Kurt Vonnegut's
GHQ
The Lost Board Game
The Story
Kurt Vonnegut's first novel, Player Piano, was published in 1952. While it was critically well received and reprinted in 1955, it was not a financial success. As he worked on his next novel (which would eventually become Cat's Cradle), he needed to supplement his income with other endeavors.
One of those efforts was an original board game called GHQ (General Headquarters). He designed it throughout 1956 and attempted to sell it to game companies, an effort that was ultimately unsuccessful. His notes on the game were filed away and Vonnegut's GHQ was lost to us.
Board Game designer and educator Geoff Engelstein first learned about this game over ten years ago, while reading a biography of Vonnegut. Since that time he has worked with Indiana University and the Vonnegut family to recover his notes and bring the game to life.
The Game
GHQ is played on an 8x8 checkerboard. Pieces represent forces Vonnegut was familiar with from his service during World War II – foot and mechanized infantry, artillery, paratroopers, and more. You win the game by capturing your opponent’s Headquarters unit.
Each player starts with five pieces on the board, with many more that can be brought on as reinforcements. On your turn you get three actions, which can be spent to move pieces or bring on reinforcements. Since you can freely choose which type of units you bring onto the board, and where they enter, you can tailor your strategy based on the situation, and react to your opponent’s moves.
Pieces do not capture by moving into the same space as an enemy. In fact, you can only move to empty spaces. Instead, infantry capture through maneuver, by applying more force to an enemy, which artillery capture units that remain in squares they are bombarding.
Getting your units to work together reflects real-world combined arms tactics, and will give victory to the player who can put together clever tactical maneuvers.
GHQ comes with 36 wooden pieces, styled after Vonnegut’s drawings, board, rules, and a 24 page historical commentary booklet that explores the game in the context of Kurt Vonnegut’s life and works.
Check out GHQ on Board Game Geek to download the rules, post about strategy and tactics, or ask questions!
Available at Barnes & Noble and the Vonnegut Library and Museum
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