The game is designed to entertain, as well as educate people on some of the unknowns or not so well known aspects of the election.
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The game is designed to entertain, as well as educate people on some of the unknowns or not so well known aspects of the election.
About this project
“Political Domination”
Let the Power Struggle Begin!
“Bad politicians are sent to Washington by good people who don't vote”
- William E. Simon
“Political Domination” is a role-playing board game about the election in the USA or any other country having the same election system.
We invite you to participate in the development of our new board game “Political Domination”, which is dedicated to the presidential elections in the made up country, this version resembles the United States. The game is designed to entertain, as well as educate people on some of the unknowns or not so well known aspects of the election. Many voters are unaware of several important parts of the election, especially what goes on behind the scenes, and that is what we are concentrating our attention on.
This project is being developed by Treatstock, and the game pieces were created with the help of 3D designer Tomislav Veg. Initially, we were not anticipating spending the amount of time that we have put forth to this day, but things seem to always take longer than expected. The more we learned about the various nuances of political games, the more we wanted to create our own, making it as detailed and appealing as possible.
We are very excited about this project, it has taken a lot of time, but the uncertainty still lingers if it will be interesting to others. Will it be worth the effort spent on creating it, or will people not notice its existence and all of our efforts will have been for nothing? To find this out, we decided to start a crowdfunding page here on kickstarter. If you are interested, and we collect enough funds, we can take the necessary amount of time needed and will be able to hire an artist to develop the design. In addition to your financial support, you will be able to make your own suggestions for the game’s development (we will tell you more about it after explaining the rules).
First, we aren't trying to replace a degree in Political Science with this game, nor should the game be considered as a serious book about the US election (well, maybe not a “so serious” book). We want to lift the curtain and allow the players to look at politics from a different angle, make a boring subject exciting and funny at the same time. In the end, we want to explain why it is so important to vote. At first glance, some things seem quite humorous, but these are actually important issues that need to be addressed. All this will be presented in an easy and accessible manner so that even a child will be intrigued.
This game is still in the developmental stages: we are testing it with friends and relatives. We are editing the rules and fields, adding some new ones and also sometimes deleting some things altogether. Nevertheless, we are ready to share the main ideas of the game, let’s start with main rules first. Knowing these, we can start playing. However, for more advanced players, we have prepared additional rules that you can learn after the description of the concept.
Numbers of Players
You will need a minimum of two players for this game, although 4 would be ideal. As you can see, it resembles real elections (1 candidate from the Republican party, 1 from the Democratic party, 1 Liberal and one from the “Green” party). If you would like to extend the number of players you can easily do it, the rules don’t forbid this.
Resources of the Game: Reputation and Ratings
At the start of the game, every player receives a certain amount of Reputation. You can determine this amount at the beginning, for the best playing experience, we recommend giving 2000 Reputation points to each player. For this purpose, we use certain notes, which for the strange turn of events resemble money. However, just having Reputation points will not achieve anything. You will need to convert your Reputation points into Rating points during the game.
There is the second resource of the game, the number of Rating points will determine the winner of the game. The winner is either the first player to get 51 Rating points or the one who has the most Rating points after a predetermined number of rounds in the match. Don’t mix Reputation points with Rating points.
These are two different resources: Reputation is given at the beginning of the game, and the number of Reputation points doesn’t count to determine the winner. At the start of the match, you have zero Rating points, the goal is to grow your Ratings to win. Simply, a player has to spend their Reputation points efficiently to earn Rating points.
The Game Board
To make it easier to get into the game, we made some special signs for the squares on the game board and cards. Special signs:
-% negatively influences your Rating
+% positively influences your Rating
-R means you are losing Reputation points
+R means you are gaining Reputation points
The flag sign shows that a specific square on the board can be “conquered”. Usually, belongs to the voting district.
Open-ended circle with an arrow that is broken by a percent sign shows the influence of Rating (positive or negative) at the end of each round. It can be referred to several spaces on the board or “Power” cards (described in a specific section)
The upward pointing arrow on a graph has a one-time effect. For example, it can belong to the square which affects each player every time the player lands there. (You will learn about game cards in the specific section)
The board of the game is square, and each side has eight sectors. Many board games have the first space as “start”, but our first square is called "Ballot Access". Each player rolls the dice and whoever has the highest roll starts first.
Each square consists of two main types: the first is Voting District, which can be conquered (bought) by spending a certain amount of Reputation points to buy it. Also, if you land on one of these squares, you can spend a certain amount of your Reputation points and exchange it for Rating points.
The second type is already set in stone, the player has no control over what happens when landing on these squares. Each time a player lands on this 2nd option, the specific effect that is stated on that square is activated, such as plus or minus Reputation points. Also, squares sometimes can combine properties of both.
Examples Uncontrollable Outcome Squares
1. Election Promises
When you land on this square, you will receive 10 points to add to your Rating. This can happen every time you land on this square. However, on the opposite side, basically at the end, there is a sort of evil twin of “Election Promises” square called “Broken Promises”. Do you know what happens to a politician who hasn’t kept their promises? That is why, if you land on this space, you will lose 10 points from your Rating. This square features the same pot of gold and rainbow but from a different point of view, instead of a pot of gold, it looks like fake props.
2. Tax Form
The board will have one square labeled “Tax Form”. If you land on this space, you will have to roll the dice. Your ratings will go down depending on what you roll, so anywhere from -2 to -12 points.
