J M
United States
Apopka
Florida
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Oooooh!... a game about a Revolution! Sounds exciting! I can picture it now... I am the common man, rising up to combat oppression while the powerful ruling class mercilessly hunts my brothers and I. I can hear the crack of rifles echoing through cobblestone streets, feel the acrid sting of gunpowder in my nose, I can see my friends giving their lives in the pursuit of an ideal, and my foes paying dearly for what they have taken...
Wait... what’s that you say...? I don’t get to play as revolutionary? ... OK,well... I guess that ok... So I’ll assume the role of the powerful elite, using my vast resources to crush these upstarts, right? I guess that could be fun... wait, what was that...? No? Not them either...Well them who am I exactly??? ...Wait a sec... Seriously? So you’re telling me that I am an unknown third party who is trying to manipulate the rebellion for my own interests... Kind of the "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain"... guy, except I don’t even know who I am, huh? Ok, I guess I can get into that... just doesn’t sound quite as cool as... well... being part of a revolution.
In Revolution! there is (in a very abstract way) a revolution going on.. but it’s a quiet one. At its core, this game isn’t even about revolution, it’s about manipulation, and you are a master manipulator. You work in the shadows, hiring muscle and calling in favors to take advantage of this turbulent time in your ficticious nation’s history. Because a game titled "Manipulation!" doesn’t really fire our collective imaginations, we are instead given thin broth theme (good flavor but lacking substance)that is "Revolution!". But, if you can disregard the somewhat misleading name, I think you can find a light and enjoyable offering from Steve Jackson games.
I have had Revolution in my collection for a while now, and I find it to be a good "caveat" gateway game. I call it a "caveat" gateway game because when you start explaining the game, it almost always goes something like this. The visiting friend and/or family member points to a box on the shelf and I say, "Which one? That box there? Yeah, that games’ pretty fun! it’s got a nice (insert mechanic here) mechanic, the pieces are pretty cool, it only takes about (insert time here) minutes but, here’s the thing about that game...(and this is where the caveat hits). With Revolution, the caveat is: You have got to be able to handle frustration and conflict.
First, I think it’s important to list the things that do not frustrate:
Components:
The tokens, which represent the three ways you manipulate the town (Force, Blackmail, or Money) are of a thick, quality cardboard stock. The board is also well designed and produced although I WISH there was SOMETHING on the board that gave us an inkling that there might be trouble brewing in this coastal town. Give me a boat ablaze in a tea-stained harbor, a horse drawn cart careening down the streets without a driver (extra points if the cart’s on fire  ), or a makeshift barricade blocking a street. ANYTHING that would indicate a revolution. Don’t get me wrong, I like the artwork and graphics, they’re just a little too picturesque to match the theme.
Easy to grasp mechanics:
I think this game does an excellent job of easing non-gamers’ sensitive bits into the frigid waters of a "screw your neighbor" experience. In the game, twelve different segments/member of society are represented, from the highest rungs of the social ladder to the dregs of civilization, and you are in the position to manipulate all of them. Not all of them respond to the same stimuli; some fear pain, others blackmail, and then there is cold hard cash which (true to life) influences everyone.
In the early game, much of the screw your neighbor is completely unintentional. You may unwittingly override the bid of your neighbor, taking a sphere of influence that he was counting on controlling. Getting screwed by someone else in this, "Oops! Sorry! I didn’t know you were trying to do that!" way helps mitigate the hurt feelings because it isn’t a targeted attack. Sure, later in the game when your opponent’s decisions and needs become more transparent, the "screwage" will be more purposeful. But at least by that point, the players have become better acclimated to what's happening.
Blind-bidding on influence is also an easy to grasp concept for new gamers. The slightly modified "Rock-paper-scissors" mechanic is extremely easy to grasp. Force beats blackmail, blackmail beats money, and money beats, well...nothing, but at least it’s easy to come by and can be used to augment one of the others.
