Designer: Zain Memon

Artist: Soumik Lahiri

Publisher: Memesys Culture Lab

Genre/Mechanisms: area control, political, simulation, variable player powers

Funding Status: At the time of this posting, Shasn is already fully-funded.  In fact, pledges currently total more than 10x the initial funding goal, with about 2 days left to go on the campaign.

Player Count: 3-5

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: medium-heavy

Risk: high

What It’s About:  A multiplayer, political strategy game where players’ ethical and political choices affect their resource income, and in their thirst for victory, they may influence voters, engage in gerrymandering, and form coalitions.

How It Works: On their turn, the player answers a question about contemporary policy based on their current needs, and then gains the associated resources. They do not see these resources until they have already answered the question. Then they receive said resources, along with any other passive resources from Idealogy Cards. Players can then choose to take any of the following actions, in any order, on the rest of their turn: Spend Resources to influence voters from open Vote Bank Cards on the HQ Mat; Form Majorities by influencing more than half the voters in a zone; Buy or Use Conspiracy Cards; Trade Resources and/or Conspiracy Cards amongst each other; Gerrymander Votes if applicable; Trigger Headline Cards if applicable; and Form or Collapse Coalitions in their turn. The player ends their turn by drawing and reading the Idealogy Card for the next player. By influencing more than half the voters in a zone, the player gains a majority there. The game ends when there are majorities in all zones, at which point the player with the most majority voters wins.

Comparisons:  It’s multi-player Twilight Struggle, with some pretty impressive components and game design.

What Should I Pledge?:
$59 The Kickstarter Edition: the KS Edition of Shasn, either the USA 2020 campaign or the India 2020 campaign, and all stretch goals.
$89 The Presidential Edition: the KS Edition of Shasn, the USA 2020 campaign, the India 2020 campaign, the Earth 2040 campaign, the Rome 40 BCE campaign, and all stretch goals.
$1,000 The Founders Edition: the Presidential Edition, plus limited Wooden Edition of Shasn with metal components and the owner’s name engraved on the box.

Add-Ons:
$15 Brexit 2020 Campaign
$15 extra Game Board specifically designed for three players

KS Exclusives:
The KS-Exclusive Promos include: the Limited Collector’s Edition version of the rulebook, party symbols on the Voting Pouches, party symbols on the Player Mats, the graphic novel Idealogue Origins, the Home Turf Game Mode, 24 Cost of Victory Cards, the Cardboard Resource Box, and alternative art on the Player Mats.

All-In Total: Let’s assume you’re not pledging for the $1,000 Founders Edition. In the continental U.S. you’re looking at $89 for The Presidential Edition, $30 for the Brexit 2020 Campaign and the three-player game board, and $20 in shipping, for a total of $139.

Shasn completes its Kickstarter on Friday, August 16th and tentatively ships in June 2020.