SHASN Essential Edition (India)Photo: SHASN (Memesys Culture Lab)
Set up for a full tablePhoto: SHASN (Memesys Culture Lab)
Five player matsPhoto: SHASN (Memesys Culture Lab)
Resources buy voters for the zonesPhoto: SHASN (Memesys Culture Lab)
Conspiracy and Headline cardsPhoto: SHASN (Memesys Culture Lab)
Expect debate across the tablePhoto: SHASN (Memesys Culture Lab)
Deals and arguments are part of the gamePhoto: SHASN (Memesys Culture Lab)
Video

Strategy game · Designed in India · Indian edition available

SHASN

Indian-made election game where your policy answers fund your campaign.

Territory controlTrading and bargaining

  • 3–5best with 4
  • 2–4 hrsper game
  • About 10 minto set up
  • 14+years
  • Involved
  • Lotsreading

The official listing, on Amazon.in

Made in India
Buy on Amazon.in

We couldn't confirm whether this listing sends the Indian or the imported box. Amazon shows today's price, the seller and delivery.

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The game in a nutshell

SHASN is an Indian-designed political strategy game in which 3 to 5 players fight an election. You answer real policy questions to earn money, clout, media and public trust, then spend them to win voters across nine zones. It suits groups who enjoy long, argumentative game nights and don't mind politics at the table. At 2 to 4 hours and rated 14+, it is not a casual family game.

Is SHASN right for you?

Great if

  • Groups of 4 or 5 friends who enjoy debating politics over chai
  • Long weekend game nights with older cousins or college friends
  • Players who enjoy making deals and breaking them as much as planning
  • A gift for someone who follows elections closely

Skip it if

  • You want a game that finishes in under an hour
  • Political arguments at your table tend to turn personal
  • You mostly play as a couple or with children under 14

A place on the honours list

Good company to be in.

Recognition from beyond our table.

IndieCade Europe, Social Impact Award, 2019 (Winner)

How SHASN plays

Each player is a politician trying to win an election. The board is split into nine zones, like constituencies, and each zone has a fixed number of voter seats.

  • Time to teach: about 25 minutes.
  • Reading and language: Every turn starts with a policy question read aloud in English, and the cards carry a lot of text. Everyone at the table needs to be comfortable reading and discussing in English, though the arguments that follow can happen in any language.
Expect debate across the table · Photo: SHASN (Memesys Culture Lab)

SHASN - How To Play · Memesys Culture Lab · Official

Choose a video · Watch right here

If this creator doesn’t allow embedded playback, watch on YouTube ↗.

Your turn, step by step

  1. 1
    Answer

    The player on your right reads you a policy question from the Ideology deck. Your answer decides which resources you collect (funds, clout, media or trust), and the card goes under your mat, building towards that ideology's powers.

  2. 2
    Campaign

    Spend resources on a voter card and place that many voters in one zone, or buy a Conspiracy card. You can also trade resources with other players. Voters placed in a volatile area set off a Headline card.

  3. 3
    Gerrymander

    Once you hold the majority in a zone, it is locked in, and you can shift voters across its borders into or out of neighbouring zones to spoil a rival's plans.

  4. 4
    Win

    The game ends when every zone has a majority or no voter spaces are left. Only the zones you control score, so the player with the most voters on the board doesn't always win.

Read the official rulesSHASN Essential Rulebook · English
The full explanation: how a game of SHASN goes

On your turn, the player on your right reads out a question from an Ideology card. These are real dilemmas, the kind you hear argued about on news debates, and each has two possible answers. Your answer decides which of four ideologies the card counts towards (the Capitalist, the Supremo, the Showstopper or the Idealist). It also decides which resources you collect: funds, clout, media or trust.

You spend those resources to buy voters and place them in a zone. Once you hold the majority in a zone, it is locked in as yours. Collecting several cards of one ideology unlocks special powers. Conspiracy cards let you make sneaky moves, Headline cards bring in sudden news events, and whoever controls a zone can gerrymander by shifting voters across its borders.

The game ends when every zone has a majority, or when the board fills up. Only voters in the zones you control count at the end, so you can have the most voters on the board and still lose, much like a real first-past-the-post election.

What's in the box

Set up for a full table · Photo: SHASN (Memesys Culture Lab)
  • 1Game board
    for 3 to 5 players, split into nine zones
  • 5Player mats
  • 250Voter tokens
    cardboard punch-out tokens, 50 in each of the 5 player colours
  • 120Resource tokens
    on 2 punch-out sheets: 30 each of funds, clout, media and trust
  • 60Voter cards
    bought with resources to place voters
  • 5Notes From Cabinet cards
    one per player; the listing doesn't say what they show
  • 108Ideology cards
    India campaign policy questions, in their own two-piece box
  • 20Conspiracy cards
    India campaign
  • 20Headline cards
    India campaign
  • 11Ziplock bags
    for storing the tokens
  • 1Rulebook
    English

Box: 38 × 22 × 12.5 cm, 2.2 kg. Handy to know for gifting and travel.

