Home of the Brave

Home of the Brave is a sociopolitical board game emphasizing the complexity of the world of modern U.S. politics. It's a 2-5 players tabletop game in which players will compete for influence, advance their professional position and gain powerful supporters. Driven by a story presented in a 18-page novella, the game creates a rich landscape where politics, media, social activism, business and criminal world mix. Home of the Brave is full of negotiation, blackmail, alliances and scandals.

The game takes place in rounds. Each round (except the first) starts with revealing a voting card (events) and voting for one of its two possible results. Then the players take turns doing actions (play a card, earn profit from previously played cards, advance on the path of bravery, etc.). When everyone has finished doing actions and has passed, the round ends - players draw new cards and reveal a new voting card. The primary player action is to play a card. Each character has their own deck of cards representing their typical behavior, acquaintances, and strengths. Each card has a cost (in resources) to play it, which is printed on the card. Skillful resource management and optimal card play is the key to victory in Home of the Brave.

A basic type of resource in the game is supporter cubes. They symbolize allies, voters, subordinates, or favors owed to a character. There are four types: Republicans, Democrats, Activists and Criminals.

Additional resource types are dollars and bravery points.

Players keep their own resources hidden behind screens so that opponents cannot see them. A player pays the cost of playing a card by paying the required resources from behind their screen to the bank. A player cannot play a given card if they do not have all the required resources.

The aim of the game is to gain 4 (or more) stars before one’s opponents. 2 stars can be gained by career advancement along the path of bravery, but each character also has many other ways to earn stars, mostly through their personal goal cards. Players will often have to prioritize between their career and private life.