Going Analog Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

2025 is "The Year of the 2-Player Game" -- at least according to our guest, professional comedian and board game content creator Grant Lyon of Grant's Game Recs. There have been so many good ones that came out over the past yeart that it's hard to refute that statement. So hard that, rather than refute, we'll just create a two-part podcast special covering all the great 2P games we've been playing. This is part one!

Timeline:

• 2:00 - Going Analog's game pick: Origin Story.
• 9:38 - Grant's game pick: Pinched!.
  
  Great 2-player games, part one:
  
  
• 16:50 - The White Castle Duel.
• 19:59 - Madcala.
• 25:35 - Enthrone.
• 29:19 - Compile: Main 2.
• 35:33 - Scales of Fate.
• 39:17 - Bombastic.

Our favorite "just playing games" convention is behind us now, and...we did spend a lot of time just playing games. A LOT. BGG.CON features BoardGameGeek's legendary library plus the latest hotness from the king of board game shows, Essen Spiel, so we had no shortage of options.

Listen in to see what our highlights were and to get a tease of what we have in store for Season 6 of The Board Game Quiz Show.

We love unique gaming experiences, especially from those tough-to-find games in Asia. Why are they so different from Western-made games? And what are the differences between games that originated from Japan, Taiwan, Korea, or other parts of the East?

Jay Bernardo, marketing manager at Bezier Games and content creator at Cardboard East (which specializes in covering board games from Asia), was kind enough to join Going Analog to teach us the ways. We also recommend some new games that play best at 5 or 6 players!

Timeline:

• 3:29 - Going Analog's game pick: Finca.
• 8:35 - Jay's game pick: Dune (1979 version).
• 18:01 - Jay's topic: East vs. West board games.
• 41:51 - Going Analog's topic: 5- to 6-player games.

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 online retail sales? What gaming trends popped up during stay-at-home?

The games discussed in this episode:

Alex's topic: Theme in board games

• Cthulhu: Death May Die
• Arkham Horror
• Eldritch Horror
• Robinson Cursoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island
• First Martians: Adventures on the Red Planet
• Terra Mystica
• Gaia Project
• Gentes
• Crusader
• Surrealist Dinner Party
• Ugly Gryphon Inn
• Marvel United
• Obsession
• Photosynthesis

Shoe's topic: Things we've learned from board games

• Goa
• Keystone: North America
• The Search for Planet X
• The Crew
• Timeline
• Wits and Wagers
• Terraforming Mars
• Brass: Birmingham
• Tinners' Trail
• Deep Vents
• Formosa Tea
• Viticulture

Christina's topic: Online retail trends during COVID

• Monopoly
• Risk
• Catan
• Splendor
• Codenames

Final thoughts:

• Red Rising
• Fantasy Realms
• Viticulture
• Zombicide
• Valor & Villainy
• Drawn to Adventure
• Merchant's Cove
• Root
• Vast
• Gods Love Dinosaurs
• Ecos

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
• Eight-Minute Empires
• Roam
• Sleeping Gods
• Megaland
• Now or Never
• Surrealist Dinner Party

Christina's topic: Ideal 3-course meal of games

• Point Salad
• A Feast for Odin
• Letter Jam
• Blue Moon City
• Agricola
• Caverna
• Codenames
• Great Western Trail
• Race for the Galaxy
• Roll for the Galaxy
• Jump Drive
• New Frontiers

Malorie's topic: Culling games/hoarding games

• Yinzi
• Arkham Horror
• Twilight Imperium

Ryan's topic: How our gaming tastes have changed

• Tawantinsuyu: The Inca Empire
• War of the Ring
• Arkham Horror
• Strozzi
• Thunderstone
• Lords of Waterdeep
• Rising Sun
• Sleeping Gods
• Roam

Final thoughts:

• Tawantinsuyu: The Inca Empire
• Paladins of the West Kingdom
• Viscounts of the West Kingdom

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:

Intro:

• Dead of Winter
• Forgotten Waters
• Ashes Reborn: Rise of the Phoenixborn
• Keystone: North America
• Countdown: Action Edition
• Labyrinthos

Christina's topic: Your favorite names for board games

• So, You've Been Eaten
• Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn
• Dead of Winter
• Abyss
• Terra Mystica
• Above and Below
• Roam
• Alice is Missing
• Gravwell 
• Bärenpark 
• A Fake Artist Goes to New York
• Campy Creatures
• Curious Cargo
• Pipeline
• The Quacks of Quedlinburg
• Frenemy Pastry Party

Lindsey's topic: Technology in board games...what are you excited about and what don't you want to see

