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Easy to learn, quick to play, and fun to betray - Subversia combines the simplicity and hand management of classic car games like Uno, with the hidden reveals of Coup, and the chaos of party games like Exploding Kittens.
You're excited it's game night and your friend is stoked to share a new game they found. They pull it out of their bag and you catch a glimpse of the play time: 2 hours (gulp). Then they pull up a how-to-play video on YouTube that is 35 minutes long (oh no). A tingle of dread runs down your spine, "am I going to be stuck here being confused all night?" you think to yourself.
As tabletop games increase in complexity and playtime, there are those still desperately seeking something approachable and casual, but still has some bite.
Quinton Smith of Shut Up & Sit Down remaining skeptical of Root's complex asymmetric gameplay.
The initial seed idea was to replicate the simultaneous actions and controlled chaos of rock, paper, scissors. Cards were chosen for their affordability, simplicity, and the feeling you get flipping over a card to reveal your plan.
Starting with a basic deck of playing cards, Subversia evolved and eventually expanded into a game that was crossing the line of "too complex." Leaning on the classic Double Diamond design process, I absorbed ideas and feedback, inflating the game, then honed it down through thousands of games of playtesting to identify what users were really gravitating towards.
Various early mockups, starting with a deck of basic bicycle cards.
Playtesting with other game designers at Protospiel.
Thousands of games playtested with users.
Layers upon layers upon layers of design iteration.
Subversia is a product of vast iteration over multiple years. It deploys mechanisms such as simultaneous actions, direction changes, and hidden reveals to keep players on their toes and a bring a sweet satisfaction to victory. The key was keeping the barrier to play AND game time low to encourage high first play AND replay value.
Subversia smashed it's Kickstarter funding goal by 500%. Backed by over 500 gamers, it raised $22K in late 2025.
If you're curious to learn more, please check out the Kickstarter:
Subversia Kickstarter