February 12, 2010: Where Nanuk Came From

Nanuk, our highly social game of bluffing and bidding, went through quite a few iterations before arriving at its final form. Designers Mark Goadrich and Brett Myers share their thoughts on the origins of the game, and recount their journey in their Designers' Notes.

Read how a mathematics course in Louisiana, Thai food in Madison, Wisconsin, moose in Canada, and late nights in Michigan all tied together to make a very fun, very loud game about hunting in the snow fields of the Arctic. Now, at last, you know what you have to do to design great games! It's all here.

(And if you'd like a more visual answer to "What's Nanuk about?" check out the unboxing video, where Will shows off each component, and tells you a little about how game-play works.)

-- Paul Chapman