Best Analog Asia Podcasts (2025)

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159: Board game universes, cultural appropriation (guest: Jane Hoffacker, Incredible Dream) 47:44

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5d ago47:44

47:44

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 appr…

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Claudio Faccenna on the Dynamics of Subduction Zones 35:03

13d ago35:03

35:03

Subduction zones can be very long-lived, persisting for tens of even hundreds of millions of years. During that time they rarely stay still, but instead retreat, advance, move laterally, or reverse direction. In the podcast, Claudio Faccenna discusses the processes that govern these movements. It turns out that they depend not only on the propertie…

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158: Cozy games, what makes a game a good product (guest: Alex Cutler) 50:06

19d ago50:06

50:06

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 arrangi…

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157: Great 2-player games, final thoughts on Gen Con (guest: Corey Thompson) 55:27

1M ago55:27

55:27

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 …

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Cees Van Staal on the Origin of the Appalachians 25:07

1M ago25:07

25:07

In the podcast, Cees Van Staal tells us about the Paleozoic tectonic events that led to the formation of the Appalachians. The events are closely related to those involved in the Caledonian orogeny and the mountains it created in what is now Ireland, Scotland, east Greenland, and Norway, as discussed in the episode with Rob Strachan. However, the A…

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156: The 2025 Gen Con Games of the Show 1:02:43

2M ago1:02:43

1:02:43

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 C…

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155: Games from Asia, great 5/6-player games (guest: Cardboard East) 1:04:50

2M ago1:04:50

1:04:50

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 specia…

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Andreas Fichtner on the Frontiers of Seismic Imaging 28:41

2M ago28:41

28:41

In previous episodes of Geology Bites, Barbara Romanowicz gave an introduction to seismic tomography and Ana Fereira talked about using seismic anisotropy to reveal flows within the mantle. In this episode, Andreas Fichtner explains how, despite the many fiendish obstacles that stand in our way, we are making steady improvements in our ability to i…

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154: Running a first-time game con, going from content creator to retailer (guest: LFG Con) 38:01

3M ago38:01

38:01

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 sto…

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144: Spooky games, indie vs. in-house design work (guests: designers Ben Kepner, Dan Stong) 57:59

3M ago57:59

57:59

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 An…

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Renée Tamblyn on the Origin of Continents 25:53

3M ago25:53

25:53

When the Earth formed, it was covered by a hot magma ocean. So when and how did thick, silica-rich continental lithosphere form? Were the first, ancient continents similar to the present-day continents? And did the continents form in a burst of activity at a certain point, or was it a gradual build-up over Earth history? In the podcast, Renée Tambl…

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153: Reviews! New games! Expansions! 48:23

3M ago48:23

48:23

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…

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152: The 2025 American Tabletop Awards (guest: What's Eric Playing?) 57:09

4M ago57:09

57:09

The 2025 American Tabletop Awards were just announced! (Whispers offstage inform us that they were announced back in April....) Well, we're now ready to talk about them after our extended break. With ATTA cofounder and content creator Eric Yurko of What's Eric Playing?, we react to the recently crowned finalists and winners -- and tell you how we e…

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Folarin Kolawole on Continental Rifting 29:44

4M ago29:44

29:44

From East Africa to southwest USA, many regions of the Earth’s continental lithosphere are rifting. We see evidence of past rifting along the passive margins of continents that were once contiguous but are now separated by wide oceans. How does something as apparently solid and durable as a continent break apart? In the podcast, Folarin Kolawole de…

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151: We're back! Tariffs, designing science games (guest: Dominic Crapuchettes) 42:58

4M ago42:58

42:58

We're back! Again! Tune in to hear all our excuses about why we haven't been podcasting recently, then stay to hear our guest, fabulous designer (Evolution, Wits & Wagers, Oceans) and North Star Games founder Dominic Crapuchettes! We talk about the upcoming Evolution sequel Nature, tariffs (gah), and Dominic's process when designing a science-based…

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Mike Hudec on Salt Tectonics 24:50

5M ago24:50

24:50

Most of Earth’s salt is dissolved in the oceans. But there is also a significant amount of solid salt among continental rocks. And because of their mechanical properties, salt formations can have a dramatic effect on the structure and evolution of the rocks that surround them. This gives rise to what we call salt tectonics – at first sight, a rathe…

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Vic Baker on Megafloods 32:57

