VSA: The Vaporizing States of America

Welcome to an alternate reality where the USA has become VSA: The Vaporizing States of America.

The Union is still technically intact. There is still a President. There is still a flag. And all fifty States still insist they belong to the same country.

They just don’t act like it anymore.

States build their own economies, sabotage their neighbors, launch military attacks, make suspicious alliances, and occasionally unleash things that probably should never have existed in the first place. Meanwhile, the President is desperately trying to figure out who is actually loyal, because everyone at the table claims to be a Patriot.

Some of them are.

Others are Anarchists quietly waiting for their chance to bring the presidency down. Somewhere among them is a New World Order Agent with an even more complicated plan.

And while everyone is lying, scheming, and trying to save—or vaporize—America, life goes on. There are Chowdafests (not a typo) in Connecticut, rodeos in Texas, political bribes, economic catastrophes, frozen zombies from Alaska, and flying pigs with shark teeth.

You’ll make allies. You’ll betray them. You’ll defend your State. You’ll lie to your President.

And if things go particularly well, you may accidentally destroy the country and still win.

So if you love America, party games with Bush-esque outcomes (both 41 and 43), Grant-esque strategies after a questionable amount of whiskey, and a Lincoln-esque determination to hold the Union together—

welcome to VSA.

Besides having a role, each player also runs a State of their choosing. Each State has its own unique abilities, based on its history, culture, and legends.

Some State abilities are powerful. Some are just spectacularly bad ideas.

And because nobody knows everyone else’s Role, even a perfectly good State ability can go horribly wrong.

Other abilities don’t stay on the table. They drag the actual players into the game.

And sometimes a State simply refuses to take “no” for an answer.

You Can’t Spell Action Without Reaction. Oh Wait.

VSA is propelled by a 136-card Action Deck. Every card is designed to change America—and, by extension, the game.

Sometimes the change is small: a State takes an economic hit, repairs some Stability, or quietly gets a little stronger.

Sometimes it is considerably less small.

Canada might accidentally rain cruise missiles down on everyone. A cyberattack might ricochet across the country. Or some other completely avoidable national disaster might suddenly become everybody’s problem.

The point is simple: when an Action card hits the table, something changes.

And everybody else has to react.

Here are some examples of what could happen.

Military attacks are straightforward—until somebody has the right card to ruin your plan.

Catastrophes are less polite. They tend to become everybody’s problem.

And if shooting at somebody seems excessive, you can always destroy their economy instead.

The Five-Player Action Deck contains 136 cards, and almost every one changes the situation at the table. Some help you. Some hurt somebody else. Some hurt everybody. The trick is deciding when to play them—and what everyone will think your decision means.

So How Do You Actually Play?

VSA is turn-based, and a turn is deliberately simple.

Draw.

Use your State ability if you want to.

Develop or sabotage an economy.

Attack someone if you’re feeling patriotic.

Try not to reveal why you did any of it.

Most of the complexity doesn’t come from remembering rules. It comes from figuring out the people around you.

VSA Is Deranged, Unpredictable, But Balanced.

We’ve carefully game tested each player number situation to make sure the powers stay balanced and games proceed smoothly at each player count.

5P: President / Patriot / NWO / Anarchist / Anarchist

6P: + Anarchist

7P: + Patriot

8P: + Anarchist

9P: + NWO

10P: + Anarchist
 

VSA gets more complicated as more people join, but it shouldn’t become less fair. We deliberately change the Role mix at every player count to preserve the balance of power between the factions.

The jokes are loud. The math underneath them isn’t accidental.

Same Country. Different Disaster.

Last game, the President trusted you. That was his first mistake.

This game, you’re the President. Unfortunately, your friends remember last game.

With 50 States plus Washington, D.C., hidden Roles, and an Action Deck full of questionable opportunities, VSA gives you plenty of ways to make a situation worse.

Changing your State changes your abilities. Changing your Role changes your loyalties. Changing your friends might become necessary after a particularly unpleasant betrayal.

You might spend one evening protecting the President and the next explaining why unleashing flying pigs with shark teeth on him was an act of patriotism.

You can learn the rules in five minutes. Learning whom to trust may take considerably longer.

An Unreasonable Amount of America. In One Box.

Every VSA pack comes with the whole country: 50 States plus Washington, D.C., each with its own abilities based on its history, culture, and legends.

You also get 10 Role cards, because up to ten people should have the opportunity to insist they are saving America while doing something deeply suspicious.

Health cards track your Economy and Stability. Reference cards help everyone keep up. And a printed rulebook settles arguments about what you’re allowed to do, although it cannot explain why you would do it.

Then there’s the Action Deck.

How much trouble would you like?

Choose Your Trouble.

Basic — $29

220 cards. One increasingly fragile Union.

Everything you need for 5–10 players to build economies, form alliances, attack their neighbors, and deny having any ulterior motives.

The 136-card Action Deck puts military attacks, defensive responses, economic development, sabotage, political bribes, and national catastrophes into circulation.

Choose your State. Receive your Role. Look the President in the eye.

Try to sound convincing.

Optimal for 5 players. Supports 5–10.

