Hello, everybody. I am Canadian_95_RTS, and I am GM of a forum game called Secret Hitler. Secret Hitler is a card game for 5-10 players designed by Max Temkin, Mike Boxleiter, and Tommy Maranges, not dissimilar from Resistance.
Secret Hitler is a dramatic game of political intrigue and betrayal set in 1930's Germany. Players are secretly divided into two teams - liberals and fascists. Known only to each other, the Fascists coordinate to sow distrust and install their cold-blooded leader. The liberals must find and stop the Secret Hitler before it’s too late.
Each round, players elect a President and a Chancellor who will work together to enact a law from a random deck. If the government passes a fascist law, players must try to figure out if they were betrayed or simply unlucky. Secret Hitler also features government powers that come into play as fascism advances. The fascists will use those powers to create chaos unless liberals can pull the nation back from the brink of war.
The Rules
STRATEGY NOTES
A few other side rules to ensure that everyone has fun:
- You are not allowed to PM other players. While for the Liberals this would not be a big deal, it could be very useful for Secret Hitler to know who his fellow fascists are, so in the interest of fairness and the spirit of the game, I will ask you to refrain from sending private messages or other not-thread communications to others regarding the game. Thank you for your consideration.
- No Nazi ideology whatsoever. While I'm fairly sure just saying Hitler's name is fine (considering how many Hearts of Iron AARs there are on thread) but try to avoid the use of swastikas or any other Nazi symbols out of respect for the thread.
- I will usually give about 2 days for orders, but I recommend that you get orders in sooner so the game can move forward quickly.
- If votes or orders are not given within the required time, the vote will be ignored, while I will go through the order instead. If this happens more than once, I will consider replacing you with someone who gets orders in on time.
- You are welcome to any (relevant) conversation in thread, as long as its appropriate.
- Votes for President and picks for policies should happen via Private Message to me. This is to ensure secrecy for players, and make sure votes are not affected by earlier votes.
Good Luck!
Our IRC channel is #SH_Main
PS: Anyone private message me if they don't currently know whether they are a Liberal, Fascist, or Hitler.
Secret Hitler is a dramatic game of political intrigue and betrayal set in 1930's Germany. Players are secretly divided into two teams - liberals and fascists. Known only to each other, the Fascists coordinate to sow distrust and install their cold-blooded leader. The liberals must find and stop the Secret Hitler before it’s too late.
Each round, players elect a President and a Chancellor who will work together to enact a law from a random deck. If the government passes a fascist law, players must try to figure out if they were betrayed or simply unlucky. Secret Hitler also features government powers that come into play as fascism advances. The fascists will use those powers to create chaos unless liberals can pull the nation back from the brink of war.
The Rules
At the beginning of the game, each players is randomly assigned to be a liberal or fascist, with one player assigned as Secret Hitler. The fascists, at the beginning of the game, know who Hitler is, and know who their fellow fascists are, but Hitler does not know who the other fascists are.
The objective of the liberal team is to pass five liberal policies or assassinate Secret Hitler.
The objective of the fascist team is to pass six fascist policies, or elect Secret Hitler after three fascist policies have been passed.
Each round, a Presidential Candidate is selected from a predetermined order. The Presidential Candidate selects a Chancellor. The chosen Chancellor may not be a person from the previous ticket. Then the whole table votes "Ja!" or "Nein!" on their ticket; if a majority of players vote “Ja!,” the elected President and Chancellor take the following actions to pass a new policy:
If a majority of players did not vote "Ja!", the next presidential candidate in sequence is given a chance to create a ticket. If three successive tickets fail to get voted in, the public takes matters into its own hands and enacts the policy on the top of the policy deck.
If a fascist policy passes, the President gains a new power that she must use immediately.
These are, in order
Fascist Policy #1: Investigate Loyalty
The President investigates a player's party membership.
Fascist Policy #2: Call Special Election
The President chooses the next presidential candidate. The election process proceeds as normal after the special election has been called.
Fascist Policy #3: Policy Peek
The president examines the next three policy cards.
Fascist Policy #4: Execution
The president executes one player.
Fascist Policy #5: Veto Power
Instead of enacting a policy given to him by the President, the Chancellor may choose to veto the agenda. If the President consents, both policies are discarded and the and the Presidency passes as usual. If the President does not consent, the Chancellor must enact one of the two policies.
The objective of the liberal team is to pass five liberal policies or assassinate Secret Hitler.
The objective of the fascist team is to pass six fascist policies, or elect Secret Hitler after three fascist policies have been passed.
Each round, a Presidential Candidate is selected from a predetermined order. The Presidential Candidate selects a Chancellor. The chosen Chancellor may not be a person from the previous ticket. Then the whole table votes "Ja!" or "Nein!" on their ticket; if a majority of players vote “Ja!,” the elected President and Chancellor take the following actions to pass a new policy:
- The President draws 3 policies from a random deck.
- The President discards 1 policy and passes 2 to the Chancellor.
- The Chancellor discards 1 policy and enacts the final one as law.
If a majority of players did not vote "Ja!", the next presidential candidate in sequence is given a chance to create a ticket. If three successive tickets fail to get voted in, the public takes matters into its own hands and enacts the policy on the top of the policy deck.
If a fascist policy passes, the President gains a new power that she must use immediately.
