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Secret Hitler is a controversial board game. We’ve all heard the name for the first time and instinctually flinched. “Well, it’s not pro-Hitler!” they say, “The fascists are bad and they’re trying to take over the government. You have to stop them!”

So the concept of Secret Hitler is decidedly anti-Hitler. It explores how a politically democratic system can facilitate the rise of fascism. Right? That’s what it does, right? Or maybe it’s just a cash grabbing board game with a provocative name.

Board games, like all mediums, are reflections of their context. It’s impossible to be completely apolitical, as even a ‘political neutral’ work simply reinforces the current political norm. Doing something as simple as showing a ‘normal’ family is a statement that says that ‘normal’ family is, in fact, the norm.

It’s true that not all creators think deeply about how their work fits into the political landscape. I suspect most board games fit this trend, as they offer an escape. Many depict fantastical lands to visit, strange aliens to interact with, or a far-off time or place. However, the board gaming community is not immune to the political culture that surrounds it. In 2018, Tanya Pobuda of Analog Game Studies conducted in-depth statistical analysis on the representation present in the most highly rated board games on BoardGameGeek (the IMDB of Board Games) and found some shocking results. One of the most appalling findings is that you are more likely to see an animal or alien on the cover of a game than a woman. The statistics are even worse for women of color—while white women appear on 14.5% of covers, women of color only appear on 4.7%.  I highly recommend reading her article in full.

Colonialism in Board Games

Likewise, many games (such as Smallworld, Archipelago, Puerto Rico) depict elements of colonialism. Many more games, such as Catan, depict settling ‘untamed’ wilderness, a fabrication that alludes to the painful and destructive history of colonialism. If you’re interested in a more in-depth exploration of colonialism in board games, Cornel Borit, Melania Borit, & Petter Olsen from the Open Library of humanities did an awesome study on the topic.

Now, you would be hard pressed to find malicious intent in any of these examples, but the topics we explore while at leisure reveal our values as a society.

To say that Secret Hitler provides an accurate (and damning) depiction of Weimar Republic Germany is incorrect. The game does not investigate the sociopolitical events that caused Hitler’s rise, and game players do not appear to leave critically thinking about how their own government could fall in the same way. Even the fascist role cards depict lizards, not real people.

Yet, the game definitely attempts to make a political statement. On the home page of their website, a coy FAQ says, “I don’t think there’s anything funny or cool about fascism. Who can I complain to?” and then gives the address of previous United States President, Donald Trump. They have also released a deluxe set of “fascist” cards depicting Donald Trump and members of his cabinet.

So where does the game lie? The answer is somewhere in the middle. Consciously or unconsciously, when we make art, we make it in response to the world we live in. Secret Hitler does not attempt to accurately simulate the horrors of the rise of facism in the Weimar Republic, but it achieves a simpler task. It is a subtle reminder that we all must be vigilant and patient with each other, to exercise caution and to be open. This idea is present in the game’s base mechanics, in the strategies you use to win. Fascists thrive when there is distrust, when decisions are made quickly and rashly, and when there is no transparency.

The feeling of mistrust that suffuses Secret Hitler is a small-scale simulation of the feelings a nation goes through as it attempts to stay the course. Sure, the name is crude and shocking. Yes, it makes the game sell better. But, it also makes the lesson it teaches more memorable. The ‘Secret Hitler’ depicted in the game is not Hitler himself, but a facsimile. A person who will go on to commit atrocities by playing the system and sowing discord. It is a reaction to a world in which global fascist tendencies are on the rise.

What do you think? Does this ring true to you? Do you have other examples of board games that deal with similar subject matter or do you think that politics and board games should be completely divorced? I’d love to have an extended conversation about this, leave your comments down below!

Curious about other morally dubious things in board games? Check out Top Four Ways to Cheat at Board Games by Joe!

The post Is Secret Hitler a Morally “Good” Board Game? appeared first on Factions of Sol.

Like lots of people, I spent a good deal of my quarantine playing board games. Both casually and working as a designer on our game Factions of Sol,  I spent endless hours with family and on TableTop Simulator. However, I encountered a significant problem early on–I am bad at board games. Like legitimately bad, for no reason. Not that I’m (necessarily) dumb or don’t understand the game, because even when I LITERALLY DESIGNED THE GAME WE’RE PLAYING, I never seem to win.

So, in lieu of being able to win games like a normal person, I turned to what was clearly the next best, most ethical option—Cheating! Cheating takes a regular game night and turns it into your own ~fun~ little thrill. I like to think I’ve gotten pretty good at it, so I wanted to share my top 4 tips for cheating at board games.

