Boardgame recommendations for people who hate capitalism

August 30, 2021 5:26 AM

I have a friend group of angry anti-capitalist vegans. They want to play boardgames, but the themes of most boardgames really don’t work for them. They don’t want to colonize or resource-extract or build an empire or be the boss of animals. I think they would really enjoy any game with explicitly (even cartoonishly) leftist politics. Can you recommend anything?

I think they would enjoy playing as revolutionaries, saboteurs, spies, and similar.

Difficulty level: Half the group are pretty serious gamers and the other half is very casual. One person is in her 70s with limited English. It's five people in total. I don't think the group has a lot of patience for games that require a ton of setup and rules reading. Ideally the game would be an hour or two max playtime.

Fantasy is okay, absurdist is okay, post-apocalypse would be fine, horror is out. Thank you for any recommendations :)

posted by Susan PG to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (35 answers total)

What about games that are completely abstract? Like Azul and Splendor? (There's some faff in the rulebooks about tile factories and gem trading, but these things aren't actual game concepts.)

Munchkin and Fluxx come in a lot of flavors. I suppose you could argue that Wingspan is "being the boss of animals," but I think it would be specious.

Coup is about political overthrow and intrigue.
posted by rikschell at 5:38 AM on August 30, 2021

Guillotine hits all of your marks, I think. You play guillotiners and get more points for the more nobles you behead. It’s a short, silly game and the rules are quite simple, though there is enough text that you may need to play one game open-handed to translate.
posted by tchemgrrl at 5:50 AM on August 30, 2021

Years ago I played and enjoyed Junta which might fit the bill. But I’ve barely played board games in decades, so no idea how it compares to modern games.

I know friends have enjoyed Pandemic but I’m not sure how fun that would be in these unprecedented times.
posted by fabius at 5:50 AM on August 30, 2021

Kill Dr. Lucky. It's reverse Clue.
posted by sebastienbailard at 5:55 AM on August 30, 2021

illuminati is fun and only involves world conquest in the most ironic sense.
posted by dis_integration at 6:03 AM on August 30, 2021

Az rikschell suggests, Azul is a good choice for this group; easy to get started but deepens with additional plays, gorgeous tactile components, no narrative to worry about.

Also consider Parks, where you are hiking through the National Parks, truly gorgeous art and components.

I have a soft spot for Calico (pun intended), a pretty "thinky" game where you are building a quilt and putting cute cats on it. RE: cats, might be worth looking at Isle of Cats as well, where you Tetris rescue cats on a boat.

If you want something more cutthroat and thrilling, my family enjoys the capitalism-free Survive! or - slightly less - Forbidden Island (and its million variants).

On preview, Guillotine is GREAT, although the cards/text were too small for our older family members. YMMV.
posted by nkknkk at 6:10 AM on August 30, 2021

I played Class Struggle in grad school. It was fun.

"The Workers move around a board while trying to survive against the Capitalist player who control everything. As the Workers unite they take power from the Capitalist player but if they do not suceed in uniting the Capitalist will win."

It's on Ebay, but not cheap.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 6:11 AM on August 30, 2021

Kremlin is out of print but might be fun if you can scrounge up a copy. It makes gentle fun of Brezhnev-era Soviet political machinations; your job is running a political faction and maneuvering your members into powerful positions before they die or get pushed out.
posted by goingonit at 6:11 AM on August 30, 2021

How about Spirit Island? You're explicitly trying to make the colonizers/exploiters lives hell so they'll leave you be.
posted by Alensin at 6:18 AM on August 30, 2021

Saboteur. There's a gold-for-points system to determine the "winner," but it's very easy to ignore / background it, since it only comes out between rounds.
posted by snerson at 6:20 AM on August 30, 2021

Instead of focusing on finding the perfect theme, I recommend you first look for types of games that everyone can play, and work from there. Modern board games are less "plunk a board on a table and move armies around" and have a variety of features. They come in any sort of mystical theme that doesn't include capitalism.

Here's some recommendations, from a "best fit for your group" to a "slightly less great but could still be a hit".

I can't recommend Liars Dice enough. It's the game from Pirates of the Carribean 2. All you need is dice and cups. It's perfect blend of math, bluffing, etc.

Cockroach Poker is a simple, cheap bluffing game that comes with lots of laughs.

"No Thanks" is an AMAZINGLY simple game, that involves some light strategy and light bluffing, and only takes 15 minutes. It's so fun people want to play it over and over again.

Modern Art is a fun auction-based game. Everyone loves a good auction!

One Night Ultimate Werewolf is a fun bluffing game, that uses an app to run the "night". Games take 10 minutes.

Kubb is an amazing board-game like yard game.

Wavelength is a recent favorite that works well with distancing, though you would have to pass the dial around at some point. Heavily Language Based (How far is "aqua" between "green" and "blue"?)

Hive mind (plays any player count, and you don't need the game though the components help. Great game.)

