A game of political intrigue set in the Soviet Politburo. The game consists of a large number of politician cards, some of which form the first politburo. Politicians have certain stats (preferred offices, for instance) and an age.

At the start of the game, the players secretly note influence on ten politicians, graded from 10 (most) to 1 (least). Gameplay is not clockwise, but happens from top to bottom in the politburo. Whatever action the politician in a certain office can take is done by the player who reveals the greatest influence on the politician in question. Actions include accusing other politicians of espionage (potentially exiling them to Siberia), pardoning them, reshuffling the politburo and others. But each action a politician takes lets him (or in one case, her) age by one or more years. Once a turn each politburo member must face a health roll which can result in sickness marker or even instant death (the older, the most likely). At the end of each turn, the reigning head of state must wave to the crowd at the October parade without collapsing (which gets harder the sicker the politician is). A politician who succeeds in this three times makes the player who controls him/her the winner.

The original Fata Morgana edition included rules requiring the players to hold funeral speeches for deceased party chairmen and drinking vodka with it, for instance. The later Avalon Hill edition scrapped these rules and gave the game a less satirical and more serious tone.