4. Sleight of Hand

Pros: You feel like you’re in Skyrim / a James Bond movie

Cons: Everyone saw you

I think sleight of hand is the most boring way to cheat. It’s hard to pull off, takes physical skills (which most of us don’t have), and isn’t nearly as cool as you want it to be. Yeah so what, you got more wheat in Catan while your mom was wine-drunk…everyone else at the table still saw you take 8 cards. And now you have to talk about your “problem.”  3.5/10

3. Playing Dumb

Pros: Very believable, easy to pull off

Cons: Hurts that no one questioned it

Ol’ reliable. All you’ve gotta do is “accidentally” put too many troops on the board or “forget” to spend your resources for the third time in a row, and just like that BAM! You’ve got the advantage! In my experience this trick might start working too well, however, in which case just get ready for a big ol’ drop in self-esteem (unless it’s already rock bottom 😉 ) for when your baby brother says that “My stuffed tiger is smarter than you.”  6/10

2. Bullying

Pros: VERY effective

Cons: A lot of Discord servers won’t let you back in

Another very solid choice at the gaming table. Since this trick can go so many different ways, I’d recommend focusing on intimidation, blackmail, and cyberbullying. Nothing takes the wind out of someone’s sails mid-game like the table getting flipped on to you, or finding a bunch of incredibly mean photoshops of yourself on twitter. While this one does work great, be prepared for some hard feelings after the game. Some people just don’t get that it’s part of the fun. 8.5/10

1. Gaslighting

Pros: No one catches you

Cons: None

Nothing can beat gaslighting. This skill has worked SO well for me, I started using it in other areas of my life & I’ve never been better. All you’ve gotta do is hit ‘em with a “I never said that! You never listen!!!” or a “You’re the only person who believes that.” They’ll internalize the blame, carry it around for the rest of their lives, and you’re golden! Use this fun trick to change who’s in the lead, rewrite rules, make people doubt their sanity. 10/10

Have you used these tools? What other great cheating tips have you discovered? Let us know!

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Unfortunately, I don’t mean JUST trying eldritch horror adventures, throwing liches (plural) at a 1st level party, or installing trap doors beneath your player’s seats that lead to a pit of half-formed reptilian Matt Mercer clones to encourage them to stop dropping character. I also mean emotional or interpersonal fears. Mystery. All the things that make your player’s brain go, “something’s up, I need to pay attention”.

Our imaginations are adept at focusing & motivating us when it comes to fear. Fear has a very different effect on players then, for example, deception which is used in Among Us and One Night Werewolf. In D&D, fear pushes us out of the rational and self-conscious, into the emotional, subconscious, and imaginary—which helps ground us in the world and in our characters. If your DM has described the unnerving sound a troll’s tongue makes as it wraps around someone’s intestines, maybe you’ve felt your own shoulders start to tighten as your hero reaches for their sword. 

One of my favorite things to do as a DM is to use small sensory details to build mystery and tell their imaginations that something’s not right (a villain that acts a bit too casual, a dungeon that smells sweet, a vegan lizardfolk, etc.). This becomes really cool because not only does it bring your characters in physically, but it also engages them mentally by making them figure out what does it mean—which in turn engages their imagination. 

However, players need to be able to trust their DM and feel safe in order to let their imaginations run wild, which means trust, safety, and communication need to be well established. Personally, I’m a big fan of the “before, during, after” model, where at every step there’s an opportunity for players to communicate what’s working and what’s not. 

Before you introduce sensitive or intense content, RPG consent checklists (like this one) work great. In-game tools for players to stop, switch, and communicate discomfort are fantastic (like the consent flower). Individual check-ins after an intense session go a long way to show your players that you care. I also love doing campaign check-ins each level-up to give players a chance to give feedback and start conversations. More tools are linked below!

Fear is exciting with D&D because it makes our adventures & alter egos feel more real. But just like you wouldn’t want the knives at a haunted house to be sharpened, your players need to know they’re getting into before they can face their monsters. What other tools have you used playing RPG’s? When have you felt most engaged at D&D table? What DO you do if you meet a vegan lizardfolk? Let us know down below or on our Facebook, Instagram or Twitter!

Tools to Explore:

Safety Tools by Golden Lasso Games

Accessible and Inclusive Gaming

The Support Flower (download)

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Introduction: A New Universe

The team at Mark IV Games is currently in the process of publishing our very first game (coming to kickstarter soon) called Factions of Sol, which takes place in a very unique and new universe—a 1950’s “retro-dystopia” of Earth and its solar system. And as part of that work, we’ve VERY excitedly been writing goofy characters, horrifying (mostly gay) creatures, and thrilling adventures, and we want to share this new universe with you!

And as part of sharing this WILD world with you, I wanted to give you a bit of an introduction into the new universe (galaxy) of Sol. So what the hell does “retro-dystopia” mean? Do we even know? Why are all the creatures gay? Isn’t that homophobic? Wonderful questions, one and all!

