How is that? I’ve seen a few comrades recommend it. I’m not super into Maoism as an ideology, but I do like strategy games and I really like “political simulation” type stuff, I tend to judge games’ quality by “can you do something inarguably communist”, and I do enjoy Maoist paths in such games as a thing to do while cuddling my stuffed panda.
^ Picture of my gaming buddy. His name is Comrade Cuddles. He’s a Maoist and very sectarian. He’s lucky he’s hug shaped.
The game is a Nostalgames (formerly Kremlingames) classic. It’s a bit more complex than “Ostalgie: The Berlin Wall”, but far easier to manage than “Crisis in the Kremlin”.
All their games essentially put you in charge of a late 70s to mid 80s socialist country and from there on out, you manage it yourself and kinda steer the course.
You make decisions based off of popups where they are kinda multiple choice and a few (/a lot in “Crisis in the Kremlin”) menus for stuff like the economy, diplomacy (a world or regional map where you click on countries to make decisions like trade deals or (re)establishing diplomatic relations, tough both are also done through popups from time to time), seeing statuses and a few political tabs where you can influence the dynamics within your CP and with other parties, as well as laws and such.
In the case of “China: Maos Legacy” there are a few paths you can tread:
Radical Maoists, I.e. the gang of four. Essentially continuing the cultural revolution, but without excesses and learning from previous mistakes. This can lead to you changing to a "1937-USSR-style constitution, or just keeping the old one.
Conservative Maoists: I think in-game their leader Hua Gofeng, you phase out the cultural revolution and essentially just try to follow the “Two Whatever’s”. Like staying with State Capitalism or switching back to a proper planned economy (can lead to a "1924-USSR-style constitution or 1976 style or just keeping the old one)
Moderates: Chen Yun and the idea of the “Birdcage”, moderate liberalisation without excesses
Reformers: Deng Xiaoping 'nuff said (though you can influence stuff like Soviet relations. like in none of those paths you are really forced to adhere to them strictly) (idk about this one in terms of constitution)
Outright Liberals: idk who is the in-game leader. But they obviously favour full liberalization in all spheres of society
The difficulty of even getting to these paths can vary a lot.
I’d recommend you start without any DLCs though, as they just add content (read: complexity) and make the learning curve even steeper.
They have been really ironing it out with their latest release (a remake of the 2017 “Crisis in the Kremlin”) but in general their games have a reputation for a certain jankiness and rough edges here and there. But let me tell you, it is so worth it do actually go through with it! And they have been taking good care of their older games recently, so it should be an easier journey.
Their games are some my most played on Steam and collectively I have like 600+ hrs in them I think.
They also teach you a lot about historical contexts and various personalities of their respective regions and time or rather enable deeper Wikipedia rabbitholes (in my case).
Sorry for the late ping, but I would suggest the following path:
Ostalgie: The Berlin Wall
China: Mao’s Legacy
a. DLC 1
b. DLC 2
c. …
Crisis in the Kremlin (the new one)
I do not mean in terms of time spent there or where you lay your focus on, but purely from a mechanical/difficulty perspective.
I’d recommend you stay with every game for as long as you need to become in navigating it. Ofc not in terms of knowing the intricacies, but a general knowledge of the concepts and especially navigation. With Oatalgie I think all the DLCs just add new countries, with China Maos legacy they also add new mechanics, so I’d recommend going through each DLC.
But that’s just how I’d imagine it to be the easiest and is ofc a biased perspective since this is highly subjective.
There will be a lot of save scumming and that is basically a core mechanic tbh if you want to make heads or tails of the various decisions and their outcomes (because they aren’t that clear in the first two).
In that regard I think it would provide as gentle a learning curve as is possible with Nostalgames’ titles. I think I too have most of my hours in China Mao’s Legacy and it has been their poster child game, but the remake of Crisis in the Kremlin is their absolute best. so far, magnum opus even.
