Pax Pamir (Second Edition)

You are not playing an empire. You are playing the people the empires are bargaining with.

Afghanistan in the nineteenth century, caught between Britain, Russia and the remains of the Durrani throne. Cole Wehrle's design puts you in charge of an Afghan clan leader with no army worth the name and no loyalty worth keeping - your job is to read which foreign power is winning and be standing next to them when it does.

The mechanism that makes it famous is that you can change sides at any time, and everybody knows it. Loyalty is a card you play, not a state you are in, so the table is in a permanent state of watching for the moment somebody flips. Scoring happens at unpredictable intervals via Dominance checks, which means a player who looks hopeless can be first the instant the board turns. The production is the other reason people buy it - thick tiles, a cloth map, and coins that do not feel like a board game.

Perfect for: Anyone who enjoys a game where the correct move is frequently betrayal and nobody is entitled to be offended.

1-5 players | 45-120 minutes | Age 13+