6M ago32:57

32:57

Megafloods are cataclysmic floods that are qualitatively different from weather-related floods. In the podcast, Vic Baker explains our ideas as to what causes megafloods and describes the striking evidence for such floods in the Channeled Scablands of Washington State and in the Mediterranean.Vic Baker has been studying megafloods for over 50 years…

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Lindy Elkins-Tanton on the Origin of Earth's Water 20:30

6M ago20:30

20:30

The planets formed out of a cloud of gas and dust around the nascent Sun. Within the so-called snow line, it was too hot for liquid water to exist. Since the Earth lies well within this line, why does it have water? Did it somehow manage to retain water from the outset or did it acquire its water later? In the podcast, Lindy Elkins-Tanton explains …

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150: The TOP 10 games of all time! 1:07:53

6M ago1:07:53

1:07:53

Imagine the longest, most suspenseful drumroll ever....... Sorry we've been MIA, but real life has been unforgiving and busy. Luckily, we're making it up to you by commemorating our 150th episode with our TOP 10 GAMES OF ALL TIME! We invite Ultimate Beige Gamer and Going Analog Editor Mike Zipkin to join us to share our individual top 10 lists. Who…

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Joeri Witteveen on Golden Spikes 25:21

7M ago25:21

25:21

Golden spikes are not golden, nor are they generally spikes. So what are they, and, more importantly, what exactly do they represent? In the podcast, Joeri Witteveen explains how we arrived at our present system of defining the boundaries of stages in the rock record with a single marker. Paradoxically, it turns out that the best place for a golden…

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Isabel Montañez on Using the Late Paleozoic Ice Age as an Analog for Present Day Climate 29:46

7M ago29:46

29:46

The late Paleozoic ice age began in the Late Devonian and ended in the Late Permian, occurring from 360 to 255 million years ago. It was similar to the present day in two key respects: rising atmospheric CO2 and recurrent major ice sheets. In the podcast, Isabel Montañez explains how we can use proxies to learn about the climate and ocean condition…

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Sabay Dara The Multi - Enterprenuer 1:03:18

7M ago1:03:18

1:03:18

Sabay Dara - The Multi- Entrepreneur Growing up in France and the hunger to know more about its roots (Khmer) . Stay tune for the exclusives Full episode out now: https://www.youtube.com/@openmind.podcast Open Mind Podcast “Exploring Cambodia with open minds and open conversations.”By Analog Asia

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Vin Vitou - B-Boy dancer to a top rapper 1:18:09

7M ago1:18:09

1:18:09

Vin Vitou- B-Boy Dancer to a top Rapper A tale of persistence! Watch Vin Vitou a Cambodian 🇰🇭 music artist open up on life behind the scenes. Full episode out now: https://www.youtube.com/@openmind.podcast Open Mind Podcast “Exploring Cambodia with open minds and open conversations.”By Analog Asia

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149: Film influence and playfulness in game design (guest: Phil Walker-Harding) 48:03

7M ago48:03

48:03

Did someone say Phil Walker-Harding? Praise be! The prolific designer (Sushi Go!, Barenpark, Imhotep, Gizmos, Adventure Games, and so many more!) joins Christina and Shoe to talk about how his film background has surprisingly influenced his design process. Plus, Phil's been noticing the "playfulness" inherent in some games recently. Why is he excit…

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Ruth Siddall on Urban Geology 33:53

7M ago33:53

33:53

At first sight, urban geology sounds like an oxymoron. How can you do geology with no rocky outcrops anywhere in sight within the built-up environments of cities? It turns out you can do a great deal of geology, and Ruth Siddall has been doing just that for the past 10 years. In the podcast, she describes some of the many aspects of geology, from p…

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Roxy - Fearless Flow 55:27

8M ago55:27

55:27

Roxy - Fearless Flow, Queen of Rap! I was ready for it, says Roxy. Saw the opportunity and took it 💖 #OpenmindPodcast #RoxyQueen" 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 “𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀” 🎙️ Hosted by Adu Sam Jnr and Priscilla Kim Ong “Sela” សិលា 💥 Powered by Analog Asia Open Mind Podcast “Exploring Cambodia with open minds and …

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148: What's hot for 2025? Plus: The state of board game social media (guest: Grant Lyon) 56:15

8M ago56:15

56:15

We just wrapped up last year with our 2024 Games of the Year episode, so naturally, it's time to move on with our lives and think about what gets us all excited about 2025. What are we looking forward to playing? What have we previewed previously and are now eagerly awaiting the retail release? What's the buzz we're hearing from others in the biz? …

