Teach the Game

A script to teach Hegemony at the table — how each of the four classes wins, the main board and all four player boards, a round of five phases, the end, every way to score and what each resource is for.

How you win

“A modern nation in crisis. Each of us leads one part of society — the Working Class, the Middle Class, the Capitalist Class or the State — and wants different things. Five rounds, three hours or more the first time. We play cards to act, our companies produce and pay wages, and every round we vote on bills that change the country’s policies. Most victory points at the end wins.”

Every class scores differently — that is the whole game:

Class	What it wants	Its main source of points
Working Class (red)	Jobs, then Health, Education and Luxury for its people	Raising Prosperity, Trade Unions, passing Bills
Middle Class (yellow)	A balance of running small companies and looking after its people	Prosperity, selling abroad, Bills
Capitalist Class (blue)	Profit	Money in its Capital each round (the Wealth table)
State (gray, 4 players)	Legitimacy with all three classes	Its two lowest Legitimacy scores each round, Events, its Political Agenda

The loop: play 5 cards a round (each for its effect or as a Basic Action), then companies produce and pay wages, everyone eats and pays taxes, then Bills go to the vote and the Politics table shifts — which changes wages, taxes, prices and immigration for the next round.

With 2 players only the Working and Capitalist Classes play; with 3 the Middle Class joins; the State is a player only with 4 (setup). Start with 2 players for a first game.

The boards

The main board

1. Score track — victory points for all classes, 0–99.
2. Politics table, Policies 1–5 — section A socialist, C neoliberal.
3. Policies 6–7 — Foreign Trade and Immigration, A nationalist, C globalist.
4. Round track — 5 rounds.
5. Tax Multiplier — multiplies the Middle and Capitalist Classes’ Employment Tax.
6. Vote results — drawn cubes and Influence go in favour or against.
7. Events — two issues for the State each round (4 players).
8. State Benefits — what the State has provided for each class.
9. Business Deals — cheap bulk imports for the Capitalist Class.
10. Export — this round’s Export card: what the Foreign Market buys.
11. Import — Foreign Market prices of Food and Luxury, plus tariffs.
12. State Treasury — the State’s money; all taxes go here.
13. Private Sector — up to 12 Capitalist and 8 Middle Class Companies.
14. Public Services — Health, Education and Media Influence for sale.
15. Public Sector — Public Companies; how many are open depends on Policy 1.
16. Capitalist Class part of the Private Sector.
17. Middle Class part of the Private Sector.
18. Unemployed Workers — new and jobless Workers wait here.
19. Immigration — the deck that decides which immigrants arrive.

Working Class board

1. Population track — your Workers, and below it your Population.
2. Prosperity — your main source of points.
3. Income — your money.
4. Trade Unions — one slot per industry: Influence and points each round.
5. Goods & Services — what you have bought and not yet used.

Middle Class board

1. Population track — your Workers and your Population.
2. Prosperity — drops by 2 each round.
3. Income — your money.
4. Storages — what your Companies produced, 8 of each at most.
5. Goods & Services — what you have bought (or bought from yourself) to use.
6. Price markers — what you charge the other classes.

Capitalist Class board

1. Revenue — this round’s untaxed income; you pay from here.
2. Capital — taxed money; scores every round.
3. Wealth table — points for your Capital, plus 3 for each new step.
4. Food Storage — 8 at most.
5. Luxury Storage — 12 at most.
6. Health Storage — 12 at most.
7. Education Storage — 12 at most.
8. Influence — no limit; never sold.
9. Price markers — what you charge for each resource.

State board

1. Legitimacy tracks — one per class; the Influence above the lowest one comes each election.
2. Welfare reminders — 1 point for selling at 5, Legitimacy for giving away.
3. Legitimacy scoring — points for your two lowest tracks each round.
4. Food — goods the State happens to own, for sale at 12.
5. Luxury — for sale at 8.
6. Personal Influence — yours to spend; cannot be bought.

