Junta - the game that makes me an arsehole
26.10.2018
Translation: machine translated
Games have a great power: they trigger behaviour in me that I would never have thought possible. And then I think that's a good thing. It makes me think.
Game night with colleagues: We play Junta. The game comes in different variations, but here we're playing the version called "Junta - Viva El Presidente". A kind of light version that doesn't take as long.
Junta is a satirical board game by Vincent Tsao, Ben Grossman and Eric Goldberg. In the board game, players take on the role of members of a junta who rule a fictitious, highly corrupt
El Presidente, that's me. It actually sounds good, "el Prrrrrrresidente", statesmanlike and yet determined to resolutely carry out the revolution even in the face of resistance - but the reality is different.
Nothing works here without corruption: if I don't want to be ousted, I have to bribe. I would be quite prepared to do that, but now I've been dealt the arse card, or rather, a lot of arse cards. I actually need a few million to make all the military and drug barons look good. But the cards I've received this round aren't for cash, but for useless stuff or weapons. I have no choice but to bribe the gang with weapons.
The only problem is that these weapons can then also be used against me.
Traitors everywhere you look
The inevitable happens. Of all people, the player who has whinged the most about how badly he's getting off, who has shouted the loudest for cash and received the most weapons from me by far, is now using these weapons to bring me down.
I spend the rest of the game trying to get revenge on this rotten traitor. But my position is so weakened that I can't win anyway. So I at least try to do a bit of damage. But I don't even manage that. This further increases my desire for revenge, although it's clear that I'll never win like this.
But I learn my lesson. Not to take revenge afterwards, but to threaten it loudly in advance. On the other hand, make great promises to those who stand by you. But above all, leave no stone unturned in sowing discord and setting the various would-be rulers against each other.
These are all behaviours that I strictly reject "in real life", and what's more, I'm not normally tempted to behave like this. Even as a child, I never enjoyed tormenting others or scheming. In the game, however, I suddenly discover the pleasure of being nasty. The triumph of having tricked someone: priceless. The game Junta changes my character - temporarily. It makes me think.
What exactly is going on here? I'm starting to think fundamentally about the effect and functionality of games.
A satirical statement about the world
First the obvious: games follow a certain logic, according to which you have to play in order to win. If the game is such that the nastiest dog has the best chance of winning, then you just play this dirty game. Of course, this means that the game designers have the power to encourage constructive or destructive behaviour.
If a game is not abstract, but simulates something real, then it also makes a statement about the world. This is obvious in Junta. The players who are not currently president are referred to as "putschists" in the game instructions. There is nothing else. Running the state according to the rule of law is not an option in the game. That someone is not only concerned with their personal advantage or at least knows certain limits: impossible. That you have more success in the long term with honesty and a solid basis of trust: LOL. The game is extremely cynical.
For me, that's exactly why I enjoy the game. It forces me to behave like an asshole, but it doesn't do this to teach me such behaviour in real life. On the contrary, the game makes me realise that such behaviour is successful but reprehensible. The cartoonishly drawn junta criminals look ridiculous and unappealing. So the game is a satire in terms of visuals alone. It openly exposes the abuses that the players are trying to cover up in reality.
Junta is a game for adults. Children play games to learn something: skill, strategy, co-operation or even deception. And, of course, because they enjoy it. But they are not yet in a position to understand a game as social criticism. In the worst case, children would understand the cynicism of the game as a completely normal maxim for action. That's why I think the age recommendation for the full version - from 16 to 18 years - is absolutely right. Our version of the game is recommended for ages 10 and up. Not comprehensible to me.
Despite this, a learning effect
For me as an adult, the game has a different learning effect. I don't want to learn to act like this in real life, but I want to understand the mechanism behind it. The behaviours from Junta do exist in the real world, even though nobody thinks they are good in theory. There are certainly reasons for this, but they are not so easy to understand. I understand what's behind it much better when I act out the situation and put myself in the mindset of the junta members.
By the way:I assume Junta isn't the only game with an arsehole effect - but it's the only one I know. Do you know of any others?
David Lee
Senior Editor
David.Lee@digitecgalaxus.chMy interest in IT and writing landed me in tech journalism early on (2000). I want to know how we can use technology without being used. Outside of the office, I’m a keen musician who makes up for lacking talent with excessive enthusiasm.
Toys
Follow topics and stay updated on your areas of interest
