Game Status
The Game is currently playable and I'm play testing and drafting a set of rules. It should work for 2-8 players but I've yet to try it with all those player amounts.
I've attached the current working map. I've not done any art work yet I've just made the thing playable but you'll get the idea.
About the Game
Corridors of Power is a political strategy game that focuses on party politics and working with or against other parties to pass legislation in The UK's House of Commons.
The game has two phases, elections and parliamentary terms with the majority of play taking place in parliament. Depending on how many constituencies a party wins during the election, parties are issued an amount of the game's currency called "Political Power." While in Parliament PP is used to trade with other players in exchange for support and promises to support. It can also be used to buy the votes of opposition MPs to help your chances when voting through legislation.
The aim of the game is to pass laws which are each worth an amount of victory points depending on their difficulty to pass. At the same time you attempt to maximise your popularity in order to win elections and strengthen yourself in parliament.
On a players turn they:
1. Pick an event card.
2. Trade promises and agreements.
3. Carry out one Political Action.
The game should be fun for anyone interested in Politics or House of Cards fans. I'm trying to allow for complex bargaining and backstabbing to give a real sense of being a smooth political operator.
Some key decisions I struggled with for a while were:
Making the game apolitical. It is as easy to become a facist dictator as it is a social democrat. The game does not lead players choices and you could win as a eco friendly militaristic nation if you want. This seemed the fun thing to do and also helps people of all political persuasions to enjoy playing.
The impact of Policy is in the Background. I realised pretty early on that modelling the country's economy and the impact of political decisions made the game very complex and detracted from the theme of being an MP in Parliament. I focused my attention on the game not being about nation building but winning in parliament. The impact of passing policy is to increase your popularity amongst certain voter demographics.
Not having a second house. The game largely ignores the house of lords to keep things simple. I excused my self thematically as the HOL rarely opposes the will of the commons.
If it sounds interesting, I will be looking for rule proofers and play testers further down the line - so would love help then.
