Tough Calls: Dystopia

About this board game

Tough Calls: Dystopia is a narrative and argumentative board game for 3–5 players, with play sessions lasting about 60 minutes. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, it challenges participants to build characters, respond to adversity, and persuade fellow survivors that they are the best choice to lead the colony.

Each game unfolds through a series of scenarios, with players confronting complications and events that could determine the future of their community. The central mechanism resembles a debate: participants must propose clever ways to manage difficult situations and survive the challenges facing everyone.

Possible settings include:

• An alien invasion
• Attacks by colossal beasts rising from the depths of the sea
• A devastating drought that has nearly desertified the planet and made water its most valuable resource

Players do more than simply manage resources or pursue a conventional victory. They take on distinct roles, develop a character, and use argument and persuasion to win the votes of the other participants. The competitive element stays in the background while the shared narrative and immersive experience take center stage.

Scenario selection, character roles, and the events that arise during play combine to create a distinctive story each time. In Tough Calls: Dystopia, the decisions players defend and the solutions they invent shape an experience that is practically impossible to repeat in exactly the same way.