President arrives at KLEFF: tournament report with its author, Nico Cardona
On June 18th, we experienced one of those nights that justify our existence as a board game community: a demonstration session and tournament of President, the party game of bluffing and negotiation from Too Bad Games, led by its author: Nico Cardona. Ten Kleffers sat at the table, ready to lie, make deals, and betray each other to win the party's presidency. Here's how it went, how it's played, and what we thought.
A session led by the author himself
It's not often you get to learn a game directly from its designer, and that's what made the June 18th event special. Nico Cardona (author and developer of President, you can find him as @toobadgames on social media) came to the cafeteria at l'Estació de França to explain the rules live, answer questions, and officiate a tournament.
The tournament gathered 10 presidential hopefuls, there was a prize for the winner, and we concluded the competition with a raffle for two more copies among the participants. Laughter, impossible bluffs, and a few political backstabs later, it was clear that this game connects with our multilingual and inclusive community from the very first play.
That game night hosted two parallel activities: the demonstration and tournament of President and our usual Slow Friending Lúdico, one of the community's favorite ways to meet people while playing. Since Slow Friending was still going on when the tournament ended, we wrapped up the game night with a final closing round… playing President again. The best proof that the game was a hit: everyone wanted another game even though it was already 11 PM and the lights at l'Estació had dimmed to subtly suggest it was time to pack up.
You can see a summary of the day in this Instagram post.
Nico Cardona, supervising the tournament
What is President?
President is a bluffing, negotiation, and betrayal board game for 3 to 10 players, with games lasting around 30 minutes and for ages 10 and up. The premise is simple: the party presidency is vacant, and although you all belong to the same ranks, only one can seize power.
Quick game facts:
Name: President.
Author and developer: Nico Cardona.
Publisher: Too Bad Games
Illustration: Raúl Moreno (character design) and Alba Aragón (complementary illustrations).
Review and layout: Pol Giménez and Marc Simó.
Players: 3-10 · Duration: 30 min · Age: 10+
More data on BoardGameGeek
One detail that makes us particularly happy: KLEFF appears in the acknowledgments of the President rulebook, alongside other gaming venues that helped refine the game. We love it when an author involves the community in playtesting their creation, and we want to continue promoting this at KLEFF.
Fighting to reach the presidency
How to play: politics, bluffing, and betrayals
The goal of the game is to be the first to reach 7 victory points. And note, you don't need to be the president to win.
The game unfolds over an indeterminate number of days, each with four phases:
Planning. Each player secretly chooses an action card and places it face down. This is where the theatrics begin: talking, negotiating deals… and blatantly lying about what you're about to play is allowed.
Resolution. Cards are revealed and resolved in order of position in the party hierarchy (President, Vice-President, and Secretary). Your place in the hierarchy changes the scope of your moves, so climbing positions matters, a lot.
Press Conference. Rewards are distributed based on Interview and Camera actions.
End of Day. The condition of the day's card is checked and the presidency reveals the next one.
One of the essential elements of the game are its action cards:
Promotion: you swap your position with someone from a higher level (to go up, someone has to go down).
Interview: the one who speaks last scores, so timing is everything.
Deal: two players who make a deal gain points… if no one backs out.
Envelope and Camera: extra actions, fame, and the coveted corruption token for whoever accumulates more envelopes.
Vacation: you retrieve all your cards (tax haven, full recovery).
Slander: you try to guess an opponent's card to steal a point from them if you succeed.
Want to know more about how to play President? You can find the complete rulebook for President in PDF available on the Too Bad Games website.
Who is it for?
President shines as a big-table social party game. If your group enjoys bluffing, deduction, and betrayal titles like Secret Hitler, Werewolf, or Coup and you usually gather 6 to 10 people, President fits perfectly. It's ideal for:
Large groups looking for a game that scales well up to 10 players.
Lovers of bluffing and negotiation, who aren't afraid to lie to their friends.
Newcomers to the hobby, thanks to accessible rules and short games of about half an hour.
Playing it with people you trust is always a plus, because the fun comes precisely from slandering and betraying the person next to you. It also works very well with people you don't know, as distrust will be present even before the game begins.
What we thought
Our assessment after the tournament is very positive. President achieves something difficult: it works equally well with few players as with its maximum capacity, maintaining the pace and strategy to win the presidency. The combination of simultaneous card selection, relevant turn order, and constant bluffing creates that "positive chaos" where each game completely shifts alliances.
The artistic section by Raúl Moreno and Alba Aragón provides characters with a lot of personality that are appealing from the first glance, and the learning curve is contained: in the first game, we were all already negotiating like true unscrupulous politicians. For our community, which loves games for groups, it has been a resounding success.
Where to get President and where to play it
You can find more information and get your copy on the official President page on Too Bad Games.
And if you want to try it on the table, with an explanation included, you can come and try it any game night, as we have it in our game library and we can explain it to you.
👉 Sign up for the next game night and discover why we are one of the largest board game communities in Europe. Have questions? Take a look at how KLEFF works, check out our blog for more reports, or write to us. We'll wait for you at the table!
Thanks to Nico Cardona, to Too Bad Games for a memorable night, and to the 10 brave individuals who dared to corrupt, slander, and negotiate unscrupulously for the presidency. See you at the next game night.
Pau showing the game box