Rat King

A short hidden-agenda card game for 5 or more players!

Welcome to the Ratpublic - you are a member of the Rat King, the governing body. You and your fellow players must vote on which 5 Ratizens have their proposals made into law!

This game was made for a university project under a brief given by Dissent Games. We aimed to provide education around and promotion for alternative voting systems - our game uses a simplified version of the Alternative Voting system (also known as Ranked Choice, or Instant Runoff).

Each player is given a secret Ratgenda, which outlines their goals for the game. Play takes place in rounds - a number of different Ratizen cards are played, each with their own proposal. Players vote on which Ratizen to accept, and whichever Ratizen wins has their proposal go into effect!

Each Ratizen impacts the nation in different ways. The National Metrics Board tracks 5 different values: Wealth, Education, Food, Religion, and Culture. Keep an eye on your Ratgenda to inform how you should vote! Once 5 Ratizens have been chosen, the game ends and you count up your points!