Interview with Brandon Patton – developer of Super PACS

Brandon Patton

Good day, board game fans! As you know, the worldwide political situation is quite unstable and dangerous everywhere, so we decided to do something about it. We connected with Brandon Patton who is the designer of the satirical board game called Super PACS. Here is a little interview we made with him. Enjoy reading!

BoardGameKing: What’s the name of the project you are currently working on?

Brandon Patton: Super PACS is a card game that satirizes the relationship between money, votes, and power in a democracy. Designed by Brandon Patton and Andre Pereira, it takes place in a fictional country called Humerica. Each player controls an unattractive, power-hungry leader and tries to assemble a coalition of supporters by any means necessary, be it money, persuasion, treachery, or by wielding their leader’s superpower. Each faction that joins your side can also be exploited in a unique way to gain an advantage, and it is from the interactions between these “exploits” that the game’s complexity and hilarity springs forth.

Super PACS

BoardGameKing: Who is the main designer and artist?

Brandon Patton: Brandon Patton (Merlin Pool Games) and Andre Pereira (Tabletip Games) designed the game. The game is part of a series (called Here Comes the Troika) originally designed by Carlos Mesquita, Pedro A. Santos, and Marco Vala.

BoardGameKing: Tell us more about the genre, game mechanics and rules. Is there any special to know about it?

Brandon Patton: It’s a hand management style card game with variable player powers, a healthy dose of Take That! and occasional voting. Players take turns declaring the allegiance of various special interest groups to their campaign, and adding those “factions” to their “coalition” (the set of cards placed before them on the table.) Players try to expand their coalition to win elections, and increase their wealth and power. Each time a faction is played, it grants the player a powerful effect. The decisions of when and how to play these effects is that main source of the strategic depth and fun.

BoardGameKing: Why did you decide to use kickstarter? What’s your anticipation about the further campaign?

Brandon Patton: I’ve used Kickstarter before so I feel comfortable with it, and I have a small following I can rely on to help me get part of the way to my goal. The nerdcore hiphop community has been very supportive of my gaming efforts so far. (I play bass for MC Frontalot.)

Super PACS - six leaders

BoardGameKing: Is your project going to be shipped around the world or it’s just for european or US market?

Brandon Patton: We’ll ship anywhere, but due to the theme of the game we don’t expect as much interest outside of the U.S.

BoardGameKing: Say some words to our subscribers and readers!

Brandon Patton: If you and your friends have a sense of humor about politics, and enjoy a little clever scheming in the name of fun, then Super PACS is definitely for you.

So, it was a good experience for us to look at such an interesting project. They will start the kickstarter campaign in January 2016, so we will keep you informed. Take care of yourselves!