A Japanese card game which presupposes inequality both at the outset and as the game proceeds.
The flow:
The players are divided into five groups:
- the very rich,
- the rich,
- the middle,
- the poor, and
- the poor bastards
The rules are rigged so that the rich get the best cards in an initial round of passing and the poor get the worst. The game begins and players use a mix of chance and skill -- equality -- in their struggles to maintain/change their positions. What makes it entertaining is the drama: the reversals of fortune, betrayals, and the glory of winning/shame of losing.
It's a great example of a game that involves switching roles and identities, with players rising to power -- which they occupy with smirking, taunting, etc -- or falling to disgrace, cursing their fates, pointing to the injustice, and hoping for the best.
You can play the game online here: http://www.afsgames.com/mil.htm
Discussion:
As always, What did you see? What do you think of it? What do you make of it?
It would be interesting to compare the game to the actual division of wealth and income and political power. Better yet, play the game with an ideal distribution of wealth, a division that they think is realistic, and the actual division, as per this presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPKKQnijnsM