The year is 1947 and you are a member of the thriving movie-making industry of Hollywood. However, it is suspected that there are communists hiding among your small production studio slipping “un-Patriotic” messages, themes, props, and lines into your movies! Will you be able to find all the communists before your studio is shut down? Or will you be suspected yourself and banned from the industry?
In the game each player will secretly be a Patriot, Communist, or Rising Star. Each round every player will have a unique Job to perform (such as the Screenwriter, Gaffer, Director, Actor, Editor, etc). These jobs will affect what kind of movie is getting made that round, what cards are in players’ hands, and who will receive special information. Players can choose to skip their jobs to instead re-roll any two of the dice in the game. At the end of each round the players with stars showing on their dice will get to add a card into the movie.
The added cards will be shuffled, one will be removed, and the rest will be revealed. The team with the majority of revealed symbols (including the symbols on that round’s movie poster) wins the round! Indicate the winning team for the round by placing that team’s matching film-strip over the movie poster. The first team to win 4 rounds wins the game! The Rising Star plays both sides by trying to make the game go to 7 rounds and making the 7th round a tie.
Hollywood 1947 is a social deduction game. You must never show your cards or loyalty to anyone, but you may say whatever you’d like about the cards you put into a movie, or about your true allegiance. Open discussion about which cards were added into a movie is encouraged. However, if you are a Communist or the Rising Star, lying will often help you accomplish your goals since the majority of players will be Patriots.
That’s a wrap. Most players get the hang of the game after only a few minutes. So let’s go make some movies, but be careful who you trust!
Hollywood 1947 is the 5th standalone game in the Dark Cities Series by Facade Games. Previous games in the series include Salem 1692, Tortuga 1667, Deadwood 1876, and Bristol 1350.
You can follow the Kickstarter at this link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/travishancock/hollywood...
-description from publisher
- Strong theme integration with McCarthy-era Hollywood
- High player interaction and bluffing dynamics
- Humorous, energetic group dynamics that drive pace
- Phase structure mirrors real-world film production
- Rule complexity may overwhelm new players
- Sensitive historical topic can be polarizing
- Potential downtime during planning and discussion-heavy turns
- loyalty, propaganda, and the clash between patriotic and communist narratives
- Hollywood, 1947 during the McCarthy era; film industry
- semi-immersive, meta-film production with hidden loyalties
- The Resistance
- Secret Hitler
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Card-driven action and resource management — Patriot/Communist cards influence film outcomes and scoring.
- Deck management and discard mechanics — Draw/discard/shuffle cycles influence available options and strategic planning.
- Dice with stars and power tokens — Stars enable players to use special powers; dice results affect film contributions.
- hidden loyalties — Patriots, Communists, and a Rising Star identity are concealed among players.
- Phase-based gameplay — Three phases—Pre-production, Premiere, and Post-production—drive flow and decisions.
- Role assignment and token gifting — Tokens grant additional cards or impact other players’ actions to weight the film.
- Three-team victory conditions and tie rules — Wins can go to Patriots, Communists, or Rising Star depending on symbol counts and ties.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's Hollywood 1947
- we're making movies
- Pink Panther theme
- the Patriots instantly win
- Rising Star wins by basically getting us to the seventh movie and basically having it be a tie
References (from this video)
- aesthetic fit with 1940s cinema design cues
- novel approach to production-themed gameplay
- unclear if it will deliver engaging mechanics beyond theme
- potentially expensive deluxe content
- Movie-making and production management
- 1940s film production era
- Semi social deduction vibe with film-era aesthetics
- Blood in the Clocktower
- Secret Hitler
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- dexterity/typing of content — uses period-era tokens and board components for gameplay
- social deduction elements — players may deduce or mislead as part of the round structure
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I think this looks like magic the Gathering it really does seem like it
- it's just too much and people are just throwing hundreds of dollars into it
- as always yes I've been quite negative on the kickstarters and that but just remember as always it's only a game
- the hype train on this one that's going around at the moment
References (from this video)
- Engaging theme of Hollywood and the Red Scare with social deduction elements
- Asymmetric roles and a clear phase structure support strategic play
- Flexible play with both competitive and bluffing components
- Prototype copy subject to change (noted by the presenters)
- Rule complexity and social deduction may be daunting for new players
- Potential for heavy downtime or analysis paralysis in larger player counts
- loyalty, propaganda, and social deduction within the film industry
- Hollywood, 1940s, post-World War II America during the Red Scare
- semi-theme-driven with asymmetric information and hidden loyalties
- Salem 1692
- Tortuga 1667
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Card drawing and hand management — Drawing, discarding, swapping jobs, and manipulating propaganda cards create strategic hand management.
- dice manipulation — Gaffer and other roles allow re-rolling dice or swapping dice and cards.
- dice with stars and contribution — Only players with star on their die contribute to the movie during premiere.
- editor influence — Editor can view/discard or return cards, affecting the final film.
- hidden loyalties — Players hold loyalty cards (Patriots, Communists, Rising Star) kept secret.
- propaganda cards and film genre voting — Propaganda cards contribute to a film's genre during premiere; symbols determine the round winner.
- Role-based actions — Each of the nine job roles provides a unique action each round.
- round resolution and scoring — Count symbols to determine which faction wins the round; four rounds to victory, with a potential seventh tiebreaker through Rising Star.
- round structure by phases — Rounds progress through Production, Premiere, and Post phases.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- This is the fifth game in the dark city series which includes games such as Salem 1692 as well as Tortuga 1667
- During the rise of the movie making industry right getting close to the Red Scare yes
- open socializing and discussion is really encouraged and sometimes lying might be necessary
- production phase and premier phase
- Hollywood 1947