Democracy: Majority Rules Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Components
• Game Setup
• Politics Tile
• Game Turn
  • Phase 1: Allotments
  • Phase 2: Supporters
  • Phase 3: Coalitions
  • Phase 4: Voting
• Factions and Powers
• Deal Making
• President
• Political Capital
• Unrest vs. Order
• End Game
• Maverick and Power Broker Cards
• Robert's Rules of Order
• Scenarios

Game Components

• Seven Faction Hex Tiles
• Politics Tile
• 140 Supporters in 5 colors
• 5 Candidates
• Deck of 27 Law Cards
• 9 Power Cards
• 30 Ballot Cards – 5 sets
• 60 Influence
• 60 Political Capital chips
• Gavel
• Rule Book

Faction Tiles are the power centers you seek to control; they represent special interests "adverse to the rights of others and the community" at large.

Supporters are the loyalists, operatives, advocates, and appointees working their way up the ladder of a political movement.

Political Capital is how you win; it is your victory points, and represents your clout and aura of authority.

Power Cards indicate a player has control of a Faction; each grants a unique power, used to change the rules, and provides extra Allotments.

Law Cards are voted on by players and reward some and penalize others.

Ballot Cards are used to secretly pick destinations and make votes.

Influence is the control, passion, and unity of purpose of a political movement – it defines their ability to shape the process.

Politics Tile: each player takes on a partisan identity known as their Politics, which defines their values and ideology.

Skip the rules: watch a 3-minute video at makebelievegames.com.

Game Setup

• Place the 7 Faction Tiles on the table in the circular pattern shown below (use the sides with white arrows), the words facing the least experienced player. Put the Politics Tile on one side. Shuffle the Law Cards and then place them face down.
• Give each player a set of 28 Supporters in one color as well as a set of 6 Ballot Cards.
• Each player now puts one of their Supporters on the Politics Tile assuming one of the 5 political roles (see below), one player per role. If you have an odd number of players, one is a Centrist, and who places their token in the middle of the Political field. In a 3 player game two players take 2 adjoining Politics each, and the third player takes the center.
• Each player is given a starting Power Card which they keep until the Coalition phase of Turn One. Randomly deal out one Power Card to each player: with three players use the Justice, Bureaucracy, and Voters Cards. Add the Media Card if you have four players. Add the Activists Card for five players.

Law Deck: the Law Cards, placed face down.

Discard Pile: the cards that were either not picked or voted down in the previous turn.

"A conservative is a liberal who has been mugged..." — Irving Kristol

"A liberal is a conservative who has been arrested." — Tom Wolfe

Politics Tile

Each player takes on a partisan identity known as their Politics, which defines their values, ideology, and where they stand in the electoral arena. Most political Movements have some sort of core principles, unique brand, and an archrival. Together these make up a player's Politics. Politics is not only a player's 'personality' in the game but a basic game mechanic: it's used to determine what Law Cards affect which players, for better or worse. There are two pairs of opposites – Change vs. Tradition and Liberty vs. Regulate – plus a Centrist. Players claim one of the 5 Politics by placing a Supporter in one of the quadrants, or the center spot, at the start of the game.

The Centrist should be played by the least experienced player. If you have a couple or two close friends playing, have them play political opposites.

A Movement can be either a bloc within an established political party or an outside lobby seeking a place at the table. Name your movement or your candidate. Come up with a silly slogan, and have fun with the role.

Game Turn

Each game turn is divided into Four Phases: 1. Allotments 2. Supporters 3. Coalitions 4. Voting. Every player engages in each phase of a turn at the same time, though players holding certain Power Cards can interrupt at defined moments and dramatically change results (noted in blue).

Allotment Bonuses:

• Supporters: Players who are the Head of Media, Voters, the Maverick and President get +1 Supporter for each. Head of Activists gets +2 Supporters. If you run out of Supporters take Influence instead.
• Influence: Players who are the Head of Media, Justice, Voters, Money, and the Maverick get +1 Influence for each. Head of Bureaucracy and the President get +2 Influence. The Head of Lawmakers get +3 Influence. If a player has No Power Cards they get +6 Influence.

Hint: Picking Ballot Cards – Money is what everyone goes for, Justice is the keeper, and Activists is the sleeper.

Head of a Faction is the player with the most Supporters on a given Faction, often as part of a Coalition, and who holds the Power Card. On Deck Supporters or Influence are those already allotted and ready to be deployed. Reserve Supporters are still in the bag and not yet allotted.

Phase 1: Allotments

Each player takes 3 new Supporters and 3 new Influence from reserve and puts them on deck, ready to be placed on the Factions or used in votes. Players can add to this by being Head of a Faction; check your Power Cards to add up your bonuses. On Turn One the players get 6 Supporters and 6 Influence but do not receive bonuses.

