Rules
From Ludium
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[edit] How to Win
There are three ways to win the game.
1. Your district can pick one person to be nominee for Speaker. If your nominee is elected Speaker, your district becomes the cabinet and wins the Speaker Grand Prize, the Shining Star of Light.
2. Your district will get Influence Points (IPs) for creating Statements that become part of the platform for your region and for the nation as a whole. You can build your IPs by getting people to vote for your Statements, but also by sponsoring the Statements of other districts. The district with the most IPs at the end of the game wins the Influence Grand Prize, the Chalice of Saethryd. Exception: if this district also won the Speaker Grand Prize, the Chalice goes to the district with the next highest IP total.
3. Your district will acquire a War Chest of money through debates, deals, and side games. You can spend this War Chest in pursuit of objectives (1) and (2) above, or simply to influence the course of affairs for its own sake. But you can also keep your monies to the end of the game. The top 20 wealthiest districts (excluding the Grand Prize winners) will receive treasure sacks filled with prizes, with first pick going to the district with the biggest War Chest.
[edit] Statements, Voting, and Influence Points (IP)
Statements At the start of the game, each district takes an hour to make up 7 Statements that fit the criteria announced in advance by the Chair. At least 3 of these statements must belong to a sub-category of the district’s choice. For example, if a charity group wants to identify its core mission, delegates might propose simple statements of possible missions. A district’s list could be focused on the category “Feed the poor” with entries like “Open soup kitchen”, “Give out sandwiches”, and “Subsidize school lunches.” In addition, the district could have 4 general mission statements. The district will gain Influence Points (IPs) as these Statements make their way through the game. Each district that turns in its initial platform list more than 10 minutes before the first round ends will receive 1 crown.
Voting Three times during a day, delegates will receive a Statement Ballot, a sheet listing a large number of Statements. Each delegate has 10 votes to allocate to these Statements, one vote per Statement, no more and no less. Thus a delegate may allocate up to 7 votes to his own district’s Statements, but must assign at least 3 votes to the Statements of other districts. The delegates will have one hour to make these decisions. Negotiation and vote-trading is encouraged. At the end of the hour, all Statement Ballots must be turned in to the Scorekeeper for counting. Statements that receive no votes are removed from the game and their sponsoring districts are allowed to pay 5 crowns to replace them with a new platform. The surviving Statements are reported back to the delegates in order of vote percentage.
On Day One, the Statement Ballot contains all Statements proposed by districts within the delegate’s region. On Day Two, it contains the top ten Statements from each region. Day One votes are for the regional platform. Day Two votes are for the national platform. The final vote on Day Two determines the official platform of the nation. Day Two begins with delegates presenting to the judges their initial votes for the national platform as well as any platform changes that were made overnight.
[edit] Influence Points
Every Statement will receive a certain percentage of the votes cast. For each full percentage point, rounded up, 1 IP is added to the creating district’s IP total. A district will also receive IPs if its members become Advisors to nominees for Speaker. See “The Race for Speaker,” below.
[edit] Sponsorship, Amendments, and Mergers
A district may sponsor up to five Statements of other districts. Both districts must agree to the sponsorship and jointly report it to the Chair. A sponsor receives IPs just as if it had created the Statement itself. The IPs are received only for votes happening after the sponsorship is reported to the Chair. A sponsorship may be removed at any time, again by reporting to the Chair.
A district may amend the wording of one of its Statements at any time. If the Statement is sponsored by other districts, all districts must agree on the new wording. The new wording is not considered official until it is reported to the Chair. The Chair may reject proposed amendments if they fundamentally alter the original meaning. An amended Statement rejected in this way may become a new Statement for the district, replacing the old one for the cost of 1 crown.
Two or more districts may merge two Statements by using these rules. The two districts agree on an amended wording of one district’s statement. Then the other district becomes a sponsor of the amended Statement. The two original Statements are discarded.
[edit] Debates
When the main stage is not otherwise occupied by convention business, the Chair will allow delegates to take the stage to engage in debates. In a debate, one delegate (A) will argue in favor of a certain Statement, while the other (B) will argue against it. Two delegates may request to engage in a debate by reporting to the Chair. The Chair may accept or reject the proposed debate. If accepted, the debate is turned over to the Stage Manager for scheduling. The scheduled order of all debates is at the discretion of the Stage Manager.
