Clovis men create board game

The image of a Ukrainian woman preparing for the Russian invasion of Ukraine by making Molotov cocktails with an AK-47 assault rifle in her lap inspired Greg Rapp of Clovis to develop a board game based on opposition to fascism.

Rapp, who teaches English and Political Science at Clovis Community College, has developed other games for distribution via the Internet, he said, but none have succeeded like this current game based on fighting fascism, called “Bella Ciao!” The title is included in lyrics to an Italian revolutionary song, according to the game’s creator.

So far, Rapp said, the game has been downloaded 1,200 times by users from “all over the world.”

“It’s not “triple-A,” he said, “but it it’s not insignificant, either.”

Triple A games, according to several Internet sources, are those which are produced by mid-size to large publishers. Rapp called Bella Ciao an “indie,” or independent, game.

Rapp said Bella Ciao’s purpose is to help people see how opposition to fascism starts, escalates and ends in a role-playing setting.

Rapp developed Bella Ciao! in partnership with Tyler McAlister, another Clovis resident.

McAlister does the historical research and the writing that achieves the “world-building” aspect of game design, he said.

“Greg is better with numbers, so he handles that aspect,” McAlister said.

McAlister said he worked with Rapp on two other similar games. One is called “Dragon Town,” and another called “No One Owns the Sky.”

In structure, Rapp said, Bella Ciao! is similar to Dungeons and Dragons, the role-playing game that became popular in the 1980s. One player is the referee, Rapp said, who establishes the setting, whether it be the Italian resistance in World War II, opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, or even the Communist Revolution in Russia that occurred in 1917.

The Referee’s role in Bella Ciao!, Rapp said, is similar to that of the Dungeon Master in Dungeons and Dragons.

The other players assume roles in the resistance as the game moves through early political opposition to fascism, escalates as conditions demand or allow to active resistance, to resolution.

What makes it interesting, Rapp said, is that the players bring a variety of interests and reasons for opposing fascism to the table, and those issues must be worked out, as well.

The outcome of conflicts is determined by rolls of dice and rulings from the referee, Rapp said.

McAlister is a veteran of many Dungeons and Dragons games he said, and last year, he played as a dungeon master for the first time.

That, he said, was his introduction to world-building, which he now calls “a blast.” He has written several suggested scenarios for Bella Ciao!, and is working with Rapp to develop more such scenarios based on, but not dependent on, historic revolutionary events.

When the game is downloaded, players receive PDF versions of the game’s rules, suggested scenarios and characters, and game boards. The downloads enable play among a group at a table, or remote play using the documents online.

But players must provide their own dice, Rapp said.

Rapp brings an educational background in creative writing and political science to game design.

He received bachelor’s degrees in political science at Eastern New Mexico University, a master’s degree in English at ENMU, and a Master of Fine Arts degree with a specialty in Speculative Fiction, at Southern New Hampshire University.

At CCC, Rapp serves as the division chair for Languages, History, and Theatre; and as an instructor of English.

McAlister said his background is in film and games.

In 2019, McAlister produced, directed and starred in a short film called “The Terrible Old Man” based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft, who is considered the father of modern horror fiction.

He said he writes for other games, hosts a weekly game-playing group on Twitch, a social media platform.

Mostly, he said, he considers himself a writer. “I’ve been writing since 2009,” he said.

Bella Ciao! Is available on the Itch.io website and costs $3 per download. It can be downloaded for free by claiming a community copy.