Time v Enjoyment:
This game (for my game group at least) has a high TvE value. It takes the metagaming of Rock-Paper-Scissors and gives it more meaning and context. It becomes a bigger decision that has more far reaching consequences. Since the point of the game is to use the citizens you control to place your influence (read: cubes of your color) in different parts of the town, it becomes clear what areas your opponents are interested in as the game progresses. There is a lot of joy to be had from successfully reading youropponents, anticipating what they will do, and shaping your strategy to take advantage of what they have ignored. This takes the simple R-P-S mechanics and elevates them. You are simultaneously playing 12 games at once with 3 opponents. It’s akin to Rock-Paper-Scissors against an octopus, which is more compelling that is sounds.
Now for the Caveat:
Be prepared: people are going to get angry when their selections do not pan out. Be ready to see some real frustration. Whenever I play this game I hear Vizzini (from The Princess Bride) in my head saying,
"But it's so simple. All I have to do is divine from what I know of you: are you the sort of man who would put the poison Force Token into his own goblet an area he already has a majority or his enemy's? Now, a clever man would put the poison Blackmail Token into his own goblet against the Printer, because he would know that only a great fool would reach for what he was given the Spy early in the game) . I am not a great fool, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you Aristocrat. But you must have known I was not a great fool, you would have counted on it, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me Innkeeper."
So if your play group is full of Vizzini’s, this game can really drag. Don’t be afraid to steal the hourglass out of your copy of Galaxy Trucker, and put a time limit on the final player.
So, If your group can manage to not take things too seriously, and accept a game where you best laid plans may never come to fruition, then Revolution! can fill a nice niche as a light weight strategy game in your collection.
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mateen
Canada
Toronto
Ontario
Raks Raks Raks
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Nice review.
Also, I wonder if they could've maybe come up with something more attractive for the box art.
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Good review. It's a cold revolution rather than a revolt.
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Scott
United States
Wisconsin
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Thanks for the review!
The 'official' variant of a refund to bidding loosers cuts the nastiness down a bit for those that don't like it so mean.
Also, the expansion adds 4 more characters, which in theory should spread the bidding out a little more.
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J M
United States
Apopka
Florida
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Thanks for the response > This is hands-down my favorite Steve Jackson game.
I havent had the chance to try the varient yet, but I am very interested. 
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Daniel W.
United States
Portland
OR
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I have one counter to all players with AP, I tell them about a study I read a while back explaining that researchers found that brain decline in most people started as early as the age of 27, and one key area that saw decline was processing speed. I then recommend using board games as a way to work on their quick thinking skills.
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J M
United States
Apopka
Florida
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monkeyhandz wrote: Good review. It's a cold revolution rather than a revolt.
I had never heard of a "cold revolution" until you posted that. I think that is an apt description... although maybe they should have left off the exclamation point in that case! 
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J M
United States
Apopka
Florida
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oeste wrote: I have one counter to all players with AP, I tell them about a study I read a while back explaining that researchers found that brain decline in most people started as early as the age of 27, and one key area that saw decline was processing speed. I then recommend using board games as a way to work on their quick thinking skills.
Tricky... I like the way you think...
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Randall Bart
United States
Granada Hills
California
Red October
Earth is one of my favorite planets
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To me, the theme in this game is about being elected El President when the dust settles.
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Paul Chapman
United States
Texas
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Sparta wrote: It’s akin to Rock-Paper-Scissors against an octopus, which is more compelling that is sounds.
That is a hilarious analogy! (And pretty accurate, too!)
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Wait... what’s that you say...? I don’t get to play as revolutionary? ... OK,well... I guess that ok... So I’ll assume the role of the powerful elite, using my vast resources to crush these upstarts, right? I guess that could be fun... wait, what was that...? No? Not them either...Well them who am I exactly??? ...Wait a sec... Seriously? So you’re telling me that I am an unknown third party who is trying to manipulate the rebellion for my own interests... Kind of the "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain"... guy, except I don’t even know who I am, huh? Ok, I guess I can get into that... just doesn’t sound quite as cool as... well... being part of a revolution.
