The movement continues to experience a trickle of growth — a few people day by day. You have a big list of people agreeing to resist Trump — but it’s largely confined to anti-Trumpers. There’s no clear way to grow outside that circle.
You try to persuade people to get more strategic and look for opportunities to connect with other groups. But you feel like a window of opportunity was missed. In the fight against an authoritarian regime, at some point the movement needs to “call the question” — to unite all the forces in a single push. The movement never finds the right moment.
Sensing its exposed position, Trump moves quickly and quietly to dismantle the movement. Trump orders a counterintelligence operation that exposes many members of the Paperclip Movement. Some are quietly arrested as others are hit with gigantic tax bills. The movement isn’t able to weather the attack this time.
You feel this was preventable. The tactic was right — but the problem of growth is too critical. You realize the movement needed to keep finding new allies. But this time, it’s too late. Trump maintains his grip on power. His family remains in power for decades.
THE END.
You didn’t win this time. Luckily, this is just a game. Unfortunately, it is true that movements can get stuck in one tactic or a single approach. To speak to new people, however, they often have to switch it up — and knowing when to do that isn’t always obvious.
Read Closing Thoughts from the author.