War in Rio (2007)

User Summary: What originally was intended to be just a bad joke and a infamous critique against the chaotic situation of violence caused by the continued struggle for power between the government and the several organized crime groups in the city of Rio de Janeiro can become the first wargame situated in an authentic Brazilian context... if it would ever come to be published!

War in Rio is a politically incorrect wargame based in the traditional Risk. The main rules and mechanics from the classic wargame remain all the same, but the original board is replaced by one depicting the city of Rio de Janeiro. This new board is divided in 42 "favelas" - how the slums and shanty towns are called in Brazil -, which are arranged in six different sections, following the geopolitical areas of the city of Rio de Janeiro.

In addition, the colored armies now represent the different groups struggling to control the "wonderful city". Two colors represent the government forces: black is the "BOPE" (Special Police Operations Battalion) and blue is the "Polícia Militar" (Military Police). Three colors represent the major criminal organizations in Rio: red for "Comando Vermelho", green for "Terceiro Comando" and yellow for "Amigos dos Amigos". The white pieces represent the several other militias "Milícias" that also play a role in the urban war.

Fabio Lopez, the Brazilian designer who created the game, has already informed that he didn't intend to publish the game or even share it for free. His purpose with War in Rio was solely "to generate a discussion through a shameless invitation to enjoyment." However, such an original idea could not be ignored by Brazilian players and several anonymous fans soon joined forces to recreate the map and the cards based in the original photos posted by Lopez in his blog.

Given the subversive status of this idea, this game probably will never be officially published.