Going Analog Show

We love playing games in-person! But sometimes you want to scratch that board-gaming itch for a few minutes in the middle of the workweek. Or during a "break." Or, well, all the damn time. Playing asynchronously on Board Game Arena lets you do just that...a lot. Just don't tell our bosses. Our BGA play pals Emerson Matsuuchi (designer of the Century series, Specter Ops, Reef, and the upcoming Foun...

Peter C. Hayward (founder of Blue Beard & Jellybean Games and designer of quirky games like Scuttle!, The Lady and the Tiger, and the upcoming That Time You Killed Me and Robotopia) joins Christina and Shoe to gush about so many mutually favorite games! Topics this episode: Shoe (producer): What are some of your favorite board games that feature robots? Christina (guest): Which game do you secretl...

Yes, our show is called Going Analog, so you know we love our video games -- but how do board games bring in the digital vibe that we love into the tabletop medium? Luckily, we found the perfect guests to ask: Level 99 Games, the publisher of video-game-inspired fare such as the recent Bullet series, BattleCON, and Exceed! Joshua Van Laningham, Production and Design Lead at Level 99, and Ferdinand...

Kellen Laker, Red Tank from the popular podcast Board Game Barrage, joins Christina and Shoe to discuss Innovation and...fine, some games other than Innovation, too. Plus, we're old hands at gaming these days, so what do we try to keep in mind when introducing brand spanking newbies to tabletop games? And what stands out to us as the best marketing we've seen in the board game biz? Topics this wee...

Designer Nikki Valens (Legacy of Dragonholt, Eldritch Horror, Quirky Circuits) drops by Going Analog again to discuss recent favorite co-op games, crafting mechanisms, and their latest project, the ambitious co-op, campaign-based Artisans of Splendent Vale. Plus, which designers and artists would we pair together for our ultimate game-design dream teams? Games mentioned on this show: Intro: Eldrit...

Have a bunch of two-player games you want to play? You and your partner can't agree on which ones to play? Try a Partner Swap (trademark forthcoming, and get your mind out of the gutter)! Board game TikTok champions Raina and Phil from 1 Minute Board Games took a random Wednesday off and swapped partners with Going Analog: Phil and Shoe played head-to-head two-player card games, and Christina and...

Famed board game designer Dr. Reiner Knizia (Tigris & Euphrates, Lost Cities, Modern Art, and tons more) graces Going Analog with his bowtied presence. (You won't be able to hear the bowtie, but trust us that it was there, and it was glorious!) We ask Reiner for some juicy stories about some of his most acclaimed designs and what he thinks about current board game trends...and then we spring a tri...

New game publisher Bitewing Games has not one, not two, but THREE Reiner Knizia games to offer in their upcoming Kickstarter. How does a brand spanking new publisher sign the famous, prolific (famously prolific?) German designer Reiner Knizia? We invited Nick Murray and Kyle Spackman, cofounders of Bitewing Games, to chat with Christina about how it all went down! Plus, we have opinions about our...

Jeremy Howard, solo gaming expert from Man vs. Meeple, joins Christina and Shoe to personally recommend some great solo games and convince everyone that solo gaming is here to stay! But which games need that multiplayer aspect? Topics for this episode: Shoe (producer): What are some good solo games we should check out? Jeremy (guest): Solo gaming during the pandemic...here to stay or no? Christina...

As US game groups start meeting up again, we chat with fellow social bubble-r James Hudson (Skybound Games) about quarantine's effects on us as gamers, which games surprised us, and the unintended effects of COVID on board game shipping and logistics. (Last topic = sad James) Our topics for this show: Shoe (producer): Board gaming outside of the social bubble: what it's been like so far, what's ch...

Suzanne Sheldon and Mandi Hutchinson from the Dice Tower Podcast take some time off to do...another podcast with Christina! Listen for our board gamer origin stories, how we balance other hobbies, and Christina and Suz strongly recommend some games to Mandi from Uwe Rosenberg (one of our favorite designers). The games mentioned in this episode: Intro: Fields of Arle Christina's topic: Our board-ga...

Things are a mess around the world, but many of us are just starting to socialize again. So what will we be playing first with our long-lost gaming buddies? The prolific Jonathan Cox from JonGetsGames joins us to discuss this and more. Our chosen topics: Christina Ha (host): What board games are you most excited to play with your friends, post-lockdown? (2:24) Jonathan Cox (guest): How do we defin...

