Going Analog

Where video game industry veterans introduce great board games to video gamers

Podcast #40: Gaming in a COVID-19 world + The Crew (guests: Deep Water Games)

How have our board gaming lives (and game publishing itself) changed because of shelter-in-place? Plus, we rave about The Crew!

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

Or listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or RSS Feed.

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