.

“Now, though, if you look at all of the Bobby Nunes Award nominees, you can see how much that has changed – I’m very honored to see my podcast recognized now when the field has deepened considerably.

“I’m also honored because Bobby was truly someone special, and while I’d rather just have him here, it means a lot to win an award named for someone I knew and for whom I have a lot of respect.”

Davidson added, “I want to keep recording my podcast for as long as it feels fresh to me. The reason I’ve kept publishing 20-episode seasons is because the forced break always helps me think about where I want to go next, who I’d like to talk to, and whether I have enough material for another set of episodes.

“Fortunately, my ‘Season 10 Ideas’ note is very long already.”

The Bobby Nunes Memorial Award is set to return in 2025, with a call for public submissions slated to go out in the first half of the year

An extensive tribute to Nunes, written by SDHistCon founder Buchanan, can be read on the SDHistCon website.