Players represent various office holders in the ruling Junta. Depending upon his office and the various cards he holds, each player has a certain number of ‘votes’. These are important as they must first elect El Presidente and then vote on the budget that he proposes. Here’s where it can get sticky. El Presidente draws cards face down from the money deck (which varies in denomination from $1 to $3) and must propose a budget for the year, distributing the money as he sees fit amongst the various offices. Of course, loyalty to him is usually rewarded, while those pesky ‘thorns in his side’ are usually cut off completely.

The beauty of all this, though, is that El Presidente can – and most always does – keep some of the loot for himself. And since no one but he knows the value of what he drew, no one knows how much he’s keeping. Suspicion is always keen. If the players are unhappy with the money distribution, and there is an excuse, they can call for a coup, where the opposition players seek to take control of a majority of the power centers. Rebel players control the forces of the role which they were assigned (e.g. army, navy, air force), and players loyal to El Presidente do the same, seeking to control the strongholds until the rebellion is quelled. Additionally, if there is no coup attempt during a turn, players may attempt to assassinate the other players by guessing where they will be from among five locations.

Players who successfully assassinate another player take that player’s money, as the only safe money is the money that has been deposited in a Swiss bank account. The goal is to amass the greatest wealth secreted away in your Swiss bank account.