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SHASN (The Kickstarter Presidential Edition)

90.00€

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90.00€

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Board Game Geek Reviews


  1. 5 out of 10

    Great production, but the modular idea is just bad. Each of these conflicts should be its own game, with its own map, art, and history. The modularity of the game downplays the history and gravity of these events. Additionally, there is a lot of gameplay heavily dependent on a player's pop culture political knowledge. You'll know if your ideology aligns with the suite you're going for if you are liberal. I've played this with both camps, and the conservatives always do way worse, as they can't quite tell when something is nationalist/ totalitarian/ democratic. Their perspective is different.

  2. 8 out of 10

    A good time. Combines area control with the conversational experience of something like Cards Against Humanity (which is not at all a good or fair comparison but, alas, I cannot think of another in the moment). One complaint: the early game is very slow to develop, prolonging the overall length of the game and delaying what is a tense, fun bit of board wrangling at the end. Perhaps the Elites can be used to give players initial starting positions / ideological biases (?)

  3. 6.1 out of 10

    [September 2021 - 6.1] Shasn is a unique experience with plenty of positives, but falls short in its actual gameplay. It's a political game with area control, and the basic gist is that on each turn you answer a political yes/no question -- kinda like you were at a debate. Answer 'yes,' and you'll get these resources or answer 'no' and you'll get a different set of resources. The trick is, you aren't certain what resources you'll get, you can only infer based on the question and answer. So, if I really need blue resources, I try and think how the blue politician would answer the question. It leads to some funny moments, where you have to explain "well, I don't believe this, but I'm answering this way to get the resources I want" ... so in that sense, it's very political. I could see potential for folks to really get into character. So, that part is fun, but when it comes down to the actual area control ... meh ... you're just trying to have more pawns there than the other guy. And unlike an area-control game like El Grande, there is no second place -- it's winner take all. The game tries to spice things up with "gerrymandering" and the ability to shift things around via cards and powers, but it seems empty. Perhaps my biggest gripe is that the game seems rather long and each turn feels samey, beyond the variety in questions. The first half of the game is slow to start getting pawns out on the board, and while the second half speeds up, by then, I was bored. We played a four-palyer game on the normal board, but perhaps playing four on the two-player board would speed-up and tighten the game a little?

Be the first to review “SHASN (The Kickstarter Presidential Edition)”

SHASN is a multiplayer strategy board game where every player takes on the role of a politician in the midst of a political campaign. With each turn, players must draw a card and take stands on divisive and urgent political issues. These choices will help them gather resources to influence voters or purchase strategic powers. Players can build diverse Ideologies with every policy decision, to best reflect their beliefs and play style. Building a single political ideology will allow them to unlock powers that can help cement their own positions or destabilize opponents. As they progress in the game, players must choose between sticking to their ideals or molding them as per their needs. In a game of trading, coercion, and strategy, players must do whatever it takes to survive and dominate.

The map is split into 9 zones with each zone having a different voter-count required to form a majority. The player with the highest majority votes – when all majorities are formed – wins the game. To influence voters, players will need unique combinations of the four resources at their disposal – (campaign) Funds, Media (attention), (public) Trust and (street) Clout. At the start of their turn, players must respond to the political dilemma they are faced with – each question has two answers to pick from. The players must try and gauge the ideological bent of each answer, the resources it would grant them and answer accordingly. At the same time, they must try to build a cohesive manifesto to unlock huge powers. For instance – giving pro-industry answers will yield Funds, and having 4 Funds answers in your manifesto will allow you to trade resources with the bank. Similarly, building a manifesto with 4 Media answers will allow you to reach out to influence even more voters for the same cost.

Players must constantly juggle with the trade-off of giving answers that grant them the resources they need in that moment or investing in the long term with answers that strengthen their Ideologies to unlock greater combos later in the game.

Players must also navigate the effects of Headlines (triggered by placing votes in volatile zones) and Conspiracy Cards (which can be purchased at any time in the game), providing them with a wide toolset to seize power or throw a spanner in the works of a rival.

SHASN boasts of having no hard RNGs and uses deliberate choice as the core resource gathering and power-building mechanic. As much of the game hinges on political negotiation between players, the gameplay is often aggressive, action-packed and laden with long-term strategy building.

—description from the publisher

Ages

12+
Players

2 Players, 3 Players, 4 Players, 5 Players
Play Time

90m – 120m
Designer

Zain Memon
Mechanics

Alliances, Area Majority / Influence, Set Collection, Simulation, Take That, Trading, Variable Player Powers
Theme

Negotiation, Political, Territory Building
Publisher

Memesys Culture Lab
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