Whale Hunting and City Building: New Bedford Has Its Own Board Game

Did you know that New Bedford is the subject of a board game?

No, it’s not one of those “city editions” of Monopoly. “New Bedford” is a strategic board game created in 2015 by Nat Levan, inspired by Herman Melville’s novel Moby-Dick but taking the player beyond the book and into the world of the Whaling City of that era.

“New Bedford gives you the chance to build the Massachusetts town of the same name into a thriving whaling community,” according to the game description.

“Gather resources to add buildings with new actions and launch ships to go whaling. Go out longest for the best choice, but wait too long and the whales become harder to catch," according to the description. "And don't forget to pay your crew when ships return! Carefully balance time management and timing to earn the most points in this medium-weight worker placement and resource management game.”

How to Play: Key Mechanics

The game is for one to four players and consists of 12 rounds. It involves taking goods such as food, wood and brick, selling goods, building buildings, docking ships and launching ships. Then once at sea, the ships hunt down sperm whales. All of these activities earn points, and at the end of the 12 rounds, the player with the highest point total wins.

Get our free mobile app

Game Length & Rating

The game, designed for ages 10 and up, takes about five to 10 minutes to learn, and then about 25 minutes per player to complete. BoardGameGeek.com ranked it a 7.0 out of 10

It was the first game Levan ever created; he later added an expansion pack and a “microgame adaptation” of New Bedford called Nantucket. New Bedford was published by Dice Hate Me Games, which is now a part of Greater Than Games, and although the company suffered a major blow earlier this year due to tariffs, the game can still be found for purchase online.