The Lone Wolf board game

Description

The Lone Wolf is a handmade educational board game that introduces players to boreal forest biodiversity, the ecological role of wolves, and the challenges of human–wildlife coexistence. Designed for ages 10 and up—but enjoyable for anyone interested in nature—it is grounded in scientific research and created by University of Oulu biology researchers Dominika Bujnáková and Ekaterina Karabanina, with artwork by children’s book illustrator Anna Pankratova.

Each game is unique and carefully handcrafted. The wooden wolf figures are hand-painted with acrylics and finished with child-safe lacquer. The game includes a fabric game field, various tokens, hand-sewn fabric bags from recycled materials, and professionally printed cards and rulebooks. The game is fully bilingual (Finnish–English).

The game was originally produced for a scientific study examining whether gameplay can improve understanding of wolves. A total of 18 game copies were made and played by schoolchildren in 14 schools across Finland during 2024–2025. These same 18 game copies, all in great condition, are now donated to Luonnonperintösäätiö.

The price of the game is €60. If you wish, you can pay a higher amount – every additional euro helps protect wolf habitats and protect Finland’s valuable forests. Proceeds from the sales will be allocated to the Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation’s Wolf Forest Campaign.

Game elements: 

1 Game field, dimensions: A2 (42 x 59 cm)

2 Game booklets (Finnish and English)

2 Rules cards (Finnish and English)

2×15 Cards (Finnish and English)

30 Card tokens

12 Round skill tokens

6 Wolf figures

1 Dice

For those who prefer to build their own version, all game materials are freely available here: https://wildlifegenomics.wordpress.com/print-your-own-game/.