Card Game · Economic

The Anarchy

This is a hybrid card/board game inspired by William Dalrymple’s book The Anarchy on the relentless rise of the East India Company.

2–6 players120 minages 10

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About the game

What is The Anarchy

This is a hybrid card/board game inspired by William Dalrymple’s book The Anarchy on the relentless rise of the East India Company.

The board is a political area map of India circa 1740. Each area on the map has a corresponding card suit identified by the background color and name on top for clarity.

The core mechanics are taken from the The Great Khan Game which used a Rummy-like draw-and-discard system whereby players take initial control of an area by placing a "meld" from their hand which has to have a leader.

There are 126 cards, each of which represents a place, leader, army, or commodity within a given area which when melded together represent an area’s political strength (crown symbols), defense strength (castles), attack or defense strength (swords), and economic strength (treasure chests).

Specs

Game details

Players: 2–6
Age: +10
Duration: 120 min
Difficulty: —
Type: Board game
Year: 2026
Mechanics: Area Movement · Auction: Sealed Bid · Campaign / Battle Card Driven
Categories: Card Game · Economic · Educational
Designer: Robert Laing
Publisher: (Web published)