In the midst of COVID-19, many folks are turning to board games as they shelter in place. Even actor Daniel Radcliffe has been gaming! He told The New York Times about the flip-and-write game Welcome to...: "I can't describe it without making it sound intensely dull, but it's very addictive." That's Harry Potter, folks. Board games have hit the big time!

We learn how Michigan-based Deep Water Games signed that smash hit as we sit down -- way over six feet away -- with CEO Nolan Nasser and COO Jacob Way. How has the board gaming community lifted us up during these literally isolating times, and how has Deep Water as a publisher creatively responded to the new shelter-in-place world order?

(One major goal of the company has been to continue supporting the board game community as a whole -- and that doesn't just mean the players. For every sale made directly through the Deep Water Games Shop, Deep Water will give your favorite local game store a 25% cut if you provide the store's contact information in the order notes.)

Plus: How exactly are we board gaming these days, and what are we playing? And we all jump on the hype train for Kosmos's new cooperative trick-taking game, The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine. We've already played it over 50 times and aren't even close to getting tired of it. Does that tell you anything?

(Full disclosure: We first played The Crew at Dice Tower Con West. Kosmos later sent us a copy for further evaluation.)

Our topics:

1. Jacob (guest): Why community is so important in board games, especially right now
2. Christina (host): What does your personal board gaming life look like during social/physical distancing?
3. Nolan (guest): How is COVID-19 impacting the business for game publishers?
4. Shoe (producer): The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine

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Here's a full list of games discussed on the show:

Intro

• Hanamikoji
• Realm of Sand
• Welcome to...
• Fantastic Factories
• Spirit Island
• New Bedford
• Fleet: The Dice Game
• The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine

Jacob's topic: Importance of community during COVID-19

• Monstrosity
• Diplomacy
• Gloomhaven

Christina's topic: What do our board gaming lives look like during shelter-in-place?

• Ascension
• Shards of Infinity
• Patchwork
• Tang Garden
• Sagrada
• Ganz Schon Clever/That's So Clever
• Doppelt So Clever/Twice as Clever
• Chronicles of Crime
• Aftermath
• Clank! Legacy
• Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Glaaxy
• Hive Mind
• Codenames
• Wavelength
• Time's Up
• Time's Up: Title Recall
• Monikers

Nolan's topic: How has COVID-19 affected Deep Water as a company?

• Floor Plan
• Jixia Academic

Shoe's topic: The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine

• Claim

Final thoughts

• Welcome to New Las Vegas

• Podcast