Game Changer: The Game of Activist Tactics
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Game Changer is a fun, funny, and fast card game about and for direct action organizing that engages players' radical imagination. Each round, one player is the Decider, and the other players must try to convince them that their protest tactic is the best one for the situation. But watch out for the Game Changer cards, which - well - change the game! It only takes a minute or two to learn.
Game Changer is a collaboration between The TESA Collective and the Center for Story-based Strategy!
4 - 8 players | 30 - 45 minutes | 13+ years
Each round, one player is the Decider. They randomly flip over the top card of the Goalden deck. (They are gold color cards about activist goals - get it?). The Goalden cards say things like "Right now the best tactic for political activists is ________"
Every player other than the Decider chooses one Power card from their hand, and they pass it to the Decider. Power cards say things like "A Debt Strike" and "Providing Nutritious Meals For Children."
Once the Decider has a card from all players, the Decider then picks which Power Card is the winner. The rationale for their choice can be whatever the Decider wants: it’s the most true answer, it’s the funniest answer, it was the most thought provoking answer, and so on. For the players who submitted Power cards, it's all about knowing their audience. The Decider announces which Power card is the winner, and the player who submitted it adds the Goalden card to their victory pile.
But wait! If the victorious player happens to also have a Game Changer card in their hand, they may now slam it down. Game Changer cards will, literally, change the game: they might cause all players to discard their hands and draw replacement cards, give players bonus points, or they can change the order of who is the next Decider, and so on. This is because like even in the real world, small organizing wins are in fact still WINS: they compound on each other and give us new opportunities to bring about change.
Then, the next player in clockwise order becomes the Decider! The game continues until one player has gained enough Goalden cards to be declared the winner!
Each round, one player is the Decider. They randomly flip over the top card of the Goalden deck. (They are gold color cards about activist goals - get it?). The Goalden cards say things like "Right now the best tactic for political activists is ________"
Every player other than the Decider chooses one Power card from their hand, and they pass it to the Decider. Power cards say things like "A Debt Strike" and "Providing Nutritious Meals For Children."
Once the Decider has a card from all players, the Decider then picks which Power Card is the winner. The rationale for their choice can be whatever the Decider wants: it’s the most true answer, it’s the funniest answer, it was the most thought provoking answer, and so on. For the players who submitted Power cards, it's all about knowing their audience. The Decider announces which Power card is the winner, and the player who submitted it adds the Goalden card to their victory pile.
But wait! If the victorious player happens to also have a Game Changer card in their hand, they may now slam it down. Game Changer cards will, literally, change the game: they might cause all players to discard their hands and draw replacement cards, give players bonus points, or they can change the order of who is the next Decider, and so on. This is because like even in the real world, small organizing wins are in fact still WINS: they compound on each other and give us new opportunities to bring about change.
Then, the next player in clockwise order becomes the Decider! The game continues until one player has gained enough Goalden cards to be declared the winner!
What Comes in the Box
- 45 Goalden Cards
- 230 Power Cards
- 25 Game Changer Cards
- 1 Rulebook
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Our games are made sustainably - in the US and Europe.