Junta
"Banana Republic" Politics

Game Review

Review by Samuel Brown Baker II


Original Design by Vincent Tsao
Redesign and development by Ben Grossman, and Eric Goldberg
West End
Released: March, 1985
Complexity: Beginner to Intermediate
Solitaire Suitability: None

"Welcome to the beautiful Republica de los Bananas, where life is gay and death is cheap. Learn how to lie, cheat, steal, and deceive in your spare time."

Junta is a tongue-in-cheek rendition of power politics in a banana republic as it might be seen by Mel Brooks. Four to seven players, each representing a family, struggle to enlarge their Swiss bank accounts while trying to appear innocuous. They form coalitions according to their mutual greed and voting power. An average game takes two hours or so.

There are condensed versions for two or three players. These versions use dummies for any positions not occupied by players. While enjoyable, these versions do not compare to the four or more player game.

The game contains three dice, 160 counters representing the various families and factions under their control, 99 money cards, 72 political cards, two plastic storage bags, a colorful 17 x 22 inch map mounted on very heavy cardstock, and a twelve page rule booklet.

There are two game sequences In junta. The first is the political sequence which goes as follows: each player draws two political cards, the President For Life appoints each player to a cabinet post, draws money, and proposes a budget. Everyone now votes on the budget in two rounds with El Presidente voting first. Each player has one vote for every office he holds plus any political factions under his control. After this, players choose their location, attempt assassinations, and conduct any monetary transfers. The phase has now ended unless there is a coup.

A player may only have five political cards at any one time. So, after the political cards are drawn a "wheeling and dealing" interval usually occurs, allowing players to strip down to the allotted number of cards.

Each player must hold a position in the cabinet. There are eight positions in the cabinet. These are the President, the Generals of the First, Second, and Third army brigades, the Minister of Internal Security, the Admiral of the Navy, and the Commander of the Air Force. The president may hold only one position, but depending on the number of players, a loyal supporter may hold two positions at once. However, no player may have more than one brigade.

This means that even the loyal opposition will have enough power to turn the tables on the president. Usually they can influence/bribe/coerce one or two other players into joining their cabal, because a player's share of the take is frequently based on what-have-you-done-for-me-lately Loyalty is a fleeting and relative term in this game.

The family that has accumulated the most money in its Swiss bank account wins the game. This victory condition applies even if the player is in exile or has been shot.

Each turn the president draws eight Foreign Aid money cards from the face down money deck. The money deck is only used completely once. Since some of the political cards give a player money, there will be 10 or 11 turns in a game. The cards range in value from one to three million pesos. The president looks at the cards in secret and proposes a budget. The president may not lie about the amount given to other players, but he may lie about the amount he gives himself For this reason, the president's life is a short but merry one. No one trusts El Presidente!

Assassinations are resolved in a clockwise direction starting with the Minister of Internal Security. The Minister may make one assassination attempt per turn, free of charge. All other players must hold political cards in order to do so. An assassination attempt is made by saying who the player is looking for and where the player is looking for him. The five locations are the bank, nightclub, headquarters, home, and mistress' place. If the player making the attempt has chosen the location of his target, the attempt will succeed unless a card is being used. Then a die roll may be called for.

An assassinated player is dead only for the duration of the current turn and may take his rightful place from the president's brother-in-law at the beginning of the next turn. Any money that the player had not deposited in his Swiss bank account goes to the player that shot him. All of his political cards are discarded.

A player may escape assassination or the firing squad by going into exile. However, when the player chooses to leave exile he is subject to an automatic assassination by the Minister. Also, while in exile, the player is treated as if he were dead.

A coup may start when any of the following things have occurred: the budget is defeated (a "no confidence" coup), the Minister seizes the Chamber of Deputies (to force passage of the budget), any player is successfully assassinated, or a card which says, "Coup Excuse" is played. Even if none of these conditions exist, a coup may still start if a player chooses his headquarters and wishes to have a coup.

If there is a coup, the coup sequence is used. First there is an initial rebel phase during which no loyal player may move or shoot. Six phases follow, during which each player may move and shoot. All phases consist of a movement and a combat segment.

