[Test Game] Enemy of the State

[ThunderHawk3]

1953 - Turn 3 - Nemesis​

A scandal erupted late in 1953 when it emerged that one of CUBE's ministers had been telling a series of outrageous lies as part of an effort to cover up massive corruption and incompetence in his own department and misdirect the public about the same. Although it was Prime Minister Tee Jay's own initiatives that uncovered the lying minister, and he was promptly sacked, the public was still outraged and felt betrayed.

[Political - "Big Lie" - reduces Approval by corruption/10, rounded up]

Meanwhile, in parliament, nationalist and conservative elements aligned with business-friendly legislators to challenge the agenda of the CUBE government. Outraged by the government's foreign policy and pro-Union economic moves, they exploited CUBE's relatively small majority in parliament and vowed to not cooperate with any government backed legislation whatsoever and do everything they could to stall it, whatever it might be. The introduction of such radical politics to the chamber made it hard for the government to get anything done.

[Political - "Scorched Earth Politics" - prevents the government from playing politics cards next turn]

1. Pictured: Politics​

The year is now 1954. @TJDS - your turn again.

PS: I have changed FIIS so it costs money but also increases state power over time from now on.

Policies/disasters currently active:

Government:

1. State Education - Education, Military Loyalty/Quality, and Debt increase by (State Power/20)-1 every turn. Effectiveness modified by Corruption. Rounded up, minimum of +1.

2. FIIS - Crime and Corruption are reduced by State Power/10 each turn. State Power and debt are increased by the same. (rounded up)

3. SEC (+5 inflation and -5 inequality per turn)

Nemesis:

1. (free)

2. Conspiracy in the Ranks - Nemesis chooses when the card is laid to either make the conspiracy real or fictional. Each turn this card is in play, the government has a chance equal to military loyalty to find out if the conspiracy is real or fake. If the conspiracy is real, the Nemesis may choose to remove this card from play at some later time with an order. If he does, it causes -5 military loyalty for every turn it was in play. The government may expend an order up to once a turn to try to purge the conspiracy. If they do, they have a % chance equal to state power of purging the conspiracy. However, if they purge a false conspiracy, The Great Purge special unique disaster (which is probably the most powerful Nemesis card in the game) is added to the Nemesis' hand.

3. (free)

Stats

Spoiler

# of government Orders/turn: 2
# of government Policy Slots: 3

Political

-Approval: 50
-Corruption: 44
-State Power: 25

Social

-Health: 30
-Education: 33
-Inequality: 25
-Crime: 24

Economic

-National Wealth: 34
-Debt: -1
-Unemployment: 26
-Inflation: 30

Military

-Quality: 33
-Quantity: 30
-Military Loyalty: 53

[Military Strength = Quality * Quantity/100, rounded up, btw]

Diplomatic

-International Hostility: 0
-Trade Relations: 25
-Foreign Influence: 20

Constitution:

Spoiler

Title of Leader: Prime Minister
Name of Nation: State of Examplia

Election Process: N/A
Ballots: N/A

Leader Term: 5 years
Term Limit: N/A
Removal Process Mid-Term: N/A
If Leader Dies/Is Removed: The other player becomes PM

Necessary Majority to Amend Constitution: Both players must agree.

Opposition Parties Allowed: Yes.
Can Purge/Kill Players: No.
Government Must Reveal Orders: No.

Nemesis Stats:

Spoiler

4 draws per turn
2 plays per turn
3 disaster slots

 

[ThunderHawk3]

1954 - Turn 4 - TJDS​

Acting on intensifying rumors of an anti-state conspiracy within the Examplian armed forces, the government acted to purge the ranks of the military. However, despite a number of arrests, state security services had yet to track down the key conspirators by the end of the year.

[Attempt to Purge Conspiracy failed - % chance equal to State Power of success]

CUBE also issued orders to crackdown on crime in general and enforce order in the streets. The crackdown was only marginally effective, but pleased the public in the aftermath of last year's scandals.

[Crime Crackdown: Social - crime decreased and approval increased by State Power/5=5, +1 debt]

1. The government's crime crackdown put more police on the streets, and this is what our police look like apparently.​

****
EDIT: @Gen. Marshall - it's your turn.


Policies/disasters currently active:

Government:

1. State Education - Education, Military Loyalty/Quality, and Debt increase by (State Power/20)-1 every turn. Effectiveness modified by Corruption. Rounded up, minimum of +1.

2. FIIS - Crime and Corruption are reduced by State Power/10 each turn. State Power and debt are increased by the same. (rounded up)

3. SEC (+5 inflation and -20% [max 5] inequality per turn)

Nemesis:

1. (free)

2. Conspiracy in the Ranks - Nemesis chooses when the card is laid to either make the conspiracy real or fictional. Each turn this card is in play, the government has a chance equal to military loyalty to find out if the conspiracy is real or fake. If the conspiracy is real, the Nemesis may choose to remove this card from play at some later time with an order. If he does, it causes -5 military loyalty for every turn it was in play. The government may expend an order up to once a turn to try to purge the conspiracy. If they do, they have a % chance equal to state power of purging the conspiracy. However, if they purge a false conspiracy, The Great Purge special unique disaster (which is probably the most powerful Nemesis card in the game) is added to the Nemesis' hand.

3. (free)

Stats

Spoiler

# of government Orders/turn: 2
# of government Policy Slots: 3

Political

-Approval: 55
-Corruption: 41
-State Power: 28

Social

-Health: 30
-Education: 34
-Inequality: 20
-Crime: 16

Economic

-National Wealth: 34
-Debt: 4
-Unemployment: 26
-Inflation: 35

Military

-Quality: 34
-Quantity: 30
-Military Loyalty: 54

[Military Strength = Quality * Quantity/100, rounded up, btw]

Diplomatic

-International Hostility: 0
-Trade Relations: 25
-Foreign Influence: 20

Constitution:

Spoiler

Title of Leader: Prime Minister
Name of Nation: State of Examplia

Election Process: N/A
Ballots: N/A

Leader Term: 5 years
Term Limit: N/A
Removal Process Mid-Term: N/A
If Leader Dies/Is Removed: The other player becomes PM

Necessary Majority to Amend Constitution: Both players must agree.

