FAQ

Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about how to play Worldsim, if you have other questions let me know in the comments or by e-mail and I will expand this.  Also I recommend reading the "Game Rules" post, that I put up previously.

Q. What is a "minimum" what is the consequence of having a resource below its minimum at the end of a turn?

A. "Minimums" represent the lowest amount of a given resource that your country must have to avoid political consequences, or a decrease in the standard of living. The exact consequences will depend on the country, the resource, how far below the minimum it is, as well as other current events. For example being 1 unit below the minimum for edibulls does not necessarily mean that people will starve. It may mean that food prices increase, which could lead to rioting, which could cause a decrease in productivity and make other resources more expensive in the next round.

Q. Is there any advantage to being above the "minimum" for a resource?

A. There are many reasons why you may want to buy or trade for resources above your minimums. For the tradable resources (edibulls, scrapdus, blista, greeslik, krust, finosh), having above the minimums represents saving for the future. So if you think a resource will become more expensive to produce, or more difficult to trade for in future rounds, you may want to stock up on it by buying above your minimum.

Buying R&D above minimum just means that you have more to allocate towards research and intelligence.

Players will also often buy other nontradable resources (treasury, economy, people, health, culture) above minimum. Remember that the minimum is just the lowest amount that must be present to avoid political consequences or a decrease in the standard of living. Staying at the minimum means maintaining the status-quo. Buying above minimums (making sure to also include a textual description of what that purchase represents) will (most likely) result in an increase in the standard of living in the country. This will probably mean that the minimum for future turns will increase to the new level as people become accustomed to the new higher standard of living, but that is often a good thing.

Q. How do I know which resources to allocate towards a specific project?

A. If there is a nontradable resource (treasury, economy, people, health, culture) that seems related to the policy you have in mind, buy that resource as part of the policy. If you dont want to spend as many points as it takes to buy that resource, then just allocate points, in fact most policies can be made more effective, to some extent, by allocating points (in effect, throwing money at the problem). If the policy involves spying, counter-spying, conducting internal investigations (opinion polls, censuses, reports on the eductation system, etc.) use R&D. If the policy involves deploying the national guard or sending troops out of the country, create a "military action" in the military window.

Q. How specific should I be in describing policies and R&D

A. Short-answer: as specific as you can be.

Longer answer: The descriptions you provide are used to determine the consequences of your policies, and to determine whether or not your country has the capability to execute the policy effectively with the resources you have allocated towards it. Basically your job is to convince me that your policy will do what you say it will, and won't have any bad side effects. If you are too vague, I will have to make assumptions, which may or may not work out in your favor.

Q. Why is the minimum level for troops always at or above the total number that my country posesses?

A. Sending troops abroad always results in political consequences of some form or another. The severity of these consequences can obviously greatly vary depending on the unique situation of the country, and the rewards may or may not be worth the risk, but no country can send thousands of its most able bodied citizens out of the country and not expect to have any consequences back home.

A minimum troop level above the total number of troops your country posesses is generally bad news, and will usually only happen in times of extreme unrest, civil war, or invasion.

Q. How do I get more points?

A. Every round, you should set tax policies in the "Taxes" window. A tax policy consists of a name, a description, and a target revenue. The name can be whatever you want it to be. In the description, you should describe the tax in as much detail as you can (is it a sales tax, an individual income tax, a corporate income tax etc., are there different brackets, are there any groups that are exempt, etc.)

Target Revenue indicates the number of points that will be added to your points pool between this round and next round. There is no one single way to increase the amount you can tax your people, it is dependent on a wide array of factors, such as technology, type of government, GDP, population, abundance of natural resources, policies/laws that have been enacted, etc... If your taxes are too low, you risk not being able to afford critical resources and policies, if too high, you risk angering your people and/or hindering economic growth.

The number of points you started out the first turn with is a "reasonable" number to tax based on the initial state of your country, but can certainly be adjusted. As the game progresses, the state of your economy will inevitably change, and taxes should be adjusted turn by turn accordingly.

Q. Are there any other uses for taxes than for generating income for my country?

A. Yes! Countries often use taxes as a way to manipulate the spending behavior of citizens. So if you want to try to get your people to smoke fewer cigarettes or drink fewer martinis you can enact cigarette or martini taxes. If you aren't particularly concerned with how much revenue these taxes generate, you can enter "0" for target revenue. You can also use the "Taxes" window for tax rebates and tax exemptions, for such policies enter negative numbers (or zero) for "Target Revenue". These kinds of policies can also be entered in the "Policies" window if you want, or if the mechanics seem more applicable/convenient for what you're trying to do.

Q. Do all policies need points spent on them, is it helpful to spend other kinds of units?

A. Not all policies require points. If the nature of the policy is such that it costs no money to enact or enforce, or if existing government structures can be expected to carry it out, then you don't need to allocate any points. Indeed it is not impossible for a policy to actually generate points, again depending on the nature and wording of that specific policy. Large, expensive projects benefit from having Treasury units spent on them. Even though Points and Treasury are the primary units used to finance policies, if it makes sense for a particular policy, other types of units may be spent as well.

Q. Whats up with R&D ?

A. R&D is unique among resources. All of it can and should be allocated every turn, but it does not go away when allocated, or count against your minimum. Keep in mind that the technology level at the start of the game is ~ where technology was in the first few decades of the 1800's, and any technology past those levels must either be researched or bought from another country. R&D can also be used to spy on other countries. In addition to R&D units, allocating points can also help research.

UPDATE: 1/27/13

Q. How does technology spread?
The most direct way to obtain a technology is to research it yourself.  Make a policy and allocate R&D and perhaps other resources.  You can also attempt to steal technology from another country, again with a policy allocating R&D.  To prevent technology from being stolen, a country can allocate R&D to counterespionage and make policies intended to make the spread of technology more difficult.  Note that the more widely a technology is used within a country the harder it will be to keep that technology from spreading to other countries.  For example, a military technology used only in a few factories will be much easier to keep secret than a manufacturing technique used in every factory in the country.  Countries will also obtain technology passively.  If multiple countries possess a technology and are not all actively trying to prevent its spread, then other countries may pick it up without having to research it or steal it.  Countries can also trade technology through treaties.
A. Note that there is a difference between having the capability for a technology and actually applying it.  For example, just knowing how to make a steam locomotive does not automatically mean your country is covered with rail infrastructure.  To build rail infrastructure you should buy points in “Economy” and write a policy to describe the building of the railways.

Q. What does it mean if my country is “mobilized”?
A. At the start of the game, many countries are mobilized for war.
Mobilizing means summoning military reservists, making troops ready to deploy, and shifting a nation’s economy to prioritize support for the military.  For example, prioritizing the use of transportation infrastructure for moving troops, and war supplies, refitting factories to produce weapons, and preparing hospitals to accept large numbers of war casualties.  Mobilizing for war makes a country’s military far more effective, but mobilization is expensive to initiate and maintain.

Q. Is the world round?
A. Based on geometric calculations, most scientists believe that the world is round, but this hypothesis has not been proven.