Welcome to the Interbellum! It's 1920 and the Middle East is in chaos. Five superpowers vie for supremacy. The British Empire fills the vacuum left by the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. The Saudis unite under one king. The Soviets aim to export their socialist revolution to the south. Turkey is undergoing rapid modernization and dreams of its glorious past. And the Persian rulers are slowly looking beyond the borders of their palaces in Tehran.
And in the midst of this geopolitical chaos, huge amounts of oil have been found.
Your job as an oil company is to navigate these difficult times and become a dominant multinational corporation in the Middle East by the end of the sixth round of the game. Use your executives to claim oil wells, build pipelines to lucrative ports, search for gas wells and buy influence in the five superpowers. Each round, geopolitical events force you to rethink your strategy. But the more influence you have in a superpower, the more likely these events will work out in your favor.
INTERBELLUM is a medium-sized worker placement game lasting 60-90 minutes. Rooted in history and inspired by true events, it's a fun game for anyone ages 12 and up.
And in the midst of this geopolitical chaos, huge amounts of oil have been found.
Your job as an oil company is to navigate these difficult times and become a dominant multinational corporation in the Middle East by the end of the sixth round of the game. Use your executives to claim oil wells, build pipelines to lucrative ports, search for gas wells and buy influence in the five superpowers. Each round, geopolitical events force you to rethink your strategy. But the more influence you have in a superpower, the more likely these events will work out in your favor.
INTERBELLUM is a medium-sized worker placement game lasting 60-90 minutes. Rooted in history and inspired by true events, it's a fun game for anyone ages 12 and up.
How does it work?
Each round starts with three event cards. Events can apply to all (such as the Great Depression), or events can be specific for one or two superpowers (such as the Great Game card). These events determine the fortunes of the five superpowers, and have a direct influence on your strategy. However, with the influence they have in superpowers, players can steer events in their favor...
Next, in each round you send your executives on various missions. These missions can include:
Next, in each round you send your executives on various missions. These missions can include:
Building a pipeline
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Buying influence in a superpower
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Searching for gas sources
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Gaining income from oil wells
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The challenge of the game is to balance your resources and to efficiently use your executives. Multiple avenues to victory are possible, as long as you don't allow yourself to be surprised by your opponents at the end of the game.
At the end of the sixth game round, players gain victory points for each completed pipeline, for different gas findings, and for having influence in super powers. Congratulations, the winner now has become the dominant multinational in the Middle East, and is poised to become energy hegemon for the foreseeable future!
At the end of the sixth game round, players gain victory points for each completed pipeline, for different gas findings, and for having influence in super powers. Congratulations, the winner now has become the dominant multinational in the Middle East, and is poised to become energy hegemon for the foreseeable future!
A bit of backgroundINTERBELLUM is directly inspired by a history book on the post-Ottoman Middle East, called 'A Line in the Sand' by James Barr. What fascinated me was the continuous interaction between oil companies and the geopolitical actors determining the fates of newly created countries. I thought it interesting to convert the concept of actors influencing and being influenced by geopolitical events into a game.
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Useful documentsThe sell sheet, essentially a one-pager overview of the game, can be downloaded here:
Game rules are available in Dutch and English:
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