Opposition Parties Allowed: Yes.
Can Purge/Kill Players: No.
Government Must Reveal Orders: No.

Nemesis Stats:

Spoiler

4 draws per turn
2 plays per turn
3 disaster slots

 

[Gen. Marshall]

I'll take some time to consider this round. Maybe I should trigger the conspiracy, seeing as TJDS is trying to defuse it... tough choice.

 

[ThunderHawk3]

1954 - Turn 4 - Nemesis​

Notes on nerfing: I've now nerfed most Nemesis cards so that their effects are capped at -10. They were previously usually capped at -20. Disasters are now usually capped at -5/turn, whereas they were previously capped at -10/turn. This makes the Nemesis a lot less dangerous.

Excessive regulation got in the way of planned expansion of the government bureaucracy, a bitter irony since bureaucrats were effectively preventing the government from hiring more bureaucrats.

[Red Tape: Political - decreases or increases any stat (State Power) by the # of active government policies=3]

1. Pictured: Literal Red Tape​

Though Examplia wasn't doing spectacularly economically, its porous borders and weak central government afforded opportunities for migrants fleeing oppression and hardship in their homelands. A wave of immigrants arrived in Examplia in 1954. Most Examplians weren't particularly happy about this.

[Immigration Wave: Diplomatic - reduces Approval and increases Unemployment by Trade Relations/10=3.]

2. Pictured: Migrants, flooding into Examplia​

*****


@TJDS - your turn again.

Policies/disasters currently active:

Government:

1. State Education - Education, Military Loyalty/Quality, and Debt increase by (State Power/20)-1 every turn. Effectiveness modified by Corruption. Rounded up, minimum of +1.

2. FIIS - Crime and Corruption are reduced by State Power/10 each turn. State Power and debt are increased by the same. (rounded up)

3. SEC (+5 inflation and -20% [max 5] inequality per turn)

Nemesis:

1. (free)

2. Conspiracy in the Ranks - Nemesis chooses when the card is laid to either make the conspiracy real or fictional. Each turn this card is in play, the government has a chance equal to military loyalty to find out if the conspiracy is real or fake. If the conspiracy is real, the Nemesis may choose to remove this card from play at some later time with an order. If he does, it causes -5 military loyalty for every turn it was in play. The government may expend an order up to once a turn to try to purge the conspiracy. If they do, they have a % chance equal to state power of purging the conspiracy. However, if they purge a false conspiracy, The Great Purge special unique disaster (which is probably the most powerful Nemesis card in the game) is added to the Nemesis' hand.

3. (free)

Stats

Spoiler

# of government Orders/turn: 2
# of government Policy Slots: 3

Political

-Approval: 52
-Corruption: 41
-State Power: 25

Social

-Health: 30
-Education: 34
-Inequality: 20
-Crime: 16

Economic

-National Wealth: 34
-Debt: 4
-Unemployment: 29
-Inflation: 35

Military

-Quality: 34
-Quantity: 30
-Military Loyalty: 54

[Military Strength = Quality * Quantity/100, rounded up, btw]

Diplomatic

-International Hostility: 0
-Trade Relations: 25
-Foreign Influence: 20

Constitution:

Spoiler

Title of Leader: Prime Minister
Name of Nation: State of Examplia

Election Process: N/A
Ballots: N/A

Leader Term: 5 years
Term Limit: N/A
Removal Process Mid-Term: N/A
If Leader Dies/Is Removed: The other player becomes PM

Necessary Majority to Amend Constitution: Both players must agree.

Opposition Parties Allowed: Yes.
Can Purge/Kill Players: No.
Government Must Reveal Orders: No.

Nemesis Stats:

Spoiler

4 draws per turn
2 plays per turn
3 disaster slots

 

[ThunderHawk3]

1955 - Turn 5 - TJDS​

The Prime Minister decided he wanted to strengthen the state in the last year of his administration. Though he was a bit vague on how this actually might be done, his ministers complied by his wishes by hiring lots of new bureaucrats in the hope that it would make the nation stronger.

[Political, +5 State Power, +4 Debt (cost equal to state power*increase/national wealth~=4)]

1. Hire new bureaucrats? We'd be happy to, Prime Minister.​

At the same time, the government's aggressive efforts to find and destroy the conspiracy in the armed forces intensified. However, state security services failed to locate the core of the conspiracy, and the whisperings in the army continued.

[Attempt to Purge Conspiracy failed - % chance equal to State Power of success.]

((Also, I modified SEC for balance so it doesn't reduce inequality to 0 as fast.))




*****


@Gen. Marshall - your turn again.


Policies/disasters currently active:

Government:

1. State Education - Education, Military Loyalty/Quality, and Debt increase by (State Power/20)-1 every turn. Effectiveness modified by Corruption. Rounded up, minimum of +1.

2. FIIS - Crime and Corruption are reduced by State Power/10 each turn. State Power and debt are increased by the same. (rounded up)

3. SEC (+5 inflation and -20% [max 5] inequality per turn)

Nemesis:

1. (free)

2. Conspiracy in the Ranks - Nemesis chooses when the card is laid to either make the conspiracy real or fictional. Each turn this card is in play, the government has a chance equal to military loyalty to find out if the conspiracy is real or fake. If the conspiracy is real, the Nemesis may choose to remove this card from play at some later time with an order. If he does, it causes -5 military loyalty for every turn it was in play. The government may expend an order up to once a turn to try to purge the conspiracy. If they do, they have a % chance equal to state power of purging the conspiracy. However, if they purge a false conspiracy, The Great Purge special unique disaster (which is probably the most powerful Nemesis card in the game) is added to the Nemesis' hand.

