Wir sind das Volk! Agitprop between East and West Germany

Abstract

Wir Sind Das Volk! (2014) gamifies the conflict between East and West Germany by having players compete to undermine the real or perceived living standards of their respective opponents. The possibility of an Eastern Bloc extending well beyond the fall of the Berlin Wall is a very real possibility in this game world. The recognition of this historical contingency allows Wir Sind Das Volk! to forward a model of gameplay that sees the player encounter how democracies, like Soviet republics, rely on a complex network of agitprop symbolism. Wir Sind Das Volk! mixes many of board gaming’s traditional gameplay conventions, and in doing so asks the player to participate in making alternative chronologies of the Cold War.