However it is also the most complex, even with hundreds of hours in their other games I had to look up a steam guide ^^'. But they are rly great like the community is churning out guides at a rly impressive rate.
It’s one of those games that I bought thinking “someday I’ll have the time to play it”, then after starting it up and having no idea what i’m doing AT ALL, it has remained pretty untouched
Okay what’s he playing though?
My Little Pony Island, Mass Effect, Disco Elysium, and China: Mao’s Legacy
One of these things is not like the others…
How is that? I’ve seen a few comrades recommend it. I’m not super into Maoism as an ideology, but I do like strategy games and I really like “political simulation” type stuff, I tend to judge games’ quality by “can you do something inarguably communist”, and I do enjoy Maoist paths in such games as a thing to do while cuddling my stuffed panda.
^ Picture of my gaming buddy. His name is Comrade Cuddles. He’s a Maoist and very sectarian. He’s lucky he’s hug shaped.
The game is a Nostalgames (formerly Kremlingames) classic. It’s a bit more complex than “Ostalgie: The Berlin Wall”, but far easier to manage than “Crisis in the Kremlin”.
All their games essentially put you in charge of a late 70s to mid 80s socialist country and from there on out, you manage it yourself and kinda steer the course.
You make decisions based off of popups where they are kinda multiple choice and a few (/a lot in “Crisis in the Kremlin”) menus for stuff like the economy, diplomacy (a world or regional map where you click on countries to make decisions like trade deals or (re)establishing diplomatic relations, tough both are also done through popups from time to time), seeing statuses and a few political tabs where you can influence the dynamics within your CP and with other parties, as well as laws and such.
In the case of “China: Maos Legacy” there are a few paths you can tread:
The difficulty of even getting to these paths can vary a lot.
I’d recommend you start without any DLCs though, as they just add content (read: complexity) and make the learning curve even steeper.
They have been really ironing it out with their latest release (a remake of the 2017 “Crisis in the Kremlin”) but in general their games have a reputation for a certain jankiness and rough edges here and there. But let me tell you, it is so worth it do actually go through with it! And they have been taking good care of their older games recently, so it should be an easier journey.
Their games are some my most played on Steam and collectively I have like 600+ hrs in them I think.
They also teach you a lot about historical contexts and various personalities of their respective regions and time or rather enable deeper Wikipedia rabbitholes (in my case).
Ooh. That theme’s basically the Ultimate Political Game in my book. Definitely interested in giving something by them a try, then.
Sorry for the late ping, but I would suggest the following path:
a. DLC 1
b. DLC 2
c. …
I do not mean in terms of time spent there or where you lay your focus on, but purely from a mechanical/difficulty perspective.
I’d recommend you stay with every game for as long as you need to become in navigating it. Ofc not in terms of knowing the intricacies, but a general knowledge of the concepts and especially navigation. With Oatalgie I think all the DLCs just add new countries, with China Maos legacy they also add new mechanics, so I’d recommend going through each DLC.
But that’s just how I’d imagine it to be the easiest and is ofc a biased perspective since this is highly subjective.
There will be a lot of save scumming and that is basically a core mechanic tbh if you want to make heads or tails of the various decisions and their outcomes (because they aren’t that clear in the first two).
In that regard I think it would provide as gentle a learning curve as is possible with Nostalgames’ titles. I think I too have most of my hours in China Mao’s Legacy and it has been their poster child game, but the remake of Crisis in the Kremlin is their absolute best. so far, magnum opus even.
However it is also the most complex, even with hundreds of hours in their other games I had to look up a steam guide ^^'. But they are rly great like the community is churning out guides at a rly impressive rate.
Thanks, comrade.
It’s one of those games that I bought thinking “someday I’ll have the time to play it”, then after starting it up and having no idea what i’m doing AT ALL, it has remained pretty untouched
Oh. Same as me with HOI4, then. Played it once, had way too much fun as a fascist state, haven’t wanted to touch it since.
Surgeon simulator
how old are his kids? maybe fortnite