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147: The 2024 Games of the Year episode (guest: Beneeta Kaur) 1:01:36

9M ago1:01:36

1:01:36

We did it, folks! We recorded our 2024 Games of the Year episode before the end of the year! (We didn't say anything about releasing it before the end of the year, though.) Joining us just under the wire is content creator and Twitch streamer Beneeta Kaur who contributed her own picks. We actually played a good number of games in-person with Beneet…

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Izame Siva - Blending contents through music 1:04:19

9M ago1:04:19

1:04:19

In a vibrant blend of cultures, this England-born Nigerian musician embarks on a transformative journey to Cambodia, driven by a passion for music and the dream of sharing his sound with the world. Navigating challenges and embracing new experiences, he explores the rich musical heritage of Southeast Asia while weaving his own unique narrative. Thr…

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Richard Fortey on Deep Time 29:48

9M ago29:48

29:48

The Earth is about 4.5 billion years old. How can we begin to grasp what this vast period of time really means, given that it is so far beyond the time scale of a human life, indeed of human civilization? Richard Fortey has devoted his long and prolific research career at the Natural History Museum in London to the study of fossils, especially the …

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Mike Searle on the Mountain Ranges of Central Asia 34:31

9M ago34:31

34:31

The Himalaya are just one, albeit the longest and highest, of several mountain ranges between India and Central Asia. By world standards, these are massive ranges with some of the highest peaks on the planet. The Karakoram boasts four of the world’s fourteen 8,000-meter peaks, and the Hindu Kush, the Pamir, the Kunlun Shan, and the Tien Shan each h…

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146: Reviewed! 2 big-box games, 2 small-box games (and 2 in-between) 46:06

10M ago46:06

46:06

How is it almost the end of 2024?! Christina and Shoe sneak in some more recent games and tell you about them. Timeline: 1:02 - Small-box games: Bottle Imp, Codex Naturalis. 14:10 - Medium-box games: Looot, In the Footsteps of Marie Curie. 26:30 - Big-box games: Rallyman: Dirt, Creature Caravan.

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Rob Strachan on the Caledonian Orogeny 39:26

10M ago39:26

39:26

The Caledonian orogeny is one of the most recent extinct mountain-building events. It took place in several phases during the three-way collision of continental blocks called Laurentia, Baltica, and Avalonia during the early stages of the assembly of the supercontinent Pangea. In the process, Himalayan-scale mountains were formed. While these mount…

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145: The games we loved at BGG.CON 47:08

10M ago47:08

47:08

BoardGameGeek's BGG.CON is always a good time: just days and days of straight gaming (with some delicious Texas BBQ sprinkled in throughout). So what did we play? And what stuck out to us? Christina and Shoe talk through the games, the show, and more in their big post-BGG.CON update. Timeline: 2:41 - SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. …

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Joe MacGregor on Mapping the Geology of Greenland Below the Ice 31:10

11M ago31:10

31:10

With most of Greenland buried by kilometers of ice, obtaining direct information about its geology is challenging. But we can learn a lot from measurements of the island’s geophysical properties — seismic, gravity, magnetic from airborne and satellite surveys and from its topography, which we can see relatively well through the ice using radar. In …

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Adam Simon on Battery Metals 34:14

11M ago34:14

34:14

As we wean ourselves away from fossil fuels and ramp up our reliance on alternatives, batteries become ever more important for two main reasons. First, we need grid-scale batteries to store excess electricity from time-varying sources such as wind and solar. Second, we use them to power electric vehicles, which we are now producing at the rate of a…

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143: The best area-control games, the latest from Reiner Knizia (guest: Bitewing Games) 1:11:26

12M ago1:11:26

1:11:26

Publisher Bitewing Games has a thing for designer Reiner Knizia (most recently with Zoo Vadis and the Mythos Collection's Illiad and Ichor). Now they're back at it with a new three-part, big-box, Knizia-palooza Kickstarter campaign. We had the opportunity to play one of those parts, SILOS (Secret Interlopers from Outer Space), a retro sci-fi (with …

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142: Let's party (game)! 50:46

12M ago50:46

50:46

Tired of hoarding resources, majority-ing areas, and adding up victory points? Want to make your frenemy continuously act like they're milking a cow instead? Then let's talk party games! Shoe and Christina run through a bunch of new big-group activities to help you with your next big game night. This episode was sponsored by Magic Mind, our favorit…

