Reviews

Politically savvy satire – The Contender card game review

Politics. Always the hot-button topic no matter which side of the aisle you reside. Now you at home can debate the important issues affecting society with the same dignity as our enigmatic leaders. It’s time to tackle topics such as Medicare, Government Surveillance, and Prostitution and get ready to be a vessel for real change in the political debate card game, The Contender.

Politicians say the darnedest things

Politicians say the darnedest things

Laura puts together a video review that goes over the rules for the game, as well as showcasing a quick run of a round of play. The deck includes 40 topic cards and 460 argument cards, with an additional 50 cards coming courtesy of an optional “Politically Incorrect” pack. You’ll need at least three players each of whom draw five cards. The person with the “most Presidential hair” starts off as the Moderator and draws a Topic Card. The Candidate to the left of the Moderator plays, one, two, or three of their argument cards, drawing replacement cards as they go, and play continues around the table until all Candidates have played 3 arguments each. The Moderator then decides who has the best argument, awards the point, and the recipient becomes the new Moderator.

"Deep down we're all whores" won a lot of debates in this game.

“Deep down we’re all whores” won a lot of debates in this game.

If this seems like a really simple game to get the hang of, that’s because it is. There’s only one small leaflet the size of the box with three simple rules. Once you play through the first round you don’t even need to refer to them again. The only real drawback we encountered with The Contender was similar to playing Cards Against Humanity — once you’ve played a few times and get a feel for the cards that are “ringers” you know what will win you the debate. Appealing to our most base instincts as terrible people to go for shock value by invoking Hitler always seems to take the taco. Just like real politicians!

Executive Director and Editor-in-Chief | [email protected]

Ron Burke is the Editor in Chief for Gaming Trend. Currently living in Fort Worth, Texas, Ron is an old-school gamer who enjoys CRPGs, action/adventure, platformers, music games, and has recently gotten into tabletop gaming.

Ron is also a fourth degree black belt, with a Master's rank in Matsumura Seito Shōrin-ryū, Moo Duk Kwan Tang Soo Do, Universal Tang Soo Do Alliance, and International Tang Soo Do Federation. He also holds ranks in several other styles in his search to be a well-rounded fighter.

Ron has been married to Gaming Trend Editor, Laura Burke, for 27 years. They have three dogs - Pazuzu (Irish Terrier), Atë, and Calliope (both Australian Kelpie/Pit Bull mixes).

90

Excellent

The Contender

Review Guidelines

The Contender is a fun twist on familiar card game fare, bringing acerbic wit and real-world quotes of politicians from the founding fathers to our current crop of crazies to create a card game that should spark as much laughter as it does debate. While it falls victim to some of the same tropes as similar card battlers, it doesn’t make it less fun.

Ron Burke

Unless otherwise stated, the product in this article was provided for review purposes.

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