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The Lobbyist

Par Dot Lab Games

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« The Lobbyist » est un jeu de société stratégique et géopolitique créé par le concepteur italien Pierpaolo Gola et développé par Dot Lab Games, lancé grâce à une campagne de financement participatif sur la plateforme Gamefound. De quoi s’agit-il ? Ce jeu est un simulateur géopolitique contemporain dans lequel les participants (de 2 à 4 joueurs) incarnent de puissants lobbyistes sans scrupules. L’objectif ultime est le contrôle total : la partie se termine lorsque le premier joueur parvient à prendre le contrôle de 10 États souverains. Mécaniques et caractéristiques principales • Cadre et composants : la carte reproduit fidèlement 100 nations, avec leurs gouvernements, leurs religions et leurs systèmes économiques respectifs. Elle comprend également 50 lobbyistes distincts et 20 tuiles d’espionnage, garantissant une grande rejouabilité. • Un gameplay cynique et stratégique : pour plier les nations à leur volonté et manipuler le marché mondial, les joueurs doivent recruter des personnalités éminentes de la société contemporaine — en les rémunérant en cryptomonnaie — tout en tirant parti de caisses noires, d’espions et de leur influence politique. La partie se termine lorsqu’un lobby prend le contrôle de 10 États !

Présentation de la campagne

Power is not an election. It’s a business.

Forget democracy. In the real game of power, governments change, but lobbyists remain. In The Lobbyist, you are one of them. Your mission is simple, ruthless, and utterly amoral: bend nations to your will.

Use every means at your disposal: political influence, slush funds, spies, and complicit states. Bring the other players to their knees by proving your leadership and global strategy. Anything goes, as long as you win.

For 2 to 4 players. One single objective: total control. Do you have enough “power” for this game?

The settings and gameplay

True power is never on display. It hides in soundproof rooms, around discreet boardroom tables, where the world’s most cunning influencers decide the fate of nations.

This is your stage: a high-tension game in which you must use every tool at your disposal—from direct political influence to the shadowy reach of intelligence services—to manipulate the geopolitical landscape and accumulate Victory Points (VP).

Are you ready to weave your web, gaining the authority you need (Influence) and mastering the hidden currency of global dealings: Cryptocurrencies ($)?

Game Sequence – Each turn, choose your path

Every turn is made up of an optional phase (pre-shift), a mandatory phase and an optional phase (post-shift).

Choose wisely: every decision helps build your network of power.

1. Action Phase (mandatory)

Pick one of these two actions:

Hire a Lobbyist – spend Cryptocurrency to trigger powerful effects (influence, spies, points).
Influence a State – spend Influence to take control of States, advance on continents, and activate government abilities.

⚠️ You can never exceed 15 Influence, 15 Crypto, or 5 Spies. If you do… take a Surplus (a versatile wild token)!

2. Extra Phase (optional)

You may take one of these, either before or after your main action:

Espionage – take unique tiles with permanent or instant abilities.
Buy a Spy – pay 3 Crypto and advance 1 step on the Spy track.
Black Market – immediately gain 5 Crypto or 5 Influence, but pay a penalty at the end of the game. You can also remove opponent cards… at a high cost.
Objective – if you meet the requirements, claim an Objective Tile for extra points.

3. Refresh Phase

Slide all cards to the left, then refill empty spaces with new State cards, Lobbyist cards, or Espionage tiles. The market stays alive.

Remember: A turn consists of 1 optional Pre-turn extra action, 1 mandatory action (either A or B), and 1 optional Post-turn extra action. Choose the right combo to dominate the board!

Mandatory:

A = Influence the state

B = Hire a lobbyist

Extra:

1 = Buy a spy for $3

2 = Buy an espionage tile

3 = Claim an objective

4 = Black market

Game Components

The Lobbyist consists of the following game components:

1 game board
4 player boards
25 cubes × 4 colors (blue / red / yellow / green)
100 State cards
53 Lobbyist cards
2 Promo cards Lobbisti
40 Espionage cards
12 Milestone cards
12 Objective cards
10 Token majority bonus
1 scorekeeping app
1 First Player / VP marker

Playing The Lobbyist

The world you see in the headlines is only a façade.

Behind official speeches, handshakes, and international summits lies another reality: an invisible network of favors, blackmail, and silent influence.

In this game, you will not play a head of state or a general.

You are a puppeteer in the shadows, capable of bending the fate of nations without ever making the front page. Through influential contacts, spies, power brokers, and black-market dealings, you will build an ever-expanding web of control, infiltrating governments and manipulating the key decisions of the world’s most powerful countries.

Every move is a secret negotiation, every alliance can be betrayed, and every resource is a weapon. You must decide when to act openly and when to strike from the shadows, carefully balancing risk and ambition. The other players are not merely opponents—they are ruthless competitors, ready to sabotage you and steal your influence at the perfect moment.

The goal of the game is only seemingly simple: accumulate enough power to become the dominant force behind the scenes, the one who decides the future of the world without ever being seen.

Here, it’s not who governs that wins. It’s who controls those who govern.

The Game Board

The Lobbyist features a large game board representing the globe with its continents and the influential figures surrounding it, connected to the various states, spies, and game objectives.

