Malaysian Politiko 2E review

Politiko

3-6 players

Play time 1 hour

Setup time 3 mins

Teaching time 5 mins

It's election time (Finally!)

Politiko is a card game about wacky scheming, cynical realpolitik - in other words, it is about a game about winning the Malaysian general election!

The player to get 8 voters in his/her voter pile, wins. Easier said than done. 

As we all know, through the news, TV, internet, reader's digest or any media of that sort, that the Malaysian general election was filled with all the hanky panky stuff you can think of, from frauds to phantom voters and everything in between. This card game tries to emulate all these, but they were wise enough to mask the party's names with other names. But of course, everyone knows which parties they actually represent. We just hush hush about it. Sshhhh!

Mechanics 7/10

Typically, you start by choosing a party to run. The party card gives you Voter Restrictions (which type of voters may/may not vote for your party), which prevent you from adding certain voters to your voter pile. On each party card, there are also Alliance Restrictions, which lets you know which parties you cannot form an alliance with.

After that, each player is dealt a hand of 7 cards. Throughout the game, your hand can only have a maximum of 7 cards at the end of your turn. During a turn, the active player will start by drawing 2 cards into his/her hand. Then they either add voters (election time - no quantity restriction) into their voter pile following their Voter Restrictions OR play 2 schemes.

Schemes can be "Scheme" cards they can play during their turn. These "Scheme" cards can vary from stealing voters from other players to enhancing your party further. Schemes may also come in the form of joining/creating/breaking out of an alliance with one other alliance or party. Schemes may also be in the form of closed door meetings, i.e. exchange as many cards as you want with as many cards the other player wishes to exchange (the number of cards need not be equal for the exchange - I guess parties never get their fair share during closed-door meetings).

After their actions, the turn ends and the next player begins.

The mechanics are typical of a cards game but what rocks in this game is the double mechanics. You can choose either to continue adding voters from your hand into the voter pile or play schemes but not do both. This provides the players with thought based strategy, to think up a plan before their turn comes around.

Gameplay 8/10

I thought that a game with a bunch of cards would be like playing UNO, but in Politiko, you get so much more than just wanting to play all your cards. The choices for strategy provided in this game is wide. Do you form an alliance or win alone? Do you play schemes or add voters into your voter pile so that other players cannot steal the voters they would need from your pile? What do you do with the voters in your hand that you cannot play? 

There is so much variety to this game that you are always on your toes thinking of your next move.The fact that the other players can sabotage you is also a plus. If they see you are winning, everyone will come around and start attacking you. But if you have a solid plan, you will not crumble so easily. 

The thing that attracts in this game, and this is the same thing that attracts one to buy the game, is the theme itself. So far in all the games that I have played, I have learnt so much about the politics in Malaysia. Very often it is the dirty parts that make a party win the election (at least in Malaysia). And this game emulates it so well. Give away free wifi and you get voters. Give away money and neutral voters will vote for you. So much of Malaysian politics is displayed here. We laugh about all the cards being played (even the voter cards). You will need someone to roleplay and read all the titles being played because if players are too focused on what the card does instead of what the card represents, you will miss out on a lot of fun.

Downtime in this game is minimal. You still have to wait till it's your turn to play cards. However, interaction is definitely guaranteed because even the quiet ones become loud when they get their voters stolen. 

Replayability 8/10

Even if I already know what every card does, every different group you play with has a different play style. And play style changes when they learn new strategies after a few plays.

There are also 9 different parties for players to represent. Each party provides players with different opportunities to try out different things.

So replayability for this game is high on my list especially since it is light and can be played during travels.

Edit: Just to mention also that there is already an expansion out for this game. They title it "Sabah & Sarawak". More cards! These cards represent the schemes being used in East Malaysia thus adding more fun and laughter to our beloved game.

Overall 7.5/10

Since I bought this last week, it has never failed to hit the table. We are all excited to be a party and gain our voters. Randomizing the parties also add to the fun and laughter. I have played 5 games already (including lunchtime at work :p)

Politiko can be bought at any Borders bookstore in Malaysia. Or go online at LoyarBarang.com and see if you can get a copy for yourself!

If you have played the game and wish to share your experiences with me, do drop me a comment below here. I'd love to hear from you.