Sleeping Gods
COOPERATIVE OPEN-WORLD CAMPAIGN BOARD GAME by RYAN LAUKAT (RED RAVEN GAMES, 2021) — players are captain + crew of the STEAMSHIP MANATEE lost in a strange world. Explore an atlas of hex-based world map, encounter creatures, complete quests, find totems to appease the sleeping gods + return home. Signature: BOOK-STYLE EXPLORATION with a 300+ page atlas + storybook; SAVE-STATE CAMPAIGNS across many sessions. Beautiful hand-painted art. Follows LAUKAT's other book-based games (ABOVE + BELOW, NEAR + FAR).
Quick facts
Category
Board Games
Type
Team sport
Players
1–4
Duration
~90 min
Where played
indoor
Country of origin
🇺🇸 United States
Estimated origin
2021 Ryan Laukat via Kickstarter + Red Raven Games; part of Laukat's book-based cooperative game series
Olympic
No
Popularity
regional
How it works
Objective
Survive, explore the atlas, complete quests, gather 14 totems, defeat the SLEEPING GODS + return home.
Rules
Basic rules
Cooperative: all players are crew of the MANATEE steamship
Coop nature.
Explore hex-map ATLAS by consulting numbered entries in the storybook
Signature book-based exploration.
Every combat, event, quest = look up numbered entry in storybook
Storybook mechanic.
Battles use CARD-DRIVEN skill activation + dice
Battle system.
Save-state campaign — record state between sessions on log sheets
Campaign persistence.
Scoring
Complete campaign objectives; collect 14 totems to appease sleeping gods.
Win condition · Complete campaign narrative + return home.
Equipment
300+ page atlas + storybook
Signature book-based exploration
Character sheets + skill cards + quest cards + totem cards
Full narrative campaign contents
Terminology
- Manatee
- The steamship + player home base.
- Totem
- One of 14 collectible items needed to end the campaign.
- Ryan Laukat
- American designer + illustrator known for painterly art style + book-based games.
Where it is played
Sources & provenance
- Red Raven Games — Sleeping Gods— Red Raven Games
- BoardGameGeek— BGG