House Savage is a nerdy husband-and-wife operation created for one simple reason: we wanted our non-gamer friends to actually show up to game night. And maybe even have fun.

Our first prototype was complicated, strategic, and painfully serious. It was immediately demolished by our friend Brad, a professional poker player, who crushed us so thoroughly that we were forced to rethink every life choice we’d ever made.

So we rebuilt the game into what it is today: Become the 5th, a chaotic mess of bad decisions, surprise betrayals, and laughing at your own terrible luck. It’s fast, ridiculous, and intentionally designed so even people who “don’t like board games” accidentally enjoy themselves.

So far, House Savage has released exactly one game and won exactly zero awards. But we’ve created a lot of laughter, a few rivalries, and at least one ongoing grudge. We consider that a strong start.