Junta

The Game of Power, Intrigue, Money and Revolution

by Joseph Scoleri III



v4n2junt.jpg - 43963 Bytes J is for ... Junta

Junta:

The Game of Power, Intrigue, Money and Revolution
West End Games (1985, $18.00)
Designed by Vincent Tsao, Ben Grossman & Eric Goldberg

Players 2 to 7
Playing Time 2-4 hours
Period Modern
Scale Abstract

Components

1 bookcase box
1 17”x22” mapboard
160 die-cut counters
1 12 page rulebook
99 slips of play money
72 cards
3 six-sided dice
2 plastic bags

Counter Manifest

63 Markers: 7 sets of 9 counters differentiated by color and/or symbol (3 Control; 1 each Bank, HQ, Home, Mistress, Nightclub, Swiss Account) 97 Units: 40 red, 8 yellow, 7 dark gray, 6 dark green, 6 light green, 6 blue-green, 4 pink, 4 gray, 2 light blue, 14 blanks

Money Manifest

5 1 one million
3 0 two million
1 5 three million
3 blank

Card Manifest

7 governmental offices
1 rebel
64 political events

West End says

[T]he game of power, intrigue, money and revolution in an all too familiar banana republic. In this multi-player game, the players, as the ruling families of la Republica, connive, cajole, threaten and ally their way to the fattest Swiss bank account.

The reviewer says

[B]est played by at least 5 ... The game begins by the players electing El Presidente For Life (however long that may be) who then assigns the other players their cabinet positions or military posts ... El Presidente then draws eight money cards (with a value from 1 to 3 million pesos). The total of these cards is ‘The Budget,’ which El Presidente secretly tallys and announces how it will be divided among the other players (keeping unannounced portion for himself) ... It is the arbitrary nature of the budget and job assignments of El Presidente that often force the ‘have not’ players to initiate the ‘game within the game,’ the coup ... [Junta] is one of the most fun ‘beer and pretzels’ variety games you can have on your shelf, and a necessary addition to any game library.” W.A. Saleiri in The VIP of Gaming 1.

Comments

A classic game of multi-player diplomacy and zaniness. Thought by some to be in need of an update which would shorten the playing time and streamline the mechanics and rules. A reprint was recently rumored to be on the way from West End Games, but nothing has materialized yet.

Collector’s Notes

Junta was originally released in a spartan 1979 edition by Creative Wargames Workshop. The West End version offers improved production values. It was reportedly available from West End into 2000, and the online retailer Funagain was blowing out new copies for $9.95 in June of 2000. Boone lists the West End version with low/high/average prices of 5/23/ 14.45 at auction and 8/20/15.40 for sale. The Creative version is listed with corresponding values of 10/20/15.25 and 8/40/17.

Resources

A variant allowing for up to 10 players was published in The VIP of Gaming 2. In addition to adding three new cabinet positions to the game, this included custom cards and counters printed on the issue’s insert. A few more variant rules can be found in The Dragon 53.

Other games by Vincent Tsao

None that we can find.

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