During the occupation of France by Nazi Germany, many brave men and women risked everything they had to continue fighting against fascism. Today, we know that the Resistance and the Allies would be victorious, but at that time - living moment-to-moment - it was far from inevitable. They are celebrated not because they won, but because they stood firm when the outcome was uncertain and dangerous.
There were others - often the wealthy and powerful - who stood for nothing, who risked nothing. The sorts of people who only do the right thing when it is safe and profitable for them to do so, who don't care what side they're on, so long as they're not on the losing side. Throughout the occupation, they attempted a delicate balancing act, collaborating with the Germans while also helping the Resistance, allowing them to hedge their bets until the last possible moment, switching to the winning side so as to escape its wrath.
These are the sorts of people that players are asked to play in Streets of Shadows. Not the brave heroes of the Resistance, nor even the scared everyday people just trying to get by, but the sorts of people who see the occupation as an opportunity for advancement - as a way to pursue economic, social, and political influence. The game does not ask you to empathize with these unsavory people, but does seek to demonstrate how they enable oppressive power structures to remain in place. Even today, even on the other side of an ocean, there are still those who risk everything to fight for a better world, and others who remain silent, safe, comfortable, and complicit.
—description from the publisher
Wargame, World War II · Area Majority / Influence, Area Movement, Auction / Bidding, Hand Management, Simulation, Variable Player Powers
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