Tatorship
Learn to be a Dic!
Tatorship is a card game where you assume the role of Tators who backstab, bluff and erode democracy. Learn about Democratic Erosion and its toolbox, to vaccinate yourself and those around you.
GAME INFO
Destroy a democracy. Learn how it works.
Three things to do on your turn — and every card is a real tactic from the erosion toolbox.
01
Take actions
Action cards carry the resources you need. Trade, haggle or bluff for them.
02
Pass laws & vote
Laws change the rules of the game itself. Vote on who gets to put them on the table.
03
Establish your Tatorship
The game ends when the first player completes their Secret Mission.
WHY FUN?
Learn to be a Dic!
Not only funny! All cards are sourced based on current research and investigative journalism, all in collaboration with universities and human rights organizations.
Take Rewrite History: censoring political opposition isn’t partisan politics, it’s erosion. Most infamous in the Nazi book burnings, still active today in Hungary, Russia, China and even the USA.
Read more: Historical Negationism · History Falsification
HOW TO PLAY?
How does it play?
Take Actions!
Action cards have resources you use to pass laws, or to vote on who becomes the Executive. Trade, haggle or bluff. The first Action is worth 1 Wealth; the second is your choice of 1 Knowledge or 1 Force.
THE DECK
Meet the Tators
Every Tator starts with an Executive power. Tap a card to see the back.
TAP A CARD TO FLIP IT
HEROES
Heroes of the resistance
The researchers and writers, whose work this game is based on, keeping the erosion toolbox honest.
Robert Blair
Assistant Professor of Political Science and International and Public Affairs at Brown University. Instructor and coordinator of the cross-university collaboration Democratic-Erosion.com, a Civic Viral Practical Education.
“The game is a fabulous idea.”
Prof. Gavriel Rosenfeld
Professor of History at Fairfield University. His area of specialization is the history and memory of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust.
Ozan Varol
Author and tenured law professor at Lewis & Clark Law School. He is best known for coining the phrase “democratic coup” and authoring the book The Democratic Coup d’État.
Anna Lührmann
Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Sciences at the University of Gothenburg, and Deputy Director of the Varieties of Democracy Institute.
Ahmed Skali
Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Groningen, doing research in political economy.
ORGANIZATIONS
Organizations we love
These organizations are either helping source Tatorship, or working to combat Democratic Erosion through action or information. You are more than a person — you are a movement.
ÖSTGRUPPEN ↗
Swedish Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights, working to strengthen democracy and cast light on human rights abuses in Eastern Europe.
FREEDOM HOUSE ↗
An independent watchdog organization dedicated to the expansion of freedom and democracy around the world.
WORLD MOVEMENT FOR DEMOCRACY ↗
A global network of people committed to advancing democracy.
FAQ
FAQ!
What is Democracy?
ELI5: when a lot of people make decisions together.
Along with famous academics, we prefer Robert Dahl’s definition of democracy, known as polyarchy (the rule of many): clean elections, freedom of association, universal suffrage, an elected executive, freedom of expression and alternative sources of information.
What is Dictatorship / Autocracy?
ELI5: when there is one person making all decisions.
To be detailed: totalitarianism and fascism are forms of authoritarianism, which is governance by an authority without the option of questioning whatever it orders. A Dictator is an elected authority, while a Tyrant is one who came to power by force.
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