Picture this — it’s 1949. Post-WWII. Cold War. Intense global tension. Germany has split into East and West, and the rivalry between capitalist and socialist political ideologies is stronger than ever. The fate of East and West Germany is in your hands – if East Germany can survive the four decades from 1949, it wins; otherwise, West Germany wins.
Wir sind das Volk! (We are the People! In English translation) by Peer Sylvester & Richard Sivel poses this exact question through its gameplay. It uses an asymmetric, card-and-board-driven style of play focused on building infrastructure, taming unhappy citizens and mass protests, maintaining global prestige, and ultimately upholding the economy. In this two-player game, each player takes on the role of East or West Germany, which operates under different rules and systems, reflecting real historical tensions between capitalism and socialism.
Through the lens of the MDAO (Mechanics, Dynamics, Aesthetics, Outcomes) framework, Wir sind das Volk! is incredibly cleverly designed to educate its audience on Germany’s history while also sustaining engagement. Let’s take a look at the game from a player perspective, starting with Outcomes.
Outcomes
In Sylvester’s own words on the BoardGameGeek Blog, Wir sind das Volk! is a war game without war. Of the seven essential outcomes, Wir sind das Volk! resembles the Information outcome the most – the player learns about the events of Cold War East and West Germany, and how its competing political ideologies come into play when reconstructing each country. As the game progresses, players learn about how economic gaps lead to social unrest, social unrest leads to protests, protests lead to collapse, and so on. Players must learn to strategize and balance all elements of their country for success, while also learning the complex ties between them.
Aesthetics
Of the eight emotional responses, Wir sind das Volk! falls into Challenge and Narrative. Playing either side of Germany invokes difficulty and competitiveness to outshine the other side. Moreover, it is story-driven, based on the true history of Cold War Germany – the history unfolds as real historical events are played out, including notable events like the construction and destruction of the Berlin Wall.
Dynamics
As a newbie to this game, the asymmetric nature of the game left a strong impression. First, East Germany’s goal is to survive for four decades. The goal of West Germany is to overthrow the East (in order to unify the East with the West – i.e., the West wins instantly when it overthrows the East). Some power dynamics can be inferred from the preface already, before we even play. As we progress, some East citizens run away to the West – this is one-sided, and the opposite emigration does not exist in the game design. The different political ideologies are reflected in the asymmetric post-war reconstruction methods in the East and West – which affects the type of resources and methods to reconstruct your country, which then heavily impacts the player’s decisions in what to prioritize in each turn.
Mechanics
Wir sind das Volk! is a card-driven board game where players draft from a shared pool of historical action cards. Only two cards are in each player’s hand. According to Sylvester, this is to allow players to strategize for upcoming events, or to preempt them, while also maintaining an element of surprise. Each card can be used to play out its historic event, or stripped for basic economic operations like building infrastructure, uplifting living standards, or taming the unrest to prevent protests.
References
Game: Wir sind das Volk! by Peer Sylvester & Richard Sivel
Pictures taken from gameplay on September 28, 2026
Thumnail image taken from https://theboardgameschronicle.com/2024/09/14/wir-sind-das-volk-board-game-impressions-recreating-divided-germany-history/“Design Notes” by Richard Sivel in the game booklet
Peer Sylvester’s blog post https://boardgamegeek.com/blog/1/blogpost/33922/designer-diary-wir-sind-das-volk-or-the-long-and-w