3. (free)

Stats

Spoiler

# of government Orders/turn: 2
# of government Policy Slots: 3

Political

-Approval: 52
-Corruption: 37
-State Power: 34

Social

-Health: 30
-Education: 35
-Inequality: 16
-Crime: 12

Economic

-National Wealth: 34
-Debt: 13
-Unemployment: 29
-Inflation: 40

Military

-Quality: 35
-Quantity: 30
-Military Loyalty: 55

[Military Strength = Quality * Quantity/100, rounded up, btw]

Diplomatic

-International Hostility: 0
-Trade Relations: 25
-Foreign Influence: 20

Constitution:

Spoiler

Title of Leader: Prime Minister
Name of Nation: State of Examplia

Election Process: N/A
Ballots: N/A

Leader Term: 5 years
Term Limit: N/A
Removal Process Mid-Term: N/A
If Leader Dies/Is Removed: The other player becomes PM

Necessary Majority to Amend Constitution: Both players must agree.

Opposition Parties Allowed: Yes.
Can Purge/Kill Players: No.
Government Must Reveal Orders: No.

Nemesis Stats:

Spoiler

4 draws per turn
2 plays per turn
3 disaster slots

 

[ThunderHawk3]

1955 - Turn 5 - Nemesis​

((Dramatically modified the Nemesis' draw system. He gets 6 draws per turn but cards he cannot play no longer cycle. Up to half can be from the same deck. He can add cards from his current hand to his hand next turn as an order. These cards are in addition to his next draw.))

The fact of the matter was that in the five years of CUBE government, despite government crackdowns on crime and corruption, the state had generally remained small and weak. The military had largely chosen to take matters into their own hands, and in many remote parts of the country, the local garrison commander had become the law.

[Warlordism: Military disaster, -2 Military Loyalty, +2 Corruption, +2 Crime (reduce Military Loyalty and increase Corruption and Crime by (50-State Power)/10 each turn. Remove when State Power is 50 or above.)]


Also, defections wracked the military in the winter of 1955. Was this an effect of the growing conspiracy in the military?

[Military Defections: Military, -5 Quantity, (reduce Military Quantity by (100-Military Loyalty)/10)]




*****


@TJDS - your turn again, since sealy dropped out.


Policies/disasters currently active:

Government:

1. State Education - Education, Military Loyalty/Quality, and Debt increase by (State Power/20)-1 every turn. Effectiveness modified by Corruption. Rounded up, minimum of +1.

2. FIIS - Crime and Corruption are reduced by State Power/10 each turn. State Power and debt are increased by the same. (rounded up)

3. SEC (+5 inflation and -20% [max 5] inequality per turn)

Nemesis:

1. Warlordism - Reduce Military Loyalty and increase Corruption and Crime by (50-State Power)/10 each turn. Remove when State Power is 50 or above.

2. Conspiracy in the Ranks - Nemesis chooses when the card is laid to either make the conspiracy real or fictional. Each turn this card is in play, the government has a chance equal to military loyalty to find out if the conspiracy is real or fake. If the conspiracy is real, the Nemesis may choose to remove this card from play at some later time with an order. If he does, it causes -5 military loyalty for every turn it was in play. The government may expend an order up to once a turn to try to purge the conspiracy. If they do, they have a % chance equal to state power of purging the conspiracy. However, if they purge a false conspiracy, The Great Purge special unique disaster (which is probably the most powerful Nemesis card in the game) is added to the Nemesis' hand.

3. (free)

Stats

Spoiler

# of government Orders/turn: 2
# of government Policy Slots: 3

Political

-Approval: 52
-Corruption: 39
-State Power: 34

Social

-Health: 30
-Education: 35
-Inequality: 16
-Crime: 14

Economic

-National Wealth: 34
-Debt: 13
-Unemployment: 29
-Inflation: 40

Military

-Quality: 35
-Quantity: 25
-Military Loyalty: 53

[Military Strength = Quality * Quantity/100, rounded up, btw]

Diplomatic

-International Hostility: 0
-Trade Relations: 25
-Foreign Influence: 20

Constitution:

Spoiler

Title of Leader: Prime Minister
Name of Nation: State of Examplia

Election Process: N/A
Ballots: N/A

Leader Term: 5 years
Term Limit: N/A
Removal Process Mid-Term: N/A
If Leader Dies/Is Removed: The other player becomes PM

Necessary Majority to Amend Constitution: Both players must agree.

Opposition Parties Allowed: Yes.
Can Purge/Kill Players: No.
Government Must Reveal Orders: No.

Nemesis Stats:

Spoiler

6 draws per turn
2 plays per turn
3 disaster slots

 

[ThunderHawk3]

1956 - Turn 6 - TJDS​

Re-elected to a second term of office in 1956, the CUBE government set about continuing the policies of their last administration: strengthening the state while purging the alleged military conspiracy they seemed so worried about.

[Political, +5 State Power, +5 Debt (cost equal to state power*increase/national wealth~=5)]

1. Still more bureaucrats? Oh, you're too kind, Prime Minister.​

Despite redoubling their efforts, the government had still failed to purge the much-feared military conspiracy by the end of 1956. While various officers and NCOs had been purged, no one seemed to know the source of the plot.

[Attempt to Purge Conspiracy failed - % chance equal to State Power of success.]




*****


@Gen. Marshall - your turn.


Policies/disasters currently active:

Government:

1. State Education - Education, Military Loyalty/Quality, and Debt increase by (State Power/20)-1 every turn. Effectiveness modified by Corruption. Rounded up, minimum of +1.

2. FIIS - Crime and Corruption are reduced by State Power/10 each turn. State Power and debt are increased by the same. (rounded up)

3. SEC (+5 inflation and -20% [max 5] inequality per turn)

Nemesis:

1. Warlordism - Reduce Military Loyalty and increase Corruption and Crime by (50-State Power)/10 each turn. Remove when State Power is 50 or above.

