Corridors of Power: Review
Information:
Mechanics: Negotiation, Voting, Political, Betting and Bluffing
Player Age: 12+ Player Count: 3 - 6 PlayersTime to Play: 60 - 90 Minutes
Game Designer: Nick Bailey, Lewis Bailey
Player Age: 12+
Game Designer: Nick Bailey, Lewis Bailey
Objective:
In Corridors of Power you are trying to negotiate your way to the top by electing policies that meet your constituents and special interest.
Game Anatomy:
Influence and Smear Tokens:
Influence will be used to pass policies throughout the game. Smears, however, will be used to remove one policy whenever policies are voted for.
Dice:
These dice will be used to give Influence and Smear to players every turn. In a 3-4 player game white dice will be used, while black dice will be used for a 5-6 player game. When rolled, if the red symbol appears then the active player will gain a cabinet member card. When rolled, if a purple icon appears the active player will be able to remove a policy from the policy landscape, or add one back to the policy landscape from the wasteland.
Supporter Markers:
Each player will receive 10 markers of one colour at the start of the game. These will be used when a policy is passed as the player who spent the most influence will gain the 1st spot on the policy card and place one of their supporter markers there. This will also happen for the second place and if there is a third place.
Board Dividers:
These dividers will be used as titles to show the passed policies, the policies stuck in the wasteland, and the policies yet to be discussed (policy landscape).
Card Anatomy:
Constituent Cards:
Each player will be dealt three constituent cards at the beginning of the game. These will be either green, red or blue. At the end of the game each type of passed policy will be tallied. The policy type with the highest amount passed will score each matching constituent a total of 3 points each. The second highest policy type passed will work the same way but will only be worth one point each. For example if red policies had the most passed policies then the red constituents will score three points each where if one player had three of these constituents they will score nine points at the end of the game.
Policy Cards:
There are three types of policy cards; minor, major and headline. Each are harder to get passed than the previous and each harder one will be worth more points. Each policy will have; a coloured background matching a constituent colour, an influence value needed to pass the policy to the top right of the card, and points that will be awarded for the player who votes the most/second most/third most at the bottom of the card. Some policies may give unique scoring benefits or one off benefits if passed.
Special Interest Cards:
Each player will begin the game with one of these unique scoring cards. They contain policies you will want passed and policies that will cause you to lose points. Additionally, there is a jackpot that will reward bonus points if the player manages to elect the policies that suit and keep the negative policies in the wasteland. Any policy that relates to this card will have a symbol on the bottom right of the policy that matches the symbol to the top right on this card.
Cabinet Member Cards:
Cabinet members are special cards that will change the game in your favour. They can be played anytime their card says they are allowed to be played. An example is Cleopatra who can be played after dice are rolled and will then re roll the dice.
Political Crises Cards:
These are events that will have a one off effect on everyone. These cards are only drawn if the purple symbol appears on both dice when rolled.
Setup:
- Shuffle each deck separately, and shuffle the minor/major/headline policies separately.
- Place policy dividers above each other with space between each divider and with the policy landscape in the middle.
- In six columns place the headline policies face up, then place the major policies on top, then the minor policies on top of these.
- Deal each player (face down) three constituents, one special interest and one cabinet member.
- Give each player the cubes of one colour, two influence tokens and one smear token.
- In a 3-4 player game use the white dice. In a 5-6 player game use the black dice.
How to Play:
On a players turn there are two phases; the Deal Making and the Policy Proposal phase.
In the deal making phase, pick a player that you will aid with resources then roll the two dice used for the game. Give all resources on one dice to yourself and the resources on the other dice to your chosen player.
In the second phase, pick an uncovered policy and propose the policy to be passed. This can be discussed and negotiated with other players to see if the policy will likely pass or fail. Each player will now put an unrevealed amount of influence tokens and smear tokens into their hand from their supply. Once that is done all players reveal their hands. When players use smear tokens they can select which opponent’s influence they wish to discard from the vote. If the policy fails it will be moved to the policy wasteland. If the policy succeeds then it will be moved to passed policies and the player that used the most influence will place one of their markers on the first spot. The second and third most-influence player will do the same to their respective spots if able.
The game will end when two headline policies have been proposed (whether they have passed or failed). Then each player will score their constituents, special interests and the points for passed policies that are covered by their markers. Whichever player has the most points has successfully swayed the political party in their favour and won the game.
Final Thoughts:
Pros:
- Easy rules.
- Two different methods of scoring to focus on.
- The symbol for special interest cards helps a lot.
Neutral:
- This could fall flat in a group that isn't political minded.
Cons:
- A heavy negotiation group is needed to bring this game to life.
Corridors of Power is the kind of game that requires a certain kind of group in order to excel. It would need a political group and a group that enjoys discussing and negotiating decisions. Given that situation, the game works great as there is visual cues to help with scoring such as the colour in the constituents and the icon on the special interest. This helps players to discover their goals quickly and leaves less time for their intentions to be revealed when proposing policies and voting. This is a easy to learn game that will work well for players that enjoy negotiating to push their agenda but by giving scraps to other players.
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