Each debate will last 12 minutes: Three minutes each for A – B – A – B.
When the debate is over, Judges will call for an acclamation vote by the audience. The winner receives 10 crowns. The loser receives 2 crowns.
If the stage is empty, the Chair may call specific districts to a debate. When called to a debate, the district must select one delegate as its debater. They will be informed of the debate topic and the opponent, and will have 15 minutes to prepare. Districts that fail to appear will be fined 5 crowns.
In addition to debates, a district may pay 5 crowns to hold a press conference on any issue. At such an event, one individual from the district must give a prepared speech of no more than 5 minutes and then answer questions from the audience for at least 5 minutes. At the end of this period, an acclamation vote of the reporters will determine whether or not the sponsoring district will receive an IP award. The judges will decide how many IP, if any, to award based on crowd response. Press conferences will also appear in the broadsheet in some format.
[edit] The Race for Speaker
At the start of the game, each district picks one member as its Speaker Nominee. On Day One, delegates from each region will select one of these district nominees as the Regional Nominee. On Day Two, delegates from all regions will select one of the Regional Nominees as the Speaker for the entire group.
On Day One, a series of straw polls is held within each region to determine relative popularity of each nominee. Straw polls are announced from the main stage by the Chair, and the four corners of the convention floor will be designated as the location of the straw poll for each region (Thalo, Palvi, Sysland, and Aroland). When announced, all delegates from a given region should assemble in the designated corner. Accompanied by a Judge, the district nominees will take turns giving speeches to the crowd from a suitable platform (ladder, chair, soapbox, etc.). The speeches last no more than two minutes. After the speeches, the Judge will call for acclamation of each nominee. The nominee who receives the loudest acclamation wins 10 crowns for his or her district’s War Chest. Second place wins 5 crowns. Third place wins 2 crowns.
At the end of Day One, a roll call vote is held within each region to determine the Regional Speaker Nominee. A Judge will call out the names of each district in the region in turn. The district must then report which nominee they support. If they have not reached a majority of support within their district for any one nominee, they may pass once. When called a second time, a district that does not have majority support for any one candidate is considered an “Abstain.” If the majority of delegates from a district votes for a given nominee, then that nominee receives one vote in the Regional Speaker Nominee election.
The nominee with the most district votes wins the regional election. If no nominee has support from more than 30 percent of the districts, a second ballot is held. Nominees may, at their sole discretion, drop out between ballots. Balloting continues until at least one nominee has received a majority vote in at least 30 percent of the districts in the region. The Regional Nominee receives 20 crowns for his or her district’s War Chest.
At the beginning of Day Two, each Regional Nominee reports to the Chair the membership of his or her Cabinet. The Cabinet includes all members of the nominee’s district, plus up to two Advisors chosen at will. A district whose delegate becomes an Advisor to a Regional Nominee receives 10 Influence Points. A district whose delegate becomes an Advisor to the elected Speaker receives 30 Influence Points.
Each Nominee / Cabinet group then has 10 minutes on the main stage to make a brief introductory statement to the convention. After these presentations, an acclamation vote is conducted. The winner receives 20 crowns; second, third, and fourth place receive 15, 10, and 5 crowns respectively.
After lunch on Day Two, each Regional Nominee makes a formal 20-minute speech to the convention.
After these speeches, a roll call vote is held. The Chair will call out the names of each district in turn. The district must then report to the floor which nominee they support. If they have not reached a majority of support for any one nominee, they may pass once. When called a second time, a district that does not have majority support for any one candidate is considered an “Abstain.”
The office of Speaker is awarded to the nominee with support from the most districts, so long as there is support from more than 50 percent of the districts. If none of the nominees receives support from at least 50 percent of the districts, additional ballots are held until this condition is achieved. Nominees may, at their sole discretion, drop out between ballots.
