The Way of the Bear

About this board game

The Way of the Bear is a 2–4 player board game released in 2018, with games lasting about 35 minutes. Set in Northeast Asia before the age of humans, it follows four bear clans competing to determine who will provide the next heir to the throne.

The king’s princes travel from town to town on a journey to acquire the qualifications needed to succeed. Along the way, they build sacred bear statues and gain knowledge connected with religion, education, military affairs, and commerce.

Its central play sequence is built around collecting and fulfilling requirements:

• Place bear steles to acquire a knowledge token.
• Pay the equivalent number and color of tokens to the temples.
• Complete the required collection of tokens to bring the game to an end.

Knowledge tokens are important both for what they represent and for how they must be matched. Players need to pay temples using the required number and color, making the acquisition and use of tokens the key focus of the journey.

The game’s setting combines a royal succession story with the traditions of four bear clans. Each prince seeks the learning and accomplishments that will establish their claim, while the journey unfolds through towns, temples, and sacred statues.

With its straightforward progression from placing steles to gaining knowledge and meeting temple requirements, The Way of the Bear presents a focused contest over who will succeed to the throne. When a player completes the collection of tokens, the new journey reaches its conclusion and the heir is decided.