Sure, we may be physically stuck at home, but board games can provide an escape -- do we look to escape into a totally different world or just pretend to travel somewhere else?

We sit down with Foundations of Rome and the Century series designer Emerson Matsuuchi to discuss how we use board gaming to (figuratively) escape quarantine and what his game-designing life looks like now in the time of COVID-19. Plus, sheltering-in-place means more asynchronous digital ports of games -- how do you do them right?

Our topics:

1. Christina (host): What are your top board games that help you escape? (2:55)
2. Emerson (guest): How important is it for a game to have something innovative, whether it's mechanics, components, or a unique theme? (17:34)
3. Nick (contributor): Asynchronous digital games (35:48)
4. Shoe (producer): How does shelter-in-place impact game design work? (50:51)

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

Intro

• Century
• Metal Gear Solid
• Foundations of Rome

Christina's topic: What are your top board games that help you escape?

• Tokaido
• Namiji
• Tales of Arabian Nights
• Hive Mind
• King of Tokyo
• Mansions of Madness
• Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island
• Dead of Winter
• Above & Below
• Near & Far
• Mice & Mystics
• Aftermath
• Forgotten Waters
• Suburbia

Emerson's topic: How important is it for a game to have something innovative?

• The Mind
• Dead Man's Cabal
• In the Hall of the Mountain King
• The Castles of Burgundy
• Lost Cities
• Codenames
• Paladins of the West Kingdom
• Architects of the West Kingdom

Nick's topic: Asynchronous digital games

• The Castles of Burgundy
• Lost Cities
• Carcassonne
• Patchwork
• Ticket to Ride
• Tokaido
• Ascension
• Shards of Infinity
• Lords of Waterdeep
• Kingsburg

Shoe's topic: How does shelter-in-place impact game design work?

• Infiltrator

Final thoughts

• Just One
• Rising Sun

• Podcast