If Hegemony: Lead Your Class to Victory taught us anything, it is that Hegemonic Project Games knows how to make political simulation genuinely exciting. That game — an asymmetric economic showdown between social classes — sits in BGG's top 50 with an 8.4 rating, and it earned that spot by making you argue about fiscal policy with your friends in the best possible way.
Now the same team is going global. World Order is a deck-building, area-control game where players take on the roles of the United States, China, Russia, or the European Union in a struggle for worldwide influence. Set in 2010, the game simulates diplomatic, economic, and military competition across the globe's regions.
Each superpower has unique strengths and weaknesses, and players combine alliance-building, foreign investment, trade deals, and military base placement to expand their reach. The mix of deck-building and area control means strategies can shift dramatically depending on how rivals are positioning themselves — much like real geopolitics, frankly.
What sets Hegemonic Project Games apart is their commitment to academic rigour. The studio partners with international relations scholars to ensure the game's systems reflect real-world dynamics, not just abstract mechanics wearing a political skin. The result, if Hegemony is anything to go by, should be a game that teaches you something without ever feeling like homework.
The Kickstarter campaign brought in nearly one million euros from over 10,000 backers, and the game is now heading to retail with a June 2026 release date. It plays 2-4 players.
If your group enjoys heavy strategy games with real-world themes — think Twilight Struggle, Twilight Imperium, or indeed Hegemony itself — World Order looks like one to circle on the calendar.