During the movement segment each player moves one stack of units to any adjacent area. There are 32 different areas. Each area has a name such as: Dockyards, 2nd Army Brigade Barracks, University City, Western Slum, etc.

In the initial rebel phase the "First Rebel" (the player who started the coup) moves his units first. Then, rotating clockwise, each player has the opportunity to move their units, except for the president. in the succeeding movement segments, the opportunity to move first is rotated clockwise, so that each player will get to move first at least once.

Combat may occur in any area which contains more than one player's units. Combat is resolved in three volleys. On the first volley, only the units that entered the area most recently take their casualties before they may fire. This may lead to a series of "first-fires" in which player A can fire first at both players B and C. Player B can first fire at player C only, and player C can fire first at no one. During each volley the players roll one die for each of their armed units and one die for each pair of unarmed units that they wish to fire. A six on the die kills an enemy unit. Unarmed units are strikers, rioters, students, and demonstrators. Armed units are the army, Palace Guards, air force and the navy gunboat which uses special rules to fire. The survivor, after the three volleys, who has suffered the fewest casualties stays in the area. All other players must retreat their units into any adjacent vacant or friendly areas.

A coup ends after six phases or when the rebels or the loyalists concede. The faction that controls three of the five power centers has won the coup. Things are not always as they seem in the Republica, however, so at the end of a coup, all players except the president may change sides. This makes for some very intense negotiating in the last stages of a coup, where talk is cheap and promises fall like monsoon rains from the mouths of the players.

If the loyalists win the president may send one rebel player to the firing squad. if the rebel players win a new president is elected from their ranks and the new president may now shoot ANY one player.

The overall quality of the components is very good. I particularly enjoyed the box art and the illustrations on the political cards. The amateur assassin card, for example, shows the assassin throwing the pin and keeping the grenade. Every attempt is made in the artwork and the rules to get one into the spirit of the game.

Both card sets should last quite a while, which is a nice change from the 11 use once and throw away" school. The counters are flat finished, which in my experience last longer than gloss finish does. The board is also flat-finished paper and should be sprayed with an acrylic finish so as not to die under the onslaught of drinks and munchies. The components are well worth the asking price, particularly in light of some recent releases that, while they are good game systems, have poor quality components.

I have played the first release many times and it is one of my favorite multiplayer games. The people at West End Games have thoughtfully added a nuance here, a filigree there, making the rules more coherent than the first edition and enhancing the play-value of an already good game. The only point on which the old version scores better is the gameboard.

I really enjoy this game and do not get to play it as often as I wish. junta has a very high replay value. The machinations and dynamics change from game to game.

In one game that I played, everyone spoke in what could only be called Spanglais, being as it was a hodgepodge of phony Spanish, French, and English. This led to much laughter and miscommunications. In another game I was deposed because of my Spanish accent.

We had little trouble finding the rules concerning any bone of contention quickly. The rules are well organized with appropriate headings and a sample coup turn illustrating crucial points of play. A page is devoted to player hints with suggestions on play and how to "get in the mood" to play the game.

Two of the suggestions to facilitate the proper atmosphere, which are called a duplicity drill, are: write "it's only a game" 100 times on a piece of paper, and watch an episode of Dallas or Dynasty, taking copious notes. There is also a summary of the game components on the back of the rules which allows players who have not read the rules to quickly find out what a card is used for and when it can be used.

In all the games that I have played, no one was ever out of the running. One player used his very lack of vote cards and money to persuade us to make him president. This happy coalition lasted only two turns, however, as one of the members shot the president. Apparently he suspected the president of skulduggery because the president protested his feebleness too much.

Any optimum strategy in playing Junta is very dependent on the people with whom one is playing. I personally find that, while I am frequently elected president, I very seldom stay in office more than two turns. For no matter how one splits it, eight cards do not go into five, six, or seven players very well.

The total synergy of the parts of Junta creates a thoroughly enjoyable atmosphere of frivolous perfidy. Junta, as well as being an excellent game in its own regard, is a good game to fill that "what-do-we-play-now" gap group suffers from. The game is well worth its price even for those who atready possess the first edition.

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© Copyright 1985 by Dana Lombardy.
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