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Extended edition includes Crisis & Control expansion.
The Nation is in disarray and a war is waging between the classes. The working class faces a dismantled welfare system, the capitalists are losing their hard-earned profits, the middle class is gradually fading and the state is sinking into a deep deficit. Amidst all this chaos, the only person who can provide guidance is... you. Will you take the side of the working class and fight for social reforms? Or will you stand with the corporations and the free market? Will you help the government try to keep it all together, or will you try to enforce your agenda no matter the cost to the country?
Hegemony is an asymmetric politico-economic card-driven board game for 2-4 players that puts you in the role of one of the socio-economic groups in a fictional state: The Working Class, the Middle Class, the Capitalist Class and the State itself.
The Working class controls the workers. The Capitalist class controls the companies. The Middle class combines elements from both the Working class and the Capitalist. It has workers who can work in the Capitalist's companies but it can also build companies of its own, yet smaller. Finally the State is trying to keep everyone happy, providing benefits and subsidies when needed but trying also to maintain a steady income through taxes to avoid going into debt.
While players have their own separate goals, they are all limited by a series of policies that affect most of their actions, like Taxation, Labor Market, Foreign Trade etc. Voting on those policies and using their influence to change them is also very important. Through careful planning, strategic actions and political maneuvering, you will do your best to increase the power of your class and carry out your agenda. Will you be the one to lead your class to victory?
Hegemony is heavily based on actual academic principles such as Social-Democracy, Neoliberalism, Nationalism and Globalism, and allows players to see their real world applications through engaging gameplay. There are many ways to achieve hegemony- which one will you take?
—description from the publisher
- Strong balance and thematic depth
- Engaging strategic play for experienced players
- Long teaching time
- Heavy rules for newcomers
- Power balance and faction abilities
- Futuristic political struggle among factions
- Strategic, heavy, political engine-building
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Control zones and influence on a map
- asymmetric player powers — Different powers per faction guide strategy
- Faction Asymmetry — Different powers per faction guide strategy
- hand management — Build and play cards to activate actions and scoring
- planning / multi-round opponents — Long-term strategy with balancing choices
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Spirit Island's fantastic it is one of my favorite co-ops of all time
- it's not for everybody
- I love teaching games
- I just want a nice Speedy game
- The Crew is a great trick taking game
- Scythe is not a fun one to teach
- it's got the most stuff in it which also makes it the harder one to play with Noobs
- ironically the first game I ever played at a board game club that got me into the hobby was Seven Wonders with leaders included where I actually won the game
- it's a fantastic fun game
- I've played this game a lot
References (from this video)
- Richly thematic and structurally deep; four asymmetrical classes drive varied strategies.
- Layered mechanics (cards, workers, production, elections) create emergent strategic depth.
- Policy/election subsystem provides meaningful, recurring tension and scoring opportunities.
- Steep learning curve; rules are extensive and interdependent.
- Very long setup and playtime, which may deter casual players.
- Requires careful tracking of multiple tracks (wages, legitimacy, policy markers, storage).
- Class struggle, political economy, policymaking, and legitimacy dynamics
- A nation-state with four competing classes (Working Class, Middle Class, Capitalist Class, State) across five rounds, with policies, elections, and public services shaping outcomes.
- asymmetric multi-class political economy simulation with elections and policy shifts
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- card-driven action system — Each class uses an action card deck to perform a main action, followed by basic and free actions; cards are drafted from class-specific decks and discarded after use.
- Legitimacy and scoring — Legitimacy tracks for each class impact scoring; events and policy changes alter legitimacy; at endgame, points are allocated based on remaining resources and policy markers.
- Market and export — Export/Import cards govern trading transactions; foreign trade and tariffs affect pricing and revenue; some goods can be stored in a free trade zone with different rules.
- Policy tracks and elections — Seven policy tracks (A/B/C sections) influence rules; proposals trigger elections, which determine if policy changes pass and reward victory points.
- Production and needs management — In production, all operating classes produce goods/services and pay wages; players must meet population needs with food/health/education; storage capacity matters.
- Resource management and procurement — Vardus (currency) and goods/services are managed; resources are bought from multiple sources (capitalist, middle class, state public services, foreign market) with tariffs and tariffs implications.
- Taxes, loans, and IMF intervention — Taxes are multipliers based on policy; loans can be taken with penalties; IMF intervention can reorder policy tracks and wage levels under stress.
- Worker assignment and company operation — Players assign workers to company slots to activate operations; middle class can open and staff its own companies; skill matching and commitment affect production.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- hegemony is a highly thematic asymmetric political economic car driven board game for two to four players simulating an entire nation its policies and its economy
- Germany is played over a series of five rounds
- this is a highly asymmetrical game in all classes performed differently in each one of these faces