Hegemony Two Player Review

Class warfare at it's finest.

Oh baby, Hegemony is a big one. At 4 players, it's an asymmetrical power struggle amongst the classes. However, I can't seem to convince 3 other friends to play this with me. Jerks. At two players, the game has one player controlling the working class and another the capitalist class. The working class is trying to get by meaning they want to have the basic necessities; food, healthcare, and education. The capitalists want to build companies to build their wealth and portfolio. The game itself plays in 5 phases over 5 rounds. The preparation phase gets you ready for the round. Each class has certain things they must do during this phase. For example, the working class will gain population and new workers. The actions phase is the most robust. Over 5 turns, cards will be played for their actions or for basic actions. Again, these are very specific to the classes. The capitalist class can build companies or sell to foreign markets if they have enough goods. There's also free actions that each can perform. Up next, the production phase happens. This is where goods and services are produced and wages are paid. This is also where taxes are paid. Then, elections, where if players have proposed bills there will be a vote where cubes are drawn from the bag. These have major effects on the game and can change from round to round and sometimes during the round. For example, the working class could push to make education free and the capitalist class would not want that because they have a cookie in that jar. Finally, scoring. Again, this is specific to each class but points will be scored. After the 5th round, scores are tallied and the class with the most points will win.

The Good: I absolutely loved how much interaction occurred between the players. Just because you're a different class doesn't mean that you won't rely on others to do what you need. The capitalists need to have companies for the working class to have workers in so they can't just prevent them from working because they'll never score any points. The working class relies on the capitalists for wages and potentially goods and services if they're the best price. There's a ton of depth and strategy and planning involved each turn. You'll need to think ahead because if you're playing in the moment you'll be at a disadvantage. I love the inclusion of the guide that essentially gave reasoning behind all of the different classes and why they play the way that they do. A game like this almost felt like it needed to have it.

The Okay: This is a beast of a set up. My first time through I spent nearly an hour getting everything ready to go. Then the teach can be a herculean effort. Especially if players are going in blind. I cannot recommend having people do that because they'll immediately get discouraged. While the flow of the game really isn't unmanageable, there is so much specific language that it's going to be tough for someone to totally wrap their heads around after one play. The voting phase, while thematically nice doesn't necessarily feel tense at two players. There is an additional set of cubes added but they are only there as a way to fill the bag. If one player has a larger amount than the other then it's likely the outcome is already determined.

The Not So Good: As I mentioned, it's not an easy game to table. Especially at the full player count. You'll need to find the right friends or like minded strangers that can enjoy a game that's based purely around the real life economy. You also need to be ready to play the game for several hours. You could already guess that it's not a short game and it doesn't advertise itself as one but when you factor in set up time and potential teaching time you could be playing for 5 or 6 hours potentially (maybe it's a good thing nobody else will play with me). You can always add an automa or two to simulate that full experience but it'll never feel true to the game.

Final Thoughts: Hegemony is a monster of a game. It really is. Its also really elegant and thought out in how it plays and the ways that each class is forced to interact with each other. I haven't played anything like it. While I can absolutely recommend it based on this, it comes with a caveat. You need to have the right group and everyone needs to be on the same page. At two it plays well enough but to truly experience the game the way it's meant to be played you'll want to have a full table