check out what we’re working on next
painkillers
In the 1990s, American pharmaceutical companies introduced opioid-based pain medications into the wider market, which led to a decades-long national epidemic that has killed nearly 1,000,000 people. Painkillers explores the systemic failures across the government, pharmaceutical industry, and medical community that led to this tragedy. In the game, players act as executives of the pharmaceutical companies as they try to maximize their profits. They must avoid the attention of the federal government, the public’s outrage, and letting the human consequences of the epidemic itself get out of hand. This game is bleak, and it asks a lot of those who engage with it because this story is an important one. Painkillers is still under development, but will be available via crowdfunding in 2027.
We’re pleased to announce our very first game, Painkillers, a design by Brooks Barber - crowdfunding Spring 2027
Image by Gavin Pouliot
el pulpo
Our second game is El Pulpo, designed by Dan Bullock and coming to crowdfunding in Fall 2027
This game explores the widely unknown and deeply sordid history of the United Fruit Company’s exploitation of and interference in various Latin American nations throughout the first half of the twentieth century. During this time, the company became so intertwined with the social, economic, and political structures of the region that local workers, journalists, and leftist groups nicknamed it “El Pulpo”.
In the game, players pursue three hidden interests by shifting the state of a shared map to serve your own ends. Every action could be working toward your goals or sabotaging your opponents’, but you never quite know who else at the table shares your interests. At the end of five decades, you reveal your interests and evaluate all objectives to see who maneuvered most effectively within the constantly shifting economic and political situation.
Read more about why we think El Pulpo fits so well with Hawk & Dove’s vision.
Check out some detail from Dan Thurot about an earlier version of the game.
