Stephen Harper inspires satirical election board game Minister Most Sinister

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      The Vancouver teachers behind Christy’s World, a satirical board game that allows people to destroy B.C. as Premier Christy Clark, are back with a new Kickstarter campaign ahead of the October 19 federal election.

      Loren Letourneau and Jean-Michel Oblette have created Minister Most Sinister, which sees two to four players compete to oust a Canadian head of government inspired by Stephen Harper.

      Here's how the pair describes the premise of the board game on Kickstarter:

      Once upon a time in the North, Canada is at a crossroads. After years of shady backroom deals, security paranoia, environmental havoc and trickle-down social engineering, Prime Sinister Stevie is about to crush democracy once and for all and launch Operation Soylent Greenies.

      In the wings, The Fanta Menace, The Dapper Dandies, The Treehuggers and Le Parti Poutine are all jostling for the title of official challenger.

      The election rules heavily favour the incumbent's bottomless pockets and give him enough of a headstart to launch pre-emptive attack ads. All this while he grins confidently and refuses to answer questions. Unfair? Of course it is. But what's the point of being Prime Sinister if you can't even rig the contest?

      The playing board.
      Minister Most Sinister/Kickstarter

      How do you play Minister Most Sinister?

      In Minister Most Sinister, you play as one of the four challengers vying to topple the toupee. Candidates race around the campaign trail trying to collect sets of cards that ridicule Stevie's shortcomings on Business, Science, Security and Popularity issues. Will you work together to take back some of the Sinister-engineered disadvantages and give your fellow candidates enough resources to challenge and defeat Stevie in time, or will individual greed allow the Worst-Past-the-Post system to squeeze out another Sinister win?

      The Kickstarter campaign ends on October 5.

      At time of writing, 18 backers had pledged $418 toward the $1,000 goal.

      “If the game strikes a chord with our generation, if it incites a few more people to get politically involved or to vote, then we will be deeply satisfied. If they decide to support us and get the game made, even better,” Oblette said in a news release.

      Campaign Trail cards.
      Minister Most Sinister/Kickstarter

      People who donate $20 or more to the project are eligible to receive a hard copy of the game.

      The reward for contributing just $1? The creators promise to "find and annoy" a Conservative candidate.

      As the game's Kickstarter page asks, "Can you save Canada from a fate worse than Nickelback?"

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