2. Conspiracy in the Ranks - Nemesis chooses when the card is laid to either make the conspiracy real or fictional. Each turn this card is in play, the government has a chance equal to military loyalty to find out if the conspiracy is real or fake. If the conspiracy is real, the Nemesis may choose to remove this card from play at some later time with an order. If he does, it causes -5 military loyalty for every turn it was in play. The government may expend an order up to once a turn to try to purge the conspiracy. If they do, they have a % chance equal to state power of purging the conspiracy. However, if they purge a false conspiracy, The Great Purge special unique disaster (which is probably the most powerful Nemesis card in the game) is added to the Nemesis' hand.

3. (free)

Stats

Spoiler

# of government Orders/turn: 2
# of government Policy Slots: 3

Political

-Approval: 52
-Corruption: 35
-State Power: 43

Social

-Health: 30
-Education: 36
-Inequality: 12
-Crime: 9

Economic

-National Wealth: 34
-Debt: 23
-Unemployment: 29
-Inflation: 45

Military

-Quality: 36
-Quantity: 25
-Military Loyalty: 54

[Military Strength = Quality * Quantity/100, rounded up, btw]

Diplomatic

-International Hostility: 0
-Trade Relations: 25
-Foreign Influence: 20

Constitution:

Spoiler

Title of Leader: Prime Minister
Name of Nation: State of Examplia

Election Process: N/A
Ballots: N/A

Leader Term: 5 years
Term Limit: N/A
Removal Process Mid-Term: N/A
If Leader Dies/Is Removed: The other player becomes PM

Necessary Majority to Amend Constitution: Both players must agree.

Opposition Parties Allowed: Yes.
Can Purge/Kill Players: No.
Government Must Reveal Orders: No.

Nemesis Stats:

Spoiler

6 draws per turn
2 plays per turn
3 disaster slots

 

[ThunderHawk3]

1956 - Turn 6 - Nemesis​

In the fall of 1956, several high-ranking generals fled the country for parts unknown. Evidence unconvered by the government security services indicated that they had, in collaboration with the head of the State Education service, worked to put officers with anti-state ideologies in high ranking positions and spread their ideology through the schools and the academy. Their ultimate goal seems to have been to generate a coup, which has failed, but who knows how many disloyal officers have been seeded throughout the military? With the conspirators having escaped, we may never know the full extent of the damage.

[Conspiracy in the Ranks removed, -20 Military Loyalty]

​

Doubtless these disloyal generals are continuing to plot against us from overseas. This military plot suggests that there is in fact some sort of Nemesis working against the Examplian state! We know him only by his codename found in a military document: "Marshall." With the support of these conspirators, he now has one more card to play against us, metaphorically speaking.

[Divided Loyalties: Military, the Nemesis gains +1 cards drawn per turn permanently.]




*****


@TJDS - your turn yet again.



Policies/disasters currently active:

Government:

1. State Education - Education, Military Loyalty/Quality, and Debt increase by (State Power/20)-1 every turn. Effectiveness modified by Corruption. Rounded up, minimum of +1.

2. FIIS - Crime and Corruption are reduced by State Power/10 each turn. State Power and debt are increased by the same. (rounded up)

3. SEC (+5 inflation and -20% [max 5] inequality per turn)

Nemesis:

1. Warlordism - Reduce Military Loyalty and increase Corruption and Crime by (50-State Power)/10 each turn. Remove when State Power is 50 or above.

2. (free)

3. (free)

Stats

Spoiler

# of government Orders/turn: 2
# of government Policy Slots: 3

Political

-Approval: 52
-Corruption: 36
-State Power: 43

Social

-Health: 30
-Education: 36
-Inequality: 12
-Crime: 10

Economic

-National Wealth: 34
-Debt: 23
-Unemployment: 29
-Inflation: 45

Military

-Quality: 36
-Quantity: 25
-Military Loyalty: 33

[Military Strength = Quality * Quantity/100, rounded up, btw]

Diplomatic

-International Hostility: 0
-Trade Relations: 25
-Foreign Influence: 20

Constitution:

Spoiler

Title of Leader: Prime Minister
Name of Nation: State of Examplia

Election Process: N/A
Ballots: N/A

Leader Term: 5 years
Term Limit: N/A
Removal Process Mid-Term: N/A
If Leader Dies/Is Removed: The other player becomes PM

Necessary Majority to Amend Constitution: Both players must agree.

Opposition Parties Allowed: Yes.
Can Purge/Kill Players: No.
Government Must Reveal Orders: No.

Nemesis Stats:

Spoiler

7 draws per turn
2 plays per turn
3 disaster slots

 

[ThunderHawk3]

1957 - Turn 7 - TJDS​

Prime Minister Dee Es and his CUBE party continued their efforts to expand the bureaucracy, hiring large numbers of people with the aim of levying an income tax. After the bureaucracy had been sufficiently expanded, they did exactly this.

[Bureaucracy expanded: Political, +1 policy slot and order/turn, +9 debt (295 cost=4*40+3*45)]

[Income Tax: Political policy, lowers debt by State Power/10 every turn.]

Although the first tax levied by the Examplian government represented a major milestone for a nation previously funded by foreign aid and deficit spending, a lot of people weren't happy about being asked to pay it.

[First tax levied! +3 State Power, -3 Approval]

In fact, the State had strengthened to the point that it was able to rein in petty military "warlords" who had been ruling as little kings around the country.

[Warlordism removed]

1. Warlordism.​

Though the power of the state and its ability to enforce laws were growing, dwindling crime and corruption reduced the marginal effectiveness of the FIIS. There were simply fewer crimes to bust.

[FIIS modified - nerf]

Additionally, the Prime Minister travelled to sign the Treaty of Rome, establishing the single market within the new European Economic Community. This again increased the trade Examplia was doing with the West, but nationalists condemned it as again mortgaging national sovereignty by agreeing to rules dictated by foreigners.

[+25 Trade Relations, +25 Foreign Influence, -5 Inflation, -5 Unemployment, +5 National Wealth]

2. The Treaty of Rome is signed.​

Joining the EEC may have created new market for exports, but it also opened Examplia up to cheap imports from other European nations.

