Jun 18, 2026 · 51 min · 11 segments
This week on *Parenting, apparently*, Esther and Melissa sit down with Elan Lee, the award-winning game designer, storyteller, co-creator of *Exploding Kittens*, and, most importantly, a dad. Elan…
Elan LeeGuest
Melissa CashHost
Esther HuybreghtsHost
I have never experienced anything as rewarding and magical as watching my kid get better at something.
And different than toys, in a game, a well-designed game, you will watch them develop brand new skills and then hone those skills.
And you will watch these little gears start turning and you will just think, my kid is a genius, right? It's the best feeling ever.
And we are the co-founders of Pok Pok, a company reimagining how kids use technology.
He is most importantly a dad, but he's also one of the most prolific game designers and storytellers in the world.
Our favorite thing about him, actually, or my favorite thing about him, because I've had the pleasure of knowing you for a while, is that you've done something kind of unheard of, Ilan.
You have built tabletop games to play with toddlers that are actually fun for the
But specifically, you've also created a lot of preschool games with your four-year-old daughter, which is wild.
The most... back kickstarter campaign in history insane over 65 million games sold and a netflix show and you write on survivor which just makes you like a very cool and unique person but today we kind of don't care about any of that sorry love you we want to talk about parenting and play and how those things
we want to talk about this as collaborators and people who care so much about childhood and play so welcome to parenting apparently we're so pumped
And I think this is the first time I've been introduced in the right order, which is first and foremost a dad and then all the other stuff.
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I have never experienced anything as rewarding and magical as watching my kid get better at something.
And different than toys, in a game, a well-designed game, you will watch them develop brand new skills and then hone those skills.
And you will watch these little gears start turning and you will just think, my kid is a genius, right? It's the best feeling ever.
And we are the co-founders of Pok Pok, a company reimagining how kids use technology.
He is most importantly a dad, but he's also one of the most prolific game designers and storytellers in the world.
Our favorite thing about him, actually, or my favorite thing about him, because I've had the pleasure of knowing you for a while, is that you've done something kind of unheard of, Ilan.
You have built tabletop games to play with toddlers that are actually fun for the
But specifically, you've also created a lot of preschool games with your four-year-old daughter, which is wild.
The most... back kickstarter campaign in history insane over 65 million games sold and a netflix show and you write on survivor which just makes you like a very cool and unique person but today we kind of don't care about any of that sorry love you we want to talk about parenting and play and how those things
we want to talk about this as collaborators and people who care so much about childhood and play so welcome to parenting apparently we're so pumped
And I think this is the first time I've been introduced in the right order, which is first and foremost a dad and then all the other stuff.
