It’s fitting that President’s Day falls right after Valentine’s Day, because there’s nothing we love more than democracy. To celebrate this most sacred of holidays, we’ve rounded up some games and literature to get some of that piping hot liber tea flowing straight into your veins.
Computer Games
Hell divers 2 is all about freedom, liberty and putting the ‘friend’ back into friendly fire. If you’re not up for a little blue-on-blue co-op action, join the Helldivers to stem the flow of disgusting aliens and mindless robots and protect the democratic utopia of Super Earth.
If you’re ready to join the fight to bring managed democracy to a chaotic galaxy, pick up a copy of Hell divers 2 by Amazon, Walmartor directly from the PlayStation Store for $39.99.
Cyberpunk 2077 and its astonishing expansion Phantom freedom not only envision a future unencumbered by socialism, but also entrust yourself with safeguarding freedom’s most precious possession, the President of the United States. If you haven’t yet had a chance to visit CD Projekt Red’s excellent world of runaway capitalism, now you can Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition by Steam for just $51 (was $89.99). The Ultimate Edition includes the base game and its expansion, along with a handful of in-game cosmetics.
Are you that bad to protect the president’s daughter? Step into the shoes of agent Leon S. Kennedy and battle hordes of zombies in the excellent remaster of the third-person survival shooter Resident Evil 4. The remake modernizes virtually every aspect of the 2005 classic with smoother controls, sharper graphics and tighter gunplay than the original. Whether you’re experiencing this title for the first time or returning to the misty hills of Spain, you can currently pick up a copy at Steam or Fanatic for about $40.
To be a great ruler Sid Meier’s civilization 6 requires a loose understanding of nuclear weapons treaties and explaining to Congress that you were willing to go to war over a single fish tile. Sid Meier’s Civilization 6: Platinum Edition is the most comprehensive version of this essential turn-based strategy game and is currently available from Green Man Gaming for approximately $13 (was $79.99). The Platinum Edition includes the base game, as well as six new civilization and scenario DLC packs to add to the base game: ‘Vikings’, ‘Poland’, ‘Australia’, ‘Persia and Macedonia’, ‘Nubia’ and ‘Khmer’ . and Indonesia”, along with the excellent extensions Rise and fall And Approaching storm.
Board games
Democracy recognizes all genders, but that has not always been the case. Votes for women celebrates the fight to bring equality to the ballot. This excellent card game can be played cooperatively or competitively as players work through our country’s 70-year struggle to ratify the 19th Amendment and secure the right to vote for women. Voices for women can be purchased directly through the publisher Fort Circle Games for $74.99.
Regularly ranked among the best board games ever made, Twilight Battle uses unique card-driven mechanics to tell the story of the Cold War. While the gameplay can be a bit dense, Twilight Battle proves that keeping democracy afloat in the shadow of a nuclear holocaust is harder than it seems. If you want to try your hand at bringing down the Iron Curtain or beating America to the moon, you can pick up a copy at Amazon for $54.99. However, if you can’t find anyone willing to play Gorbachev for your Kennedy, Steam has a digital version available for $9.99.
People love democracy, right? How long could it take to establish free elections and stabilize a region with little to no infrastructure? If you think you could do better than the Bush administration, we challenge you to try Labyrinth: the war on terror. Brought to us by the same publisher who created it Twilight Battle, Labyrinth challenges players to manage America’s latest military quagmire by balancing funding and public opinion about the war while maintaining the flow of that sweet, sweet oil. Physical copies are available directly from the publisher GMT games for $54.99, while a digital version is available at Steam for $9.99.
Books
Election And Tracy Flick can’t win by Tom Perotta, both offer fantastic insights into the immaculate American electoral process through the lens of high school politics. Both books follow Tracy Flick: first through her attendance at a New Jersey high school, and then through her adulthood. She tries to orient herself in a microcosm of American politics, complete with sex scandals, smear campaigns and power brokers. If you want to know more about what democracy can do for you, Election And Tracy Flick can’t win are available through Amazon.
The excellent Red, white and royal blue by Casey McQuiston is a romantic novel that shows that even a British monarch cannot resist the sweet temptations of democracy. The book centers on a blossoming romance between the son of an American president and the Prince of Wales, which subsequently undermines diplomatic relations between the two countries. If you’re curious to see how this plays out, pick up a copy of the book Amazon for $11 (was $17).