Beat the Backslide

Play Cards & Protect Democracy

For years, we have worked at the front lines of social change, building networks and studying how communities mobilize to protect what matters. We've seen what works and we've seen how systems can erode.

The patterns were impossible to ignore: democratic backsliding doesn't happen in a single dramatic moment. It happens gradually, across multiple systems at once. Norms weakened here, institutions pressured there, trust quietly hollowed out. And the response that works isn't a single heroic act either. It needs to be coordinated, strategic, and sustained.

We designed the cooperative strategy game Beat the Backslide because we wanted a way to make those ideas sticky. Reports are a dime a dozen, and we know that games reach people where their heart is. That's how we make impact.

What Players Are Saying

"Beat the backslide was such a fun way to play my way into learning! It got me all caught up in collaboration and community, plus I loved getting to strategize with my friends and combine our leverage to beat back threats to democracy! Working together felt galvanizing and when we finally took down the root threat I felt so accomplished! This game gives me hope" - Val - Grad Student in Psychology

“It was easy to learn and made me reflect about the pillars of society that hold together, democracy! Simple game, complex subject matter!” - Lionel - Real Estate Agent

“It was really fun to watch people engage in a game that encourages people to work together for the best outcome. I could tell that the rules and strategies were easy to pick up on thus making the gameplay experience all the more interactive and easy to want to engage in. Who knew that preserving democracy could be so easy when we all work together towards a positive goal?” - Edgar - Contractor

“I thoroughly enjoyed playing Beat the Backslide! It was well-balanced and surprisingly easy to grasp despite the complex topic: saving democracy.” - Courtney - Operations Consultant

"I played Beat the Backslide with the designers at an economic development conference and had a lot of fun. I think it will be a great teaching tool for students and citizens." - Reuben, entrepreneur

Who We Are

Root Change is a pro-equity social change laboratory. Part research team, part activist collective, part design studio. We test new ideas and leverage learning from others to foster far-reaching change. Our fingerprints are on learning summits, capacity assessment methodologies, collective impact efforts, and digital tools for inclusive programming. Beat the Backslide isn't our first experiment at the edge of what's possible for social change. It's just the most fun one.

How to Play

Democracy is under pressure. Your team of 2–6 players must work together across six rounds to hold it together and push back against the forces trying to tear it down. It's a cooperative game. You succeed or fail as a team.

What You're Protecting: The Build-Win-Sustain Tracks

Three tracks sit at the center of the board: Build, Win, and Sustain. Each represents a pillar of democratic health. Every track starts above zero and must reach 8 or higher by the end of Round 6. Let any one of them drop to zero, and the game is over. You lose immediately. But keeping the tracks healthy isn't enough on its own.

The Root Threat

Looming over every game is a single Root Threat, a systemic force like Rising Authoritarianism or Electoral Distrust that grows more dangerous the longer it goes unchallenged. It has its own tracker, its own requirements, and its own defeat threshold based on how many players are at the table. You can have all three Tracks maxed out and still lose if the Root Threat isn't defeated. This is the game's central tension: you can't just play defense.

Your Role

At the start of the game, each player selects a Role Card with unique special abilities. Knowing when to deploy your once-per round and once per game abilities (and trusting your teammates to deploy theirs) is often the difference between a close win and a crushing loss.

The Core Strategic Tension

Every round, your team faces the hard choice: protect the tracks or advance on the Root Threat? Ignore the round threats and your BWS Tracks erode. Ignore the Root Threat and you'll reach Round 6 with healthy tracks and still lose. The game is won by teams that communicate, coordinate card trades, and make deliberate decisions under pressure.

A Note on Solo Play

Beat the Backslide also includes a solo mode for single players who want to test their strategic thinking alone.

What's in the Box

Everything You Need to Protect Democracy

Beat the Backslide comes with everything your team needs to play. Here's what's in the box:

Game Board: The central arena, home to the three Tracks, space for the Root Threat card, discard piles, and the Round Tracker. Four rings track the health of your democracy in real time: three for the Build-Win-Sustain Tracks and one for the Root Threat. Every decision your team makes plays out here.

4 Root Threat Cards: Four distinct systemic threats each representing a different force of democratic backsliding. Only one is chosen per game, ensuring no two games feel exactly alike. Each Root Threat has its own defeat conditions and requirements, demanding a different strategic approach from your team.

20 Crisis Cards: The pressure that hits every round. Two are revealed at the start of each round, targeting your B-W-S Tracks and testing your team's priorities. Manage these or watch democracy erode.

60 Lever Cards: Your primary tools of change. Each card carries a lever type: Reform, Re-norm, Depolarize, or Mobilize. And is linked to two of the three B-W-S Tracks. Play them strategically, trade them with teammates, and watch for Momentum bonuses from matching your lever card to the icon on the Crisis card.

6 Player Role Cards: One per player. Each role comes with a unique special ability usable once per round. Thinking through your role is often the key to coordinated, strategic play.

Resistance Tracker Token: Tracks your team's progress against the Root Threat. Every card played toward it moves this token forward. Defeating the Root Threat requires getting this token to its threshold — the final condition for victory.

First Player Token: Marks who leads each round. Pass it clockwise and keep the game moving.

Rulebook: Full rules, setup guide, and strategic tips to get your team up and running fast.

Stretch Goals

$10,000 - If we raise $10,000 we will add an expansion pack of four more Root Threats and Crisis Cards for all backers of the basic game.

$20,000 - If we raise $20,000 we will design the game with deluxe tokens and components for all backers of the basic game.

$30,000 - If we raise $30,000 we will include all new art and graphic design for the cards and game boards, included for all backers of the basic game.