[The Foreign Competition (Diplomatic) card will automatically be added to the Nemesis' hand this turn.]




*****


@Gen. Marshall - your turn.



Policies/disasters currently active:

Government:

1. State Education - Education, Military Loyalty/Quality, and Debt increase by (State Power/20)-1 every turn. Effectiveness modified by Corruption. Rounded up, minimum of +1.

2. FIIS - Crime and Corruption are reduced by State Power/20 each turn. State Power and debt are increased by the same. (rounded up)

3. SEC: (+5 inflation and -20% [max 5] inequality per turn)

4. Income Tax: lowers debt by State Power/10 every turn.

Nemesis:

1. (free)

2. (free)

3. (free)

Stats

Spoiler

# of government Orders/turn: 3
# of government Policy Slots: 4

Political

-Approval: 49
-Corruption: 33
-State Power: 49

Social

-Health: 30
-Education: 38
-Inequality: 9
-Crime: 7

Economic

-National Wealth: 39
-Debt: 31
-Unemployment: 24
-Inflation: 45

Military

-Quality: 38
-Quantity: 25
-Military Loyalty: 35

[Military Strength = Quality * Quantity/100, rounded up, btw]

Diplomatic

-International Hostility: 0
-Trade Relations: 50
-Foreign Influence: 45

Constitution:

Spoiler

Title of Leader: Prime Minister
Name of Nation: State of Examplia

Election Process: N/A
Ballots: N/A

Leader Term: 5 years
Term Limit: N/A
Removal Process Mid-Term: N/A
If Leader Dies/Is Removed: The other player becomes PM

Necessary Majority to Amend Constitution: Both players must agree.

Opposition Parties Allowed: Yes.
Can Purge/Kill Players: No.
Government Must Reveal Orders: No.

Nemesis Stats:

Spoiler

7 draws per turn
2 plays per turn
3 disaster slots

 

[ThunderHawk3]

1957 - Turn 7 - Nemesis​

Purges aside, the Examplian military remained small, poorly equipped and trained, and disloyal. It remained a hotbed of possible anti-government sentiment, too, and government reports indicated that critical military documents had been accidentally - or purposefully - leaked to forces unknown outside the country.

[Military Incompetence: military - permanently increases the number of Nemesis draws by 1]

1. This is literally my only picture at this point.​

Examplian emigres had begun to preach against what they decried as the perceived excesses and injustices of the CUBE government and its statist and socialist policies. Since CUBE had aligned itself with the West, emigres complaints fell on deaf ears in Washington, but Moscow, ironically, seemed more sympathetic...

[Emigres Agitation: Diplomatic disaster, increase International Hostility by (100-Approval)/20 every turn, remove by caving to emigres demands, expending an order to allow the Nemesis to alter any stat by (100-Approval)/20]




*****


@TJDS - your turn.


Policies/disasters currently active:

Government:

1. State Education - Education, Military Loyalty/Quality, and Debt increase by (State Power/20)-1 every turn. Effectiveness modified by Corruption. Rounded up, minimum of +1.

2. FIIS - Crime and Corruption are reduced by State Power/20 each turn. State Power and debt are increased by the same. (rounded up)

3. SEC: (+5 inflation and -20% [max 5] inequality per turn)

4. Income Tax: lowers debt by State Power/10 every turn.

Nemesis:

1. Emigres Agitation: Diplomatic disaster, increase International Hostility by (100-Approval)/20 every turn, remove by caving to emigres demands, expending an order to allow the Nemesis to alter any stat by 5.

2. (free)

3. (free)

Stats

Spoiler

# of government Orders/turn: 3
# of government Policy Slots: 4

Political

-Approval: 49
-Corruption: 33
-State Power: 49

Social

-Health: 30
-Education: 38
-Inequality: 9
-Crime: 7

Economic

-National Wealth: 39
-Debt: 31
-Unemployment: 24
-Inflation: 45

Military

-Quality: 38
-Quantity: 25
-Military Loyalty: 35

[Military Strength = Quality * Quantity/100, rounded up, btw]

Diplomatic

-International Hostility: 6
-Trade Relations: 50
-Foreign Influence: 45

Constitution:

Spoiler

Title of Leader: Prime Minister
Name of Nation: State of Examplia

Election Process: N/A
Ballots: N/A

Leader Term: 5 years
Term Limit: N/A
Removal Process Mid-Term: N/A
If Leader Dies/Is Removed: The other player becomes PM

Necessary Majority to Amend Constitution: Both players must agree.

Opposition Parties Allowed: Yes.
Can Purge/Kill Players: No.
Government Must Reveal Orders: No.

Nemesis Stats:

Spoiler

8 draws per turn
2 plays per turn
3 disaster slots

 

[Gen. Marshall]

We demand less inequality!

 

[ThunderHawk3]

1958 - Turn 8 - TJDS​

By 1958, the government felt that inequality had been reduced sufficiently but remained concerned about the general economic situation. Persistently high unemployment and a general lack of economic growth, along with rising inflation, concerned the government. The Prime Minister therefore directed the SEC to shift its focus to creating economic growth and jobs. However, it was not particularly clear how the SEC - which had originally been created to protect collective bargaining rights, safeguard organized labor, and facilitate dialogue between unions and businesses - was supposed to do either of these things. Inflation continued to rise.

[SEC modified to increase National Wealth and employment]

The Examplian government, desperate not to draw the ire of any foreign powers (particularly while it was so ill-prepared for anything like a war), almost immediately caved to the demands of the Emigres, promising to make whatever changes to the government they wanted so long as they would stop whipping up hostility towards Examplia in Moscow and Washington.

[Emigres Agitation removed; the Nemesis can change any stat he likes by 5.]

Examplia nationalized most of its transportation infrastructure, including not just roads, bridges, and tunnels, but railroads, bus services, dockyards, and ferries as well. The government then ordered these services expanded through massive government expenditure, to create economic growth and tamp down unemployment. This worked, but debt and inflation both rose precipitously.

