“Weimar: The Fight for Democracy” by Capstone Games, Skellig Games and Spielworxx is finally coming to Kickstarter on September 6, designer Matthias Cramer confirmed on Twitter. Seeped in historic significance, the game recounts the events of November 9, 1918, when workers in Berlin staged a strike that led to the toppling of the German monarchy.
Fight for Democracy or Indulge in Totalitarianism
The game focuses on the political turmoil that seized Germany in the first years of the 20th century, with the Social Democrats and the Conservatives trying to stand for democracy. However, they are impeded at every step by Nationalists and Communists who want to undermine the legitimate government and install their own regime.
The power struggles are real with Germany attempting to conserve its republic and avoid giving in to destructive ideologies and lawlessness. In Weimar, 4 players will embark on a 180-360-minute campaign in which they vie for control over the economy, foreign affairs, and the media.
Gaining clout in each of these spheres of public life and politics helps each player advance their own agenda and brings them closer to having sufficient control to enact deeper changes that reflect their own ideologic views of the world and their homeland. But politics in this time of history is no gentle business, with parties mobilizing demonstrators, protestors, and street fighters in key cities across Germany.
Paramilitary organizations emerge in a bid to forcefully dismiss the democratic order and enforce a self-serving government that is often destructive and oblivious of the principles of democracy. The game is card-driven, and Cramer hopes successfully captures the spirit of the times while allowing players to defy history or give in to it.
Highly Thematic and Rewarding Gameplay Over 360 Minutes
The game itself will take place over six game turns and each turn will have players getting advantages, deploying supporters, tinkering with their decks, and more. Each party will have asymmetrical and contradicting objectives which will put them head-to-head early in the game. The democratic parties will seek to restore law and order while the non-democratic entities will incite violence, attack institutions and stage provocations.