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Watergate, Strategy Board Game, History of Watergate Included with Game, 2-Player Game of The Year 2019, Ages 12 and Up, Cover Color May Vary
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Free returns are available for the shipping address you chose. You can return the item for any reason in new and unused condition: no shipping charges
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Purchase options and add-ons
Brand | Capstone Games |
Material | Cardboard |
Theme | Games |
Genre | Strategy |
Number of Players | 2 Players |
About this item
- 2 Players
- Ages 12+
- 30 to 60 Minute Game Play
- 2-player card-driven game about the notorious political scandal
- History of Watergate included with the game
Frequently bought together
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Product information
Product Dimensions | 7.9 x 2 x 7.9 inches |
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Item Weight | 1.43 pounds |
Country of Origin | Germany |
ASIN | B07S4HGXQN |
Item model number | CSGFG1001 |
Manufacturer recommended age | 12 years and up |
Best Sellers Rank | #75,250 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games) #2,345 in Board Games (Toys & Games) |
Customer Reviews |
4.8 out of 5 stars |
Release date | August 15, 2019 |
Language | English |
Manufacturer | Capstone Games |
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Product Description
In June 1972, five men are arrested in Washington’s Watergate building. What looks like a third-rate burglary attempt on the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee induces journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of the Washington Post to start a thorough investigation. Over the following two years, they discover that the five men were directed from within the White House to spy on political opponents. As a consequence, in 1974 President Richard Nixon resigns from office to avoid impeachment. In Watergate, one player assumes the role of a Journalist, while the other embodies the Nixon Administration—each with a unique set of cards. To win, the Nixon Administration must build up enough momentum to make it to the end of the presidential term, whereas the Journalist must gather enough evidence to connect two informants directly to the President. Of course, the administration will do all in its power to smother any evidence.
From the manufacturer
Watergate
Game Description
One player takes on the role of a Journalist, the other embodies the Nixon Administration. To win, Nixon must build up enough momentum to ride out the term, whereas the Journalist must gather enough evidence to pin Nixon to the crime.
An Historic Card Driven Game for Two Players
In this game of wits, each player will have a completely unique deck of cards in order to seek out victory. As you race to complete your goal, you must also contend with the other player trying to thwart your progress.
At a Glance
- Head-to-Head Card Driven Strategy
- 2 Players
- 30 Minutes
- Ages 12+
History Brought to Life
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Unique CardsEach player has a separate deck of cards that is completely unique from their opponent. Each card is based on actual events or people related to the Watergate scandal and can be be used in multiple ways, but only careful play will lead to victory. |
The JournalistAs the Journalist, it is your objective to connect two informants directly to the President via a trail of evidence. But you must contend with the Nixon Administration suppressing evidence and witnesses. |
The Nixon AdministrationAs the Nixon Administration, it is your objective to deflect and downplay the allegations against the President long enough for the public's interest to wane and ride out the term while contending with the journalist's commitment to the truth. |
Game Components
Watergate features high quality, oversized cards. Tokens are drawn from an included draw-string bag.
Gameplay
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SetupEach player gets their assigned deck of cards. The decks are shuffled and cards are drawn. The board is laid out on the table with 1 momentum token, 1 initiative token, and 3 evidence tokens from the bag. Setup is complete in under 5 minutes. |
Turn SequencePlayers alternate turns beginning with the player who claimed the momentum token last round. On their turn, a player will play a card from their hand, electing to activate the event or utilize the value points to manipulate the tokens on the board. |
End of GameIf the Journalist manages to connect 2 informants to Nixon, they win immediately. Alternatively, if the Nixon administration can collect 5 momentum tokens, they win. |
HistoryEvery card depicts an event or person related to the Watergate scandal. The rule-book features further details and background information to illuminate this time in history. |
Critically Acclaimed
One of the Best Games of the Year
Watergate has been lauded by many critics and has received some of the most prestigious awards including the The Dice Tower Award and the Golden Geek. It has been recommended by Shut Up & Sit Down and Man Vs. Meeple. Find out what has everyone buzzing and experience Watergate now.
