Max Haiven invites us to unleash chaos and grab the world’s wealth with Billionaires and Guillotines

Max Haiven is the author of many books on finance capitalism, social movement organizing, anti-fascist revolt and the politics of revenge. His latest project focuses on games as a major feature of everyday life under advanced capitalism. His writing on games has really grown my understanding of what’s going on when people take on the sort of abstract agency they can experience in an imagined environment when they play.Beyond writing about games, Max has designed a wicked new board game called Billionaires and Guillotines, published by Pluto Press in their first foray into game production. The Kickstarter campaign to support the game is running until the end of April. Get behind it! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/plutopress/billionaires-and-guillotinesIn Billionaires & Guillotines, players take on the role of 2-5 rival plutocrats vying to grab the wealth of the world before their actions trigger a revolution where they all lose… a lot more than their assets. Help us make a wicked, easy-to-learn board game for the coming class war.Will you play the aristocrat or the war profiteer? The tech overlord or the property speculator? In any case, you’ll try and build a private space program, marry (and divorce) a celebrity spouse and start your own scam charity in this raucous game for aspiring billionaires and their enemies. As the revolution approaches, the billionaires have one chance to cooperate to delay their downfall… but otherwise, may the best (or worst) tycoon win. Billionaires & Guillotines is so easy that 2-5 envious losers can learn and play in under an hour. It is heartily approved by many satisfied players who hate games and the uber-rich. Start by selecting your billionaire: the media baron, the aristocrat, the war profiteer, the property speculator or the tech overlord. Each has to collect five prizes to win, which might include a private golf club, a mercenary army, a cryogenic tank, a luxury bunker or a celebrity spouse. Each turn, players draw cards they can use to bid on prizes or make it more difficult for their opponents. And, yes, like all self-made billionaires, you should definitely bribe the government to favor your investments and sabotage your rivals.As the game proceeds the billionaire’s frantic competition unleashes social, ecological and economic crises. Every financial meltdown, political scandal and climate agony presents more opportunities for profit, but also makes the game more and more unstable… and it also unleashes rebels who threaten to end the game for everyone.On the brink of revolution, the billionaires are given one opportunity to sacrifice a small bit of their wealth and continue the game… otherwise, out comes the guillotine with a free (if inaccurate) haircut for everyone!In the advanced version game, each billionaire also has a special “job” with secret powers: a crooked politician, an insider trader, an unscrupulous gangster, even a celebrity influencer (who survives the revolution), making the game delightfully replay-able and deliciously irreverent.In Billionaires & Guillotines’ first expansion pack, Reform or Revolution one player takes on the role of a rebel sympathizer! But are they a well-intentioned reformist, working with the billionaires to resolve crises? Or are they secretly a nefarious revolutionary, working to bring the system down from the inside? Reform or Revolution allows for six people to play Billionaires & Guillotines.Billionaires & Guillotines has already been playtested by thousands of jealous losers who have nothing better to do than hate on the hard working ultra rich. Nonetheless our small team of nihilistic gremlins remains at their posts, ironing out the last kinks in the design and making adjustments that will make the game irresistible to the vengeful masses.