When Stephanie Alsbrooks-Hanson and Justin McClintick decided to merge their software company, defi SOLUTIONS, with Sagent Auto, they soon found themselves without work. Though different from their most recent experience, that led the pair to create a playing card game during their downtime: Stuhoundious.

Created for dog lovers and game enthusiasts alike, the premise of Stuhoundious is that seven dogs (modeled after the creators’ blended family of seven) have moved away, and one by one, it’s your job to reunite them.

Each of the seven dogs has an associated action cards that represent the person. Some of the cards include Graham, the Lab who affectionately “loves” on the neighbor by humping his leg; Sadie, the Corgie who plays tug-o-war to win; and Milo, the mutt who always tends to wander off.

There’s even a cat, Cece, who dresses as a dog to try and score a treat.

A deck boasts a total of 20 action cards that allow players to be skipped, stolen from, or forced to discard and pick up more. For instance, ‘Sir Charles Stole a Cookie!’ allows you to take a random card from another player, and ‘Claud is Lazy!’ allows you to skip a turn. 

Since the idea originated, Stuhoundious has surpassed its initial Kickstarter goal of $2,000 and added stretch goals, which include special bonuses like alternative play rules and special bonus cards. The creators made an easy-to-follow one-minute video that effectively sums up the rules. 

Stuhoundious said the most popular reward level has so far been a standard deck, but 20 percent of Kickstarter supporters have chosen to buy for themselves and a friend and more than 20 percent want their own dog added to the game. Once the Kickstarter ends this week, an illustrator will collect submitted pictures of backers’ pups and integrate them into the game.

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