Times up (or monikers, but I prefer the scoring in "times up") is my favorite communication game. Best with 4 or 6 (3 teams), but fewer is fine too. It could be hard for low-language as it is similar to taboo/charades. However, because the cards are reused, it ends up being more about memory than pure communication.
posted by bbqturtle at 6:25 AM on August 30, 2021

I think they’d really dig The Resistance, where players are playing as members of a…resistance…against an oppressive, dystopian government. But one of the players is actually a spy for the government, and the other players need to determine over the course of play who that is.

You can ask people questions and the table talk is really fun. Plus each game is relatively quick, and fun enough that we usually play multiples.
posted by glaucon at 6:29 AM on August 30, 2021

Bloc by Bloc

They may also enjoy Pandemic, or other cooperative board games.
posted by eviemath at 6:36 AM on August 30, 2021

Hanabi is a nice quick cooperative game, where players create an elaborate fireworks display together. Online version has a tutorial version you can try here.
posted by veery at 6:45 AM on August 30, 2021

I haven't played it yet since it arrived right before I left home for several months so I can't tell you if it's actually fun, but I backed a game called Nunami on kickstarter. It is designed by an Inuit game designer and while it is sort of about resource management, it is about keeping the environment in balance for both man and nature, rather than about exploiting resources. I can tell you the leftist gamers in my social circle were all pretty jazzed that this game exists, so hopefully it will appeal to your leftists, as well.
posted by jacquilynne at 6:59 AM on August 30, 2021

Ironically, Monopoly was invented as an anti-capitalist game meant to illustrate that, under capitalism, in the end, one person owns everything. Seriously.
posted by SemiSalt at 7:54 AM on August 30, 2021

If co-op games are okay, Potlatch is about as anti-capitalist as you can get. It's a co-op game where the goal is making sure everyone's needs (food, technology, raw materials) are met by the game's end, through a gifting economy. You want to give just enough to meet your neighbor's needs, and are penalized for going way overboard, or for not doing your part to contribute. (Note: The rules are not articulated well, and a play or two before you try to teach it will help a lot.)

Wingspan is pretty chill, and is popular on MeFi.

Call To Adventure, and Roll Player are games where the entire game is developing a character with stats and a backstory.

Social deduction games like Coup, The Resistance, Spyfall, Escape From The Aliens In Outer Space, or Werewolf and its variants, might work?

Welcome To... is about building a community (or city, or resort) but isn't really about resource collecting or colonizing... everyone gets the same set of resource cards to make a choice from each round; it's simultaneous play (like 7 Wonders) so the turns go quickly. We have played with 20 people and it still works great.
posted by xedrik at 7:58 AM on August 30, 2021

I'd recommend Mysterium, but it might take some rules-explaining.

I feel like Ticket To Ride does a lot of what you're looking for (you're building train routes, but I don't think that counts as colonizing, especially if you get the European edition).

Thirding Pandemic.
posted by Mchelly at 8:28 AM on August 30, 2021

Sagrada is another one that's gorgeous and not particularly capitalist. It's a little bit more of a simultaneous solitaire sort of thing than Azul is, but the drafting element does make you respond to circumstances and not just play your own little logic puzzle without looking up. It did take us a few extra plays before we really got into it, though, where Azul was almost instantly entertaining.
posted by fedward at 8:34 AM on August 30, 2021

Balderdash, perhaps? It doesn't have a political component, and it may be a good way for the person with limited English to practice a bit.

And technically you don't even need the board to play it - you just need a dictionary and a bunch of pieces of paper, and a way to keep score.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:12 AM on August 30, 2021

I have not played, but like the look of, The Quiet Year.

Also has a free, fantasy, decolonisation-themed version called The Deep Forest.
posted by Happy Dave at 10:33 AM on August 30, 2021

Part of what makes this tricky is that many board games are literally about scoring points, aka getting the most stuff, and if your anti-capitalist crowd is in the mood to make things about capitalism, it's a short walk from here to there.

That said, I'd +1 Azul, not too tricky for new gamers, lovely satisfying pieces, abstract and you'd have to try pretty hard to make it about capitalism. Only plays 4 though.

Mysterium is great if your crowd leans creative, and I bet it is much friendlier to your limited-English friend than most creative/guess-what-I'm-thinking games, since it centers around images rather than words. (If you've played Codenames, think: what if codenames were a cooperative seance game played with Dixit cards.) (I'd rec Codenames and Dixit, but I think they will both be hard on your limited-English friend, Codenames particularly.) If you need a rules-light version, drop the "clairvoyancy points" and just let everyone see all the cards in the last round, the game is 95% as fun and 50% easier to explain that way. Plays up to 7.

Spirit Island is right on in terms of theme, but likely to be too complicated for your non-gamer friends. (You have to plan most actions two rounds out, and anticipate changes in game state.) It is also pretty long.
posted by february at 10:45 AM on August 30, 2021

Mr. liet is a very very very hardcore board game player and collector. He hasn’t played it, but he says Bloc by Bloc should be perfect.

“Bloc by Bloc: The Insurrection Game is a semi-cooperative tabletop game inspired by 21st century protest movements, riots and popular uprisings. Each player controls a faction of revolutionaries—Workers, Students, Neighbors, or Prisoners—fighting against the State in the streets of a city that change with each game. Build barricades, clash with riot cops, occupy districts, loot shopping centers, and liberate the city before time runs out and the military arrives! ”
posted by liet at 11:21 AM on August 30, 2021

Takenoko is a cute game with interesting components in which you are collaboratively growing a beautiful bamboo garden and must endure the chaotic forces of the weather and one hungry panda. I find it to be one of the more complex games that I can play with enthusiastic beginners.

