Junta Madness

On Saturday evening we hosted Junta for ~5 hours. The players were Dustin, Jana, Drew, Jessie, and Alex. It was a learning process. Most had played before but not for years. Junta is a vicious negotiation game in which the players compete for power in a banana republic. Bribery, assassination, rigged elections, and coups are the order of the day.

The game started out well for Dustin. The Christian Democrats backed his bid for the Presidency. He campaigned on a platform of peace and prosperity - prosperity, that is, for the good people in society; he would not permit the slum-dwelling scum like Jana to irresponsibly involve themselves in the affairs of governance, affairs that are beyond their simple understanding. Alex, Jessie, and Drew sensibly aligned themselves with Dustin's party, and he assumed office.

Thus began the golden era of our society. Money flowed to the responsible sectors of society. Alex, Jessie, and Drew filled their swiss bank accounts. The streets were peaceful; assassinations were unheard of (except for minor misunderstandings between Alex and Drew). Even the denizens of the slums like Jana benefited from Dustin's judicious exercise of power. The Radicals were swayed by his policies, increasing his influence. All was well.

Then greed and irresponsibility overcame the better judgment of certain factions (Drew and Jana). They used a pretext to launch a bloody coup. Drew, the general of the 2nd army brigade, marched his troops toward the Presidential Palace. Dustin was, however, prepared for such violence. The Palace Guard fortified the perimeter. He called upon his support in the Radical sector, and strikers and student mobs took to the streets under Dustin's banner. Jessie, appearing loyal at the time, opposed the usurping scum.

However, Jessie was deluded by the connivance of the rebels. He turned coat and used the air force to bomb the palace. Alex used his police effectively, but the battle was lost. Dustin saw the writing on the wall and offered peace. He payed two million pesos to each of the rebel factions in exchange for a guarantee of his life. The deal was made, and Jessie was elected by the rebels to the Presidency. Then Jessie showed his nature: he had his thugs gun down Dustin. Dustin's son took over control of the family fortune, but he lost a huge amount of cash and influence.

Thus began the darkest era in our country's history. Whereas the money flowed freely under Dustin's regime, during Jessie's nefarious rule, capital flows dried to a trickle. Even his rebel partners received merely a pittance. Worse, assassinations became commonplace, robbery and murder a daily occurrence. Brother turned against brother, while the President deposited huge sums of cash in his Swiss bank account. Through it all, Drew idiotically remained loyal to Jessie.



Fortunately, Alex and Dustin took advantage of the emergence of a pretender in the province. The monarchists that pervaded Drew's army brigade immobilized that force. Alex and Dustin, the generals of the remaining army brigades, righteously drove their forces to the palace and deposed the villain, Jessie. They promptly elected Alex to the presidency and executed the treacherous snake, Drew.

Alex and Dustin were well on their way to rebuilding a just society, but it was midnight, and Jana insisted that her faction had to retire. Victory would certainly have been Dustin's, but Jessie had, at the moment, the most cash in his Swiss bank account.

The consensus among the players is that we need to play again soon, hopefully with one or two more players in the mix. We'll shoot for sometime this week or next. I look forward to responsibly exercising power for the benefit of the people - the responsible people.