Early last year, I caught wind that The Dietz Foundation was working with a new designer named Yoni Goldstein on his first game called Chicago ’68 and I was immediately interested. Chicago ’68 deals with the Democratic National Convention riots of 1968 in Chicago and sees players taking on the role of either the Establishment or the Demonstrators in a fast-paced game of street battles and political maneuvers. I reached out to Yoni and he was more than willing to discuss the game with me and also work on a series of Event Card spoiler posts in a run up to the Kickstarter campaign at the time. But now, the game is available in retail and I asked Yoni if he would do a few more Event Card Spoilers to share with you about the game.

In this series, we will cover several different types of cards included in the game and give their details so that you can understand how the game works and how it incorporates the historical narrative of the 1968 Chicago Democratic National Convention Riots.

But first off, a bit about the game itself. Chicago ’68 is a game about the riots during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, set against the social upheavals of America in the sixties. On one side: the Youth International Party (aka The Yippies) and the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam (aka the MOBE), on the other: Mayor Daley, the Chicago Police Department and the National Guard. The game unfolds over the course of three days during the Democratic National Convention – from the 26th to the 29th of August, culminating in the nomination of a presidential candidate. There are two victory conditions: one is to gain the most media exposure favorable to your side and the other is to influence the delegate vote and bolster your political aims. The Demonstrators may pivot between these two objectives while the Establishment, although more powerful, must fight and win on both fronts.

Card #8: Mob Chaos Cards – Conditional Events

On Wednesday, August 28th, a cordon of police advanced on a crowd of people who were pressed up against a plate-glass window outside of the Haymarket Lounge at the Hilton. The glass shattered and mayhem ensued in one of Chicago’s ritziest bars. Among the demonstrators and journalists forced against the glass was Hunter S. Thompson, who was subsequently beaten and tear gassed in front of the delegates’ hotel. “It was the ultimate horror,” Thompson described afterward in a letter to a friend. “The final groin-shot that only a beast like Daley would stoop to deliver. It was an LBJ-style trick: no rest for the losers, keep them on the run and if they fall, kick the shit out of them.” These scenes of melee and mayhem in front of the Hilton and Michigan were witnessed by about 75 million viewers across the country, or close to half of the US population.

“Mob Chaos” Cards are conditional Event Cards that trigger when a crowd is too massive to control and/or excessive force is being deployed against them. Each card offers two possible outcomes, depending on the time of the day. Typically, although not always, event resolution in the daytime will favor the Demonstrators while nighttime will favor the Establishment (presumably cracking down on protestors while fewer cameras are rolling). This card follows that model: in the daytime, the Demonstrators may crash through barbed wire and spill into the Hilton. At night, the Police may sweep in with their forces and make an arrest – even if a protestor wasn’t there!