Secret Hitler will put you in a furor (update)

Max Temkin, one of the minds behind Cards Against Humanity, has made a living of trading in the taboo. If you’ve ever played the now iconic card game you’ll understand what I mean. But nothing he’s done before or since — not annexing part of Maine, not sending people boxes of feces, not even digging a hole to nowhere — is quite as taboo as his latest project, a party game called Secret Hitler. Starting today you can buy a copy for yourself.

Secret Hitler was designed by Mike Boxleiter, Tommy Maranges and Temkin and is published by their company Goat, Wolf, & Cabbage. The game was first introduced to the public with a Kickstarter campaign in 2015 that raised a whopping $1.4 million. Backers have had their copies for a while now, most of them since this summer’s Gen Con in Indianapolis, Indiana where they were available for pickup. But starting today they’re also in stock at Amazon for $35.

What is Secret Hitler? Actor and tabletop aficionado Wil Wheaton does an excellent job describing the game in the video above, but we’ll give it a try here as well.

Secret Hitler is a game about hidden information. Between five and 10 players gather around the table for a rollicking simulation of 1930s Germany. One of the players at the table is randomly assigned the role of Adolf Hitler. Also at the table are a roughly equal number of fascist and liberal players. The fascists all know who each other are, and they also know who Hitler is. But neither Hitler nor the liberals know anything other than their own roles.

Goat, Wolf, & Cabbage

Together, the liberals must find and stop Hitler before it’s too late. It’s a highly social game of betrayal, murder and — given our current political climate — a game with a lot of uncomfortable high-fives.

Or really enthusiastic high-fives. To each their own... I guess.

Anyway.

The production quality of the game is top notch. Temkin and the team behind Cards Against Humanity are known for their exceptional design skills. From the iconography on the box to the smart little manilla envelopes that conceal each player’s role, the whole package looks amazing. You’ll have to suppress a grin each time you reveal the unique reptilian portraits of each fascist.

Just maybe don’t spring this one on grandma as the first game of the night.

Update: The game is already sold out on Amazon, but the team says copies are still available at their website.