Rise of Totalitarianism (2017)

Description from the box:

"Germany, 1919. Jan. 1: The opening of the Paris Peace Conference is imminent, but unrest and violence are already spreading throughout Germany and Italy as well as in many other European countries. Communist forces are marching to power, following the example of the Bolsheviks in Russia. The murder of Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht is still a possibility. Will the German Social-Democracy make an evil pact with the proto-Nazi Freikorps to eliminate the two revolutionary leaders from the political theatre? Extreme left and right parties face each other creating disorder and putting the Social-Democratic and Liberal governments under pressure to bring peace to Europe. Democratic forces have about fifteen years to save the Old Continent from the maelstrom of tyranny and totalitarianism. Will they fail as happened in history? The economic crisis of middle classes, the loss of monetary power and wealth, hyperinflation, the never-ending clash with the proletarian forces and the Great Depression ... will all such factors bring the liberal European countries to the verge of bankruptcy? Or will Mussolini and Hitler be left out of the history books?

Rise of Totalitarianism is an interactive simulation enabling you to explore all such questions. A card-driven strategy game, it reproduces the ideological conflicts and political struggles that led to the establishment of totalitarian dictatorships in Europe throughout the 1920s and 1930s. The game covers the period 1919-1933 and is designed for three players. Each takes the role of one of the three Ideologies – Social-Democracy, Fascism and Communism – that struggled for power during the timeline of the game.

Rise of Totalitarianism offers an accurate and detailed historical context, supported by 90 game cards. Players exploit historical events and political actions to achieve political supremacy and must face the major crises that upset the European countries of the era. Game cards provide political points that are used by players to plan secret actions on the map by using action chits. Action chits are revealed simultaneously and players can then perform their reactions and activities (propaganda, conflicts, laws and reforms) to influence society, public opinion, political orientation, the economy and the stability of governments."

Some more details on the game-play:

GOAL OF THE GAME – In Rise of Totalitarianism each player takes the role of an Ideology (Communism, Fascism or Social-Democracy) and has the goal of controlling, for as long as possible, the Governments of the Major Powers represented in the game (Germany and Italy) and of as many Minor Nations as possible (Austria, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Yugoslavia). Players earn Victory Points (VP) mostly through the control of the Governments of Major Powers and Minor Nations.
To achieve control of Minor Nations, players try to influence the political allegiance of such countries, or they attempt to destabilize and overthrow their Governments. In both cases players are aiming for the same goal: to draw the ideological orientation of the Governments into their sphere of influence.
To achieve control of Major Powers, on the other hand, players must use deeper and more complex mechanisms. One Ideology controls the Government of each Major Power at any time, with the other two Ideologies working in the background to influence public opinion and destabilize the Government. This causes the Government to fall and force new Elections, which are then won by the Ideology thanks to the shift of mass support towards it. In addition, Social-Democracy has the task of preserving Democracy by ensuring that the Governments are always determined by Elections. Fascism and Communism, in contrast, must attempt to put a totalitarian Regime in power – each Ideology has its own means and mechanism for doing this. Putting a Regime into power means that Elections will no longer take place in the nation – thus keeping the Government in power forever – unless the economic conditions and the stability of the country become so bad that the Regime is overthrown and new Elections can take place.

GAME-PLAY FUNDAMENTALS – All activities performed by players (Actions) to pursue their goals in Major Powers and Minor Nations are planned secretly by using Action chits. But planning these Actions is costly. Players pay these costs both by expending the Political Points (PP) provided by Game Cards (see below) and by using cubes, which represent the Funding granted to their Ideologies by bankers, industrialists, agrarians, foreign states, or more simply the political support of bureaucrats and institutions. Funding fluctuates with the fortunes and disgraces of the major political parties represented by the Ideologies, but also with the wealth of nations where these parties operate. Furthermore, Actions can be supported by Leaders, which represent the politicians and statesmen that historically emerged in the period and that are present in the game. Each Leader provides a bonus to the effectiveness of the Action he or she is tasked to accomplish. Such effectiveness is measured by Action Points (AP), that enable the Primary Goal of the Action and a set of additional Bonus Operations to be performed.

GAME CARDS – Game cards are a core element of the game-play. There are three types:

1. Crisis Cards represent the most important historical events that generated troubles – or opportunities – during the timeline covered by the game. These cards trigger the Crises that must be resolved by players.

2. Strategy Cards are at the same time the engine and the fuel of players' operations. Each Ideology has its own Strategy Cards Deck. Strategy Cards provide the Political Points (PP) used by players to plan Actions, but they also enrich the game-play with Events, Political Actions, Laws and further Crises. Events are cards whose effects are applied immediately after the card is played. Political Actions are endeavors performed by players using a card whose effects are applied only after a successful Political Action Attempt (die roll with various modifiers). Laws are cards whose effects cause a permanent change in the game rules. Laws come into effect only after a specific player's Action has been planned and successfully performed, i.e. the Law is "promulgated".

3. Coup Cards form an additional deck that is used to simulate a sort of "domino effect" throughout Minor Nations when a minor country's Government is overthrown. These cards add further Crises and Events.
Political Points (PP) are also provided by Crisis Cards and Coup Cards.

SEQUENCE OF PLAY – The game is played in Turns, each Turn representing a period of time spanning from one to four years. Every Turn is played according to a strict procedure called the Sequence of Play, which is divided into four Phases:

1. Players must first determine their Funding. The Funding allows players to choose their position in the Order of Play, which determines the order in which Actions and Reactions are performed.

2. During the Card Phase, players refill their hand of cards, and reshuffle and add new cards to the decks if required by the Turn.

3. The Political Phase is resolved in one to three Rounds, depending on the length of the Turn (usually the number of years). During each Round, a Crisis Card is drawn and resolved, players secretly choose and then simultaneously reveal Strategy Cards, apply their effects, plan and resolve Actions and carry out Reactions. At the end of each Round, a Crisis check is performed to verify the outcomes of every Active Crisis.

4. The Cleanup Phase ends the Turn. Besides the normal end-Turn management activities, during this Phase players must check the Economy of Major Powers and the Stability of Minor Nations and Major Powers. A good Economy (growth, profits, foreign capitals) or a bad Economy (economic crises, depression, debts, war reparations) will, respectively, improve or worsen the Stability of Major Powers.
If a Stability Check fails in a Major Power, Elections must take place to decide on a new Government Coalition in the Major Power. If a Regime rules the Major Power, the Stability check can fail only if the Economy is in the worst condition possible.
If a Stability Check fails in a Minor Nation, the Government is overthrown and the political allegiance of the Minor Nation shifts towards the Ideology that contributed most to the change of the ideological orientation of the Government.