BRAVER cards have an explorer theme to inspire players that tackling something new takes bravery, but comes with great reward. We were inspired by the incredible women and men who broke boundaries seeking knowledge and new experiences far from their homes, including:

Nellie Bly
Born Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman, Bly was an investigative journalist who wrote about the immigrant experience, the treatment of those with mental illness, and women’s suffrage. In 1889, she broke the world record for traveling around the world in just 72 days going by train, steamship, rickshaw, horse, and donkey.

Pictured: Bly and one of the ships she took, the RMS Oceanic.

Matthew Henson
A skilled craftsman and experienced seaman, Henson took seven trips to the Artic and explored the world for over 20 years. In 1909, he accompanied explorer Robert Peary to the North Pole and is believed to be the first person recorded to have set foot at the top of the world.

Pictured: Henson and the SS Roosevelt ship he took to the North Pole

Jeanne Baret
Born in France, Baret is known for being the first woman to circumnavigate the globe—although she had to do it disguised as a man. Women were not allowed to join the Navy but she was a naturalist and wanted to study other regions’ plants, so she dressed like a man and became Jean Baret to join Admiral Louis-Antoine de Bougainville on his trip around the world from 1766 to 1769.

Pictured: Baret and the ship she sailed on around the world, the Étoile

Tupaia
A Polynesian navigator, Tupaia accompanied Captain James Cook on his exploration of the South Seas. While the area was new to Cook and other Europeans, the locals had long been exploring the region. In fact, Tupaia drew a chart of the islands for Cook by memory that reached out 2,000 miles from his own island and included 130 others.

Pictured: a modern Hawaiian voyaging canoe