Psychological Warfare

Psychological Warfare is a card game for a spicy half hour in which you fight with words instead of weapons. You try to thwart your opponents while getting exactly what you need yourself. Think backhanded compliments, nasty digs, paranoia, stress and even phobias. Anything to bend the scores your way. It is a mental tug of war for two to four players. Everyone scores in four categories: freedom, fun, power and belonging. Whoever has the highest score in a category at the end takes the points. Exactly how many points that is depends on the character you play. To take actions you spend mental energy. That way you raise or lower scores, influence yourself or others, or block someone who has it in for you. Your defence mechanisms protect you, but every action also builds up psychological baggage. If you want to get rid of it, you have to go into therapy. Afterwards, though, you lose your defences, so it is always a balancing act. Every turn is full of choices: which cards do you discard for energy, what do you play, which scores do you change and how do you combine your actions? Plenty to keep you coming back without it getting boring.