The small catalog of Ingenioso Hidalgo – which has unexpectedly reached its second year! – is beginning to expand with new titles. The project I’m announcing today is one of those ideas I had in mind when this label was first launched. It’s a bit of a niche project; finding a publisher for it would have been difficult, and releasing this year would have been impossible.

2 Giugno – Per libera scelta di Popolo (“June 2, 1946 – By the Free Choice of the People”) is a fast-paced and intense game for two players that retraces the campaign for the referendum in which the Italian people, at the end of World War II, were called upon to decide the institutional structure of the nation, choosing between the existing Monarchy and the Republic.

The gameplay is card-driven: in the five rounds representing the five months leading up to the elections, the two players will manipulate events and public figures in favor of their cause, mobilizing voters towards different political parties and seeking the support of these parties.

Why was it important to release it this year? Because it’s meant to be a way of celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Italian Republic, which will be marked on June 2. For this reason, the game will actually be released a few days earlier, during the PLAY boardgame fair in Bologna, at the end of May.

The game will feature bilingual cards (Italian and English), while the rules will be in Italian, with the English version available for download.