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Rufus Catchings on Pinning Down California's Faults 33:33

1y ago33:33

33:33

Knowing exactly where faults are located is important both for scientific reasons and for assessing how much damage a fault could inflict if it ruptured and caused an earthquake. In the podcast, Rufus Catchings describes how we can use natural and artificial sources of seismic waves to create high-resolution images of fault profiles. He also explai…

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141: Good/bad second-edition board games, designing from theme up (guest: designer Ben Rosset) 54:56

1y ago54:56

54:56

We were thrilled to meet Ben Rosset, co-designer of our favorite deduction games The Search for Planet X and The Search for Lost Species (as well as the classic Between Two Cities), at Gen Con 2024. Find out why that first meeting was ridiculous (in our eyes), what's Ben's creative process on his deeply thematic designs, and how we feel about the v…

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Sok Visal - The “OG” of Cambodian Hip Hop 59:01

1y ago59:01

59:01

The pioneers of Cambodian hip hop paved the way, laying the groundwork for the vibrant scene today. Their gritty, raw sound and creative ideas inspired a new generation of Khmer artists to find their voice through the power of hip hop. Open Mind Podcast “Exploring Cambodia with open minds and open conversations” Hosts Adu Sam Jnr “Sam” Priscilla Ki…

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140: Fancy components, how games delight and surprise us (guest: designer Chris Matthew) 1:00:48

1y ago1:00:48

1:00:48

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 …

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Sara Seager on Exoplanet Geology 34:33

1y ago34:33

34:33

During the past couple of decades, we have discovered that stars with planetary systems are not rare, exceptional cases, as we once assumed, but actually quite commonplace. However, because exoplanets are like fireflies next to blinding searchlights, they are incredibly difficult to study. Yet, as Sara Seager explains, we are making astonishing pro…

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139: The 2024 Gen Con Games of the Show (guest: Amanda Panda) 34:51

1y ago34:51

34:51

Last episode, we gave a quick recap of North America's largest board game convention, Gen Con 2024. But what everyone really wants to know is, what was best in show? We did our due diligence, played as many games as we could during and after the con (we know -- our lives are so hard), and are ready to report back. Plus, we tapped Twitch streamer Am…

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Evan Smith on Diamonds from the Deep Mantle 34:36

1y ago34:36

34:36

We have only a tantalizingly small number of sources of information about the Earth’s deep mantle. One of these comes from the rare diamonds that form at depths of about 650 km and make their way up to the base of the lithosphere, and then later to the surface via rare volcanic eruptions of kimberlite magma. In the podcast, Evan Smith talks about a…

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Dr. Rathviriya - Elevating beauty throughout a new generation 1:26:21

1y ago1:26:21

1:26:21

Dr. Rathviriya’s bold, innovative approach that challenges traditional notions of beauty, capturing the fresh perspectives of a rising generation of art and visionaries.By Analog Asia

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138: Gen Con 2024! Our thoughts on the big show and 5 of the games we loved 48:26

1y ago48:26

48:26

We're back from Gen Con! North America's largest tabletop gaming convention is now behind us, but our coverage is just beginning. In this episode, we share our stories from the massive show, plus a few impressions of our favorite games that we got to play. Stay tuned for lots, lots more. And make sure to check out Magic Mind, the "Mental Performanc…

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Roberta Rudnick on the Continental Crustal Composition Paradox 27:53

1y ago27:53

27:53

Continental crust is derived from magmas that come from the mantle. So, naively, one might expect it to mirror the composition of the mantle. But our measurements indicate that it does not. Continental crust contains significantly more silica and less magnesium and iron than the mantle. How can we be sure this discrepancy is real, and what do we th…

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137: Prepping for Gen Con, our thoughts on some new board games (guest: Ruel Gaviola) 1:10:37

1y ago1:10:37

1:10:37

It's almost time for North America's largest board game convention, Gen Con! We've been frantically trying to cram in all the hot new games on our shelf of shame/opportunity before we discover...even more hot new games at the big show. We ask the busy Ruel Gaviola (board gaming showrunner, producer, podcaster, and host of several YouTube and Twitch…

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Alex Copley on Soft Continents 32:04

1y ago32:04

32:04

We tend to think of continental tectonic plates as rigid caps that float on the asthenospheric mantle, much like oceanic plates. But while some continental regions have the most rigid rocks on the planet, wide swathes of the continents are not rigid at all. In the podcast, Alex Copley explains how this differentiation comes about and points to evid…