This list is from the publisher's own India listing for the Essential Edition (India). The US Essential Edition has the same base contents with the USA campaign deck instead, and the publisher's Future of Humanity Edition swaps in the Earth 2040 deck, so check which deck a box includes. Copies from the 2019 Kickstarter era, and overseas listings, have 300 wooden voter pegs and 200 resource tokens (50 of each), plus an HQ mat and four Ideologue cards, so second-hand copies may differ. The 2-player mode is not in the box: the Alternate Game Board add-on has a two-player board and 14 Zone Requirement cards.

Where to buy

Amazon.inEdition not confirmed

The official listing, on Amazon.in

We couldn't confirm whether this listing sends the Indian or the imported box. Amazon shows today's price, the seller and delivery.

Buy on Amazon.in

Opens Amazon.in in a new tab.

SHASN is designed and published in India by Memesys Culture Lab, and the India Essential Edition is the one to buy. An Essential Edition for overseas markets (SKU GAD01300, distributed by Asmodee UK and others) also appears on Amazon.in as 'Shasn: Essential Edition'. That one is likely to cost more and take longer to arrive, so look for the India edition first.

How to make sure you get a genuine copyA little care before you click.
  • The box and listing should name SHASN and Memesys Culture Lab, the Goa-based studio that publishes it.
  • Be wary of a new copy from an unknown seller that costs a fraction of the usual price. It is worth questioning before you pay.
  • The India Essential box says 3-5 players, with the 2-player board sold separately. A box claiming something different may be another edition.
  • Check the contents list. The India Essential Edition has 60 voter cards, 250 voter tokens, 108 ideology cards, 20 conspiracy cards and 20 headline cards.
  • On Amazon.in, check who the seller is and whether they are linked from the official SHASN site or are an established games seller.

We link to one Amazon.in listing that we've checked against the maker's own information. We don't show prices: Amazon shows today's price, the seller and delivery. Paid link. We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

What reviewers and players say

Reviewers are impressed by how polished SHASN looks and how quickly its basics click: answer a question, collect resources, buy voters. The policy questions get the table talking, though people soon pick answers for the resources they need rather than what they believe. Gerrymandering, deals and Conspiracy cards make it a sharp 'take that' game in which the leader gets ganged up on, so the ending can swing and games run long. It suits groups who enjoy arguing and dealing over a full evening.

What people love

  • Striking production, with sturdy cards and bold, minimalist black-and-white art
  • Short turns and a simple core loop that new players pick up quickly
  • Policy questions that spark real table talk, and a tricky choice of which answer pays best
  • Trading, gerrymandering and deals keep everyone involved, even on other players' turns

Common complaints

  • Conspiracies, gerrymandering and ganging up on the leader can feel harsh, and the ending can swing late
  • It is long: expect at least two hours, with a slow start, and more with five players or newcomers
  • Early questions can feel more like a party game than strategy, and some card wording in early copies was vague
Based on 7 reviews and discussions

Summarised in our own words from the sources above. We don't use Amazon reviews or ratings.

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Best with44
Play time2–4 hrs60–90 min
Age14+10+
RulesInvolvedMedium
Indian editionYesYes
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Also worth a look (not in our catalogue yet): El Grande – A classic area-majority game about controlling regions, without the politics debate; Hegemony: Lead Your Class to Victory – Another heavy political-economy game for groups who want even more depth.

Questions people ask about SHASN

Is SHASN an Indian board game?

Yes. It was designed by Zain Memon and published by Memesys Culture Lab, a Goa-based studio, and launched in 2019. Its Kickstarter raised $339,045 from 4,209 backers.

Can 2 people play SHASN?

Not with the India Essential box on its own, which is for 3 to 5 players. The publisher sells a 2-player mode separately as the Alternate Game Board: a two-player board and 14 Zone Requirement cards, which need the base game to play.

What is the difference between SHASN and SHASN: Azadi?

SHASN is fully competitive: everyone is a politician chasing votes. SHASN: Azadi is a standalone follow-up that starts as a semi-cooperative fight for independence, with campaigns including South Asian Independence 1947. It then turns into a SHASN-style contest to lead the new country.

How long does a game of SHASN take?

The publisher puts it at about 2 to 4 hours, and games with 5 players or first-timers run towards the long end. Plan a full evening rather than a quick game after dinner.

Game facts

Designed by
Zain Memon
Publisher
Memesys Culture Lab
In India
Memesys Culture Lab, the Goa-based studio behind SHASN. Its Indian company is Memesys Games Pvt Ltd, Panjim, Goa, which runs the official India site.
First published
2019
Players
3–5
Language
Needs English – Every turn starts with a policy question read aloud in English, and the cards carry a lot of text. Everyone at the table needs to be comfortable reading and discussing in English, though the arguments that follow can happen in any language.
Box size and weight
38 × 22 × 12.5 cm, 2.2 kg
Awards
IndieCade Europe, Social Impact Award, 2019 (Winner)
Sources & photo creditsThe references behind this guide.

Facts on this page come from the publisher, the Indian maker or distributor, and the sources below. Photos are credited under each one.