Billionaires and Guillotines

Take on the role of 2-5 rival plutocrats vying to grab the wealth of the world before your actions trigger a revolution and you all lose… a lot more than your assets. Will you play the media baron or the property speculator? The aristocrat or the tech overlord or the war profiteer? Whoever you play, you will be trying to buy a collection of five extravagant assets prized by the super-rich (a mega yacht, a celebrity spouse, a disaster bunker, an art masterpiece and more!) and prevent your opponents from achieving their dreams first. But watch out - as you gobble up ever more resources, crises start to cascade out of control: wildfires and floods, pandemics and militias, killer robots and doomsday cults… Will you collaborate to suppress the growing rebellions, or will you try to get off the planet with your toys? Billionaires and Guillotines is designed to get you playing right away with a simple set of rules. But once you’re ready, you can add more chaotic complexity and wicked fun. You'll bribe politicians to ensure that government policy favours you over your rivals, and you'll take on a secret role that offers special powers and ways to win. Maybe you’ll be the Banker, who gets to break the rules? Or the Disaster Speculator, who is betting on the crisis? Or the Elite Prepper, decorating your deluxe bunker? Or the Celebrity, who hopes to be spared by the revolution? And yes, you can play the revolutionaries! In an optional expansion of the game, one player gets to be an agitator. But are you a well-meaning reformist, trying to work with the billionaires to solve the crises and suppress the rebellion, or are you a diabolical revolutionary, eager to wheel out the guillotine? Billionaires and Guillotines is designed by Max Haiven and will be published in 2025 by London-based Pluto Press. The crowdfunding campaign for the game will launch on March 26 with a party in London on April 13. Games should be in stores and available to order worldwide by October. The game artwork is by Berlin-based artist Amanda Priebe.