Ideology: The War of Ideas

About this board game

Ideology: The War of Ideas is a 2–5-player strategy game with an approximately 90-minute playing time, released in 2003. Each player symbolizes one of the 20th century’s most powerful ideologies: Capitalism, Islamic Fundamentalism, Imperialism, Communism, or Fascism.

Every ideology begins with one global region completely under its sway. From there, players seek to influence and control the independent regions of the earth, using a combination of economic, cultural, and military influence to extend their reach.

When two ideologies have influence in the same country, they can engage in economic, cultural, and military conflict. The types of conflict available depend on the players’ diplomatic stance toward each other, allowing influence to be challenged and opponents’ presence to be knocked out.

Players can also purchase Advancements such as Propaganda and Tactics. These cards can make it harder for an opponent to conflict with your ideology or make it easier for you to influence a country, adding further ways to strengthen your position.

The objective in Ideology: The War of Ideas is to possess a Global Influence of 12 or more. The game includes:

• 5 Ideology cards
• 43 Region cards
• 225 Influence cards
• 85 Advancement cards
• 125 or more counters
• A 12 × 24-inch color world paper map, used mostly as a reference; it was deleted from the second edition

With its global map, competing ideologies, regional influence, diplomatic stances, and purchasable advancements, the game presents a contest to shape the world through ideas and power.