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 #10: Psychedelics

Mind and body altering drugs have a long shared history with fighting cultures. From Homeric warriors tripping on opiates, to Siberian mushroom eaters, to Delta Force’s infamous binges on Dextroamphetamine, it’s an old, old story. Psychoactive drug use in the protest movement is also well documented (as are the drug crimes proliferating within the Chicago Police Department itself). And for some Yippies, psychedelia stood in for emancipatory politics. Article 3 in their leaflet manifesto calls for “The legalization of marihuana and all other psychedelic drugs” … a demand that seems much less transgressive nowadays than it did in 1968, to be honest.

“Psychedlics” in Chicago ‘68 is a “Street Theater Card” – one of the location specific “situations” that can be triggered by an Agitator finding themselves in the wrong place at the right time (such as the delegate hotel lobby or in one of the park encampments). This one is unique among its kind because it calls for an Agitator to be in one of the “Transit” areas on the board map. These locations represent travel distances between sites of historical significance; perhaps on the elevated train line, or on a bus, or in an alley between skyscrapers… Then, all of a sudden and without realizing how they ended up there, a Yippie wakes up somewhere they aren’t meant to be.

A canny player will link this card effect with another Street Theater action corresponding to this Agitator’s new location. Far out man, Far out.