Phase 2: Supporters

In this phase players first place and then move their Supporters.

• Place Supporters: All the players place their allotted Supporters in one or both hands, and then pick a Ballot Card to put under each hand, face down, to indicate where those Supporters will go. The players simultaneously reveal their cards and the Supporters held in their hands, and then place their Supporters on the Faction tiles indicated by their two Ballot Cards. Supporters can't be placed on Lawmakers, only promoted there.
• Promote Supporters: Now players may promote Supporters from one Faction to another Faction along the arrows, one Supporter per player per arrow. All players who want to do so move Supporters from the Factions onto the arrows. Deal making takes place during this process and moves are changed in response to other moves, protests, and promises. Players can freely move Supporters on and off arrows; nothing is final till everyone is firm in their decisions. If there is an unresolvable conflict a player can ask the Head of Bureaucracy to decide who moves first, second, and so on. Head of Voters may promote 3 additional Supporters, then after all players have finalized their promotions and the gavel is struck the Head of Media may remove some or all Supporters from one arrow. Once Media either takes action or passes, push all the Supporters on the Arrows into the neighboring Faction.

"I'm tired of hearing it said that democracy doesn't work. Of course it doesn't work. We are supposed to work it." — Alexander Woollcott

Phase 3: Coalitions

Players now negotiate to form coalitions in the Factions to determine who will be the Head of each one. Players start by organizing and counting the Supporters on each tile and then discussions begin across the table about forming alliances to win majorities. Coalitions must name which player is the Head of the coalition and the formal holder of the Power Card. If you agree to be a supporting member of a winning coalition and are not the Head you do not hold the Power Card nor do you receive an allotment. Every Faction is unique: you can shut out a player in one and be allies in another. Head of Activists may move a Supporter from one Faction to anytime during this phase. Players keep the Power Card until the end of the next Coalition phase when all is renegotiated. The only official Coalition is the one that won control of the Faction, not the provisional ones that tried but failed.

• Collect Political Capital: After all winning Coalitions are finalized and the Head of each is agreed upon the gavel is struck and players collect +1 Political Capital for each Power Card they held but did not use during the last turn cycle. Secondary powers don't count.
• Choose the President: The player with the most Supporters in Voters + Media gets to choose which player will get the President Card, anyone but themself. Current Head of Justice breaks ties. Player holding the President card is a political ally and close associate of the head-of-state.
• Switch Powers: Finally players Switch Power Cards and claim those not yet taken. Give the Maverick Card to the player with the Least Political Capital + Power Cards (cards held) after all the other Power Cards have been traded and been counted. The new Head of Justice breaks ties.

Phase 4: Voting

In this phase players use Influence to vote for or against Law Cards. Players vote by secretly picking a Ballot Card and then taking turns bidding Influence.

• Draw 5 Law Cards: The Head of Lawmakers draws 5 Law Cards from the top of the Law deck (they may choose to show them to selected other players).
• Setting the Agenda: The Head of Lawmakers picks 2 Law Cards from the 5 Law Cards just drawn to be voted on. The President picks 1 Law Card from the discard pile. Turn One the President picks from two randomly drawn cards from the Law Deck. Then the Head of Lawmakers places the three Law Cards in any voting order desired, face-up, on the table: creating the Agenda. The Agenda is the order the 3 Law Cards picked this turn are to be voted on, as decided by the Head of Lawmakers. Laws that were not picked or do not pass are put aside and placed in the Discard pile.
• Vote on Laws: As each Law Card comes up to vote players can discuss the vote and even make short speeches; they then each pick a Yes or No Ballot Card and place it face down on the table. When all the players are ready the Head of Lawmakers has everyone reveal their Ballot Cards. Then they organize themselves into two teams, Yes vs. No. The Yes team starts the bidding, and players can place 1 or more Influence on their Ballot Card as a bid (or nothing at all). Then the No team does the same. Both sides take turns adding Influence until one side passes by not adding anything to their Influence total, or not adding enough to beat the other side. Justice sides with whomever it voted with on the Ballot card. Players on the Yes team can continue bidding after the No team drops out, taking turns raising the stakes in order to get the card, but all the Influence they bid will be lost. The vote is then resolved: Influence is totaled for each side, results compared, and a winner announced. Winning players must discard the Influence spent on a vote, but players on the losing side get to keep everything they spent. Immediately after Ballot Cards have been revealed and before any Influence has been bid, the Maverick may limit one player to a maximum of 3 Influence bid on a single vote. Anytime during a vote the Head of Money may "double down" on one vote, giving them x2 Influence on that vote. Players can save the Influence they do not use from turn to turn. The Head of Bureaucracy decides who on a team bids first, second, and so on if requested to do so.
• Results: There are 3 distinct results to every Law Card vote:
  1. Every player who voted at least one Influence and is on the winning side of the vote, whether Yes or No, gets 1 Political Capital.

