A Review of POLITIKO – Truly Made in Malaysia

Aruna Sena reviews POLITIKO – LoyarBarang’s highly popular (and currently sold-out) card game.

It’s been a while since I’ve done a review, so I’m going to take a look at the card game which Lord Bobo’s minions love to play — POLITIKO.

When I heard about the release of POLITIKO, I knew I had to give the game a shot to find out the buzz around it. I read a tweet on a Saturday, stating that there was a POLITIKO tournament to be held at The Bee in Publika. I took a cab and bought a deck from Edmund who was manning the LoyarBarang booth. Then came the crash course by Sin Yew. Ever since that day, playing POLITIKO has became an addiction to me.

Now, the game is not difficult to be played. All you need is a deck and your friends (the recommended number is three to six players) but I played with two and the game still works like a charm. The deck comes with 130 cards which consist of three types of cards: party cards, scheme cards and of course, the important voter cards.

The game is played with each player selecting a party card. The party cards are a tongue-in-cheek stab at the various political parties which exist in Malaysia. Once done, the players would draw seven cards. Each player’s turn, has three stages to it: (1) Prep or Draw Phase; (2) Action Phase; and (3) Effects Phase. I’m going to skip the gameplay mechanics as there’s a guide book included in the deck which is very simple to understand.

The main objective of the game is to win by having eight Voter cards in play under your party. Sounds simple? That’s what I thought at first. I mean, how hard could it be?

Firstly, the Voter cards in the decks are broken down according to Race, Locality and Mindset. Voter cards you put in play must match the criteria of the party you currently helm. Trust me when I say that people will be tussling over those Voter cards.

By the way, there are cards which help you steal voters, steal parties and more. Now, these are called Scheme cards whichare played during a player’s Action Phase. You can play up to two schemes during your Action Phase. Don’t worry about having enough cards to counter these scheme cards but you should watch out for the Phantom Voter card.

Sounds complicated? Don’t worry. As you play the game, you’ll get the hang of it. Soon you’ll be forming party alliances and breaking them. Did I mention that I shouted “Hidup PERKASA!” at Gloria Jeans while playing POLITIKO with my friends? That’s how fun the game is.

Ultimately the game is easy, fun and addictive. Credit goes to Munkao for the creation of the game and also to all those who helped in the testing to bring forth an ingenious game that’s truly made in Malaysia.

That’s it on POLITIKO. Let’s play.