Class Struggle (board game)

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Class Struggle board game's box (front).
Class Struggle board game's box (front).

Class Struggle is a board game for two to six players, designed by Professor Bertell Ollman. It was published in 1978 by Avalon Hill. The game was intended to teach players about the politics of Marxism and was loosely compared to the board game Monopoly.[1][2][3]

Gameplay[edit]

The game pits Workers against Capitalists, represented by hammers and top hats respectively.[3] Players receive their class by a roll of the "genetic" dice.[4] Players move around a board following dice rolls and draw "Chance" cards which either advantage or disadvantage them.[5]

Class Struggle board game's box (back cover).
Class Struggle board game's box (back cover).
Class Struggle game's board.
Class Struggle game's board.

Publication history[edit]

In the year of its release, Bertell Ollman was interviewed about the game by print and TV news journalists.[6] Critics of the game considered it to be "subversive" and lobbied some stores to remove the product from their shelves, largely unsuccessfully.[7]

After attracting mainstream media attention during the Cold War, the game went on to sell approximately 230,000 copies.[8] In 2014, Keith Plocek wrote that the objectives of the game were to "avoid nuclear war and win the revolution". Plocek claims that the game "disappeared" in 1994.[8]

A Reddit post circa 2013 piqued limited renewed interest in the game among socialists.[9][10]

Reviews[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Class Struggle". BoardGameGeek. Retrieved 2017-08-20.
  2. ^ ""Class Struggle" game shows real system, Marxist prof says (1978)". The Eagle. 1978-05-24. p. 39. Retrieved 2017-08-20.
  3. ^ a b "Of professors, politicians, presidents (Class Struggle board game mention) (1981)". The Salina Journal. 1981-06-07. p. 4. Retrieved 2017-08-20.
  4. ^ Ollman, Bertell (1978). "Class Struggle Board Game Beginners Rules". DIALECTICAL MARXISM: The Writings of Bertell Ollman. New York University. Archived from the original on 20 August 2004. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  5. ^ "'Class Struggle' latest game". Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph. 1978-05-25. p. 49. Retrieved 2018-01-04.
  6. ^ "(NBC) Tomorrow - game creators Bruce Spitz and Bertell Ollman (1978)". The Gettysburg Times. 1978-11-20. p. 14. Retrieved 2018-01-04.
  7. ^ "Board game purged (Class Struggle) (1979)". The Ottawa Journal. 1979-12-14. p. 14. Retrieved 2017-08-20.
  8. ^ a b "The Story of Class Struggle, America's Most Popular Marxist Board Game". 2014-08-12. Retrieved 2017-08-20.
  9. ^ "I found this at a Garage Sale, thought r/socialism would appreciate it. Class Struggle - The Board Game. • r/socialism". reddit. 6 December 2013. Retrieved 2017-08-20.
  10. ^ "| Class Struggle the Board Game – The Greatest Thing to Ever ExistCritical-Theory.com". Critical-Theory. 2013-12-09. Retrieved 2017-08-20.
  11. ^ "Jeux & stratégie 23". October 1983.
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