Sometimes a Law Card can affect a player two ways, both positively and negatively, that cancel each other out. In these cases players can remove Supporters from one Faction and add to another. However, if a player's Politics is one of the target words it takes precedence, and the player is either rewarded or penalized by their Politics alone; ignore the Power.

Factions and Powers

There are seven Faction tiles onto which Supporters can be placed. Each Faction tile has arrows pointing to neighboring Factions, indicating which way Supporters can move during Promotions. There is a Power Card for each Faction, held by the Head of that Faction. If no player has Supporters on a Faction, the player currently holding the Power Card keeps it and all its powers (or it's left unclaimed). Once you use your Power Card, unless it's a secondary power, turn it sideways to indicate you don't earn a Political Capital in the next Coalition phase.

• Activists – The advocates, protesters, radicals, and pressure groups who go to great lengths to have their voices heard and challenge the status quo.
  • Firebrand. Protest: Anytime during the Coalition phase you may move 1 Supporter, belonging to any player, including yourself, from any Faction to any other Faction without permission.
• Voters – The taxpayers, the body politic and the citizens of the nation: at least the ones who bother to vote. Control of Voters represents how the public jibes with your political movement and how effective your get-out-the-vote campaign is.
  • Populist Election: Promote an extra 3 Supporters in addition to your basic 1 Supporter per arrow: not just your own but any player's – however they have the right to decline the privilege. The 3 extra Supporters you get are not restricted by the rule of one Supporter per arrow: you can move 4 Supporters on one arrow, 2 Supporters on 3 arrows, and so on. Secondarily, if you have more Supporters in Voters + Media than any other player you get to choose who will get the President Card this turn, anyone but yourself.
• Media – The modern media complex: a combination of all of the television & radio stations, newspapers, magazines, and bloggers.
  • Media Mogul. Scandal: After all promotions are played, remove some or all of the Supporters from one arrow and put them back into the Faction where they started. Secondarily, if you have more Supporters in Media + Voters than any other player you get to choose who will get the President Card this turn, anyone but yourself.
• Money – Represents the financial clout of big business, corporations, oligarchs, banks and the stock market.
  • Business Tycoon. Double Down: You can double down on one Vote a turn, announce anytime during your turn to bid. All the Influence and Political Capital you bid on this vote is worth x2 (double the amount bid). Thus a 3 Influence bid would be worth 6.

Balance of Power: If you are having trouble deciding which player to ally with, then think in terms of balance of power. Stand with the weaker player against the more dominant and switch sides often and you won't go far wrong. Don't worry too much about Political Capital until later in the game, everyone might lose it all anyway. Power Cards are what matter; if a player has three or more they need to be brought down to size. Play nice with everyone; you just might need them as an ally on the next vote.

Deal Making

Players can trade votes, favors, and promises but cannot trade Power Cards, Influence, Law Cards, or Political Capital. All negotiations must be open, public and at the table, though winks, hand signals, and significant stares are allowed. Players are allowed to form long-term alliances, but it is not advisable as it is not possible to win the game as a team. It is assumed that coalitions controlling a Faction last one turn and then must be resigned, renegotiated, or reconfirmed. A player's Influence, Political Capital, and Law Cards are public information and point totals and card details must be shared on request, except on Turn Five when everything can be concealed.

Trust & Loyalty: There are no rules regarding agreements made between players; double-dealing should be anticipated, especially on the last turn. However, loyalty and honesty can work better over the course of several games than deception and duplicity. It's just not as entertaining. Have fun with this social aspect of the game, don't take the other player's ploys and promises to heart – it's all in the game.

President

This is the office of the chief executive, and the holder of the card has direct access to that office. This player is assumed to be a close associate and their politics are a cause célèbre of the current head of state. The player with the most Supporters in Voters + Media chooses the holder of the President Card. Add together each player's Supporters in both Factions; the player with the highest total wins. Justice breaks ties. The winning player cannot choose themselves, but can choose a coalition partner.

When the player with the President Card changes it can be assumed that either there is a new President or the current office holder has changed course, tactics and cronies.

Political Ally – Mandate: Each turn you must bring up one Law for a vote from the discard pile: a card that either failed to pass or was not selected on one of the previous turns. On Turn One draw two cards from the Law deck, pick one, discard the other. This Law is added to the Agenda wherever the Head of Lawmakers wants and is then voted on. If you draw this Law Card randomly from the Discard pile instead of picking it you immediately get +1 Political Capital.