Codenames is a game with teams that cleverly depends on the contextual experiences of the group to communicate and has a spy framing for the barebones story. It can turn really cutthroat but devolve into sputtering laughter in an eyebrow twitch.

Dixit is a game that works on a similar level as Codenames where images are interpreted depending on experiences of the group members, but it’s simpler and can be tweaked into just an excuse to hang out or score points depending on mood and competitiveness of the group. If anybody loves a good tarot deck, Dixit will intrigue them at least a bit.

Guillotine is a classic in-between short game that often comes out when larger gaming groups are taking a break, winding down or waiting for the full party to arrive. It’s goofy and can be replayed a lot and is flexible in terms of player numbers.
posted by Mizu at 11:27 AM on August 30, 2021

Betrayal at House on the Hill is about trying to figure out which flavor of bad B-movie you and your friends are in, before the inevitable yet shocking revelation and betrayal happens mid-game.
posted by Lexica at 11:40 AM on August 30, 2021

Ravine is a great and easy to learn cooperative game about surviving after a plane crash.
posted by tangosnail at 12:32 PM on August 30, 2021

Bohnanza is a card game about bean-farming. You do have to build up resources, but the game has a mechanic which often makes it advantageous for you to give resources you don't need to your fellow players, even if you get nothing in return.

Plus, vegans like beans, right?
posted by Johnny Assay at 12:45 PM on August 30, 2021

Save the Whales by Animal Townclearly has leftist politics -- but I haven't played it since I was like ten, I don't know how it holds up for adults, gameplay-wise. They also have other games that are less well known and even more political, like Dam Builders (which combines environmentalism with generally anti-bureaucratic sentiment and has what seems to present day audiences a sort of bizarre vendetta against the Army Corps of Engineers), but they are also very wordy and hard to get a hold of.
posted by phoenixy at 3:34 PM on August 30, 2021

fabius: "Years ago I played and enjoyed Junta which might fit the bill. But I’ve barely played board games in decades, so no idea how it compares to modern games.

Just from a Latin American lefty perspective, that game looks incredibly nope to me. Racist, lazy caricatures reinforcing the stereotypes imposed on Latin America by the very colonialists that the asker is trying to separate themself from.
posted by signal at 5:18 PM on August 30, 2021

For 5 players, I'd suggest these mid-weight games (descriptions taken from BoardGameGeek):
- Mariposas: Guide monarch butterflies on their journey along eastern North America.
- Wingspan: Attract a beautiful and diverse collection of birds to your wildlife reserve.
- Cartographers: The Queen's cartographers compete to sketch the most efficient maps.
- Isle of Skye: From Chieftain to King: Build your kingdom as Chieftain one tile at a time and rule all of Scotland!
- Lockup: A Roll Player Tale: Nasty bands of inmates attempt to gain the most reputation within Kulbak prison.
- New York Zoo: Build animal enclosures, introduce new animals to your zoo, and breed offspring.
- Ticket to Ride (most versions): Build your railroad across North America (or other places) to connect cities and complete tickets.
- Viticulture Essential Edition: Create the most prosperous winery in Italy from the Tuscan vineyard you've inherited.

Not quite sure if they all fit into the lefty anti-capitalist anti-theme you're looking for, but the links should help :) Have fun!
posted by Laura in Canada at 7:10 PM on August 30, 2021

The most cartoonishly anti-capitalist game in my collection is arguably Give Me the Brain. Players play zombies working in a fast food restaurant in hell. You only have one brain to share among the lot of you.

It's a fun game, and the idiom "Give me the brain. I have to <do task>." is in still in regular use in our household.
posted by sourcequench at 8:00 PM on August 30, 2021

Secret Hitler is a fun one. Pandemic, as many recommended, is also great
posted by pynchonesque at 8:55 PM on August 30, 2021

I've played Guillotine more, and with more groups of folks, than any other game. Quick to learn, funny, revolutionary.
posted by latkes at 9:20 PM on August 30, 2021

I recommend Tokaido, where you travel the road from Tokyo to Edo and earn points for admiring vistas, taking baths, eating delicious food, and visiting the temple. The Crossroads expansion adds depth if the base game is too simple. It's got beautiful artwork also!
posted by Threeve at 9:52 PM on August 30, 2021

Just from a Latin American lefty perspective, [Junta] looks incredibly nope to me. Racist, lazy caricatures reinforcing the stereotypes imposed on Latin America by the very colonialists that the asker is trying to separate themself from.

Sure, I wondered about that but figured (a) there have been a lot of dictatorships in South America, often overtly or covertly supported by the US, (b) that it suited the OP’s request for “cartoonish”, and “playing as revolutionaries, saboteurs, spies, and similar”, among other points, and (c) that the OP would be capable of making up their own mind as to whether they found it appropriate or not.
posted by fabius at 5:35 AM on August 31, 2021