With the rise of the alt-right and the white nationalist movements, some observers are analyzing the early actions of the Donald Trump administration for significant similarities to the rise of Nazism in the late 1920s or the Japanese internment camps of World War II.
One of the creators of Cards Against Humanity is making it completely clear where he stands on the issue. Cards Against Humanity co-creator Max Temkin, video game maker Mike Boxleiter, and author Tommy Maranges have sent a copy of their board game, Secret Hitler, to all 100 U.S. senators, because, as they say, “We thought you and your staff might found our game relevant as you negotiate the balance of power with the Trump White House.”
As the tweet describes it, the game Secret Hitler—which was funded by the more than $1.4 million that was raised on Kickstarter—is a secret identity game set in 1933 Germany that “models the rise of fascism in a democracy” and explores the idea of how cooperation, appeasement and the inability to recognize your own manipulation before it’s too late gave rise to Hitler in Nazi Germany.
While Secret Hitler is unaffiliated with Cards Against Humanity, Tempkin’s clearly taking a page out of the company’s playbook. Cards Against Humanity has mastered the art of trolling for controversy, including pretending to shoot an ad of a potato for the Super Bowl and recruiting Barack Obama to become CEO.
This stunt is clearly more political. As the co-creators say in their letter to the senators, “The legislative branch plays an essential role in a stable, functioning democracy now more than ever.”
Correction: Only one member of Secret Hitler’s creative team, Max Temkin, was involved in the creation of Cards Against Humanity. This article has been updated accordingly.
H/T the Comeback
