Soylent Green is people!!!
Tomorrow looks to promise not only a game which involves plenty of interesting moral choices but also spark plenty of conversation away from the table top as well. Tomorrow is for ages 18 and up, with an MSRP of $60, and is available through Game Salute.
From Conquistador:
Is this the end of the world? Can you save humanity? Do you have the will to do that, no matter the cost? Even at the risk of your own people?
It is the near future. Overpopulation has put the world at dire and immediate risk. The world’s scientists have determined that the situation is so desperate that the only possibility for survival is via immediate and dramatic global depopulation. This puts the fate of the world in the hands of those leading superpowers, and their ability to make the difficult decisions required keep humanity intact.
You are one of these leaders…
You have access to biological horrors and the authority to decide who to use them against. You hold the launch keys for your nation’s nuclear arsenal, essentially serving as vengeance weapons to rain down on those who defy your leadership. Military might, cyber warfare, terror infrastructure and a stable of diplomats are at your disposal. Will you focus on serving the greater good and playing your part as a harbinger of death? Or will you take advantage of the chaos for diplomatic gain, protecting innocents and expanding your own sphere of influence?
Each playable nation in Tomorrow is radically different: China and India have massive populations to protect and must negotiate with other players to ensure survival. The United States has a military arsenal without peer and the ability to project power seemingly without restriction. Russia has more nukes than it can possibly use. The European Union is a diplomatic power, while the Arab Caliphate has an extensive terror infrastructure with which to torment their antagonists. However, while each position has very different strategic considerations, ultimately the winner will be decided by who best plays their opponents.
You have two objectives: first, along with the rest of your opponents, you must annihilate enough of the world’s population to remove the immediate threat to the planet. But then, as the ambitious leader of a world power, you are trying to get the best of your adversaries by protecting your people, expanding your sphere of influence, and positioning yourself to come out of this crisis as the next world superpower.
Tomorrow is a game for 4-6 players. It takes only a few minutes to set up and plays in roughly 90 to 120 minutes. While the mechanics are simple the decisions are difficult. While you have an extensive arsenal of resources you may only access two each turn. Then, you use these resources either for aggressive actions or to attempt and counter the expansion of others. The turn order each turn is random and revealed one at a time – to best simulate simultaneous decision making – so each turn the tension is high around who is doing what, and when.
