In this episode of Type Speaks, Rae sits down with game designer, publisher, and quilt historian Meguey Baker to explore the deep human roots of play, and why games are not an escape from reality, but a way of understanding it. From designing Apocalypse World to teaching through storytelling, Meg shares how tabletop games function as acts of connection, resistance, and care. She and Rae unpack the overlap between game design, graphic design, and experience design, how mechanics carry meaning, why constraints make play powerful, and why joy is not frivolous, but necessary.

Meguey “Mother of the Apocalypse” Baker is a tabletop role-playing game designer, independent publisher, and quilt historian whose work has significantly shaped modern narrative game design. Along with her partner Vincent Baker, she co-created Apocalypse World, the groundbreaking game that launched the now-widespread Powered by the Apocalypse system.