Hegemony first impressions
What’s the most thematic euro game you’ve ever played?
For us it might be Hegemony. We bumped into the extended edition at UKGE. We heard a lot of good things about it and it seemed super intriguing so we had to get a copy! 🛍️
It’s a quite complex game, and its theme and mechanics are very deeply rooted in real life economics and political science. This strong connection actually makes learning the game smoother, as every action and reaction has a logical explanation. 👍
Now politics is something I am normally not interested in, but it seems with board games I can’t help but be drawn to unusual and unique themes. And this is unique for sure!
In the game your play as either the State 🎩 or one of the three classes; the Working Class ⛑️, the Capitalist Class 💰, or the Middle Class 👔. These share some similarities, but everyone has their own deck of cards, actions and mechanics unique to them, and everyone is dependent on everyone else - just like in real life.
⛑️ The Working Class has workers that can work in companies. Each round they produce goods and services for the owners of the companies in exchange for their wages. The people have to be fed and the money is spent to raise Prosperity by covering Education, Health and Entertainment needs.
💰 The Capitalist Class is all about profits and money. They strike business deals and their companies produce goods that they in turn sell on the foreign market or to other players. Their biggest nemesis are the wages of the workers and the taxes they have to pay.
👔 The Middle Class is a bit of a mix. They have workers and Prosperity just like the Working Class, but they also have their own companies like the Capitalists, so they have to balance both aspects well.
🎩 The State is yet another thing entirely. They try to cater to the needs of the 3 Classes and keep a balance between them, plus also follow their own political agenda and deal with upcoming events.
The whole concept of the game is totally fascinating. It’s such a great idea and so much research must have gone into it.
To speak about the actual gameplay in more detail, we'll have to follow up with a future post.🙃
