‘ARIDNYK: A mythical journey of folklore legends’: a board game about Mighty Hutsul spirits raised $130,000 on Kickstarter to be released in English

The international fundraising for the English-language edition of the board game “Aridnyk” achieved its goal on the Kickstarter platform.

“Hello! We are boardova — real connoisseurs of board games from Lviv, Ukraine who have united to publish original strategic board games. Previously, our team wrote fantasy, developed computer games and translated games, comics and TV series. We are now integrating all this experience into our board games,” reads the description on the Kickstarter platform.

“$130,000 is 1300% of our initial goal. We can now confirm that the Ukrainian game will be launched in English, and later in other languages,” a representative of the studio said. Altogether, they successfully raised the equivalent of UAH 5,323,500 to publish the game.

The original tile placement game for 1-4 players is based on the comic book about Ukrainian mythology set amidst the magestic Carpathians, by UA Comix Publishing.

“Do you know who Aridnyk is? He is the forefather of the Carpathians, the supreme spirit of the Otherworld, the lord of the meadow spirits, one of the main characters of Hutsul legends. We’re going to reimagine one of these legends through our comic book. The story is based on the tales collected by Volodymyr Shukhevych in his ethnographic collection ‘Hutsulshchyna.’ Both well-known figures from Ukrainian mythology and previously unknown heroes will go on the journey with us,” the annotation to the comic reads.

Aridnyk predates the world itself and, according to legends, helped God create Heaven and Earth. The game’s lead developer and writer Volodymyr Kuznetsov drew on this story, as well as most of the game’s characters, from a comic book of the same name created in collaboration with UA Comix. Other sources of inspiration include Shukhevych’s ethnographic work, the most comprehensive publication on the customs and beliefs of the Hutsuls.

“When you start the game and dive into the story, you discover how creative our Hutsul ancestors were,” Kuznetsov said. “The game features traditional clothing, aspects of daily life, and expressions in the local dialect, which was challenging to translate into English. All of this enriches the gameplay. Along the way, you’ll compete with other players for flocks of sheep, encounter Carpathian spirits, and carry out the tasks they give you.”

The Ukrainian release of “Aridnyk” dates back to January 2024. The illustrations were created by artist Lyudmyla Samus. The first edition was sold out in less than a year, which prompted the team of authors to launch an international campaign.

The English-language edition retains all the elements that were in the original version. Those who backed the project on Kickstarter will receive a box with 45 game board tiles, 104 cards, wooden figures of spirits and shepherds, sheep tokens, and rules for competitive, cooperative, and solo modes.

“I find it moving that many of the people who supported us are of Ukrainian origin. They texted that they were waiting for the game to play with their families and share their heritage. There are no fewer people who have never heard that Ukraine has its own mythology. For them, ‘Aridnyk’ is the first attempt to get to know our culture. It turns out that the game is our little cultural diplomacy,” said Zholud Dobrovolsky, head of the boardova studio.

The creators of the game have received more than 1,500 orders from different countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Japan, and others. They plan to translate the game into other languages.

As reported earlier, in 2023, Kickstarter launched an international fundraising campaign for the publication of “Unconquered. The Big Book Of Bravery,” which managed to raise almost three times the original goal. In 2024, the American charity organization Razom for Ukraine announced a fundraising campaign to complete the translation of “Mondegreen: Songs about Death and Love” by Volodymyr Rafeyenko.

Images: boardova.com

Copy editing: Ben Angel, Joy Tataryn