[+10 State Power, +5 National Wealth, -5 Unemployment, +10 Debt, +10 Inflation]

1. Highways under construction in Examplia.​

*****


@Gen. Marshall - your turn.


Policies/disasters currently active:

Government:

1. State Education - Education, Military Loyalty/Quality, and Debt increase by (State Power/20)-1 every turn. Effectiveness modified by Corruption. Rounded up, minimum of +1.

2. FIIS - Crime and Corruption are reduced by State Power/20 each turn. State Power and debt are increased by the same. (rounded up)

3. SEC: (+5 inflation and +1 National Wealth, -1 Unemployment each turn)

4. Income Tax: lowers debt by State Power/10 every turn.

Nemesis:

1. (free)

2. (free)

3. (free)

Stats

Spoiler

# of government Orders/turn: 3
# of government Policy Slots: 4

Political

-Approval: 49
-Corruption: 30
-State Power: 62

Social

-Health: 30
-Education: 39
-Inequality: 9
-Crime: 4

Economic

-National Wealth: 45
-Debt: 38
-Unemployment: 18
-Inflation: 60

Military

-Quality: 39
-Quantity: 25
-Military Loyalty: 36

[Military Strength = Quality * Quantity/100, rounded up, btw]

Diplomatic

-International Hostility: 6
-Trade Relations: 50
-Foreign Influence: 45

Constitution:

Spoiler

Title of Leader: Prime Minister
Name of Nation: State of Examplia

Election Process: N/A
Ballots: N/A

Leader Term: 5 years
Term Limit: N/A
Removal Process Mid-Term: N/A
If Leader Dies/Is Removed: The other player becomes PM

Necessary Majority to Amend Constitution: Both players must agree.

Opposition Parties Allowed: Yes.
Can Purge/Kill Players: No.
Government Must Reveal Orders: No.

Nemesis Stats:

Spoiler

8 draws per turn
2 plays per turn
3 disaster slots

 

[ThunderHawk3]

1958 - Turn 8 - Nemesis​

As a concession to the emigres, the CUBE government agreed to reinstate military officers purged in the last investigation of the army, who emigres agitators claimed had been victims of a political purge. Anything to avoid drawing the ire of foreign countries, particularly Moscow.

[-5 Military Loyalty]

1. This picture has saved me a lot of time and effort.​

Perhaps not coincidentally, new rumors of a conspiracy in the military ranks began to circulate almost immediately thereafter. Was it Paranoia? Or something more sinister?

[Conspiracy in the Ranks military disaster played, for the second time]

At the same time, a new wave of people started to emigrate from Examplia, fleeing not shortages, high prices, or economic stagnation, as the Prime Minister had feared, but the rapidly expanding Examplian state. Some of these emigrants thought they saw oppression on the horizon. Would time prove them right?

Surrounding countries, mostly the Western bloc, were a bit annoyed at having to absorb this wave of migrants. They couldn't even be counted as defectors.

[Emigration Wave: Diplomatic, +6 International Hostility (increase International Hostility by one of several stats, Nemesis chose State Power)]

1. This is a pretty good picture too.​

*****


@TJDS - your turn again.


Policies/disasters currently active:

Government:

1. State Education - Education, Military Loyalty/Quality, and Debt increase by (State Power/20)-1 every turn. Effectiveness modified by Corruption. Rounded up, minimum of +1.

2. FIIS - Crime and Corruption are reduced by State Power/20 each turn. State Power and debt are increased by the same. (rounded up)

3. SEC: (+5 inflation and +1 National Wealth, -1 Unemployment each turn)

4. Income Tax: lowers debt by State Power/10 every turn.

Nemesis:

1. Conspiracy in the Ranks (disaster - Nemesis chooses when the card is laid to either make the conspiracy real or fictional. Each turn this card is in play, the government has a chance equal to military loyalty to find out if the conspiracy is real or fake. If the conspiracy is real, the Nemesis may choose to remove this card from play at some later time with an order. If he does, it causes -5 military loyalty for every turn it was in play. The government may expend an order up to once a turn to try to purge the conspiracy. If they do, they have a % chance equal to state power of purging the conspiracy. However, if they purge a false conspiracy, The Great Purge special unique disaster (which is probably the most powerful Nemesis card in the game) is added to the Nemesis' hand.)

2. (free)

3. (free)

Stats

Spoiler

# of government Orders/turn: 3
# of government Policy Slots: 4

Political

-Approval: 49
-Corruption: 30
-State Power: 62

Social

-Health: 30
-Education: 39
-Inequality: 9
-Crime: 4

Economic

-National Wealth: 45
-Debt: 38
-Unemployment: 18
-Inflation: 60

Military

-Quality: 39
-Quantity: 25
-Military Loyalty: 31

[Military Strength = Quality * Quantity/100, rounded up, btw]

Diplomatic

-International Hostility: 12
-Trade Relations: 50
-Foreign Influence: 45

Constitution:

Spoiler

Title of Leader: Prime Minister
Name of Nation: State of Examplia

Election Process: N/A
Ballots: N/A

Leader Term: 5 years
Term Limit: N/A
Removal Process Mid-Term: N/A
If Leader Dies/Is Removed: The other player becomes PM

Necessary Majority to Amend Constitution: Both players must agree.

Opposition Parties Allowed: Yes.
Can Purge/Kill Players: No.
Government Must Reveal Orders: No.

Nemesis Stats:

Spoiler

8 draws per turn
2 plays per turn
3 disaster slots

 

[ThunderHawk3]

1959 - Turn 9 - TJDS​

Rising inflation continued to worry the Prime Minister. In 1959, the CUBE government again altered the mandate of the Socio-Economic Council to halt the rise of inflation, making this the predominate mission of the Council, exceeding even encouraging economic growth. It remained unclear exactly how or why the SEC, a council originally designed to essentially protect union collective bargaining rights, would achieve this, but inflation did slow in 1959 - at least, until CUBE's income tax policies came down.

