Endgame: Syria

In this game, the 2011 civil war in Syria is represented as a card game, with the player representing rebel forces and the computer playing for President Bashar al-Assad. Every turn, the players are presented with two rounds of card selections, the first allowing players to choose from a random selection of three international allies for that round -- who yield varying bonuses of support -- and the second allowing players to choose three of a random selection of unit types to arrange against the other player's forces. Two metrics need to be balanced: some units and tactics are more effective than others at neutralizing opposing forces, but they can carry with them a cost in terms of public opinion of the international community: regardless of the player's military effectiveness, if public opinion drops too low, the game is lost.