Major Competition Alert! Become A Monument #5
over 2 years ago – Sat, Oct 02, 2021 at 10:53:14 AM

Greetings fellow rebels!

It might take one person to ignite the spark, but it will take countless to keep the fires of revolution burning bright. 

In India, it took leaders across the political spectrum banding together to upend the British monarchy. Those who believed in passive resistance, like Sarojini Naidu and Mahatma Gandhi, worked alongside those who believed in violent resistance, like Subhash Chandra Bose. Despite being ideologically incongruent, all these revolutionaries served as the president of the same political party. Similarly, Tahrir Square, occupied both by the majoritarian Muslim Brotherhood and young liberal activists became the center of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. 

When faced with a common enemy, history has shown that revolutionaries will work across ideological barriers for Azadi. It is this spirit of uneasy cooperation that we wanted to capture with the game. 

Similarly, by working together, we have managed to unlock a whopping 24 stretch goals! But the Imperials will not take our Dissent lightly. We need to let them know that ours is a revolution that will be televised. With only 6 days left in the campaign, we have a lot of work to do before we can unlock all our stretch goals and the new game modes. Freedom and glory await us on the other side. Let’s get cracking!

Major Competition Alert

All rebellions are unique - they have their own history, heroes, and culture. Over the past few weeks, all of you have given us some incredible narratives around revolutions. But the Imperials are closing in fast, so we need a way to communicate in a language that these ancient ones will not understand. To become our next Monument - 

Summarize a revolution with the use of emojis!

• Comment on Kickstarter using #okcolonizer with your answer! 
• Tell us which revolution you’re summarizing, and then use emojis to "write" your summary. 
• Entries will be judged on the basis of wit, originality, and narrative cohesion. 
• We will only accept entries till 4th October, Monday 11:59 p.m. EST. 

Here's our example, summarizing the South Asian Freedom Struggle - 

👑➡️🚢➡️ 🇮🇳💂‍♀️🙏👳 🤷‍♀️

💂‍♂️💂‍♂️💂‍♂️💂‍♂️💂‍♂️💂‍♂️💂‍♂️  👳 😱😱😱😱 

💂‍♂️💂‍♀️💂‍♀️💂‍♂️💂‍♀️🖕🖕🤓🙈🙉🙊☮️🚶👩‍🦯🚶🚶‍♀️🚶👩‍🦯👨‍🦯🚶‍♂️🚶‍♀️🚶👩‍🦯👨‍🦯

🕊️😎 

💂‍♀️💂‍♂️💂‍♀️🤭🤷‍♂️💎🕺💎🕺💎🕺💎🕺💎🕺👋  🇮🇳💔🇵🇰

A New Contest Winner!

And now, the winner of the #sorrynotsorry Monument contest - 

🥳Chamadu is the face of your next Monument Card 🥳

"We really want to give back this obelisk to Egypt, we really do. But is it really for the best ? Have you seen what is happening in Egypt right now ? Do you really think that obelisk would be as well treated there, that it has been here ? And it has been more than 200 years now, it became OUR obelisk. It is our obelisk! Of course we're not giving it away. What were we talking about anyway ? Oh yeah, we can lend you a few paintings from the Louvres. But be prepared to pay for it"

Congratulations Chamadu! You are the face of our 4th Monument Card!

Long live the revolution,

Zain Memon and Abhishek Lamba

Major Competition Alert! Become A Monument #4
over 2 years ago – Fri, Oct 01, 2021 at 06:33:49 PM

Greetings fellow rebels,

The end is near, but we have a lot more work to be done. The Imperials are at their most vulnerable, so the time to attack is now!

Major Competition Alert!

The Imperials have caused a lot of harm over the decades, and the least that we can expect them to do is apologize for them (and pay trillions in reparations).  When asked about these historical misdeeds, some leaders of nations have offered something of a fauxpology (how very royal of them).

