Press kit · Meediale

Savvusann

A free 3D browser game about the Võro smoke sauna of southeast Estonia: heat it, steam in it, whisk with birch, cool off in the pond, and learn its words along the way.

Play the gameContact for pressEesti keeles ↓

About the game

In Võromaa, in southeast Estonia, families still heat their saunas the old way: a heap of stones with no chimney, hours of fire, and the stinging fumes let out at the right moment before the first steam. The tradition has been on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage since 2014.

Savvusann lets anyone experience one evening of it in a web browser, in about ten minutes. Players stack the firewood, keep the fire alive while staying low under the smoke, air out the karm, throw the first lõun (steam), whisk with a birch viht in rhythm, and run to the pond. Along the way they learn the words in Võro, Estonian and Finnish, and unlock true stories and customs, each paired with a historic photograph from Estonian museum archives.

Fact sheet

Title
Savvusann (Võro: "smoke sauna")
Creator
Valev Laube, Estonia · valevlaube.com
Released
2026
Platform
Web browser, desktop and mobile; installable, works offline after the first visit
Languages
English, Estonian; words in Võro, Estonian and Finnish
Price
Free, non-commercial; no ads, accounts or tracking
Play time
About 10 minutes per evening, three rounds
Web
savvusann.valevlaube.com
Press
[email protected]

In numbers

39true sauna stories and customs, each with a source
1,500+historic photos from Estonian museums, on a map of Võromaa
3languages for every sauna word: Võro, Estonian, Finnish
12badges, a daily challenge and a word game

Trailer

48 seconds, captured in the game. Download the trailer (MP4) or watch it on YouTube. Full 1080p master on request. Music: the game's soundtrack.

Screenshots

Captured in the game. Click an image for the full-size file, or download all six (ZIP). Free to use in coverage of the game, credit: Savvusann / Valev Laube.

Key features

  • The whole ritual, step by step: building the fire, airing the smoke, the first steam, whisking, the pond.
  • A real-time 3D Võro farmstead at dusk: log sauna, roundpole fence, village swing, farmhouse, animals.
  • Sauna stories drawn from published sources and folklore, each with an archive photograph.
  • An album of 1,500+ museum photos of old smoke saunas and farms, on a map of Võromaa.
  • A soundtrack of kannel, fiddle and flute, and sound that follows the fire, steam and water.

Credits

Concept, design, code and writing: Valev Laube.
Soundtrack made with Suno.
Historic photographs: Estonian museums via the public database MuIS (Estonian National Museum and others), each credited in the game with author, museum and license.
Sources include the University of Tartu, UNESCO, the Estonian Folk Culture Centre, Sõnaveeb (EKI), Ilmar Talve and Tamara Habicht.

The game is an independent work and is not affiliated with UNESCO, the museums or the organizations cited.

Mängust

Võromaal köetakse saunu tänini vanal viisil: korstnata kerise, tundidepikkuse tule ja õigel hetkel välja lastud karmiga. Võromaa suitsusaunatraditsioon on alates 2014. aastast UNESCO vaimse kultuuripärandi nimekirjas.

Savvusann on tasuta 3D-mäng, mis laseb igaühel brauseris umbes kümne minutiga läbi elada ühe saunaõhtu: laduda puud, hoida tuld madalal suitsu all, lasta karm välja, visata esimene leil, vihelda rütmis ja joosta tiiki. Teel õpib mängija saunasõnu võro, eesti ja soome keeles ning avab tõsilugusid ja kombeid, igaüks koos ajaloolise fotoga Eesti muuseumide kogudest.

Põhiandmed

Autor
Valev Laube · valevlaube.com
Platvorm
Veebibrauser, arvutis ja telefonis; töötab ka võrguühenduseta
Keeled
Eesti, inglise; sõnad võro, eesti ja soome keeles
Hind
Tasuta, mitteäriline; reklaamide, kontode ja jälgimiseta
Kontakt
[email protected]