Cards Against Humanity is a gaming phenomenon, and the game’s creators have been known to pull some pretty bizarre publicity stunts. One of those creators, Max Temkin, recently co-created a new board game called Secret Hitler, a hidden role game that models how fascism can take over a democracy. He and fellow Secret Hitler creators, Max Boxleiter and Tommy Maranges, apparently learned a thing or two from Cards Against Humanity’s marketing techniques: they decided to send a copy of Secret Hitler to every sitting United States Senator and, of course, record a video about it.
https://twitter.com/MaxTemkin/status/835186725592891392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The full message included with the video is as follows:
“Dear [Senator]: Please find enclosed a copy of our new board game: Secret Hitler. Secret Hitler is a hidden identity game for 5-10 players that models the rise of fascism in a democracy. To achieve his evil ends, Adolf Hitler required the cooperation of well-meaning men who hoped to appease and control the Nazis. Our game explores that relationship and highlights the difficulty of recognizing your own manipulation before it’s too late. Although our game takes place in 1933 Germany, we thought you and your staff might find our game relevant as you negotiate the balance of power with the Trump White House. Thank you for all the hard work that you do. The legislative branch plays an essential role in a stable, functioning democracy, now more than ever.”
Although it is a clever bit of marketing, this game was not created as a response to the rise of Donald Trump. This is also not the first time that Trump’s rise and authoritarian attitude has been compared to the rise of Adolf Hitler.
It seems highly unlikely this will have any effect, outside of possibly selling a few more copies of the game. How perfectly fitting would it be in this topsy-turvy world we’ve found ourselves in if all the facts in the world meant nothing to so many people, but sitting down to play a silly game very similar to Mafia or Werewolf could change someone’s mind about what is happening in our country? Stranger things have happened.
Featured Image via Max Temkin / Twitter Screengrab