Political Capital

Players are able to collect victory points, known as Political Capital, and they represent political dominance, moral authority, and the trust and respect of the people. Political parties gain Political Capital when they succeed in moving their agenda forward and brand themselves as steadfast servants of the nation. The player with the most Political Capital at the end of Turn Five wins the game.

Gaining Capital: Players gain Political Capital one of two ways during game play.

1. Integrity: Collect +1 Political Capital for each Power you own but do not use during a turn. Collect at the end of the Coalition phase.
2. Whip: Collect +1 Political Capital by being on the winning side of any vote, even if you are voting against your own interests.

Spending Capital: Once per turn on one vote you can spend up to 5 Political Capital as if it were Influence. This Political Capital is considered to be Influence, and can be used to Double Down; if you lose the vote you don't lose the Political Capital.

Unrest vs. Order

Some Law Cards have an Unrest symbol on them; others have an Order symbol. This indicates that some laws tend to establish Order in a country and others tend to provoke Unrest. If more Unrest than Order Law Cards pass by the end of the game it indicates that a country has descended into social upheaval, open partisan conflict, or perhaps even civil war.

At the end the game count up all Unrest and Order Law Cards that have been passed and become part of all players' hands and calculate the totals of each type. Then check this chart:

• More Unrest than Order Cards: the players immediately discard all of their accumulated Political Capital.
• Equal number of Unrest and Order Cards: Each player may keep only as many Political Capital as they have Supporters in Lawmakers.
• More Order than Unrest Cards: Players add together the Political Capital they've collected over the course of the game with the Political Capital they get in the End Game.

End Game

At the close of Turn Five the players conduct the 2 steps of the End Game to find out who is the winner. You know it's the last turn when there are no cards left in the Law Deck. First the players determine if Unrest or Order has won and apply the results. Second each player calculates their End Game Capital using the Accomplishments list below, and comes up with a final total. If there is a tie in one of the Accomplishments split the points between the players, round up.

Accomplishments:

• Incumbent: Earn 3 Political Capital for each Power Card (except Maverick) that you hold at game end.
• Majority: Earn 5 Political Capital for having the most total Supporters on all the Factions.
• Kingmaker: Earn 3 Political Capital for having 3 or more Supporters on the most Factions.
• Autocrat: Earn 3 Political Capital for having more Supporters on one Faction than any other player has on a Faction.
• Realpolitik: Earn 5 Political Capital for collecting the most Law Cards.
• Establishment: Earn 3 Political Capital for having the most Order Cards in your hand.
• Revolutionary: Earn 3 Political Capital for having the most Unrest Cards in your hand.

Winning: The player with the most Political Capital after all the Political Capital has been totaled wins the game. If there is a tie the player with the most unspent Influence wins; if there is still a tie the player with the most Law Cards wins. After that it stays a tie. As the winner your handpicked candidate has been elected President and been given a mandate for a lengthy and celebrated term in office. Welcome to the history books.

Maverick and Power Broker Cards

• Maverick – The Maverick Card represents the outsider and spoiler clout an underdog political group can wield. The player with the Least Political Capital + Power Cards (number of Power Cards currently held, including the Maverick Card) gets the Maverick Card this turn. The card switches hands at the end of the Coalitions Phase; after all other Power Cards have been traded and counted. Justice breaks ties.
  • Power Broker. Filibuster: Once per turn you may stop one player from voting more than 3 Influence on one vote. They can still double down on that Influence and spend up to 5 Political Capital. You must announce Power Play immediately after Ballot Cards have been revealed and before you have bid Influence.

Robert's Rules of Order

Players can use rules of Order to add an element of roleplaying to the game:

• Players must be silent when the gavel is hammered. Players must obey the Speaker (Head of Lawmakers) on matters of procedure and who is allowed to speak. Common phrases: "All in favor say aye." "If there is no objection." "The bill passes."
• Other players must be referred to with titles of respect: "Right Honorable Member/Chair/Chief Justice" or "esteemed member from..."
• Two players can give short speeches before some votes: one for and one against. The best speeches are punchy, pithy and comic.
• "I make a motion" – Players can make 4 kinds of motions: Call for a Vote (immediate vote on the Law Card at hand), Appeal (players can overrule the chair by getting a majority of players to agree with them), Recess, and Censure.
• "Point of Information" – Interrupt to ask a game rule question, "Is this allowed?"
• "Point of Order" – Interrupt to protest a violation of rules, "They're negotiating away from the table."

Scenarios

If you want to try a different board layout you can arrange the Faction tiles in any pattern you like (use both sides) in order to represent different countries, situations, and scenarios. For a short game try to play only 4 turns; for a longer game try 6 turns.

Find scenario ideas and optional rules at makebelievegames.com, including playing with 6-10+ players using two game sets.