Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment to become a board game

Fyodor Dostoevsky’s famous novel Crime and Punishment is set to become a board game.

The board will mirror the centre of St Petersurg that Dostoevsky is famous for describing with such accuracy and detail, while players will take on characters from the book. The game involves questions about the plot of the novel and Dostoevsky himself, bringing an educational element to the board game. This aspect is especially significant given that 2015 has been declared “Year of Literature” in Russia. According to President Vladimir Putin, this move aims to “remind everyone of [literature’s] exclusive significance and special mission”.

The initial idea for the game came about during another literary celebration, the annual Dostoevsky Day in St Petersburg.

“It all began on Dostoevsky Day, when I saw the interest, how many people came to the readings. To start with we wanted to use several works, but we just chose one in the end,” said the project organiser, Yulia Kumaneva.

The game will be available to buy for around 1,000 rubles (US$17), but is still in development.

“We will raise funds for the project on the Boomstarter platform [a crowdfunding website],” continued Kumaneva. “We plan to collaborate with bookstores and toy stores. We are trying to make the game interesting for both children and adults and we hope that the game will be popular outside St Petersburg too.”