[SEC again modified, Social/Economic order]

1. Heck, why not use this picture for the SEC too? It's so useful and diverse.​

Spooked by rumors of military conspiracy, the government issued orders to begin to recruit large numbers of loyalists into the military at all ranks. The problem was, how to know who was loyal to Examplia and who wasn't? In the end, the policy ended up putting large numbers of party loyalists into the officer corps. Career military officials complained this would erode the quality of the armed forces, even if it made them larger and more loyal to the Prime Minister. It also cost money to arm the new soldiers, but not much - the Examplian army was relatively poorly equipped.

Critics argued this patronage in the armed forces amounted to state-sponsored corruption, but the FIIS insisted it saw no evidence of graft in the process.

[Military order: +5 Military Loyalty and Quantity, -5 Quality (Approval/10), also +5 debt (cost of 195=Quality*5)]

Last, the government decided it wanted to progressive the income tax and introduce a corporate income tax well below the EEC average. This proved to be a very popular policy, particularly with CUBE's working class supporters who saw tax cuts, and GDP spiked in 1959, but tax revenues did not meaningfully rise as a percent of the same after the introduction of the tax. Inflation also spiked, as did imports, apparently as a result. Government economists endeavored to explain why inflation had gone up - some hypothesized that Examplia had developed vague "structural" and "confidence" problems, others started talking about supply and demand in the capital and consumer accounts as possible explanations.

[Economics order: Income tax policy also amended. Also, one-time effects: +5 Approval, -2 Unemployment, +2 National Wealth, +8 Inflation, +2 Trade Relations] ((No one should ever let me evaluate economic policies. I get carried away...))




*****


@Gen. Marshall - your turn again.


Policies/disasters currently active:

Government:

1. State Education: Education, Military Loyalty/Quality, and Debt increase by (State Power/20)-1 every turn. Effectiveness modified by Corruption. Rounded up, minimum of +1.

2. FIIS: Crime and Corruption are reduced by State Power/20 each turn. State Power and debt are increased by the same. (rounded up)

3. SEC: (+3 inflation each turn)

4. Income Tax: lowers debt by State Power/10, and lowers inequality and raises inflation by State Power/20 every turn.

Nemesis:

1. Conspiracy in the Ranks (disaster - Nemesis chooses when the card is laid to either make the conspiracy real or fictional. Each turn this card is in play, the government has a chance equal to military loyalty to find out if the conspiracy is real or fake. If the conspiracy is real, the Nemesis may choose to remove this card from play at some later time with an order. If he does, it causes -5 military loyalty for every turn it was in play. The government may expend an order up to once a turn to try to purge the conspiracy. If they do, they have a % chance equal to state power of purging the conspiracy. However, if they purge a false conspiracy, The Great Purge special unique disaster (which is probably the most powerful Nemesis card in the game) is added to the Nemesis' hand.)

2. (free)

3. (free)

Stats

Spoiler

# of government Orders/turn: 3
# of government Policy Slots: 4

Political

-Approval: 54
-Corruption: 27
-State Power: 66

Social

-Health: 30
-Education: 41
-Inequality: 5
-Crime: 1

Economic

-National Wealth: 47
-Debt: 42
-Unemployment: 16
-Inflation: 75

Military

-Quality: 36
-Quantity: 30
-Military Loyalty: 38

[Military Strength = Quality * Quantity/100, rounded up, btw]

Diplomatic

-International Hostility: 12
-Trade Relations: 52
-Foreign Influence: 45

Constitution:

Spoiler

Title of Leader: Prime Minister
Name of Nation: State of Examplia

Election Process: N/A
Ballots: N/A

Leader Term: 5 years
Term Limit: N/A
Removal Process Mid-Term: N/A
If Leader Dies/Is Removed: The other player becomes PM

Necessary Majority to Amend Constitution: Both players must agree.

Opposition Parties Allowed: Yes.
Can Purge/Kill Players: No.
Government Must Reveal Orders: No.

Nemesis Stats:

Spoiler

8 draws per turn
2 plays per turn
3 disaster slots

 

[ThunderHawk3]

1959 - Turn 9 - Nemesis​

As inflation continued to rise unabated, the economy suffered a sharp slowdown in economic growth coupled with a rise in unemployment. Government ministers were worried. Could this be the start of something worse than before?

[Stagflation: Economic disaster, decrease National Wealth and increase Unemployment each turn by inflation/20. Remove when Inflation is below 50.]

1. While this Phillips curve is only peripherally related to stagflation, there really aren't a lot of great pictures of stagflation.​

Additionally, while the government seemed unconcerned by new rumors of a military conspiracy, they were taken aback when soldiers began to desert their posts. Military tribunals faulted poor discipline within the armed forces rather than conspiracy.

[Desertion: -6 Quantity (reduce Military Quantity by (100-Military Quality)/10)]

2. You know what? Now this is desertion, too. Bam.​

*****


@TJDS - your turn again.


Policies/disasters currently active:

Government:

1. State Education: Education, Military Loyalty/Quality, and Debt increase by (State Power/20)-1 every turn. Effectiveness modified by Corruption. Rounded up, minimum of +1.

2. FIIS: Crime and Corruption are reduced by State Power/20 each turn. State Power and debt are increased by the same. (rounded up)

3. SEC: (+3 inflation each turn)

4. Income Tax: lowers debt by State Power/10, and lowers inequality and raises inflation by State Power/20 every turn.

Nemesis:

1. Conspiracy in the Ranks (disaster - Nemesis chooses when the card is laid to either make the conspiracy real or fictional. Each turn this card is in play, the government has a chance equal to military loyalty to find out if the conspiracy is real or fake. If the conspiracy is real, the Nemesis may choose to remove this card from play at some later time with an order. If he does, it causes -5 military loyalty for every turn it was in play. The government may expend an order up to once a turn to try to purge the conspiracy. If they do, they have a % chance equal to state power of purging the conspiracy. However, if they purge a false conspiracy, The Great Purge special unique disaster (which is probably the most powerful Nemesis card in the game) is added to the Nemesis' hand.)

