2020 · The TESA Collective
HappyCorp, the richest company in the world, has just unleashed its most evil plan yet: turning Mercury City into an entirely corporate-run metropolis. From the schools to the sidewalks, everything will be owned and run by HappyCorp, and every resident will become a HappyCorp employee. There will be no more minimum wage, no more public services, and no more unions. HappyCorp has already begun unleashing its Smile Drones to convert the city’s infrastructure, crush protests, and ensure every resident watches its Commercial Breaks.
Players take on the role of the Strike Council to lead a city-wide rebellion of workers against HappyCorp’s take over, while also fighting for better livelihoods for all. Players will grow their ranks, mobilize their workers, and launch strikes around Mercury City. As the Strike Council scores victories for workers, they will gain the support of more allies, from the dockworkers to the teachers, and build new bases of support from the manufacturing district to the university.
Players takes on one of eight unique characters, such as Valentina the Factory Worker and Candace the Firefighter, each who has their own stats and two unique combination of powers. On their turn, players will add four actions to their character boards in order to add new Strikers to the board, stop HappyCrop, and complete "STRIKE!" cards in their hands, such as "Take over the Bridge" and "Block HappyCorp Delivery Trucks." They will also play Ally Cards, which will give them more energy to defend themselves from HappyCorp and aid other players' efforts. At the end of each players' turn, however, they will have to draw a Commercial Break card - which will cause them to remove Strikers, lose resources, and add new drones to the board.
Players win collectively if they score 15 points, thereby abolishing HappyCorp from Mercury City. HappyCorp wins if it reaches 15 points of its own, or if it gets 5 of its feared MegaDrones on the board.
The core gameplay is centered around collaboration: figuring out how and when to best work together to stop HappyCorp and build your city-wide strike. Do you work towards completing the Striker cards in your own hand, or do you set up a teammate to make a big move on their turn? Do you want to disassemble that MegaDrone so another player can strike, or do you want to increase your own character’s energy? Either way, HappyCorp will be constantly deploying its drones and playing Commercial Breaks - so act quickly!
Do you have what it takes to lead the worker rebellion to defeat HappyCorp? Or will you soon be an employee of HappyCity?
