History and Repetition: A Weimar: The Fight for Democracy Review

If you've been paying attention to what's happening in the...

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These are the reviews that stick out to me when I'm thinking about being a "serious" game critic in that I couldn't find anything really "critical" in the common sense (criticizing, as opposed to praising) to say about it. It's just that good.

This game should be required playing for every politician.

I've got 7 plays in so far; each one has played very differently. The Nazi mechanic is very clever. There are a small number of Nazi event cards - each offer the player a powerful event/play, but at the cost of adding one Nazi neeple to the track and Parliament. Players who have fallen behind may feel compelled to make this deal with the devil in hopes of clawing their way back into contention. About half the Nazi cards are mandatory Timeline events - so its possible the first few Nazis "don't hurt" but its entirely possible the game will collapse when the mandatory ones put them in power.

Its also a clever way to both show the history AND avoid the stigma of a player playing the bad guys. By contrast, the long gestating GMT Weimar game has Nazis as a player power. I think this will bite them in the ass when it comes out, not just stigma wise but historically they weren't on the same footing as the other parties in the years right after WWI.

Exactly. I've been in position multiple times when faced with a deal with the Nazis and it is tempting because those deals can push you forward from difficult spots in the 5th and 6th rounds. But then those Timeline cards emerge and you're seeing the brown tide (like an overflowing toilet) begin to spread across the Reichstag and you just can't turn everything back. I agree that given the distaste that people are showing these days for playing even nominal "bad guys", GMT making the NSDAP into a player role is probably not the best approach (maybe another Scramble for Africa moment.)

Damn, that's good writing.

I have one friend that would be a killer opponent in this game, a student of history and of politics. But I would need to dig out two more, and that might be a longer walk. I need to see if I can get a shot at this one. Thanks for the great review and for letting me know this game is out there. Really appreciate it.

Thanks! And you are very welcome. Any chance I get to talk about this one I will take.