The OG card-crafting game Mystic Vale is getting a major makeover. Or is it a sequel? Whatever you want to call it, Mystic Lands is taking Vale's original concept of layering clear cards to create powerful combinations and streamling gameplay while beautifying the art. The result is a much better game (from our one play), and now we have to suffer the wait for the November Kickstarter campaign to run and fulfill.

Designer John D Clair and CEO of publisher Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG) John Zinser stopped by our home to play a full game of Mystic Lands with us (Shoe would rather we don't discuss the final scores). Before we would let them out of the house, however, we made both sit down to record this podcast. Clair is working on some autobattler game designs, so that was his topic for us this week.

Timeline

• 1:15 - Going Analog's game pick: Fight 5.
• 3:05 - John D Clair's game pick: Living Forest.
• 5:13 - John Zinser's game pick: Love Letter.
• 7:37 - Mystic Lands and card-crafting.
• 21:38 - John D Clair's topic: The new trend of autobattler board and card games.

Let's try something new! For some reason (spoiler: the reason is laziness), we don't have a guest this week, so Shoe and Christina decided to feature the seasonally appropriate (for the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival) Moon Bunny and then discuss some exciting new push-your-luck dice games that we've been enjoying.

Timeline

• 1:30 - Game pick: Moon Bunny
• 7:12 - Topic: push-your-luck dice games

We've been keeping an eye on the Kinfire series (which includes the cooperative campaign Kinfire Chronicles and tactical card game Kinfire Delve), and we walked away very impressed with our plays of the latest one in the franchise, Kinfire Council, a competitive worker-placement game set in the same world. Publisher Incredible Dream Studios is approaching gaming differently, so we asked CEO and co-founder Jane Hoffacker to discuss the massive amount of work that goes into designing a shared-universe space. And we continued the chat with Jane posing some thoughtful questions about cultural appropriation in gaming.

Timeline:

• 4:08 - Going Analog's game pick: Tea Witches.
• 8:25 - Jane's game pick: Dungeon Mayhem.
• 10:38 - Going Analog's topic: board game universes, the Kinfire series.
• 31:46 - Jane's topic: cultural appropriation in gaming.

Cozy is the new zombie. Or Cthulhu. Seriously -- just keep your eye on those store shelves (especially over the next few months), and you'll likely see so many new board games themed around the art of non-conflict. Maybe you'll be cuddling up with kitties. Or you'll be sitting around, peacefully matching tiles at your own pace. Or you'll be arranging books around your home in ways that please only you, as in our guest's co-designed A Place for All My Books.

Alex Cutler joins the podcast this week to talk about what exactly makes a game "cozy." Plus we lean into his experience as a developer (not just designer) to learn what makes for a good product. Sure, great gameplay is a must -- but what else will make gamers want to make that purchase?

Timeline:

• 3:15 - Going Analog's game pick: Black Forest.
• 6:59 - Alex's game pick: Fishing.
• 10:33 - Going Analog's topic: cozy games.
• 22:12 - Alex's topic: what makes a game a good product.

We love Gen Con so much, we couldn't fit everything into our Games of the Show episode. And Corey Thompson loves Gen Con so much that he became a part-owner of the giant North American gaming convention.

Corey leads Above Board TV, cohosts the Board Games Insider podcast, co-owns Play to Z Games, and...lots more that will just take up way too much space to write all out. So he was the perfect guest to invite on our show to chat about about more Gen Con highlights -- and some of our recent and classic two-player favorites.

Timeline:

• 3:48 - Going Analog's game pick: Panda Spin.
• 7:30 - Corey's game pick: Giberrers.
• 10:57 - Going Analog's topic: final Gen Con thoughts and highlights.
• 29:36 - Corey's topic: great two-player games (classic and new).

We're back from North America's giant gaming convention: Gen Con 2025! Did you miss us? Don't answer and don't worry -- we've got the coverage for ya.

We sit down and talk about SO MANY GAMES -- over 20 of 'em in this episode alone. Which did we like? Which were the best in show for us? Listen to find out!

Timeline:

• 4:21 - 2025 Party Games of Gen Con.
• 13:00 - 2025 Light Games of Gen Con.
• 35:42 - 2025 Medium Games of Gen Con.
• 53:10 - 2025 Heavy Games of Gen Con.

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.

Do you enjoy hosting a handful of people for game night? How about a few hundred? That's what these three tried for the first time about a month ago in Burbank, CA: Dustin Staats, content creator and owner of online and brick-and-mortar retailer BGE Tabletop; George Caceres, owner of board game cafe Game N' Grounds; and Dae, owner of board game store Fire & Dice, came together to put on the very first LFG Con this past June.

We asked Dustin to join us on the podcast to talk about how their convention dreams started and what it took to make them a reality. Plus, Dustin shares how he made the transition from board game content creator to board game retailer. Listen in!

Timeline:

• 3:53 - Going Analog's game pick: Dark Heists.
• 8:58 - Dustin's game pick: Scythe.
• 11:59 - Going Analog's topic: Running a game convention (for the first time).
• 25:47 - Dustin's topic: From content creator to retailer (how I opened my brick & mortar store)

We just finished Halloweeeen! What are your favorite board games for spoopy season? We ask Creepshow: The Suspense-Building Game co-creators Ben Kepner and Dan Stong about what they like to play during this holiday...plus how they feel about designing while working in-house at a publisher compared to working independently.

Timeline:

• 3:45 - Going Analog's game pick: Babylon.
• 9:46 - Ben & Dan's game pick: Rattus.
• 21:19 - Ben & Dan's topic: spooky games.
• 45:40 - Going Analog's topic: indie vs. in-house design work.

Game time! We catch up on a bunch of reviews for new games and expansions -- tune in to find out how much we liked them! And whether Christina ever found her Pringle.

Thanks to the publishers for providing review copies.

Timeline:

New games:

• 1:30 - The Architects of Amytis.
• 6:24 - Medieval Academy.
• 11:41 - Combo.
• 15:55 - Star Trek: Star Realms.

New expansions:

• 21:45 - Evergreen: Pines and Cacti.
• 27:52 - Ancient Knowledge: Heritage.
• 34:44 - Sky Team: Turbulence.
• 40:31 - Rebel Princess: Happily Never After.