Political

Modern Society is a game about our time, the world we live in. It covers aspects from Equality to Organic Food, from War in Iraq to Torture Scandal, to Youth Culture, Women's Priesthood and beyond. Those are but few aspects the players wrestle with as they try to convince the deep rows of the people behind their own agenda.

The players all live in the same society and seek influential power to leave their mark on the surrounding world. The people's opinions, what they feel and think, is determined by four societal values – militarism, economy, human values & green values.

The players have game cards which become ”hot topics” in the society once they are played. They will become the issues the imaginary townsfolk talk in coffee tables, what they read from the news and what shapes their view on the world. These issues then shape the four values, but also bring points through them. This means that the more militaristic the society is the more militaristic influence points you get from cards like 'Raise in Defence Budget' or 'War on Terrorism'. With these points you then push through laws that focus on that value. Only these law cards that the players have pushed through with their political influence they get victory points. And as each value has limited amount of laws there is a race who stands as the best advocate for each value.

Most cards have special abilities that makes them stronger with certain other cards (i.e. Feminism with Equality) or for example prevent certain points to be scored (i.e. Torture Scandal on militarism points or UN in Crisis on Human value points).

As the game proceeds the players try to sell their world view to the masses. But whether the well-being of the people is trampled as the players thirst for power and whether that society is still worth defending for? That is what the players decide all over again during each game they play the Modern Society.

Europe is in the age of imperialism. Internationally operating financial investors aim for the highest political influence in Europe. Great Britain, German Reich, Russian Empire, Austria-Hungary, Kingdom of Italy, and Republic of France are each controlled by different investors. The six imperial nations build factories, troops and fleets to expand their power in Europe. They collect taxes from occupied regions to pay interests to their investors. As financial control over the imperial nations changes, there are always new strategic alliances and conflicts emerging between them.

The players represent internationally operating investors who stay in the background. There are always six imperial nations acting in the game, no matter how many investors take part. Only the investor who gets the best return on his investments, who controls the most powerful imperial nations, and who shows the best diplomatic skill, may win the game!

Imperial is a challenging strategy game without any luck of cards or dice. Players take over the role of internationally operating financial investors and control European diplomacy in imperial times.

This classic game of pure negotiation has taken many forms over the years.

The first Avalon Hill version has perhaps the widest release, but Avalon Hill (Hasbro) re-released the game in 1999, complete with a colorful new map and metal pieces. They recently released a 50th anniversary edition with a new map and cardboard pieces representing the armies and navies.

In the game, players represent one of the seven "Great Powers of Europe" (Great Britain, France, Austria, Germany, Italy, Russia or Turkey) in the years prior to World War I. Play begins in the Spring of 1901, and players make both Spring and Autumn moves each year. There are only two kinds of military units: armies and fleets. On any given turn, each of your military units has limited options: they can move into an adjoining territory, support an allied unit in an attack on an adjoining territory, support an allied unit in defending an adjoining territory, or hold their position. Players instruct each of their units by writing a set of "orders." The outcome of each turn is determined by the rules of the game. There are no dice rolls or other elements of chance. With its incredibly simplistic movement mechanics fused to a significant negotiation element, this system is highly respected by many a gamer.

Avalon Hill Complexity rating - 3

Re-implemented by:

Colonial Diplomacy
Diplomacy: Classical Variant
Diplomacy: Hundred Variant

Fremde Federn, which means roughly "to adorn oneself with borrowed plumes," or something like "false feathers."

Fremde Federn is about borrowing elements from well-known games (Eurogames) and constructing a new game out of them. For now, it is a deck-building, worker-placement, drafting race game. The print-and-play files – German only for now – are available on the 2F-Spiele website.

You are a politician who tries to gather enough money and influence to become the next president. Of course, you depend on the work of others to get the needed influence. You start with a set of 10 cards (7 of them are "fatherly friends," which give you 1 money each and 3 of them yield 1 influence each (VPs)). Each round you draw 5 cards from your deck and use one card for the turn order to place your workers. The workers go to the different offices in the government building to buy new cards for you, get influence or to carry out other actions. Each round there is one more space in which you can choose to place your workers. On the game board is a row of cards which you can choose to buy and each round the empty places in this row are filled from a deck of cards divided into 4 different "Ages." The last cards of the deck are Doctoral degrees which you can buy with your money; these give you 1 VP for each unit of money spent. The game ends when all of the Doctoral degrees are bought or when one player has 95 VPs or more.

The year is 632 AD. The Byzantine Empire is all that remains of what once was the mighty Roman empire. She herself has only just survived a mighty war against Persia. Both empires now lay exhausted from their long years of struggle. Meanwhile, further south in the deserts of Arabia, the prophet Mohamed has given new meaning to an old religion and sets the peoples of that land on a course of action which will echo down the ages. Under the leadership of a succession of caliphs the Islamic Arabs are about to descend on the prostrate bodies of the Persian and Byzantine empires.

The game 'Byzantium' deals with the rise of the Muslim Caliphate and its war with the Byzantine Empire. Your role as a player is to take a stake in each side and outwit your opponents to secure your own personal victory.