Here’s an example from the former U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, who when asked about returning the Kohinoor Diamond as atonement for Britain's colonial past, had this to say:

"If you say yes to one you suddenly find the British Museum would be empty. I think I am afraid to say, to disappoint all your viewers, it’s going to have to stay put. No, I certainly don't believe in 'returnism', as it were. I don't think that is sensible."

Write an apology as an Imperial to the people you colonized. Wrong answers only!

• Comment on Kickstarter with #sorrynotsorry and write an apology as an Imperial for your misdeeds. But remember, wrong answers only!
• Entries will be judged based on wit, uniqueness, and humor.
• We are only accepting entries till 11:59 EST, Friday, 1st October 

Contest Winners!

As always, all you incredible people have come up with some really exciting answers for our last competition. And we are thrilled to announce your winner!!

3 Step Plan To Overthrow An Imperial Power.

🙌 Chairman Hans is the face of your third Monument Card! 🙌

1. Convince everyone (or at least the imperials) that earth is flat with “science”. 2. Charter expedition to explore the “underside” of earth, an expedition filled with only the most important war leaders from each country because everyone will want a slice of the underworld… 3…..key war leaders conveniently disappear in the “underside” (aka the middle of oceans) never to be found again and thus opens the opportunity to overthrow the imperials who are now at a loss for war strategies. Earth unite! Ps. Trust me I’m an engineer.

Congratulations Chairman Hans! Your plans will be eternalized in AZADI!

PS: Check out our previous update to learn more about the new game modes that we can unlock for SHASN and SHASN: AZADI.

Long live the revolution,

Zain Memon and Abhishek Lamba

Rally The Troops!
over 2 years ago – Tue, Sep 28, 2021 at 01:05:47 PM

Greetings fellow rebels,

With only 10 days to go, the long march is nearing the end. But the revolution will live on forever. We have plenty of exciting games and content that will take you towards Azadi and beyond.

In SHASN: AZADI, you must resolve Azadi Cards to free your nation. Every Azadi Card is a unique historical event, where you get to relive and rewrite histories. Azadi Cards are the battleground where you take on the Imperials. Your revolution will gather momentum with each Azadi Card you complete.

What if instead of killing British loyalists, you bribed them and converted them to your cause? What if instead of occupying Tahrir Square, you kidnapped Hosni Mubarak and held him hostage till he agreed to your demands? What if instead of following the path of Satyagraha, you picked up arms against the British?

Each Azadi Card will present you with a choice. Will you walk the path of leaders before you, or will you forge your own path to freedom? Your choice will have consequences that will transform your nation, and your game permanently. The path you take will teach your nation a new philosophy of resistance, and open up a new zone.

Here is a glimpse at how the Azadi Cards will look -

History is often written by the victors. With AZADI, we wanted to reverse the traditional narrative where the oppressors are presented as the heroes, and instead tell a story of the oppressed fighting back. The stories we explore in AZADI have impacted millions of lives, and its repercussions are felt strongly even today. As creators, it is our responsibility to depict these real-life events accurately and sensitively - which is why every author of every campaign belongs to the nation they are writing about and is an expert in its history.

Major Stretch Goals!

Now, onto our major stretch goals. They include 3 new game modes and additional video content for the game. From game developers, video editors, and subject matter experts, we will need to bring on many more collaborators to deliver on these stretch goals. These are our biggest stretch goals, and we won’t be able to unlock them without your help. If you want to see them become a part of the game, help us spread the word!

Uncle Sam’s Primaries - After SHASN, a lot of you reached out to us to tell us how much you enjoyed the game. One of our backers, Samuel J. Rahman designed a new game mode for SHASN that adds a new electoral system to the SHASN engine. We are delighted that the community has been so active in creating new content. Inspired by the American electoral system, pick your battles and plan ahead as you compete to win the primaries. What will you stand for?

Echoes from the Past  - Every Azadi Card in the game will have a QR code behind it. Scan the code to watch a brief video exploring the historical event depicted in the card. Transport yourself into the shoes of revolutionaries as you take a glimpse into the events that changed the course of history.

