In Corporate America, a political satire game about corporate influence of government, players take the role of corporations that manipulate the population, government, and each other to maximize profits. Players keep their money secret until the end of the game, when the player with the most money wins. Each game turn progresses through four phases:
• In the Wall Street Phase, players start businesses (like Trius and Oggle Search) which fall into various industries (like transportation, luxury, and technology).
• In the Main Street Phase, players take turns playing consumer cards, which determine which businesses make money. Players can manipulate the population and can bribe each other to make sure their business products get consumed.
• In the Campaign Trail Phase, a number of election issues are revealed and players get the opportunity to run for president. After players electioneer, players secretly bid on candidates to determine who will be the next president. After three bid rounds, whoever has raised the most money in the campaign wins the election.
• In the Capitol Hill Phase, the new president is rewarded with an Executive Privilege card, which grants a special power, and can then pass legislation to impact businesses and the rules of the game. The president can keep campaign promises or blatantly break them for personal gain!
The game ends after a set number of turns. Whoever has the most money at the end of the game wins!
- Deep negotiation with multiple levers (business, politics, law)
- Engaging theme with strong player interaction
- Rule complexity can be intimidating
- Requires good group dynamics to shine
- Negotiation-driven economics across industries with consumer impact
- Wall Street to Main Street and political campaigns
- Open negotiation and coalition-building with thematic branding
- Monopoly
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- economic management — Purchase, consume, and monetize business cards; payoffs tied to consumer demand.
- negotiation — Lobbying and deals to drive industry success; players form coalitions to influence outcomes.
- Politics and law-making — Campaign pushes and laws influence player power and market conditions.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Monopoly, a very uh polarizing game.
- it's pure open negotiation.
- Open negotiation. Anything goes, you could trade anything for anything.
- The open negotiation in this game is awesome.
- Magnate the First City is an economic citybuilding game where you're trying to have the most money.