The areas of the board are clearly defined, separating zones for Influence, Cryptocurrencies, Spies, Morale, the Black Market, Continents, Lobbyists, and Secondary Objectives.

Are you ready to take a seat at the table of the powerful?

The Pillars of Power: Lobbyists and States

These are the people who matter. In the game, they will help you acquire the Influence needed to achieve your goals—forge powerful alliances before others do.

Your rise begins with the Recruitment Action.

You will recruit key figures: Lobbyist Cards. By paying their cost, primarily in Cryptocurrencies, the Recruitment effect will often reward you with Influence or, at crucial moments, with Spy tokens or other advantages. Progress on the Asia Track can help reduce the additional Crypto cost for these cards.

Here are just a few of the 50 Lobbyist cards you can recruit!.

Once your influence is established, it’s time to expand your control: Influence a State. To acquire a State Card, you must spend the required Influence. Be careful, though—the Influence cost is increased by the value of the market space where the card is located, although effects from the Americas Track can help reduce this additional cost.

Each State you acquire comes with a powerful Government Tag and activates a Government Ability:

Democracy: Rewards you with Cryptocurrencies for each Democratic State you already control.
Dictatorship: Allows you to interact directly with your opponents, letting you steal Crypto based on the number of Dictatorial States under your control.
Monarchy: Grants access to the Treasury Bonus, allowing you to gain Crypto, Influence, Science, or Force, depending on how many Monarchic States you control.

Here are some of the 100 State cards you’ll find in the game!

Every State must be drawn into your climb to power—and there are many of them here. 100 detailed cards represent the unique characteristics of each State you seek to bring under your influence.

Expansion and Geopolitical Control

Each influenced State can be strategically placed either on your Personal Board, increasing your strength in its continent and advancing your Strength marker on one of the four Continent Tracks (Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe). Reaching certain spaces on these tracks is vital: the Africa Track grants Spy tokens, while the Europe Track unlocks the ability to hold a greater number of Intelligence Service tiles and additional Government Tags.

Alternatively, you may place States on the shared World Map, sacrificing some of the State card’s benefits in order to increase your geopolitical majority. At the end of the game, majority control across the four continents is converted into Victory Points (VP) for the players ranked 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.

Spies, the Black Market, and Objectives

The Shadow of Intelligence Services

Not all gains are legitimate. Managing Spies, which also represent the DEFCON level, is essential for acquiring Intelligence Service Tiles. By paying their cost in Spies, these unique tiles grant you permanent passive abilities or instant bonuses. For players who prefer a more cautious approach, the Income Action allows you to gain Crypto and advance on your Income Track.

The Race for Total Dominance

The game continues in rounds until one player controls 10 States (Standard version) or 15 States (Extended version). At that point, Victory Points are calculated, including VP from Strength on the Continent Tracks, majorities on the Shared World Map, and the completion of Objectives (short-term) and Milestones (long-term), which can each be worth 5, 3, or 1 VP.

Are you ready to take a seat at the table?

Follow the campaign now to secure your place among the world’s most powerful architects!

Player Boards

In The Lobbyist, the player board is the control center of your geopolitical lobby, used to track resources, influence, and progress across the continents.

Resource Tracking and Progress Tracks

At the start of the game, each player places their cubes on the board to track their starting resources:

Influence and Crypto
Spies, Morale, and Surplus
Continent Tracks

Card and Tile Placement

The board serves as the base for organizing your assets:

Lobbyist Cards
State Cards
Espionage Tiles

Special Functions of the Continent Tracks

Advancing along the tracks on your board unlocks specific bonuses and abilities:

Americas (Green): Provides Influence and discounts when acquiring State cards.
Africa (Yellow): Allows you to gain Surplus and Religion Tags.
Asia (Red): Provides Crypto and discounts when recruiting Lobbyist cards.
Europe (Blue): Provides Government Tags and determines how many Espionage Tiles with passive abilities you can keep simultaneously on the right side of your board.

If you want, I can also refine the tone (more epic, more technical, or more marketing-oriented) to match Gamefound style perfectly.

Web application

To make the experience of The Lobbyist even smoother and more focused on strategy, all players will have access to a dedicated Web App for fast end-game scoring.

At the end of the game, when influence, geopolitical majorities, objectives, and milestones must be converted into Victory Points, The Lobbyist Web App will guide you step by step through the final scoring, reducing time and potential errors and allowing you to focus on what truly matters: who controlled the world from the shadows.

Fast and intuitive scoring
Designed specifically around the game’s mechanics
Completely free for all players

No extra costs, no obligations—just an additional tool to make The Lobbyist an even more elegant, modern, and accessible experience.

Power is won at the table. Scoring… is handled by technology.

Game play video and media

Artificial Intelligence Usage Policy – The Lobbyist

For the The Lobbyist project, we aim to be fully transparent regarding the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the creative process.

AI has been used exclusively as a tool to achieve the desired visual style based on the original sketches. All concepts, base illustrations, art direction, and stylistic choices were developed manually and represent the creative core of the project.

The Lobbyist remains a project conceived, designed, and developed by people, with AI employed solely as a technical tool for visual refinement and optimization.