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A timely look at the politics of Weimar Germany and how working together might save some of the people, some of the time.
If you've been paying attention to what's happening in the world in the last few years, you've likely seen any number of historical parallels between the situation in several nations, most notably the US, and that of Weimar Germany between the formation of the Republic in 1918 and its fall to the Nazi regime in 1933. That period of time was one of extraordinary turbulence- politically, economically, culturally, and socially. We haven't quite reached the same parameters in a couple of those spheres, but we're getting close and, thus, I thought it was rather extraordinary timing when Matthias Cramer, whom I know best from his excellent Watergate, released Weimar: The Fight for Democracy in 2023. I had signed on to the Kickstarter as soon as I heard about it, not only because I loved Watergate, but also because I'm fascinated by that period of history. There was so much dynamism that reflected and accentuated those same trends happening elsewhere in the world that I'm endlessly tracking down new books and other perspectives (like Babylon Berlin) that involve it. Thankfully, the game lived up to every element of it and is one that I'm constantly seeking to get to the table again.
One complication in that effort is that it's one of the few games I've played that requires a particular player count. There must be four players, no more, no less. The number shall be four.That's because the game is a) so intricately balanced that each role of DNVP (hard right), Zentrum (moderate right), SDP (moderate left), and KPD (hard left) has to be represented and b) there's no way to automate one or more of those players in a game that's this interactive. Certainly, you could argue that if Root can be automated, any game could be automated, but Root is played best with players that understand its nuances, while it can still be played with an automaton acting out the seemingly best responses. There are no "best" responses in Weimar, as each one of them is completely situational based on prevailing circumstances on the streets, in the Reichstag, and depending on which round of six is currently being played. So, unless you have a regular group of four, it's going to be more of a challenge to table this game than most of the rest of what is inhabiting the shelves. But, believe me, it's totally worth it.
Weimar is what could be considered a "card-driven" game, in that in each round you'll have Timeline cards that are drawn from a central deck that everyone shares and Party cards that are drawn from a deck unique to each player. Both types of cards have point values and events attached to them. You can use the former to drive actions in the streets (building up influence, strikes, riots, police crackdowns, etc.) or to push issues in the Reichstag (Media, Economy, Security, unique issues that come up each round, and so forth.) Or, if they're Party cards, you can play them for their events, which usually result in said cards being removed from the game after their use. Timeline cards are used for both points and events (and, likewise, often removed from the game) and that's because Timeline cards have to be played, even if they're detrimental to the party that's playing them. Getting points out of it to affect your board position is just a way of easing the pain of doing something that often helps your opponents. You can't resist the ever-encroaching tide of history. You just have to find a way to swim with it.
And that's one of the essential elements of the game. The ebb and flow of how the game progresses means that no action will ever go unanswered and no position will ever be secure, whether that answer or that threat to security comes from other players or from the game (and history) itself. The two moderate parties, the socialists (SPD) and the Christian democrats (Zentrum), are the ones interested in keeping the government running. If they can keep things rolling through all six rounds, whoever has the most VPs wins the game. In contrast, the monarchists (DNVP) and the communists (KPD), want to break the government as soon as possible. If it falls, they'll often win. If they achieve a majority in the Reichstag, one of them will automatically win. And, yes, if ever the Nazis have a majority in the Reichstag, all the players lose. In the fifth and sixth rounds, it can become awfully tempting to side with the fascists in order to accomplish your own goals (and gain points) but, just like Faust, you have to keep in mind the devil that you're dealing with...
That devil includes the dice, as success rolls can be direly important for the street actions of all of the parties, but even moreso for the government parties, as they strive to handle the shifting tides of international relations, which directly impact the response of the public and their ability to not only stay in power, but also to keep the government running at all. Every round ends in a series of questions for those ruling parties and that elaborate chain of resolution steps (which, admittedly, is the point where the game might be at its most complex, but which is really important to get right) will almost always transform the outlook heading into the next round for all four players.
As you might expect, in a similar fashion to games like John Company, Weimar can be a game about going along to get along. Either the DNVP or the KPD can become a part of the government, at which point they become invested in the existence of the Republic (and a couple of their regular street actions change significantly.) Furthermore, all of the parties have an ideological associate, such that sharing a victory in Reichstag issues will require that "getting along." But it's often also a question of making deals. Almost anything can be traded in Weimar when it comes to making those deals, be it party seats in the various cities or seats in the Reichstag or victory points or agreements on timing of certain moves. As with all games of negotiation, any deal that takes immediate effect is completed on the spot. Promises for the future are at the discretion of the promiser. One of the best aspects to Weimar is that, even if someone does betray a promise, there will often be situations that develop where you have to consider going back to that party again or they simply must come to you. It often isn't the usual case of once burned, twice shy. You'll end up getting burned quite a bit by the Timeline cards, so getting a minor singe from an erstwhile ally will often pale in comparison when your circumstances change radically two card plays later. That's immersion in both the game and the history driving it.
And the spectacular production helps create that immersion. The entire board is dual-layered, so when you're placing your pieces in German cities or the seats of the parliament, you'll have a slot to place them in. Also, said pieces are colored to make them stand out, but each party's wooden meeples are also wearing a different kind of hat (workers' caps for the KPD, top hats for Zentrum, etc.) that reflects their standing in society and the identity of their supporters. All of the nicely-finished markers for street forces are festooned with the symbols of the organizations that they represented, sometimes only loosely-associated with the parties in question, but very visible right there in the history. Every card has a black-and-white photo drawn from its actual event and an historical snippet that describes it further. In a similar fashion, the NSDAP pieces are, of course, brown and the Timeline cards change from round 1 and 2 (yellow) to 3 and 4 (orange) to 5 and 6 (brown), acknowledging the trend of history that did eventually result in the dominance of fascism in the German state. The attention to detail here is remarkable and it makes the game a visual delight, which has often been an overlooked aspect to the feel of many historical sims.
My admitted fan bias for that historical era is obviously showing through here, but every game that I've played of Weimar has been excellent, from a second-round implosion of the government which still left the SPD with enough points to win it, to the emergence of an outright majority by the DNVP in the Reichstag, likely plunging the Republic into a not-too-dissimilar situation to what we have here in the States these days, with a pseudo-king calling the shots for his devoted followers. Again, the timeliness of this release is part of its overall shine, but the despair growing outside your gaming room shouldn't put too much of a cloud over your ability to try this brilliant release by Spielworxx (yet.) If you can find a seat at a play (1 of 4!), do so.
