Dude! Take Your Turn!
A Gaming Life
Can Stefan Feld Turn US Politics into Point Salad?
It’s been a busy week at Dude Central, so I wasn’t planning on posting anything this week.
Then I happened to check my Inbox (Editor – Always a bad move).
What was this email that made me have to hop on my computer and post something quick?
Renegade Game Studios has announced a new Stefan Feld game coming in April 2019.
About US politics.
Thankfully not current US politics (I don’t like orange in my point salads), but the election of 1828.
Revolution of 1828 is going to be a 2-player game about the election between John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson with the candidates vying for people’s votes.
It’s a no-holds barred election, too (you thought today’s smear campaigns were bad).
I have to be quick, so let’s blurb this puppy from the web site.
“In this two-player game, you are trying to become the next President of the United States! To reach this lofty goal, each player will try to take Election tiles that suit you best and hinder your opponent’s campaign. Election tiles allow you to garner the allegiance of Electors and use the power of Smear Campaigns to skew the populace in your favor. If you also use the powerful Campaign Actions to your advantage and have the press look the other way, nothing should stand in your way!”
This sounds so intriguing, even more so because it’s a Feld game about a subject that doesn’t seem up Feld’s alley.
Maybe he can prove me wrong?
We’ll find out in April.
Dude! Take Your Turn! 
Yep, sounds like the least Feld-y game – but then again, are votes in the electoral college not like victory points? I’m sure he can make it work.
Besides, I applaud the choice of the 1828 election, as it’s both an interesting/important (not to say watershed) election – and a very little known one! Takes guts to pitch such a game to an American public who knows almost nothing about the subject (not to speak of the gamers outside the US, who will be even less knowledgeable and also lacking the “soft” connection to the subject matter, like “Jackson, isn’t that the guy from the $20 bill? I heard he did horrible things to the natives”).
Thanks for bringing this to my attention!
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You’re welcome! I’m glad somebody cared. LOL
Yeah, votes could be points, but I don’t really see how the typical Feld point salad could work with something like this. He could prove me wrong, or he could produce a wonderful game that’s totally different from what we’re used to from him.
And I do love that they’re taking a chance with a historical game about a little-known event, at least today.
I hope it catches on, and this is one case where I will be in the Cult of the New (unless more details come out that make it obvious it’s not my kind of game). I want this game to succeed. And the 30-60 minute 2-player play time means it would be great with my co-worker gamer.
Thanks for letting me know that somebody actually read this! 🙂
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I’d say I read over half of your posts – so at least I certainly care! I just don’t comment a lot as I usually read posts on my phone and am super slow typing with that.
As for your point salad concern: I I concur, but – from my very limited Feld experience –
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…see, that’s why I don’t type on the phone – my fat finger accidentally hit Send already.
Sequel to my reply above: – there’s more to Feld than just the point salad. I, for one, found the resource management mechanism in Strasbourg as simple as clever. So maybe there’s more of a focus on simple, clever mechanisms than on manifold VP sources here?
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Sorry for the whine. LOL Just commenting on the fact that this post got no hits in 12 hours yesterday.
I do remember Strasbourg, but forgot he designed it! I did enjoy my couple of plays of that 3 years ago. Haven’t seen it since, though.
Keeping my fingers crossed this is good!
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