Double Trouble — $54

360 cards. Apparently, the first stockpile wasn’t enough.

You’ve assembled a larger gathering of people you probably shouldn’t trust with this much power.

We’ve supplied them accordingly.

Double Trouble contains a 276-card Action Deck—more than twice the Basic deck—with an expanded supply of attacks, defenses, economic opportunities, bribes, and catastrophes.

More resources to build your State. More ammunition to threaten your neighbors. More favors to call in when somebody notices what you’ve been doing.

The expansion runs across the Action Deck, equipping a full table with a larger shared arsenal for its competing ambitions.

You invited these people. We supplied the resources. History can decide who was responsible.

Optimal for 5–10 players.

Both packs are complete games. Choose one, gather your friends, and begin making decisions of questionable national importance.

Five minutes to learn. Sixty minutes to ruin America.

What Your Pledge Makes Possible

Your pledge helps pay for printing the cards and rulebooks, manufacturing the boxes, checking the finished components, and preparing games for delivery.

Before approving the full production run, we’ll review physical proofs for readability, print quality, and component accuracy.

We’ll also check that every box contains the correct cards.

America has enough problems without discovering that its entire defense budget was accidentally packed into someone else’s box.

Shipping America to Your House

For this launch, we’re shipping worldwide

Shipping is $20 USD per copy, for either pack.

Who the Hell Made This?

We wanted a game that gave a room full of friends something better to do than politely ask how work was going.

Something easy to learn, with enough strategy to reward a clever move and enough uncertainty to make a very confident person look ridiculous.

America gave us plenty to work with.

Every State has its own history, culture, legends, rivalries, and things it would prefer the other States stopped bringing up. We started turning those into abilities. Then we added hidden loyalties, military attacks, economic sabotage, and people who insist they’re helping while making everything worse.

The result is VSA.

Created by Pete Lin, author of The 57 Farm Dogs and Things I Told Strangers in a Bar in Shanghai. Designed by the art directors at Voasis.

We hope VSA gives you an evening worth talking about afterward.

Possibly an evening someone will feel obliged to explain.

Risks & Challenges

The design is complete. The remaining work is producing the game and getting it to backers.

Physical proofs may reveal printing or packaging issues that need correction. Manufacturing or shipping delays could affect delivery.

We’ll review proofs before approving mass production and keep backers informed of any changes that affect their orders.

We cannot promise that America will survive game night. We can promise to tell you what’s happening with your game.

Questions We Assume Someone Will Ask

Is Basic a complete game?

Yes. Basic includes 220 cards and a printed rulebook, with everything needed for 5–10 players.

America can be ruined on a budget.

What does Double Trouble add?

Double Trouble expands the Action Deck from 136 to 276 cards.

The additional cards increase the supply across the deck’s military, economic, and political categories. You get a larger shared arsenal for a bigger gathering, with 360 cards in the box.

Do I need Double Trouble to play with ten people?

No. Both packs support 5–10 players, and both include 10 Role cards.

Double Trouble provides a larger Action Deck for the table.

Do I need to buy Basic as well as Double Trouble?

No. Double Trouble is a complete game.

It includes the same States, Roles, Health cards, reference cards, and printed rulebook as Basic, along with its expanded Action Deck.

Does Double Trouble mean we can play with twenty people?

No. The player count remains 5–10.

Twenty people claiming to be Patriots would require a different box and possibly a venue permit.

How long does it take to learn?

The basics take approximately five minutes. State abilities are explained on their cards, and the reference cards help you through play.

Understanding why your friend just attacked you may take the rest of the evening.

How long does a game last?

Approximately 30–60 minutes.

Long enough to develop trust, abuse it, and begin discussing a rematch.

Is a rulebook included?

Yes. Every pack includes a printed rulebook, plus reference cards to help you during play.

Reading the rules is encouraged. Claiming you read them when you didn’t is thematically appropriate.

Can I play by myself?

You could sit alone and accuse yourself of betraying America, but that would be a different activity.

VSA requires 5–10 players.

Why ages 17+?

There’s swearing, bribery, and behavior that would make a very poor example for younger minds.

We thought we should at least put a number on the box.

Is VSA politically partisan?

VSA’s premise is that everyone claims to be saving America while pursuing their own agenda.

Your Role determines your objective. Your actual voting history does not.

Do I need to know American history or politics?

The cards explain what their abilities do.

Recognizing the history, culture, or legend behind them may help you appreciate exactly how unreasonable we’ve been with it.

Do we need phones or internet access?

Some State abilities involve activities beyond playing cards, including photos and music.

You are highly encouraged to start a group chat before each game. So yes, if everyone could bring their phones to the table, that’d be nice.

Is the game still being designed?

No. All design is complete. We’re raising funds to start production.

Where do you ship?

For this launch, we will ship worldwide.

Shipping is $20 USD per copy. Applicable taxes are additional.

When will my game arrive?

Our estimated delivery is December 2026. Usually it takes one to two weeks to arrive at your house.

We’ll keep backers updated as production and shipping progress.

Thank you for making it this far. Now, if you want even more content, here are a few words from our founder.