Inner Circle

A lightweight black comedy story game about terrible people working for a terrible dictator.

My inspiration came from watching the film Death of Stalin (Wikipedia entry) and by contemplating the revolving door at the White House in 2017-2020. What if you have a situation with a bad tempered bad boss who is likely to have you killed (or exiled, or fired) at short notice for any reason? What if you all play members of the inner circle working directly for that tyrannical figure, jockeying for position and attempting to avoid the ultimate sanction?

The inner circle (the players) are going to present their despicable leader with their plans for the week. Some combination of military victory, financial benefit, removal of annoying people and love and adulation.

Of course, only one plan is good enough to take forward… and if your plan isn’t the one which is chosen it is going to cost you credibility with the boss. After all, why would he want someone around who can’t come up with a good plan for him (or her)? This is why push your luck bidding is part of the game.

Fictional settings which I support include (among others):

• Lord of the Rings: Orcs serving under an orc captain (“meat’s back on the menu, boys!”). You will be cut down and eaten.
• Star Wars: Military officers serving under Darth Vader (“I find your lack of faith… disturbing”). You will be force-choked to death.

Historical settings include

• Emperor Nero A time of extravagant construction projects, a murderous mother, political rivals, murder of family members, treason, and taxes. You will be murdered.
• Joseph Stalin A time of GULAGs, famines, the great purge of detractors and rivals, removal of people from photos and history. You will be murdered.

Contemporary settings include

• Boris Johnson Members of the cabinet at a time of Brexit, pandemics, bluster, buck-passing, and nationalism. You will be reshuffled.
• Donald Trump Members of the White House at a time of gross incompetence, media whoring, money grabbing, rallies, partisanship, and did I mention incompetence? You will be fired and smeared.

Business settings

• Big Pharma: Whether it is selling opiates and whitewashing your image, or profiteering off suffering, there is much for the board to plan.
• Big Tech: Grow the social network, find new audiences, feed them outrage and increase your profits.
• Big Energy: Rake in the profits while casting doubt on climate change, who cares about our children when we can live well?

Low Stakes, High Drama settings

• Academia: When you are struggling for tenure and academic credibility, how far will you go?
• High School Cliques: Spiteful put-downs and hilarious wind ups are par for the course in this hormone-driven world.
• Office Politics: A small office in a big organisation is a nest of petty power-politics. 

Weird Settings include

• Haunted House: Ghosts in a haunted house, struggling to fend off the grave by holding on to their memories.
• Hells Kitchen: Preparing recipes for the head chef on a reality TV show. Who will make the cut and who is for the chop?