All the cool kids are on TikTok, so Raina and Phil from 1 Minute Board Games make Christina and Shoe honorary Gen Z-ers this week! We discover Raina's allergy to real-time games, Phil's addiction to Android: Netrunner, and Christina needs to shut up about Innovation. Our topics for this episode: Christina (host): Favorite real-time games (3:57) Raina (guest): Which games do you and your partner no...

YouTube creator and BoardGameCo founder Alex Radcliffe stops by the show! Our picks for topics this week: Alex (guest): How important is theme? Have you kept mediocre board games purely because of a great theme? And what games do you love despite their theme? Shoe (producer): What are some interesting facts that we've learned from playing board games? Christina (host): How did the pandemic affect...

Husband-wife team Ryan and Malorie Laukat of Red Raven Games (Sleeping Gods, Above and Below, Megaland) stop by with a few gaming topics in hand: Christina (host): Our ideal "3-course meal" of board games Malorie (guest): Culling our collections Ryan (guest): How our gaming tastes have evolved over time The games discussed in this episode: Intro: Above & Below Near & Far Empires of the Void II Eig...

Isaac Vega (designer of Ashes Reborn, co-designer of Dead of Winter and Forgotten Waters) and Lindsey Rode (designer of Labyrinthos) take a quick break from managing their new company, Rose Gauntlet Entertainment, to discuss gaaames! Our topics: our favorite board game names, mixing technology with tabletop, and how we feel about attending conventions this year. The games discussed in this episode...

Great board game discussions with Monique and Naveen of Before You Play! What games did we change our minds on (either way) after a second play? What games have we invested the most in? And what ones do we find hardest to get to the table...for whatever reason? Here are the games covered in this episode: Christina's topic: Games you've invested the most in Lost Ruins of Arnak Abomination: The Heir...

The always fun, always funny Paula Deming from Things Get Dicey joins the podcast this week to discuss: Board games that really get us riled up (in good and bad ways) The games in our "shelf of opportunity" that we're most excited to get to Why we livestream playthroughs -- or not The games discussed on this episode: Intro: Tidal Blades: Heroes of the Reef Kingdom Rush: Rift in Time Christina's to...

Sarah Shah of Board Games in a Minute slows down just long enough to record a podcast with us. We chat about our favorite games centered around animals, our big pet peeves when teaching (or learning) a new board game, and publisher Capstone Games. The games mentioned in this episode: Christina's topic: What are some of your favorite games centered around animals? Everdell Ecos: First Continent God...

This is a special Voltron Podcast episode with Boards Alive's Aaron Cassidy! (Touchy subject) We talk about the recent drama and controversies in the board game biz (and whether we can separate the art from the artists). (And not-so-touchy) On a lighter note, we also discuss video-game-licensed board games and deckbuilding in games we wouldn't call deckbuilding games. Shoe: Board games based on vi...

We're so obsessed with board games, that we enjoy them...even when we're not actually playing them. What are these "play-adjacent" activities that we love so much? And what are our favorite components? And why on earth are we talking about jigsaw puzzles on a board game podcast? The board games we discuss on this episode: Christina's topic: your favorite game components Everdell Tidal Blades Honey...

Party game of the year! Light game of the year! Medium-weight game of the year! Heavy game of the year! We grab two of our social-bubble gaming crew (James Hudson of Skybound and Shoe's co-worker Tom Twedell), and we all give our picks for the #1 games in all those categories for 2020. Plus: What trends did we see in 2020 (and what might we see in 2021? And how did gaming get us through the rough...

Professional comedian Grant Lyon (who also creates board game videos and co-designed Curmudgeon) joins us on the podcast this week. We talk about "old" (pre-2018) games that need more live, mechanics that we seek out or actively avoid, and more party games we love playing. Games mentioned on this episode: Intro: Curmudgeon Christina's topic: "Old" games that don't get enough love Love Letter Lost...

Plaid Hat Marketing Manager Niki Shults and Multimedia Director Donald Shults talk board games -- and tons of D&D -- with us. Our topics: 1. What are some new party games you can play over Zoom or within one average household? 2. Is Catan still the perfect gateway game? If not, what is? 3. What are your best childhood memories of playing board games? 4. House rules: How do you feel about them? Her...

Guest Elizabeth Hargrave (Wingspan, Mariposas) drops a hint about her next project while we discuss our four new topics: 1. Learning factoids in non-educational games 2. How we can make board gaming more inclusive for everyone 3. Games whose themes have inspired innovative gameplay 4. Designing games and finishing prototypes Games discussed in this episode: Intro: Wingspan Tussie Mussie Mariposas...