'American Dictator': Canadian teens created a board game inspired by Trump's second term

https://finance.yahoo.com/small-business/articles/american-dictator-canadian-teens-created-100000889.html

It's no surprise that Donald Trump's comments about Canada have upset people north of the border. From musing about making Canada the 51st state, to the ongoing trade war, to renaming "Lake Ontario" to "Lake America," the president hasn't been shy about facing off against Canada.

While many Canadians take issue with the president's rhetoric, it's become a source of creative inspiration for a group of Ontario teenagers who've created a new board game inspired by Trump's second term in office. The name of the game? American Dictator.

According to CBC News, the game is meant to poke fun at what the teens say are "Trump's questionable" decisions, including the actions he's taken against Canada.

"It's important because a lot of people don't realize the things he's done, and so this is kind of a way to speak out and sort of fight back because he's not really been the nicest to Canada," Adam Palma, one of the creators of the game, told CBC News.

How American Dictator is played

The goal of the board game is to take over the Pentagon by seizing control of American cities. Resembling Monopoly, players battle to see who can buy and take over the cities with golf courses, resorts or towers.

The board features special spaces where players can trap opponents in a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center. Players can also use the Supreme Court to bend the game's rules or go to the casino to gamble for more funds.

The game also features a deck of "questionable decisions" cards, which players must draw from during the game. These cards can also change the gameplay by enforcing new rules. For example, one card is called "Quiet Piggy." Pulling this card forces the other players into silence until their next turn, and those who fail to follow this rule will owe $50 to the player that drew the card. The name of the card is presumably in reference to when Trump said "quiet, piggy" to a journalist after she asked about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

Another card seemingly makes reference to Epstein Island. The card has intentionally blacked out several words, resembling the redacted Epstein files that were released to the public. The title of the card includes a blacked-out word followed by "Island," and the card reads, "you did … nothing … wrong … everyone pays … you … $50."

Another one of the questionable decisions cards acknowledges how many Canadians have boycotted traveling to the U.S. The player who draws this card will see one of their hotels go bankrupt due to the fact that Canadians are no longer visiting.

"They're all questionable decisions the president has made that will either go well for you or not go so well for you. And they're pretty funny," Ben Whitmill, one of the game's co-creators, told CBC News.

Sales hit 20k

The team of Canadian teens says it's now sold more than 20,000 games. And while many of the buyers are Canadian, ironically, the teens say most of their buyers are from the U.S.

"They apologize for how bad their president is," Will Palma told CBC News, referring to the American buyers. "They're like, 'we're not one of the bad ones' and they say how much they appreciate the game."

To keep up with demand, the teens have a factory in China that's helping to mass produce the game, but they also have a gold version of the game that's made by the teens in Canada.