Illuminati

Illuminati is Steve Jackson’s satirical 1982 game of rival conspiracies competing to control the world from behind the scenes. Every player begins with a different Illuminati card and builds a power structure by attacking uncontrolled groups or trying to wrench organizations away from opponents. Power, resistance, transferable power, alignments, money, and the arrows printed around each card all affect which attacks are possible and where a captured group can be placed. The resulting network is both an engine and a vulnerability: income flows through it, groups lend support across it, and a well-timed attack can sever an important branch. Negotiation is unrestricted, so loans, threats, temporary alliances, and double-crosses become as important as arithmetic. The original first edition presents the system in its compact black-and-white pocket-box form, with asymmetric societies and special goals that make every table’s conspiracy different.