Chicago ’68

About this board game

Chicago ’68 is a 2025 board game for 1–4 players about the Democratic National Convention riots of 1968, with a listed play time of 180 minutes. Players take the side of the Establishment or the Demonstrators in a fast-paced struggle of street battles, political maneuvering, and civil disorder.

The game is played over five rounds, with two rounds representing each day through daytime and nighttime. Both sides use two asymmetric action-card decks: a leadership committee deck for shaping the board state, and a rank-and-file deck for moving units, confronting opponents, and claiming strategic positions.

• The Establishment combines tactical forces and police platoons to coordinate mass arrests while working the convention floor.
• The Demonstrators can shift between direct clashes and radical street theater, using reactive and unpredictable tactics.
• The Mayor faction can access a policy tableau through mandate actions, including undercover agents, tear gas, and National Guard redeployment.
• The Demonstrators can build and activate a street theater splay of location-specific, one-time mini-objectives with combinatorial powers.

At the end of every round, a delegate commits a vote to one side. Demonstrators grow in number, the mayor receives funds, and control of a majority of critical city areas awards exposure points.

Chicago ’68 supports solo, competitive, cooperative, and team play. Its typical two-player duel lasts 60–90 minutes, while the stated game duration is 45 minutes per player, giving each session a distinct balance of tactical positioning, political pressure, and unpredictable street-level action.