Nanuk

About this board game

Nanuk is a fast-playing bidding and bluffing game for 5–8 players, with hunts that take about 45 minutes to play.

Winter is coming, and every hunter has something to prove. Players bid on two things: how long they can stay on the trail and how much they can bring home. Each boast must exceed the previous one, until a hunter refuses to raise the bid and declares, “You’re doomed!”

Once the bidding ends, the hunt begins. The hunt leader must try to fulfill the boast, while every player secretly decides whether to help the hunt succeed or let it fail. The result depends on both the leader’s claim and the hidden choices made around the table.

• Escalating bids: Raise the promised length and haul until someone calls doom.
• Secret decisions: Choose whether to support the hunt or allow it to fail.
• Changing fortunes: Nanuk can end any hunt in failure, while an inuksuk offers protection once.

Beware Nanuk, the great polar bear, whose appearance can ruin even the boldest expedition. If the hunt succeeds, the hunters share the animals collected. If it fails, the doomers score instead.

With its social bidding, bluffing, and shifting alliances, Nanuk turns every boast into a risky challenge. Will the hunt leader make good on the promise, or will the doomers prove right?