Junta
pron. HOON-tah
Junta was an interesting little game published by WEG and also apparently ASS whom I’ve never heard of before I looked up this game on BoardGameGeek but which I presume is also responsible for the third incarnation of the Marvel Superheroes RPG, which may or may not have been an RPG, but which was certainly ASS.
I don’t remember a whole hell of a lot about the game Junta, I only played it a couple of times back in the 90s and once recently at work but I remember it had about two too many mechanics making the game Disproportionally Too Complex, about which more in another blog. It’s OK that I don’t remember a lot about the game, because this post isn’t about the game, it’s about the term Junta and how it has become jargon for a specific style of play among my group.
Junta, the game, is about the power-politics of a small banana republic, and I lament the fact that this reference is not substantive enough to warrant me going on about where the term banana republic comes from. About how the British would take some small country and essentially colonize them…which is to say, invade them, just to secure the one crop or resource the British wanted like tin or tobacco or…bananas and create an elaborate modern infrastructure that the locals thought was mighty keen. “Isn’t it nice of these people to develop our country for us?” Keen enough to rise up and throw of the yolk of the whatever, only to discover that all that fantastic infrastructure went from the still British-controlled port, ONLY to the bananas. The entire country had been optimized for Bananas. Fat lot of good that did. And without a real modern infrastructure to support a real modern country you got instability and secret police and tin-pot dictators and everything we come to expect from the term Banana Republic including stylish khaki pants, if only as a statistical likelihood.
I’m a right bastard and you didn’t deserve that. Back on topic.
IN THIS GAME, you fight to become President, a position you will not hold long, and while President you have to assign the other players roles, like Minister of Justice, and Generalissimo, and head of the Secret Police and you do this knowing some of them are going to fuck you next turn so THEY can be President.
Much like accusing people in Werewolf/Mafia/Lupus In Tabula, there’s no mechanical reason to make one person Generalissimo over another person, except whatever arguments that person can muster making it seem like a good idea. “Wait, don’t make HIM head of the Secret Police, he screwed you LAST turn! Are you deliberately trying to piss away your turn?”
That’s Junta.
Junta is the process of talking someone into doing something that’s not in their best interests. It has a lot in common with the Jedi Mind Trick and, indeed, the best Junta players (by which I mean the best people at using the Junta technique in games) seem like they’re using the Jedi Mind Trick.
“I’m going to attack Matt.”
“Why? I’m not winning. John’s winning, attack him.”
“You’re right, I attack John.”
I take it back, the best Junta players don’t seem like they’ve done anything. That’s good.
There are, of course, many games that make no sense to Junta. Yes, I just verbed the word Junta. I can do that, this is English. Chess, for instance. In Chess, if I stop you as you’re about to move your mans and say “Are you sure you want to do that?” I’m being a douchebag.
Whereas some games are nothing BUT Junta, two great examples of which are Diplomacy and Family Business.
In Family Business, you control 9 identical mobsters who function essentially as hit points. Each player puts out Contracts on the other players’ mobsters and eventually the Contracted mobsters start dying, and if you’re the last player with mobsters in the game, you win.
There are no tactics or strategy in Family Biz. It’s too simple. There’s a kind of technique (play your cards on the person to your right) but otherwise there’s no reason to “attack” or play a Contract on Mark or Jim. It’s up to them to object. “Hey! You already screwed me! Why not go after Jim!” “Why come after me, I’m not in the lead. Hell I only have one mobster.”
The critical element that distinguishes Junta from whining or bitching is that when you are Junta-ing, you are deliberately trying to convince the acting player of something using pathos, logos, or ethos. “Man you already fucked me. Give someone else some love.” “It doesn’t make sense to attack me!” “What does your heart tell you?” I have literally said this in games, and it worked. This is sometimes called gamesmanship as distinct from sportsmanship but gamesmanship usually has a negative connotation whereas I find Junta to be a high art of the game player, and respect it whenever I see it.
In Diplomacy, one of the best games ever, best played with people you don’t mind hating or being hated by for weeks or months afterwards, the mechanics are so simple, much simpler than Risk for instance, that at first you wonder how it’s a game. The only way to get anything done is to get people to agree to do them. Maybe you’ll have a legitimate reason, Diplomacy is highly strategic and tactical and there is no better way to learn the principles of real-world power politics. But if you don’t have a good reason, Junta will do.
When we talk, as we do because we have more time than sense, about the differences between video games and traditional games, this has to be one of them. A big one. Until the advent of Xbox Live Arcade, one of the great milestones in gaming history, I feel, there was no real opportunity to Junta anyone. Pick a video game, it doesn’t matter how persuasive you are, the game’s not going to be any different. I’m not talking about leading a squad in Counterstrike, that’s Leadership, a completely different issue. This is Junta.
I was at a gaming convention with two friends of mine, Hyrum and John. We were playing a great, classic game called Shogun, aka Samurai Swords. It’s basically a very complex version of Risk in feudal Japan. We were playing with two other players we knew only by reputation.
Each round, you make money. And each round you spend it on Mans, Going First, or the Ninja. Spending money on mans, gets you mans. Simple. But for Going First and the Ninja, you have to bid. Only one person can go first, whoever bids highest wins. The Ninja works the same way, only one person can use him each turn. The Ninja gives you the opportunity to assassinate an opponent’s leader. Risky, but effective.
Hyrum was about to win, and it was apparent to the rest of us that he was about to win. He had enough money to deny everyone the use of the Ninja, but he wanted more Mans.
The rest of us agreed that John should try and bid for the Ninja. John was not in direct conflict with Hyrum, you understand. Their mans weren’t anywhere near each other. John was, in fact, so screwed in the game that spending all his money on the Ninja to try and stop Hyrum from winning seemed like a good idea. For the good of the group, you understand. If he succeeded, the game would continue and he’d have a chance to get back in it. If he failed, the game would be over.
