The Mexican Revolution of 1910

This game simulates the civil war in Mexico that started in 1910 with the Plan of Luis Potosi. The game starts after Francisco Madero has assumed the presidency of Mexico. You play as Madero, and you must avoid being shot by your generals, ousted by rebels, or overrun by the United States. Keeping Mexico out of WWI would also help. To win, you must ratify a new constitution that solidifies the goals of the revolution: land reform, term limits, secular education, and complete sovereignty over Mexico’s mineral resources.

This game is an attempt to raise the profile of the Mexican Revolution a bit. 

The Mexican Revolution is one of the more interesting conflicts of the 20^th Century, but it really does not get the attention that it deserves.  This is most likely because it overlapped with the Communist revolution in Russia.  The two conflicts are actually quite similar.   Both revolutions involved violent regime change that ultimately ended in one party rule, the PRI in Mexico and the Communist Party in Russia.  Both of these regimes held onto power into the 1990s without any real challenges or opposition.  Finally, the US intervened militarily in both revolutions. 

The big difference is that Russia became the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union pointed nuclear weapons at the US, so the Russian Revolution gets a lot of attention.  The fact that the Russian Revolution also altered the course of a world war also helps keep the Russian Revolution in the spotlight.  Finally, the Russian Revolution has an amazing cast of characters.  You can’t really compete with Rasputin, Lenin, or a murdered royal family.  To Americans, the Russian Revolution is a Sunday night HBO scripted drama, with Al Pacino playing Trotsky.  In the American popular imagination, the Mexican Revolution is a BBC costume drama, with Benedict Cumberbatch playing Pancho Villa (Villa was actually a pretty low-key guy.  He didn’t swear or drink).