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Watergate
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Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the game fun, easy to learn, and set up. They also appreciate the historical theme and unique mechanism. Customers also mention that the game is fast enough to play multiple times.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the game fun and great for two players. They also say the gameplay is honest and compelling. Customers also say that both factions play well and are equally fun to play. They say it's easy to learn and a good strategy game.
"Such an amazing and tight game for 2 people...." Read more
"Easy to learn, good strategy, fun historical game. Cards contain information about real event related to Watergate scandal...." Read more
"...The gameplay is honestly that good.A really great two-player game for adults and older teens." Read more
"...the journalists’ pinboard laying out the connections of Watergate is wonderful and graphic...." Read more
Customers find the board game relatively easy to learn. They say the concept is overall easy, but there are many different strategies to try on. They also say the game is easy to set up and plays in 45 minutes. Customers also mention that the game has loads of information about the board.
"Easy to learn, good strategy, fun historical game. Cards contain information about real event related to Watergate scandal...." Read more
"...Watergate was the perfect pick! It’s relatively easy to learn but the strategy can get very involved...." Read more
"...Ryles might seem overwhelming but once you get it its not that complicated...." Read more
"This game is fun and quick and has loads of information about the actual events of the whole Watergate scandal...." Read more
Customers find the game very historically thematic with a deep strategy. They also say the theme and mechanism are very interesting and fun. Customers also mention that the game is unique, clever, and fun to play.
"Easy to learn, good strategy, fun historical game. Cards contain information about real event related to Watergate scandal...." Read more
"This is a game of tug of war on multiple fronts. The theme is unique but this game is mostly abstract but there are nice historical references on..." Read more
"History and fun all in one game." Read more
"Really fun historical asymmetrical game." Read more
Customers find the speed of the board game to be fast enough that they can play multiple times. They mention that the game is easy to set up and plays in 45 minutes or 20-30 minutes.
"...It's 2 player only, but games are fast enough that you can play multiple times in one sitting...." Read more
"...The game is easy to set up and plays in 45 minutes." Read more
"...The setup is quick and easy, and the game takes 20-30 minutes. Great strategy game." Read more
"Easy to learn, fairly quick playtime, and with a strong historical theme - this game is clever and fun to play. Tense to the end." Read more
Customers find the ending of the board game tense, with gotcha moments and decisions. They also say every move is super intense, with no wasted actions.
"...Every move is super intense. There are no wasted actions...." Read more
"This is a very tight 2 player experience. Each play provides a tense series of decisions and gotcha moments as you maneuver your information,..." Read more
"...Tense to the end." Read more
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Strong recommend.
If you really enjoy this game and would something with much more depth about the Cold War, I would definitely recommend that you check out Twilight Struggle by GMT. Much longer playtime and more complex, but an incredible game covering the entire Cold War.
In Watergate, the players take turns playing cards that represent the major events and people involved in the Watergate scandal. One side plays a journalist who is trying to establish a link between Nixon and two co-conspirators. The other side plays the Nixon Administration, who is trying to block those links and misdirect the investigation.
Play takes place on a really cool board that has string and thumbtacks. Evidence tokens can be placed by the journalist on the thumbtacks, representing something that will eventually tie Nixon to a co-conspirator if they can be laid in an unbroken line to a witness that has been recruited to the journalist's side. Similarly, Nixon can destroy a piece of evidence by placing the token on the thumbtack upside down, thereby breaking part of the chain.
Or the players can move their influence and momentum tokens, to try to get more powerful moves (in the journalist's case) or to last out the term (in Nixon's case). Deciding what to do and how to use your cards -- which can be used in different ways -- is the crux of the game. It's a constant back-and-forth and every decision is agonizing in a good way.
Both sides are super-balanced as well, and it's fun to switch roles and learn all the cards. In the process, you might also get to learn a little about the Watergate scandal itself, though you really don't need to be interested in history or even care about the scandal in order to enjoy the game. The gameplay is honestly that good.
A really great two-player game for adults and older teens.
