Designed by Stephen Avery & Tom Vasel
Once upon a time, there was a game called Kremlin. In this game, you managed members of the Russian Politboro, politicking and assassinating each other, in an attempt to move up the ranks, with victory being earned by the player who waves at the May Day Parade three times. It was… not a very good game, but it was a very fun game. Since then, a few people have tried to copy it, and two have done it well: Chicken Caesar – which pushes the formula to be a purely political one – and Nothing Personal, which leans harder into game-like mechanics. Personally, I feel the latter has done a better job.
In Nothing Personal, you are a mob family trying to wrest control of the local mob scene. There will be a local heirarchy of mobs, of which you will control a subset of them. The roles in the heirarchy all have special powers. The hit man can whack another mobster (most likely controlled by another player), whereas the Accountant can make more money, and so on. Players play by attempting to influence these members, and use their powers to lock in their place in the heirarchy. But everyone is always a way to move up the ladder.
Interesting Mechanic: The Capo Ring. The Capo Ring is held by the guy who controls the mob boss. Each mobster gets to do one action, as directed by the player who controls him. If two players have the same amount of influence, the Capo Ring decides. Kapiche?
Nothing Personal is a great social game about climbing up a heirarchy. It’s also got great production values and drips with flavor. It’s definitely a better game to play with a table full of extroverts, though.
(Photo Credit: I Slay the Dragon)
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