1 vs. All - In this 1 vs. All game mode for SHASN: AZADI, one player gets to become an Imperial power, while the others take on the role of Rebels. If you choose to be an Imperial - deploy your forces, pass new laws, and launch devastating attacks in your efforts to silence the revolution. If you choose to be a Rebel, combat a dangerous, powerful, and human enemy as you battle to free your nation and emerge as its new leader.

Voice Of The Subaltern - Liberty, equality, and fraternity. These are strong ideals to build a nation upon, but realizing these ideals is a different story. While you face crushing blows from the Imperials, your nation is haunted by evils of its own making. While you combat oppression, there are those amongst you that face oppression of a different kind. Tackle issues such as caste, race, and gender in this new game mode for SHASN: AZADI. Will you let the subaltern speak, or will you drown out their voice in your quest for "the greater good"?

PS: There is a lot more work to do to reach our previous stretch goals, and we are running out of time! Check out Update #14 for all the details.

Long live the revolution,
Zain Memon and Abhishek Lamba

New Stretch Goals Revealed!
over 2 years ago – Mon, Sep 27, 2021 at 10:45:09 AM

Greetings fellow Rebels,

The party was a roaring success! Just not the way the Imperials wanted it to be.

Congratulations on unlocking all four stretch goals! With your help, we have now been able to upgrade to a metal Crown and Shackle for the Imperial Arms mat!

The Imperial Arms Mat is the command center of your oppressors. The mat represents the armory of attacks that the Imperials have at their disposal.

As your revolution grows, the Imperials will awaken from their slumber and unlock new powers. With attacks that target every Ideologue, the Imperials will adapt to your tactics. Every time one of you hits a Level 3 or Level 5 Ideologue Power, an Imperial Seal will be unfurled to reveal new attacks. By the end of the game, the Imperials will be as strong, if not stronger than your revolution.

Here is a look at the Imperial Mat in AZADI - 

New Stretch Goals!

The Imperials will continue to launch crushing blows. But our revolution will not be silenced. This is what we have to do to keep the momentum going -

⭐The Capitalist is looking to raise more funds to fuel the Rebellion.

⭐ With some guidance from our friends here in India, we were able to transliterate AZADI into different regional scripts! Now the Supremo wants your help in transliterating “AZADI” into scripts from all around the world. Here is a glimpse at how the scripts will look with our gold embossed foil - 

Here is the link to fill in your submissions. Click here.

⭐ The Imperials have constructed Monuments to their (mis)deeds all across the globe, so why shouldn’t we? The Showstopper wants you to build new monuments! Pick an individual from your hometown to memorialize. Let us know in the Kickstarter comments.

⭐ The Idealist is looking to recruit more backers to the cause!

Meeting these new stretch goals will unlock -

•  The Capitalist | A Scenario Book for SHASN: AZADI, that will present players with thrilling challenges that they must overcome to gain Azadi and become leaders of their nation.
•  The Supremo | 12 New Resistance Cards
•  The Showstopper | Early access to the Tabletop Simulator for SHASN: AZADI!
•  The Idealist | 12 new Imperial Seals

Will you survive the Imperial onslaught and liberate your nation, or will you die a forgotten leader, lost to the pages of history?

PS: We have some HUGE updates coming up tomorrow. So stay tuned!

Long live the revolution,

Zain Memon and Abhishek Lamba

Major Event Alert! A Simple Plan.
over 2 years ago – Sun, Sep 26, 2021 at 11:01:21 PM

Greetings fellow rebels!

Wherever there is oppression, there is resistance. Even in the harshest regimes, the most ingenious among us have found ways to push back and architect revolutions. History is replete with powerful acts of rebellion that sometimes have a profound, lasting impact on the composition of their nations.

In AZADI, our fighting spirit is reflected in the Resistance Cards. These Resistance Cards comprise a wide array of tactics that we can use to resist the Imperials, ranging from peaceful satyagraha to guerilla warfare to underground radios. Every time we trigger an Azadi Card, we must choose our path of resistance. Each side of an Azadi Card will offer us a unique Resistance Card, belonging to a certain Ideology. As we resolve Azadi Cards successfully, our fellow rebels will learn new resistance techniques, unlock new powers that strengthen the Ideologues and shape the nation as we see fit.

