In the early summer of 2015 I came up with a board game idea and began sketching. The kernel of the idea was simple: using tiles on a board, you create a cave tunnel in search of gems.

I knew I wanted to 3D print the pieces needed, and that the game should be based around a hexagonal grid like many table-top strategy games. However, this would not be an overly complicated game. No power-ups, no cards, no keeping track of statistics. I objected to the idea that this game be a user interface over a spreadsheet. It should be as simple to play as Scrabble, but be about beating your opponents to gems. The total gem count at the end of the game would decide the winner.

So I came up with the idea of spelunking. The exploration of caves. And a name was born:

Spelunk: (v) to explore caves, especially as a hobby. From the latin “spelunca” – a cave.

This will be a series of postings regarding the creation, testing and evolution of my board game.