Board games = cardboard. It's in the name of the material itself! But...what about An Age Contrived, a new Euro-style, action-programming strategy game designed by Chris Matthew of indie publisher Bellows Intent? It has magnetic bits, chunky Azul-style tiles, and in the Founder's and Collector's Editions, the player boards are set into solid metal frames. What? And you can shoot those tiles out with a spring/lever mechanism. Whaaaat?

We had to bring Chris on to ask how he balanced the component "wow" factor with manufacturing affordability -- and as a big gamer himself, Chris wanted to talk about how games have surprised and delighted us. We were delighted to chat with him, so give us a listen!

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Timeline:

• 4:05 - Going Analog's game pick: Open Season.
• 9:40 - Chris's game pick: Revive.
• 16:36 - Going Analog's topic: An Age Contrived, balancing cool components with high costs.
• 41:20 - Chris's topic: how games can surprise and delight us.

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