
A Parlor Game at Rebekah Mercer’s Has No Get Out of Jail Free Card - robbiet480
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/07/02/a-parlor-game-at-rebekah-mercers-has-no-get-out-of-jail-free-card
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robotbikes
I tried to find out more about this game but evidently it is a private game
rather than something one can acquire. I wonder if some player leaked a photo
of the "rules of play" or whatever. It almost reads like it could be satire
but perhaps there are cabals of game developers catering to the whims of the
ultra-rich. Just interesting to see how games can be used by those in power
not to pretend to have power when they have none but to enjoy gaming out ways
to wield it.

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throwaway5752
_" those in power not to pretend to have power when they have none"_

That doesn't describe the Mercers at all (billionaires who arguably played a
large role in 2016 US election results, Brexit by being primary backers of
Cambridge Analytica and Breitbart).

edit:
[https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20180626/11162540111/i-hel...](https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20180626/11162540111/i-helped-
design-election-simulation-parlor-game-rebekah-mercer-got-not-what-you-
think.shtml), via
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17404582](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17404582)

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throwaway5752
I can't tell if this is parody or not. Does anyone with more familiarity with
the New Yorker's regular features know?

It seems insane they would be arrogant and indiscreet enough to have this
produced.

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wgj
Usually Andy Borowitz is their satirist, and those articles are clearly marked
as satire. [https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-
report](https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report)

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s73v3r_
That title is awful. It's a game that isn't Monopoly, so of course it doesn't
have a get out of jail free card?

As it turns out, that's not the original title anyway. "This article appears
in the print edition of the July 2, 2018, issue, with the headline “Rules of
Play.”"

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robbiet480
The game even features YC!

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sjg007
I guess “House of Cards” was taken... there’s no get out of jail free because
they are too big to jail. And even if, there’s a presidential pardon.

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cjslep
So, a mix of _Diplomacy_ , _Coup_ , _Twilight Struggle_ , _Secret Hitler_ ,
_Twilight Imperium_ , and arrogance.

Edit: In lieu of above, it sounds like a reskinned copy of Steve Jackson's
_Illuminati_.

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tannhauser23
What a weird story. So Mercer plays some home-brewed game based on politics.
Who cares?

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blindwatchmaker
I care, it's useful to gain insights into the lives of the extremely powerful
and politically inclined and see where their thoughts are going; for example
seeing that "predictive policing" is a theme they felt important enough to
include in their politics larping is something I found interesting.

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noir-york
I'd love to get a copy of this game. Google turned up nothing.

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deltateam
sounds like a fun roleplay, a bit contrived although I could see myself doing
the same thing

you'd be surprised about what kind of art people commission in private

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vernie
Ew.