The Retro-Dystopia of Sol

A retro-dystopia refers to a story that takes place in the past, but has been rewritten as a dystopia. In the universe of Sol (“Sol” being the name of both the Sun and Earth’s solar system) the year is only 1955, but a “family friendly” megacorporation called Megacore has taken over the planet Earth, ushered humankind into an early space age, and has settled the solar system with research colonies and space stations, all to try and find what Mark Megacore (founder and CEO of Megacore, Inc) believes is a secret paradise, hidden far across the galaxy. 

So how did our world get this way? How come it’s so different?

From the New Universe a Sci-Fi Alternate History Unfolds

Well like a mediocre X-Men movie, the timeline diverges with a somewhat-unjustified new technology. At the turn of the 20th century, a teenage Mark Megacore invents a new form of long-range radio and picks up a strange signal coming from across the galaxy, dreaming that night of a galactic paradise. Mark Megacore then creates MegaCore and takes over the planet over the course of World War One as MegaCore’s new technologies seduce and then subsume every world power—creating the Dominion of MegaCore. With the world’s resources at his command, MegaCore then ushers in a utopian space age for the wealthy—and a dark dystopia for the rest.

By the 1950’s, Mercury’s vast solar energy fields power Sol’s ships, thousands of long-range radio towers are built on Mars to seek out MegaCore’s mysterious alien signal, and missions across the cosmos are launched from Jupiter where humans encounter thousands of new, mostly gay species—leading theorists to the conclusion that turns out, heterosexuality is unique to Earth. But despite these incredible breakthroughs, MegaCore’s constant push for progress has turned Earth into an environmental wasteland, home to endless slums and hidden enclaves of elites. 

When does Factions of Sol Take Place?

In 1955, MegaCore’s long-sought after alien signals return suddenly with a clear and urgent message—The death of the universe is near, and only those who are worthy will be saved and reach paradise. This message brings chaos and war to the planets of Sol, causing the different factions to rise up and fight against their extinction.

Want to read more about the secret history of MegaCore, or the rise of the different factions of Sol? Like, comment, and let us know! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter!

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1. Community

I think the first thing that comes to mind when I think about the utility of board games is community. They are a great way to get together with friends and spend some quality time plotting for their demise. All kidding aside, I genuinely don’t quite understand how some people live their entire lives making friends and spending time without playing board games. But this can’t be why I play board games. I’ve spent hours on Tabletop Simulator playing games with people across the country when I could have spent that time playing games in person that I already own with people around me. What’s more, I’ve played hundreds of games on board game arena, a site that pits you against people around the world that you’ve never met and often can’t speak to. While it’s really cool that I can play Yahtzee with a guy in Russia, it certainly doesn’t bring me into community with him. So why else might I play board games?

2. Winning

It would be hard to refute that I am quite competitive. Even in a tiny game with no meaning, the urge to win is one I have trouble quashing. Also, not to toot my own horn (toot toot), I’m pretty good at games in general. It shouldn’t be surprising since I spend a lot of time playing games, so I tend to win more often than random chance. But this also doesn’t account for a lot of games I play. Concept, one of my favorite party games, has no winner or loser but is just played for the fun of it. And even with traditional games that have losers, I’ll routinely play games I know I won’t win (*cough* chess *cough*). So that can’t be it either…

3. Strategy

My all time favorite games have a heavy emphasis on strategy while a lower emphasis on luck. I love playing a 10 hour game of Twilight Imperium 4 because of how it forces you to constantly analyze the board and strategize weird win conditions that evolve as the game progresses. Cooperative games like Gloomhaven, while different, make you strategize as a team. Even simple games like Clue, or Exploding Kittens have you strategizing over how to take notes effectively, or where to put the bomb in the deck. Yet there are some games that I like playing that have no strategy in them whatsoever. Playing Happy Salmon with my family is a great time, but the game is basically “Who can yell the loudest?” And I know this isn’t really a board game, but playing darts with friends may have strategy if you’re good, but our current “strategy” is “hit the board as much as possible”. And even with games that have the bare minimum of strategy, I don’t play Jenga for the strategic analysis of which block is the perfect one to pull out, I play it because it’s fun to see blocks fall on your friend as you yell at them. 

So all in all, the only reason I play games is because they’re fun (most of the time). I can’t say why, probably because each game is fun for a different reason. I like hanging out with friends, I like strategizing over games, and I certainly like winning, but none of these things alone make games fun. A combination of the three perhaps. So now, dear reader, I ask you: Why do you play games? Any reason I haven’t listed? Please let me know so I can update my list, and maybe get to the bottom of this conundrum. 

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