Polis, Il Potere In Gioco

Polis is a non‑collectible card game that recreates the dynamics of politics among the olive trees and statues of ancient Greece.

You will take on a secret role—Tyrant, Aristocrat, or Democrat, each with its own objectives. To win, you must accumulate influence by bringing the citizens of the polis to your side while disrupting your opponents’ plans.

However, strategy, timing, and a bit of luck won’t be enough. To win a game of Polis, you’ll need cunning, diplomacy, and deception to persuade the other players to vote the way you want during elections.

Polis uses cards as the core of its mechanics. The retailer edition includes the base deck and a rulebook featuring the beautiful illustrations by Sara Valentino, which fully capture the spirit of the game. It also includes rewritable cards for voting.

The base deck contains 110 cards, divided by type and identifiable by their back. It includes:

• 16‑page rulebook
• 42 Citizen cards
• 56 Action cards
• 7 Law cards
• 5 Objective cards
• 6 Rewritable cards
• 3 voting markers
• 10 Power tokens for elections

Each player takes on one of three roles: Democrat, Tyrant, Aristocrat. Their basic traits:

• Democrats aim to keep power evenly distributed.
• Tyrants want all the power for themselves.
• Aristocrats want anyone except the Tyrant to take full control.

Players alternate between a regular round and an election round.

During the regular round, players use Action cards from their hand and establish control over Citizen cards, which represent the inhabitants of the polis. Each citizen has a special ability, but using it prevents them from voting in the current election.

During the election round, players count their available votes and choose the candidate for governor who convinces them the most. The governor can enact new laws and gains special powers that must be used wisely to be re‑elected… assuming they want to be.

The game features several unique mechanics, including:

• Elections — Only the current governor knows the vote totals, creating a distinctive information asymmetry.
• Debate — A dynamic and engaging mechanic that allows players to form temporary alliances to hinder another player’s actions.
• Coup d’État — A full chapter is dedicated to the Tyrant’s special power, an innovative mechanic that brings dramatic twists to your games.