It turns out even one of history's greatest satirists wasn't immune to needing to pursue a side hustle. In 1956, as he worked on what would become Cat's Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut also pursued another creative means to make ends meet: namely, designing a board game. But there's a reason you don't see the novelist gracing our best board games list today.
For a year, Vonnegut drafted and pitched his idea for a wargame. However, it ultimately failed to get picked up by publishers. It wasn't until 2013 – years after the game's concept was first conceived – that this little treasure trove was properly unearthed from the archives. NYU Game Center Lecturer Geoff Engelstein drew from Vonnegut's design documents and with the permission of the writer's estate, polished it into a publishable tabletop title. The result is GHQ (or General Headquarters), a simple strategy board game that was very nearly lost to history.
GHQ saw an initial release in November 2024 but this first printing sold out completely. It's only now that a second printing has hit the shelves that I and everyone else who failed to pick up a copy can add it to our collections. For $34.95 at Barnes and Noble, you too can pop this quirky piece of literary history in your cart.
Far from the little plastic humanoid miniatures that I'm used to piloting while playing wargames like Warhammer 40K, GHQ works on a 8x8 grid with bright, bold wooden symbols – echoing the abstract graphic design readers will be used to seeing on the covers of Vonnegut's books. Alongside these minimalist game board components, GHQ includes a 24-page commentary booklet on how the whole project came to fruition: a curious little extra that should give Vonnegut fans and board game nerds alike plenty to mull over.
As fun as it is to simulate the thrill of combat, war is – as Kurt Vonnegut so often spoke to his work – cruel and absurd. In a geopolitical landscape that's dangerous and cartoonish in equal measure, the work of Vonnegut is as relevant as ever. I suppose I'll include his (almost) lost board game among that work too.
If you love storytelling and tabletop games, you'll want to check out our list of the best tabletop rpgs. Looking to scratch your hobby itch on a budget? Our roundup of board game deals is for you.