A round

The full rules are in A Round, Phase by Phase. Five rounds; each has five phases:

1. Preparation (skipped in round 1) — pay loan interest, draw back up to 7 cards, new Workers arrive, new Companies, Export and Business Deal cards appear; the State reveals 2 Events and a Political Agenda.
2. Action — 5 turns each, in the order Working → Middle → Capitalist → State. On a turn, play 1 card: for its effect, or discard it for one of your Basic Actions. Also one Free Action, before or after. 2 cards stay in hand.
3. Production — in reverse order: companies pay Wages and produce, classes eat Food equal to their Population, the IMF checks the State’s loans, everyone pays taxes to the State.
4. Elections — each class adds Voting cubes to the bag; every proposed Bill is voted on: 5 cubes drawn plus Influence spent in secret.
5. Scoring — Trade Unions, Wealth, Middle Class companies, State Legitimacy and Agenda score; unanswered Events cost the State Legitimacy.

How the game ends

After the 5th round’s Scoring Phase. Then: every class except the Capitalists may pay off Loans at 55 each and loses 1 per 5 left unpaid; the Capitalist Class loses 5 per Loan. Each class scores its end bonus (policies in its favourite section, leftover money or goods). Most points wins; ties go to the class with more Policies 1–5 in its section, then the State, then the most Voting cubes (details).

Ways to score

Source	Who	How and when
Passing a Bill you proposed	All	3 when it passes; 1 to each supporter who added a cube or Influence (Elections)
Prosperity	Working, Middle	Each step up scores the new Prosperity value (Working, Middle)
Use Healthcare	Working, Middle	+2 on top of the Prosperity step
Trade Unions	Working	2 each, every Scoring Phase
Selling abroad	Middle	1 per Export transaction
Wealth	Capitalist	Wealth table for its Capital every round, +3 per new step reached
Legitimacy	State	Sum of its two lowest Legitimacy tracks, every round
Political Agenda	State	1 per Policy matching this round’s card
Benefits and Welfare	State	1 when a class takes its Benefits; 1 when it sells Health or Education at 5
Events, cards	All	As printed
Demonstration	Working (against others)	Others lose equal to unemployed Workers + Trade Unions
End: favourite Policies	All but State	Policies 1–5 in A (Working), B (Middle), C (Capitalist) (table)
End: leftovers	All	Working 1 per 10 money (max 15), Middle 1 per 15 money, goods in storage for Middle, Capitalist and State, State 1 per 30 in the Treasury
Loans at the end	All	Unpaid Loans cost points (above)

What each resource is for

Resource	Why you need it	How you get it	How you use it
Money (Vardis)	Everything costs money	Wages (Working/Middle), sales (Middle/Capitalist), taxes (State)	Buying goods and services, building, wages, taxes
Food	Every round each Working and Middle Class Worker must eat	Agricultural Companies, Foreign Market	Cover Needs: Food equal to Population, mandatory
Health	Prosperity and a new Worker	Healthcare Companies, Public Services	Use Healthcare: spend Population’s worth
Education	Prosperity and a skilled Worker	Education Companies, Public Services	Use Education: spend Population’s worth, upgrade a Worker
Luxury	Prosperity	Luxury Companies, Foreign Market	Use Luxury: spend Population’s worth
Influence	Extra votes; Immediate Votes	Media Companies, Trade Unions, Public Services, Lobby	1 vote each in an election; 1 to call an Immediate Vote
Workers	Wages, Trade Unions, running companies	Start, each round, Immigration, Use Healthcare	Assign them to Companies
Companies	Production (and wages for the workers)	Build from your Market (Middle, Capitalist)	Produce in the Production Phase
Voting cubes	Your share of the 5 drawn cubes	Refill each election; Apply Political Pressure	Drawn in elections
Bill markers	Changing the Policies	3 per class	Propose Bill
Machinery	More production without more wages	Capitalist cards	One per eligible Company
Legitimacy	The State’s points	Helping classes, Events, cards	Scored every round

Teaching tips

• Teach the round structure first, then let each player read their own class section and Player Aid — the four roles are asymmetric, nobody needs every detail of the others.

• Explain Policies as the shared engine: wages, taxes, prices of Health and Education, tariffs and immigration all come from the Politics table, so every vote matters to everyone.

• Stress the three easy-to-miss duties: eat Food every round, pay taxes to the State Treasury (not the supply), adjust the Tax Multiplier at once when Policies 3–5 change.

• First game: 2 players, or play fewer rounds; the Middle Class is the hardest role to learn.

• Contrast a mandatory Wage shortfall with an optional Company purchase: only the forced shortfall permits a Loan. Practice example.