If you're a high school history teacher, this would be a great game to introduce to students. Not only would it provide a glimpse into the events surrounding the scandal, but it would also provide the students with a strong, strategy/tactics game to figure out.
Without delving into too many specifics about the rules, one player takes on the role of Nixon, while the other plays a journalist. Each has a different goal; the journalist is trying to connect at least two people involved with the scandal directly to Nixon, while Nixon is trying to block the journalist's discoveries.
Each player has a separate deck of 20 cards, which are used in groups of five (or four) to constitute a single round of play. Whichever player has the 'momentum,' determined at the start to be the journalist and in later rounds, to be whoever has managed to obtain more 'momentum' progress on a Research track, starts the card play (The player with 'momentum' at the start of a turn gets 5 cards, the other player gets 4).
Each card has two options, indicated by two sections of a card. One either uses its Value or its Action. Example: One of Nixon's cards (a Conspirator card - Haldeman) has a Value of 1, or you can use its Action - "On the research track, move each evidence token 1 step." The Value of the card, combined with a color (in the case of the Haldemann card, that color is blue), allows a player to move what are known as Evidence tokens toward you on a Research track (it would need, in this case, to be a blue Evidence token), or move a momentum or initiative token toward you, the number of spaces indicated on the card (in the example, 1 space). At the end of a single round (each player has used all of the 5, or 4 cards he grabbed from his pack of 20 at the start), Evidence. momentum and initiative tokens will either be on Nixon's side of the research track or the journalist's side (or possibly in a 0 space on neither side) and actions are taken accordingly.
If a colored (blue, yellow, green or combinations of two colors) Evidence token is on Nixon's side of the Research track, the player gets to put that token on the board, face down (blocking evidence). If it's on the journalist's side, it goes onto the board face-up and becomes a link in a chain of evidence tokens, marching from the picture of Nixon in the center to the edge of the board where it connects to one of the game's seven picture tiles of key figures (informants) in the scandal.
The game is over when the journalist connects at least two of the picture tiles on the board's perimeter to the center picture of Nixon, OR, Nixon successfully collects five (red) momentum tokens, earned by moving the token in his direction on the Research track (by utilizing the Value option in a given card and moving that token 'x' amount of spaces as indicated on the card) and having it end up on his side of that Research track at the end of the round. Do that five times successfully and the game is over.
There's a little more to it, rule-wise, than that, but that's the basic idea. It is a game of medium complexity and not likely to be immediately enjoyed by people who don't generally play strategy/tactics games. The game also rewards a strong familiarity with the 20 cards in each player's hand. Knowing at the start of a game, for example, that certain cards remain in your deck, as you play 5 (or 4) cards that you drew at the start of a round is helpful.
In some cases, cards played in a round are discarded and after going through the deck of 20 (5, or 4 at a time), the discards are re-shuffled and come back into play. Other cards, though, and this is only true when you use the Action option of a card, get removed from the game permanently. A Nixon card, with the title "A third-rate burglary," for example, which (choosing to take the card's Action), allows you to "move 1 evidence token back to the 0 space on the research track and the momentum token to the 1 space on your side of the research track (Nixon's side, in this case). But, and this is a BIG "but," you have to remove this card from the game, permanently. It will take a while before you get comfortable with the ebb and flow of when that Action (or others, in either player's deck) is worth removing the card from the game.
It's not for everybody this game, and believe me when I tell you, "Uno" or "Yahtzee" it is not. If, however, you like games that require you to put on a relatively serious thinking cap, this could work for you. It is also not "Twilight Struggle," another two-player game that utilizes the same sort of card mechanics (two-part cards from which you choose one of the options) in service of a game in which the complexity, compared to "Watergate" is not just squared, but arguably cubed. With "Twilight Struggle" firmly camped on the 'heavy weight' side of a game complexity fence, "Watergate" sits atop that fence; part of it on the "Twilight Struggle" side with the other side firmly attached to its simplicity roots. "Watergate" is a compelling and dare I say, educational game experience for two.
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Reviewed in Mexico on September 10, 2021