Become A Monument #3

Every successful resistance needs a good plan. Throughout the Russian Revolution and the civil war that followed, Lenin provided the energy and charisma needed to inspire success, while Trotsky provided the organization and drive. Even though Trotsky rarely took the spotlight, his tactical genius successfully inspired and encouraged troops to greater efforts, and to eventual victory.

If you are one to scheme, strategize, and dominate - this is your moment. While the Imperials dilly-dally in their high castles, growing fatter at their fancy parties, drowning in their imagined sorrows - we will rise to the occasion and pull out the rug from under them - once and for all.

But first, we need a plan.

✊ Tell us your 3 Step Plan to overthrow an Imperial Power! ✊

• Write #overthrow with your answer in the Kickstarter comment section.
• Entries will be judged on the basis of their creativity, intrigue, and fun.
• We are only accepting entries till 11:59 pm EST on Monday, 27th Sept.

Here’s one: 

Step 1 - Invent a time travel machine and go to Britain a few centuries ago.

Step 2 - Introduce them to the delightful world of Indian spices without the need for any "discovery". 

Step 3 - Voila! Enjoy the goodness of Chicken Tikka Masala without any of the mass genocide. (And maybe less baked beans for breakfast.)

The revolution will remember you. If you hatch the best plan, you will be immortalized in one of our remaining Monument Cards!

Contest Winners!

We also had two very exciting contests where so many of you gave us fun, thought-provoking, and hilarious answers. And now it’s time for you to meet the winners!! 🥳🥳

Dissent is Glorious

🎊 Justin is the face of our second Monument card! 🎊 Here is the winning entry -

"This story doesn't have major repercussions, it did not change the tide of a political movement, and it isn't well-known. It's just a small, personal story, but it's nevertheless stayed with me and inspired me my whole life.

My mother is the publisher of a trade journal in the specialty coffee industry, and as a result spends a lot of time in coffee-growing countries, especially Central & South America. When I was a kid, she traveled down to Guatemala together with Jim Stewart (Founder of Seattle's Best Coffee) to help him build a well in a small rural village that did not have a nearby convenient water source. Before her trip, Ghirardelli Chocolate had, at her request, furnished her with a 20lb solid block of chocolate and a handful of t-shirts that she could give to the kids in the village. When she arrived, the local "mayor"/quasi-warlord stole the chocolate and t-shirts to sell for a quick buck. This did not fly with my mom, who in a needlessly reckless move, snuck into the building he was storing the stolen goods in and stole them back. It was dangerous and unnecessary, and I, a child at the time, was mortified to hear that she'd risked her life for something so pointless when she relayed the harrowing story to me later. But I've always been so proud that she fought against an act of petty tyranny because it was the right thing to do. This wasn't an act that changed the world, it did not change the course of a war or a political movement. It was just a small, quiet, reckless act of rebellion that made some kids happy. And for that, it's stayed with me my entire life, an inspiration for the small, quiet, reckless acts of rebellion I've later gone on to do myself."

Congratulations Justin! The revolution thanks your mother for her courage in the face of adversity! Also, a special shoutout to Magnus’ cat, who was undeterred by the oppression of both man and dog. 😼

I like my Imperials like I like my…

With all the innovative answers that you gave us, choosing a winner for this contest was no picnic. After much deliberation, we have four winners for you!  Congratulations…

JR. Forasteros!

“I like my Imperials like I like my board games - easy beaten, then stuffed in a box.”

David Brown!

“I like my imperials like I like my public toilet seat... automatically flushed violently every 30 seconds.”

Meha Anand!

“I like my imperials like I like my "arranged marriage setups" - begging for a future together but rejected because they seem toxic.”

Jacob Corvidae!

“I like my Cadillac at a Tesla convention ... outdated, outclassed, and full of gas.”

Congratulations to all of you! We’re very excited to see you on a Foundation Card soon!

In the meantime, let’s bring those Imperials down.

Over and out,

The Rebels