Junta is a board game designed by Merlin Southwell first published in 1978 by Creative Wargames Workshop and published, as of 1985, by West End Games. Players compete as the corrupt power elite families of a fictional parody of a stereotypical banana republic (specifically Republica de los Bananas) trying to get as much money as possible into their Swiss bank accounts before the foreign aid money runs out. Fighting in the republic's capital during recurrent coup attempts encompasses most of the game's equipment, rules and playtime. This game-within-the-game is however actually tangential to the players' main goal.
The length of the game depends on how often coups are declared, but can often exceed six hours.
The game's title is taken from the Spanish term "Junta" that originally referred to the executive bodies that frequently came to power after a military coup in 20th century Latin America (the Spanish version is called Golpe, which means coup d'état). In the game, the term refers to the players who declare "Rebel" at the beginning of the coup phase, and—if the coup is victorious—to the players who declare "pro-Junta" at the end of the coup phase to elect a new president.
The players of Junta represent corrupt and powerful Banana Republic families. Although players are often executed or assassinated in the course of gameplay, the only real implication of a player's death is the loss of cash and Junta cards he is carrying and a temporary inability to participate until his next turn, when another member of the family steps up to assume the responsibilities of the deceased. Each player is given a family token to underscore this permanent identity, although the token has no effect on game play. Cabinet positions, however, which are denoted by cards, are reassigned each turn.
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