• Forgotten Waters
• The Search for Planet X
• Chronicles of Crime
• Life After Dungeon
• Dread

Isaac's topic: Conventions in a post-COVID world

• Atheneum: Mystic Library

Final thoughts:

• Keystone: North America

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 of Frankenstein
• Killer Bunnies
• Dead of Winter
• Scythe
• Scythe: Rise of Fenris
• Wingspan
• The Quacks of Quedlinburg
• Innovation
• Grand Austria Hotel
• Kanban EV

Naveen's topic: Games you've changed your mind about after a second play

• Root
• Medium
• Just One
• Hansa Teutonica
• Ticket to Ride
• Terraforming Mars
• Loot of Lima
• The Search for Planet X
• Cryptid
• Alchemists

Monique's topic: The hardest games to get to the table

• The Gallerist
• Lisboa
• Vinhos
• On Mars
• Pandemic Legacy
• Sleeping Gods
• King's Dilemma
• Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy
• Twilight Imperium
• Two Rooms and a Boom
• Witness

Final thoughts:

• Root
• Tidal Blades: Heroes of the Reef

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 topic: Games that get you hyped

• Dominant Species
• Targi
• Twilight Imperium
• Draw Your Own Conclusions
• Telestrations
• Escape: The Curse of the Temple
• Dungeon Fighter
• Flip Ships
• The Quacks of Quedlinburg
• Wonderland's War
• Libertalia
• Modern Art

Shoe's topic: What are the games in your backlog that you're most excited to get to (and why haven't you yet)?

• Too Many Bones
• Sleeping Games
• Near and Far
• Above and Below
• Adventure Tactics: Domianne's Tower
• Space Base
• Space Base: The Emergence of Shy Pluto
• Machi Koro
• Lisboa
• Gallerist
• Formosa Tea
• Great Western Trail
• Viticulture
• CloudAge
• Pandemic Legacy: Season 0
• Clank Legacy
• Cutthroat Caverns
• Space Park
• Herd Mentality
• P for Pizza
• Gentes
• Pioneer Days
• Happy Salmon
• Power Grid
• Blockbuster
• MTV: The Throwback Music Party Game

Paula: Playing and live-streaming games online

• Hallertau 
• Fort
• Coatl 
• Targi
• Carcassonne 
• The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine
• Lisboa
• Modern Art
• Blank Slate
• Wavelength

Final thoughts:

• The Lost Expedition
• Praga Caput Regni 
• City of the Big Shoulders

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
• Gods Love Dinosaurs
• Evolution
• Oceans
• Endangered
• Calico
• Isle of Cats
• Beez
• Honey Buzz
• Aqua Garden
• Heaven and Ale

Shoe's topic: What are your pet peeves when learning or teaching games?

• Innovation
• The Mind

Sarah's topic: Capstone Games

• New York Zoo
• Crystal Palace
• Terra Mystica
• Gaia Project
• The Estates
• CloudAge
• Coffee Traders
• Pipeline
• Cooper Island
• Renature 
• Curious Cargo
• Watergate
• Iberian Gauge
• Ticket to Ride

Final thoughts:

• Mr. Cabbagehead's Garden
• Whistle Mountain
• Sleeping Gods
• 7th Continent

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 video game licenses that you've enjoyed or are excited about

• Bloodborne
• Kingdom Rush: Rift in Time
• Bloodborne: The Card Game
• The Witcher
• Civilization
• Civilization: A New Dawn
• X-Com
• This War of Mine
• Level 7: Omega Protocol
• Rampage/Terror in Meeple City
• Exceed
• BattleCON
• Portal
• Mechs vs. Minions
• Railways of the World
• Megaland

Christina's topic: Deckbuilding in games you wouldn't call deckbuilding games

• Dune Imperium
• Lost Ruins of Arnak
• Viscounts of the West Kingdom
• Dominant Species
• Dice Throne
• The Gallerist
• On Mars
• Lisboa
• Great Western Trail
• Newton
• Food Chain Magnate
• Concordia
• Rococo
• CloudAge
• Mombasa
• Blackout Hong Kong
• Paladins of the West Kingdom
• Luxor
• Taverns of Tiefenthal
• Shards of Infinity
• Ascension

Aaron's topic: Can we separate the artist from the work?

• Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar
• Tekhenu: Obelisk of the Sun
• Pax
• Bios
• High Frontier
• Puerto Rico
• Great Western Trail
• Mombasa
• Maracaibo
• Lewis and Clark
• Teotihuacan: City of Gods