2. Stagflation: Economic disaster, decrease National Wealth and increase Unemployment each turn by inflation/20. Remove when Inflation is below 50.

3. (free)

Stats

Spoiler

# of government Orders/turn: 3
# of government Policy Slots: 4

Political

-Approval: 54
-Corruption: 27
-State Power: 66

Social

-Health: 30
-Education: 41
-Inequality: 5
-Crime: 1

Economic

-National Wealth: 43
-Debt: 42
-Unemployment: 20
-Inflation: 75

Military

-Quality: 36
-Quantity: 24
-Military Loyalty: 38

[Military Strength = Quality * Quantity/100, rounded up, btw]

Diplomatic

-International Hostility: 12
-Trade Relations: 52
-Foreign Influence: 45

Constitution:

Spoiler

Title of Leader: Prime Minister
Name of Nation: State of Examplia

Election Process: N/A
Ballots: N/A

Leader Term: 5 years
Term Limit: N/A
Removal Process Mid-Term: N/A
If Leader Dies/Is Removed: The other player becomes PM

Necessary Majority to Amend Constitution: Both players must agree.

Opposition Parties Allowed: Yes.
Can Purge/Kill Players: No.
Government Must Reveal Orders: No.

Nemesis Stats:

Spoiler

8 draws per turn
2 plays per turn
3 disaster slots

 

[ThunderHawk3]

I'm calling an early end to the test game to revise the way the Nemesis works. Here's the post-mortem: (After-Action Report?)

I think the government's order system worked okay. Maybe one or two things needed tweaking; the bigger problem was the Nemesis.

I can't let the Nemesis do whatever he wants, because then he'd be too powerful, but in the current system, the Nemesis has no ability to focus. A lot of turns, Gen. Marshall's biggest decision was which decks he wanted to draw from. After that, he pretty much just had to play whichever cards were legal to play (or weren't totally situationally inappropriate). This meant he was essentially playing mechanically and wasn't able to pursue his strategies.

Here's what I propose to fix this: the Nemesis' starting draws will be reduced back down to 4, but the Nemesis will have a persistent hand that carries over from turn to turn. To draw above his hand size (starting 7), he has to first discard a card before drawing. This will give the Nemesis the ability to develop a strategy and hold valuable cards that he can't immediately play instead of throwing them away at random.

I over-nerfed the Nemesis' single-use cards, particularly those that didn't affect critical stats, making them too weak to be useful. Conversely, some disasters were too powerful, but TJDS removed them almost immediately. Disasters need to be more difficult to remove. TJDS removed all of Gen. Marshall's disasters almost immediately. The only exception was Conspiracy in the Ranks, which was meant to be a card for a game with many players (and works differently in multiplayer).

The government needs single-use orders buffed a little, but otherwise worked well. In 9 turns (years) TJDS significantly centralized the state and basically eliminated crime and inequality in Examplia. Possibly this means government orders need to be nerfed in some ways, to make it harder to get stats all the way down to 0 or up to 100.

EDIT: Oh yeah, and government starting stats needed to be higher in some cases, eg: National Wealth.

@Gen. Marshall, @TJDS, if you have anything to add I'd love to hear it.

 

[Gen. Marshall]

I agree completely and wholeheartedly.

If there's anything I want to add, it's related to topics that haven't really been relevant yet, namely Trade Relations and International Hostility. Trade Relations seems to work completely opposite to what makes sense right now - I've seen cards that exploit a high Trade Relations, but none that exploit it being low. That suggests that the proper course of action for the government is to decrease Trade Relations... which seems very odd.

As for International Hostility, I feel like it might deserve a mechanic of its own. Ideally, it should be hard for the Nemesis to increase, and very hard for the government to reduce it - for example, they'd have to "give up lands" (State Power/Approval) or "pay reparations" (Debt) to get rid of it. If they don't, then another valid approach should be to increase Military Strength. If the government does neither of those things, then the Nemesis should gain access to a very powerful "War" card. Perhaps simulate the Military Strength of neighbouring countries as well? I haven't given this the thought it deserves, but at the same time I feel that the current mechanic is a bit lacking.

 

[TJDS]

I think Marshall's points are fair. Maybe also have International Hostility start above zero, since I did not have to worry about it at all. But this was a good game, thank you TH3.

 

[ThunderHawk3]

If there's anything I want to add, it's related to topics that haven't really been relevant yet, namely Trade Relations and International Hostility. Trade Relations seems to work completely opposite to what makes sense right now - I've seen cards that exploit a high Trade Relations, but none that exploit it being low. That suggests that the proper course of action for the government is to decrease Trade Relations... which seems very odd.

As for International Hostility, I feel like it might deserve a mechanic of its own. Ideally, it should be hard for the Nemesis to increase, and very hard for the government to reduce it - for example, they'd have to "give up lands" (State Power/Approval) or "pay reparations" (Debt) to get rid of it. If they don't, then another valid approach should be to increase Military Strength. If the government does neither of those things, then the Nemesis should gain access to a very powerful "War" card. Perhaps simulate the Military Strength of neighbouring countries as well? I haven't given this the thought it deserves, but at the same time I feel that the current mechanic is a bit lacking.

It's not that such cards didn't exist; it's that I invalidated them because TJDS joined the EEC and so on. For example, you might recall you drew the "Hermit Kingdom" diplomatic disaster once, but I said it was not applicable because it didn't make sense.

I feel expanding the role of certain secondary stats is very important. It's not just Trade Relations. How is health important? How about education? These stats almost never came up all game - though admittedly, Gen. Marshall wasn't drawing from the Social deck.

There is actually a war card in the Nemesis deck, which you actually drew once, Marshall - but at the time, International Hostility was 0. The problem with fleshing out International Hostility is all of the stats are sort of deliberately very simple.