In War of the words, the players stand at the head of their own newspaper with their own political leaning (Royalist, Catholic, Centrist, Liberal or Republican). Each round, they can place their cards (informants and agents) in one of five different areas of Paris each round. They can attempt to gather the latest NEWS (three areas), seek support at a SOIREE (one area), or obtain a commission (one area) that allows them to 'make' or 'break' a THEATER piece. The more profit they accumulate during the game, the more cards they will be able to spend to influence these areas.
To obtain the latest news, players who have stationed informants in the relevant NEWS areas may play one or more cards from their hand, depending on whether they consider the news profitable enough to pursue. For example, “Assassination of the Duke of Berry” is big news that can generate a major political impact and significant profit, whereas “Standing Ovation for the 9th Symphony” represents small news.
The value of all played cards remains hidden until every player has made their bid on that particular news item. Once revealed, the values are tallied, and the player who has invested the most receives the news item, which then yields profit. Players must be careful not to overbid, or they risk losing profit; bid too little, and they will fail to secure the news. Each published news item also influences the political climate in Paris — the more significant the news, the greater its potential impact. In addition, players must decide whether to present each item in a positive or a negative light. Naturally, portraying the assassination of the Duke of Berry in a positive manner will shift the political climate towards Royalist CENSORSHIP, while presenting “National Guard Disbanded” in a positive light will push it toward Republican REVOLUTION.
The core challenge of War of the Words lies in finding the right balance between investment and profit, anticipating your opponents’ decisions, securing influential sponsors, and shaping the political mood in Paris to align with the political stance of your newspaper.
War of the words is historically very thematic and was inspired by Balzac’s novel Illusions perdues.
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