Players compete as the corrupt power elite families of a fictional parody of a stereotypical banana republic (specifically Republica de los Bananas) trying to get as much money as possible into their Swiss bank accounts before the foreign aid money runs out.

Fighting in the republic's capital during recurrent coup attempts encompasses most of the game's equipment, rules and playtime.

The game's title is taken from the Spanish term "Junta" that originally referred to the executive bodies that frequently came to power after a military coup in 20th century Latin America (the Spanish version is called Golpe, which means coup d'état).

The game ends when the President cannot draw eight bills from the foreign aid money at the beginning of a turn.

The only exception is the Presidential election after a successful coup in which each rebel player commands one and only one vote.

El Presidente retains this position until the event of assassination, a successful coup, or resignation.

All three events have the effect of liquidating the President's assets and delivering the cash to the assassin or successor.

Cabinet positions are as follows: El Presidente draws 8 bills from the foreign aid money deck.

Assassination attempts by the Minister's secret police may not take place at the Bank two turns in a row.

If the budget failed but was forced through by the Minister of Internal Security, the bank is closed for lunch until after the coup phase.

If the budget failed altogether, leaving the President with the entire foreign aid, no banking may take place at all this turn.

A scheming player can benefit by concealing their true objectives to gain a favourable position to negotiate from.

The players battle for control of five buildings, shown in red on the map, vital for the post-coup resolution.

After the end of the final coup phase, the players negotiate and must declare themselves either Pro-President or Pro-Junta.

It is only safe to return from exile when the President is dead, before a new one has been elected, during a coup provided that a friendly player controls the relevant embassy, or if the Minister's position is frozen (see below).

"[2] In the December 1993 edition of Dragon (Issue 200), Allen Varney gave Junta a thumbs up: "Do you like casual corruption, hilarious doubletalk, and soldiers who can’t shoot straight?

"[3] In Issue 25 of Phoenix (May–June 1980), Roger Musson found the map and counters "quite attractive", but thought the cards were too thin and likely to wear.

Nonetheless, he found Junta "a very enjoyable game, well worth playing, and likely to appeal to a very wide range of players.

Darren Watts commented, "Junta isn't one of the 100 greatest hobby games because of its rules and mechanics — they're good, each of them, but not brilliant.

It's a great hobby game because it creates a mood and captures a theme brilliantly, and integrates every single design element to that cause.

With its wonderful sense of comical menace, political instability, and institutionalized corruption, Junta is a hoot and a half to play.