Kurt Vonnegut's Lost Board Game Finally Published

Kurt Vonnegut is widely known for his novel Slaughterhouse-Five, a classic anti-war book that resonated with readers during the Vietnam War era. However, few people know that Vonnegut was also an accomplished game designer. After the lukewarm reception of his first novel, Player Piano, in 1956, Vonnegut struggled to make a living as one of the 16 million World War II veterans. To make ends meet, he created a board game called GHQ, which leveraged his understanding of modern combined arms warfare. The game was played on an eight-by-eight grid and was pitched to publishers by Vonnegut throughout the year. Game designer Geoff Engelstein recently discovered Vonnegut's letters and the original typewritten rules for GHQ in the archives at Indiana University. With the permission of the Vonnegut estate, Engelstein cleaned up the rules, improved the game's endgame, and added art and graphic design. The final product, titled Kurt Vonnegut's GHQ: The Lost Board Game, is now available for purchase at Barnes & Noble. This release comes nearly 70 years after the game was created. Vonnegut's game design skills are a lesser-known aspect of his legacy, but one that is now being recognized and shared with the public.