In this episode of The Hungry Meeple, we take on Hegemony: Lead Your Class to Victory, a deeply asymmetric political and economic board game where the Working Class, Middle Class, Capitalist Class, and State all play by very different rules—but are constantly affected by one another.
After multiple plays, every one of them running 4+ hours, we had a lot to unpack.
Does Hegemony earn that kind of time commitment? Does the extreme asymmetry make the game feel brilliantly interconnected—or like four separate games happening at the same table? And how long does it take before you really understand how wages, employment, taxation, public services, elections, trade, and policy changes connect everyone together?
We also talk about how differently each Class approaches the game, whether the political system actually feels political, and whether Hegemony’s enormous rules overhead ultimately pays off once the larger economic system begins to reveal itself.
And, as always, we paired the game with a drink inspired by the theme.
A layered, non-alcoholic coffee drink inspired by Hegemony’s competing social classes.
2½ oz strong brewed coffee, chilled
½ oz demerara or brown-sugar syrup
Very small pinch of salt
1½ oz tonic water
1½ oz plain sparkling water
1–1¼ oz vanilla sweet cream
Ice
Combine equal parts brown sugar and hot water by weight. Stir until completely dissolved and chill.
⅔ oz heavy cream
⅓ oz whole milk
¼ oz powdered sugar by weight
2 drops vanilla extract
Froth lightly until thick enough to float but still pourable.
Combine the chilled coffee, brown-sugar syrup, and a very small pinch of salt. Pour over ice.
Gently combine the tonic water and sparkling water, then slowly pour the mixture over the back of a spoon to help preserve the layers.
Finish by carefully floating the vanilla sweet cream over the top.
The result is a drink where the layers may look separate at first—but eventually everything starts interacting.
Which, as it turns out, is a pretty good description of Hegemony.
🎲 Have you played Hegemony?
Which Class do you enjoy most, and do you think the game earns its 4+ hour playtime? Let us know in the comments.
#Hegemony #BoardGames #BoardGameReview #TabletopGames #HeavyGames #EuroGames #AsymmetricGames #TheHungryMeeple
☕ The Class DivideIngredients — One DrinkBrown-Sugar SyrupVanilla Sweet CreamAssembly
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