These are, in order
Fascist Policy #1: Investigate Loyalty
The President investigates a player's party membership.
Fascist Policy #2: Call Special Election
The President chooses the next presidential candidate. The election process proceeds as normal after the special election has been called.
Fascist Policy #3: Policy Peek
The president examines the next three policy cards.
Fascist Policy #4: Execution
The president executes one player.
Fascist Policy #5: Veto Power
Instead of enacting a policy given to him by the President, the Chancellor may choose to veto the agenda. If the President consents, both policies are discarded and the and the Presidency passes as usual. If the President does not consent, the Chancellor must enact one of the two policies.
STRATEGY NOTES
- Everyone should claim to be a liberal. Since the Liberal team has a voting majority, it can easily shut out anyone
who reveals he is a fascist. Liberals who claim to be fascists put their team at a significant disadvantage.
- Slow the game down and discuss every decision. Consider what powers the president will gain if a fascist law is
enacted, and ask potential presidents how they’ll use their powers. Liberals generally want to slow the game down to a
crawl and think about every vote and decision. Fascists generally want to blow through the game and hope that the
group makes sloppy mistakes.
- Although they have a majority, it’s extremely hard for the Liberals to win. They need to establish trust with one another and use their voting power to prevent the fascists from getting elected and using the special powers of the
President.
- Pay careful attention to the position of players around the table and who’s going to be President next; you don’t want to be forced into a situation where you have to vote for a fascist ticket. The “special election” Presidential power is very powerful - make sure it doesn’t fall into the
wrong hands!
- Fascists should find a way to secretly signal their loyalty to Hitler - this could include nonverbal communication or gameplay that protects Hitler.
- In most cases, Hitler will want to play as a staunch liberal - that way, the group will be amenable to installing
him as Chancellor later in the game.
- Fascists want to investigate Hitler early and name him as a liberal - this prevents a liberal President from outing
Hitler as a fascist.
- After the third Fascist policy has been enacted, the Fascists are poised to win the game by getting Hitler elected Chancellor. This is a very dangerous stage of the game for the Liberal team - the only way to know definitively if a player is Hitler is to elect them Chancellor and see if the game ends.
- If a Fascist is president when the “kill” power is activated, he can eliminate a Liberal player under the guise of confusion. The Fascists can win the game this way by gaining a voting majority and installing Hitler as Chancellor, or by rejecting Candidates until the board fills with fascist policies.
who reveals he is a fascist. Liberals who claim to be fascists put their team at a significant disadvantage.
- Slow the game down and discuss every decision. Consider what powers the president will gain if a fascist law is
enacted, and ask potential presidents how they’ll use their powers. Liberals generally want to slow the game down to a
crawl and think about every vote and decision. Fascists generally want to blow through the game and hope that the
group makes sloppy mistakes.
- Although they have a majority, it’s extremely hard for the Liberals to win. They need to establish trust with one another and use their voting power to prevent the fascists from getting elected and using the special powers of the
President.
- Pay careful attention to the position of players around the table and who’s going to be President next; you don’t want to be forced into a situation where you have to vote for a fascist ticket. The “special election” Presidential power is very powerful - make sure it doesn’t fall into the
wrong hands!
- Fascists should find a way to secretly signal their loyalty to Hitler - this could include nonverbal communication or gameplay that protects Hitler.
- In most cases, Hitler will want to play as a staunch liberal - that way, the group will be amenable to installing
him as Chancellor later in the game.
- Fascists want to investigate Hitler early and name him as a liberal - this prevents a liberal President from outing
Hitler as a fascist.
- After the third Fascist policy has been enacted, the Fascists are poised to win the game by getting Hitler elected Chancellor. This is a very dangerous stage of the game for the Liberal team - the only way to know definitively if a player is Hitler is to elect them Chancellor and see if the game ends.
- If a Fascist is president when the “kill” power is activated, he can eliminate a Liberal player under the guise of confusion. The Fascists can win the game this way by gaining a voting majority and installing Hitler as Chancellor, or by rejecting Candidates until the board fills with fascist policies.
A few other side rules to ensure that everyone has fun:
- You are not allowed to PM other players. While for the Liberals this would not be a big deal, it could be very useful for Secret Hitler to know who his fellow fascists are, so in the interest of fairness and the spirit of the game, I will ask you to refrain from sending private messages or other not-thread communications to others regarding the game. Thank you for your consideration.
- No Nazi ideology whatsoever. While I'm fairly sure just saying Hitler's name is fine (considering how many Hearts of Iron AARs there are on thread) but try to avoid the use of swastikas or any other Nazi symbols out of respect for the thread.
- I will usually give about 2 days for orders, but I recommend that you get orders in sooner so the game can move forward quickly.
- If votes or orders are not given within the required time, the vote will be ignored, while I will go through the order instead. If this happens more than once, I will consider replacing you with someone who gets orders in on time.
- You are welcome to any (relevant) conversation in thread, as long as its appropriate.
- Votes for President and picks for policies should happen via Private Message to me. This is to ensure secrecy for players, and make sure votes are not affected by earlier votes.
Good Luck!
Our IRC channel is #SH_Main
PS: Anyone private message me if they don't currently know whether they are a Liberal, Fascist, or Hitler.
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