Gogol was brought to the world by Gustav Levay in 2002. Legend has it that it was invented in prison, where no pen and paper was allowed!

Gogol @ Essen 2006Photo by Andreas Resch

The name Gogol - which is math speak for a very large number - refers to the explosive branching the game gets from allowing pawns to move anywhere on the board.

There is some interesting commentary on Gogol in Neto's and Silva's book Mathematical Games Abstract Games.

Gogol in the bookPhoto by me

External links:

• Board Game Geek entry
• World of Abstract Games entry
• Board and Pieces entry
• Gogol.nu flash website