3. Mass Media
There are a total of two TV and Radio squares. Every time you land here you get 5 points to add to your Rating. But it is possible to conquer this area for 500 of your Reputation points. If you do conquer this square, whenever you land on it, you will get 10 Rating points. At the same time, other players will lose 5 Rating points every time they land here if you have conquered it. You will also have an advantage participating in Debates (take a look at the section “Debates” below to learn more)
There are two different types of squares that you can land on that will make you select a card, either the Incident Card or the Power Card.
1.“Incident Cards”
The Incident Cards will have an exclamation point on them. When you land on one of these squares, you will take the first card from the stack. Show it to everyone and read it aloud. Usually, they have an adverse effect on the player who pulled it, but there are some circumstances when you can give the card to an opponent, e.g. "October surprise". An October surprise is information that can be used against your political opponent, usually released in October, but sometimes such “surprises” also happen before October. In our case, these cards usually have an adverse effect. There is an image of a dented present-like box on this card, it is wrapped with bright tape, but the box itself is wrinkled, dirty and stinky. When you get one, you can give it to any of your opponents.
More Examples of Incident Cards
1. E-mail hack. Your e-mails, containing classified secret files are hacked. You lose 500 Reputation points.
2. Unknown illness. You got an unknown illness, and have to go to the hospital. You skip your next turn.
3. Tasteless statement. You say something very offensive publicly. You lose 500 Reputation points.
4. Attack of the giant Fly. A giant fly attacks you. You are trying to shrug it off, but it is useless. You lose 200 Reputation points.
“Power Cards"
We wanted Power Cards to remind the mechanics of artifact (special cards) from role playing games. For example, the card can be activated at any moment. Make use of it right now or keep it and use it when the appropriate time comes. For example, a “Bribe” card can save you from any negative effect and you can only use it once.
However, there are some rare cards that have a permanent effect, for example, the “Surrogate” card. A surrogate is a trusted person that can speak on behalf of the candidate. In our case, the surrogate card has an image of someone holding a mask. If you get such a card, then you can activate it later, but it is better not to wait as it gives you 6 Rating points each round.
More Examples of Power Cards
1. Political paraphernalia – this is a subject promoting a candidate. Each round this card gives you 4 Rating points.
2. Build a massive wall -You can build a wall, which will protect you from all adverse effects until the end of the round (you can choose by yourself the round to make it). You have to pay 500 Reputation points for it.
3. Brainwashing - If you get this card and have activated it, when you finish a round, all of your conquered squares Rating points will be doubled. So if you have 10 Rating points from conquered squares, at the end of the round you will be given 20 Rating points.
Advanced Mechanics of the Game (optional)
Imagine that you have already played the game on the easy settings and want to make the game a more difficult, you can try the advanced mechanics. Introduce them after mastering the basics of the game. This added feature will make the game more exciting and diverse, but you may need some time for getting used to the game trying this.
Debates
Usually, debates are held among participants of the political race where they have to answer the most critical questions, and sometimes debates can seriously influence the polls, we use this same idea in our game. To start debates, two players should have landed on the same square, but not more than two players! Both players must give their permission for debates, refusing a debate won’t affect you.
How Debates are Held?
Each player rolls the dice. The one that has a higher roll gets 5 Rating points. The loser loses 5 Rating points.
Exception: Debates and Mass Media
There is one crucial exception concerning the Debates rule. If debates are held on the field belonging to mass media (TV or radio) that already has been conquered by one of the debate participants, then other rules are implemented. Refusal is punished by losing 2 Rating points. Also, the “conqueror” of the field gets an advantage, he can roll the dice twice.
How long does the game last?
The length of the game is determined by the players before you start. You can play as few as one round. Or you can play longer games, but keep in mind that the main principle of the game is to have the highest Rating at the end.
Special Player Skills
Before the match starts, at the step of choosing the game pieces you can set the tone of the future play. As you have noticed, all of our game pieces resemble famous politicians. For our game it is not necessary to use exactly those, you can use game pieces of your choice. Nevertheless, to make the play more fun and interactive, we recommend having the game pieces 3D printed. Please note any resemblance is accidental. For convenience, we will number them: 1,2,3,4… By the way, we have prepared a surprise for one of our backers in the form of customized 3d printed game pieces. For example, you can have a game piece with your face on it. What do you think about that? But this custom set is limited, so hurry to get yours!
Each player will have his or her own piece. For example, number 1 can call for “saxophonist” once during the match to avoid any adverse effect. Do you remember the space with broken promises? If you land on this square, you call “saxophonist” and he will start playing the sax and distract everyone’s attention. That means you will not lose 10 Rating points and continue the game like nothing happened. Game piece number 2 has permanent immunity to the space that asks to pay taxes. It is possible that unique skills of the game pieces and other advanced rules of the game will be worked on. Maybe you will have any suggestions?
Participate in Developing the Game!
We will be happy to hear any suggestions and constructive criticism. The most interesting ideas will be included in the final release of the set. Attention, all Artwork is subject to change without any notice. Some of the rules will be revealed as the campaign continues.
What Determines the Value of our Awards?
Initial calculations showed that the production cost of the complete set with a hardcover, four game pieces, and cards will end up to be around $50. The cost depends on the number of copies manufactured, the more copies we order the less the price will be. However, it should be considered that the price includes not only 3D printing and manufacturing but also work of professional designers. That is why we are asking you to support this project and get a unique and fun game! If you like it, then it is possible that later we will make another board game devoted to “World Domination”. We already have a game piece of Putin for that.
Risks and challenges
Recreating an image of someone's face onto a small 3D printed piece can be challenging, but we have proven to be quite good at it so far, as you can see by the existing game pieces we have displayed.
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Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.