About this project

Matriarchy is a casual social game about politics, gender, and statesmanship to be released this year. The game is set in Nüguo, a small matriarchal mountain kingdom sandwiched between two large empires: the Tang and the Tibetans (an area which is now in Southwest China). The player takes on the role of the Empress of this country, and has to balance various political, social, and international crises while trying to preserve her nation and her people. The game unfolds in real-time, and encourages players to rely on both their in-game advisers and real-life friends for solutions to their problems.

The Setting

Matriarchy is set in semi-historical China, roughly 600-800 AD, in a fictionalized version of an ancient kingdom in the Lugu Lake area. There, in the game, there is a matriarchal kingdom whose inhabitants live peacefully with their neighbors and the world. However, the two greatest empires in the world - Tibet and Tang - are in the middle of a protracted power struggle and not even the remote people of Nüguo will be able to avoid being drawn in. As the events of the day pull you closer and closer to the outside world and its alien, patriarchal societies, can you maintain your society and culture? Can you find a way to thrive in this new world?

The Game

Matriarchy uses an series of innovative game mechanics which allow the events of the game to unfold in real-time, but that do not require the player to spend all their time checking on the game. As events occur in your country and beyond, they appear on an event tracker, requiring a response within a certain time. If you don't like the responses available to you, you can unlock new ideas and approaches by turning the events over to your trusted team of advisers.

Each adviser has her own personality and will come up with her own unique ideas to address your problems.

Additionally, you can spend Insight - a limited resource in the game - to come up with your own solutions, or turn them over to your friends on twitter, facebook, or other social networking sites to ask their advice on the problem.

Your Friends

In Matriarchy, there will be a number of ways to both draw support from your friends and offer them your own ideas. Anyone you know can help you with a particular conundrum by taking a simple online poll about your dilemma. Friends who also play the game can provide you with their own, previously obtained solutions, can send their own events to you, and can offer you special in-game tribute items and monuments. While it will be possible to play the game on your own, Matriarchy is designed to work together with your extended social network in a way that is enjoyable for everyone involved.

The Kickstarter

We have already put a lot of time, effort, and money into Matriarchy, and we're excited to bring it to you. But we want the game to be as good as possible when it launches. What the money from this kickstarter will give us is the ability to cram more into the game at the start: more decision points, more game design details, more art, more supported platforms (I'd love to support android, iOS, diaspora*, G+, and so on) and more server space. The more money we raise, the better. I want the game to be the best that it can possibly be, and I hope you do too!

Note: For international supporters, add $5 shipping if you select a physical product as your reward.

Update

Thank you so much for your support. We've managed to reach our funding goal, which is phenomenal. But any extra money helps make the game bigger and better! Which is why we're setting a new goal: If we can get to $6000, we will have the resources support the game on Android and iOS ASAP. So if you're interested in having Matriarchy on a mobile platform, or just in supporting the development and spread of the game, please do spread the word and donate more.