The Junta started when Hyrum pointed out to John that Hyrum could outbid him completely. John agreed. Then Hyrum pointed out that he and John weren’t in direct contact. Their armies were on opposite sides of the board. Also true. Hyrum then observed that getting the Ninja was a good move for John because it would allow him to incapacitate a leader controlled by one of the players John was in direct conflict with, thereby giving John the opportunity to get back in the game.
Mind you, to the rest of us, it was obvious there would be no more game unless John stopped Hyrum with the Ninja.
Hyrum said; “John, I won’t outbid you on the Ninja if you agree right now not to use it on me.” Getting John to agree wasn’t going to be easy, the other players objected, but John did want to win and it seemed like Ninja-ing his immediate enemy was a quick way to get back into the game. Which was about to end. He agreed. John accepted Hyrum’s proposal.
Then Hyrum deliberately and with Junta aforethought exploited John’s dramatic notions of fair play. He extended his hand and said; “Shake.” They shook on it.
When his turn came, the only decision John had to make was who to use the Ninja on. I said; “John, you have no choice. He’s going to win unless you stop him.”
John reluctantly agreed. “I’m sorry, Hyrum,” he said, and meant it.
That’s when the Junta began in earnest.
“John, I thought we had an agreement,” Hyrum said.
“Yeah, but you’re about to win.”
“Ah, I see. I see how it is. Well ok then, do your thing. I thought, you know, I thought things like that meant something to you, but you learn something every day.”
John looked like he’d been punched in the nuts.
“You know? You learn things about people when you game with them, I guess. Now I know better. I figured you might change your mind, but we shook on it and I thought that meant something. It used to mean something to you but, you know, people change. That’s ok. I don’t mind. I don’t mind. Go ahead, attack me. I’ve learned my lesson…”
John is weathering this mental assault on his notions of friendship and fair play, by hanging his head, shaking back and forth.
“It’s the smart thing to do, really. Attacking me. It’s not the moral thing to do, but who cares about that, right? Winning’s all that matters…”
I am looking back and forth, between John and Hyrum, AGAPE. Jaw open, I cannot believe what I am hearing. Not the sheer coconut-balled audacity of it, but the fact that it’s working on John!
“John! Don’t do it! The game will be OVER John!”
“I know, but…you know, we had a deal.”
Hyrum’s laying it on thick but for one moment Hyrum is looking at me while John has turned his head away and for one instant Hyrum beamed at me. This huge, shit-eating grin.
I squealed in protest. “JOHN!!! LOOK AT HIM JOHN!!! HE’S COMPLETELY FUCKING WITH YOU!!!”
“Ok…” John says, “I…I attack Ian,” one of the other players. And the game was over that round. It was in no way in John’s best interest to attack anyone but Hyrum. There would be no chance to get back into the game, because Hyrum was about to win. And he did.
That’s some fucking Junta, motherlicker.
End of Line
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January 18th, 2008 at 6:27 am
It’s worth noting that it’s not necessarily all that great to be the prez in Junta. In fact, it’s often better to try to get some shmoe with poor judgment elected el presidente and then to Junta him into making you chief of the secret police. Last game of Junta I was in was at a con. I played with two of my best friends and four complete strangers. I won big time without having at any point been el presidente.
My juntaing technique in that particular game, though, relied more on beig clearly and openly loyal only to the highest bidder and making the other players believe that it was somehow worth more to keep me happy than to keep anyone else happy.
My friends won’t play Junta with me anymore. Although those particular friends aren’t really the right types for Junta anyway. One tends to take things personally. A bit like Hyrum was pretending to in your story there but for real. The other just dislikes games that are essentially about cheating, deceiving and backstabbing your friends.
Zack is the master juntaist and juntas in every winnable game he ever gets into. Well, maybe not Scrabble, but everything else. He used to keep winning in Advanced Civilization through juntaing or something similar enough at least: When another player had two or more courses of action available to him that would, really, be equally valid for said player, he always had a way of convincing him to select the one that would be most beneficial to him.
Man, now I’m all getting nostalgic about old boardgames.
January 19th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Thanks for the mammaries… oh the good ole’ days. (I’ve played all the games you mentioned.)
“Junta” (the word not the game)came to use (and still pops up occassionaly) in my sphere of friends. The definition somewhat resembles manipulation, skulduggery, designed to deflect or using others to do your cock-blocking of someone in a game.
The problem is thinking back to we called it before we ever played Junta.
Junta-ing in a game is really what I think makes a game really interesting. It is with the art of Junta that someone may overcome a tactically superior opponent. I mean what makes a more beautiful coup feather in your war bonnet– Making a tactically beautiful move that helps your position or convincing someone to make a tactically horrible move… in the face of logic and the outcries of other players? For me its no contest.
I was drawn immeditatly to Diplomacy (one of only a few games I still play regularly) for some of these very reasons. It sort of take Junta-ing (although it predates it) to a professional level. I mean in the 3rd paragraph of the rule book one finds the following:
“The rules do not bind a player to anything he says; deciding whom to trust as situations arise is part of the game.” How F-ing cool is that??!!
Nuclear War and Settler’s of Catan are other Junta-ing worthy games. Also it works in real-time multi-player computer strategy games… Age of Empires, Command and Conquer etc…
Anyway…
“These are not the droids you’re looking for”
January 23rd, 2008 at 4:24 am
Man, this has made me all nostalgic about some of the old AH games. Maybe I should see if I can remember my username and password to your forum so I can go there and talk to peoples about Titan, Britannia, History of the World, Mystic Wood and Kings & Things (which was WEG/GW and not AH, I know).