The new Brexit board game featuring Nigel Farage

Britain’s momentous decision to quit the European Union in 2016 sent shockwaves through the continent which continue to reverberate seven years later. Only last week, EU officials brushed off criticism of its decision to sign a joint declaration with South American countries in which it referred to the Falkland Islands as ‘Islas Malvinas’ – by saying Britain would have had a say in the text if it was still a member of the bloc. Meanwhile Guy Verhofstadt, Nigel Farage ‘s former sparring partner in the European Parliament and a persistent critic of the UK’s decision to walk away, earlier this month jumped at the chance to retweet a YouGov poll suggesting 55 percent of Britons would vote to rejoin if given the chance. It’s fair to say author and political scientist Dr Jan Grzymski will have had such issues in mind when, after years of watching the situation unfold, he decided to turn the whole tortuous saga into a game – and not just snakes and ladders either, but rather a sincere attempt to simulate the complex negotiations which caused political turmoil on both sides of the English Channel, entitled “How To Win Brexit ?” As a result of a fundraising drive on Kickstarter, he has now raised the necessary capital needed to get the project off the ground (£4,281) – and is now seeking to make it a reality. Nigel Farage is a playable character in the game (Image: Getty) Dr Grzymski, an assistant professor in the Centre for Migration Research of the University of Warsaw, told Express.co.uk: ‘I wanted to do a strategic board game on a political theme, which is contemporary, which is relevant, which is relatable to what is going on now, in politics in Europe. ‘There are many political board games out there but those which are available try to universalise things or they’re just more abstract or make reference to different political themes. ‘So here, the idea was strictly to replicate the dynamic of the Brexit negotiation and just give the players the possibility to role-play the real-life conditions and circumstances.’ The game, which has been tested for two years at locations including the University of Cambridge and King’s College, simulates negotiations between Her Majesty’s Government and the institutions of the European Union after the triggering of Article 50, Dr Grzymski explained – but crucially, can feature multiple players on each team. He added: ‘It is a role-playing game and so we use real-life characters. A lot of people sometimes complain about why this politician did this or that. Well, now you can find out for yourself. ‘Sometimes it’s a guilty pleasure – if someone hates Nigel Farage but wants to try being him for 90 minutes, or if somebody doesn’t like Jeremy Corbyn for example. Dr Jan Grzymski with character sheets for Michel Barnier and Jean-Claude Juncker (Image: Express) The game has hit its Kickstarter target (Image: Dr Jan Grzymski) ‘You take the role from one of the teams, so everyone has his own character – for example, Farage, Corbyn, Michel Barnier, Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn, Emmanuel Macron, Viktor Orban… ‘For the two teams, I try to represent the most important political forces, so for instance Farage is there even though he was not in the House of Commons – it’s more about representing the political spectrum.’ As such, players on the same team might have radically different agendas – Ms May and Mr Farage for instance, or equally Mr Macron and Mr Orban. Of course, cynics might point out that after seven years of bickering and finger-jabbing, it’s hard to make a plausible case for either side having ‘won’, despite the game’s title. However, for Dr Grzymski, this is almost the point. He explained: ‘Victory is subjective. In a sense, you have to think, what is your victory in the Brexit situation? ‘Because what if you can win individually? We have also individual and team scoreboards in the game. In theory, given there are 16 playable characters – each with its corresponding figurine – to choose from, there is, therefore, scope for simulating the bewildering and frequently heated atmosphere which was the result of politicians of all stripes sticking their oars in. Each character has its corresponding mannekin (Image: Dr Jan Grzymski) ‘But what if we don’t get an agreement, is this something which you can say is a victory? ‘And even if you get an agreement, you look at what you have negotiated – is this a victory, and of so for whom? ‘Is any kind of deal better than no deal, because remember when there was the final phase of the negotiations, deal or no deal etc?’ Time is also a factor, given negotiations must be completed within 70 minutes with the possibility for two ten-minute extensions, Dr Grzymski stressed. He added: ‘I think at a certain point, you have to realise, especially when you are negotiating and you have time ticking and you have 10 minutes to go is: is any deal better than no deal? ‘So I think again, replicating the dynamic of the Brexit negotiations, this was what the politicians were faced with in the Brexit negotiation. The game features 16 playable characters (Image: Dr Jan Grzymski) ‘For example, DUP leader Arlene Foster deciding not to support the final deal – for her, no deal would be better than a bad deal.’ Perhaps understandably, Dr Grzymski, who together with Russell Foster authored The Limits of Europe: Identities, Spaces, Values, was reluctant to get drawn into any in-depth discussions about his own view of Brexit . However, he said: ‘I think that the expectations or predictions that the EU would start collapsing did not turn out to be true. ‘And I think the Brexit experience was traumatic for both sides. Putting aside whether Brexit was a good choice or not, in terms of the efforts in terms of time, and in terms of complications, I think no-one wants to follow the British path from the European Union. ‘I think what we see rather with the case of for example Italy, or Poland or Hungary and maybe other countries where there are eurosceptic parties, is that it is probably better to change the EU from within rather than leave.’ Find out more about How to Win Brexit here https://howtowinbrexit.com/ or visit the Kickstarter page here https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/howtowinbrexit/how-to-win- brexit