[edit] News
Some players will be designated as Reporters. Reporters will roam the convention floor, seeking news about Statements, votes, sponsorships, arguments, shady deals, etc. News will be reported in two streams. Papers will print lists of news blurbs and vote counts, with date/time stamps, and will be available in limited quantities on the convention floor. Elsewhere on the floor, scrolling broadcasts of similar material will be viewable on screens at two TV stations.
While Reporters will collect News at will, they may also accept bribes of 2 crowns from district War Chests to reveal information or to place items in the News stream. Reporters, as a group, are eligible for Sacks of Treasure at the end of the game.
No rights of privacy are assumed. Any and all actions, occurring anywhere and at any time during the game, may be freely reported in the News.
[edit] Secret Agents
Approximately 1 in 20 delegates will be selected at random to play the role of Agents for the occupied region of Koithuo. This region has been dispossessed of all power by its neighbors, and its citizens understandably desire some influence over the affairs of the nation. They have therefore secretly infiltrated their own Agents into the delegate pools of the other regions.
The Agents of Koithuo represent a special kind of district. Their role is to give the Chair some influence on the subject matter of the convention’s deliberations. They do not generate a platform of 10 Statements at the start of the game; rather, their platform is given to them in advance, and secretly, by the Chair. The Agents are then allocated to the other four regions, just as if they were normal delegates. However, in secret, the Agents’ mission is to work within the other regions to place the Koithuo Statements on the national Platform. Koithuo’s Agents may also attempt to be selected as Advisors or Speaker Nominees.
If, at the end of the game, a final Platform Statement is found to be the same or very nearly the same as a Statement on the Koithuo Platform, then all IPs awarded to that Statement in the course of the game are added to the total IPs of the Agents of Koithuo. If the Agents accumulate the most IP, then Koithuo wins the Chalice of Saethryd. If an Agent is elected Speaker, then Koithuo wins the Shining Star of Light. The Agents may pool any War Chest funds in their physical possession at the end of the game and use them to select a Sack of Treasure for themselves.
[edit] War Chests
See Price Sheet
Each district begins with a War Chest of 10 crowns. They will win more funds for the War Chest from time to time. These funds will be paid in physical tokens and must be given to individual people to hold. At the end of the game, all accounting will be based on physical possession of the tokens alone. Each district will have to make decisions about how to allocate its War Chest funds when they are received. If no agreement can be reached, Judges will enforce a default rule of equal division with any excess fractions going to the district’s nominee.
[edit] Special Powers
Certain players and districts are eligible for Special Powers, which may be used to affect vote scores and IPs. To apply a Special Power, report your use to the Chair. The Chair verifies proper use and then updates scores accordingly.
• Speaker Addition. The Speaker of each district may add a statement to their district’s platform at the end of day one. The final Speaker has the same power at the end of the second day, but must veto a statement if they exercise this power.
• Liberty of Thalo. Districts in the Thalo region may apply the Liberty of Thalo bonus to any one of their own Statements. The Statement must involve issues of individual rights, freedoms, or powers. That Statement receives a bonus of 2 IP in all subsequent vote tallies.
• Sysland Engineering. Districts in the Sysland region may apply the Sysland Engineering bonus to any one of their own Statements. The Statement must involve issues of engineering, strategy, design, or technology. That Statement receives a bonus of 2 IP in all subsequent vote tallies.
• Riches of Aroland. Districts in the Aroland region may apply the Riches of Aroland bonus to any one of their own Statements. The Statement must involve issues of business, industry, markets, profits, or the economy. That Statement receives a bonus of 2 IP in all subsequent vote tallies.
• Palvi Practicality. Districts in the Palvi region may apply the Palvi Practicality bonus to any one of their own Statements. The Statement must express an idea that can be implemented immediately, involves no controversy, or is obviously feasible. That Statement receives a bonus of 2 IP in all subsequent vote tallies.
[edit] Judges
All judging will be done by acclaim or a panel of reporters. Judges have the following powers:
• Challenges. Judges can challenge two players to debate a topic on the central stage in return for crowns.
• Powers. Judges can award powers to districts for any reason.
• Bribes. Judges can bribe districts for any reason.
• Heckling. Judges may heckle any debaters if they feel they are not adequately representing a position.
