Be an engineer for a day

The four things you protect as an Engineer

• 🦺
  Safety

  If Safety reaches zero, your day ends early with “The bridge was closed”. Safety broke down. An inspector shut the site until further notice.

  25% of the choices in this role lower it, and 60% raise it.

• ⏰
  Schedule

  If Schedule reaches zero, your day ends early with “Missed the deadline by months”. The schedule slipped so far that the ribbon-cutting turned into an apology.

  42% of the choices in this role lower it, and 33% raise it.

• 💸
  Budget

  If Budget reaches zero, your day ends early with “Out of money”. The budget vanished. The half-built bridge now ends neatly in the middle of the river.

  40% of the choices in this role lower it, and 10% raise it.

• 🧰
  Team

  If Team reaches zero, your day ends early with “An empty site”. The crew walked out. The crane stood alone against the sunset.

  31% of the choices in this role lower it, and 42% raise it.

Tips for a better day as an Engineer

1. Do not chase one number. In every role, a day with all four meters between 50 and 70 beats a day with one meter at 95 and another at 10. As an Engineer, the danger is rarely the big mistake. It is the quiet neglect of one meter.
2. Watch Schedule most closely. In this role, 42% of choices lower it, which makes it the meter that slips away fastest. Safety is the most forgiving, with 25% of choices lowering it.
3. Read your advisors as opinions, not answers. Each one backs the option that helps the meters they care about, so when they disagree, ask which meter you can least afford to lose today.
4. Look for the choice that gives you something back. Many of the best options cost one meter a little and help two others. The tempting “easy” option often costs more than it seems.
5. Remember that choices can come back. A decision in the morning may return as a follow-up situation later in the day, so a quick fix early on can be expensive at six in the evening.

A sample day, step by step

Here is one example of how a careful player might get through a day as an Engineer. It uses six of the sixteen situations, picks the option with the best overall balance each time, and shows what each choice did. Your own day will be different, because situations are drawn at random and some choices bring follow-ups later.

1. 7:00 AM

   The sleeping supervisor

   The night supervisor was found asleep on the job. He has three children and two jobs.

   Chosen: “Talk to him and adjust his shifts”. He is grateful and wide awake the next night.

   🦺 Safety +5🧰 Team +10

   The road not taken: “Pretend you did not see”. Nothing happens. For now.

   Standing after this call: 🦺 55 · ⏰ 50 · 💸 50 · 🧰 60

2. 9:30 AM

   Wages are late

   Workers are on strike because last week’s wages have not been paid. The crane operator is sitting on his helmet.

   Chosen: “Pay from the contingency fund”. They return. The contingency fund does not.

   ⏰ Schedule +5💸 Budget −15🧰 Team +15

   The road not taken: “Promise payment next week”. They have heard that before.

   Standing after this call: 🦺 55 · ⏰ 55 · 💸 35 · 🧰 75

3. 12:00 PM

   A late design change

   The client wants the bridge railing redesigned, with decorative lamps, three weeks before the deadline.

   Chosen: “Refuse”. The client is unhappy and the schedule is intact.

   🦺 Safety +5⏰ Schedule +5💸 Budget +5

   The road not taken: “Accept it”. The result will be beautiful. The schedule groans.

   Standing after this call: 🦺 60 · ⏰ 60 · 💸 40 · 🧰 75

4. 3:00 PM

   A very good idea

   A young worker suggests a different way to join two parts of the bridge. It might save a week.

   Chosen: “Test it carefully”. It takes a day, and it works.

   🦺 Safety +5⏰ Schedule +10🧰 Team +10

   The road not taken: “Politely refuse”. Safe, and the worker goes quiet.

   Standing after this call: 🦺 65 · ⏰ 70 · 💸 40 · 🧰 85

5. 6:00 PM

   The cheaper cement

   A supplier offers cement at half the price. It is slightly below the required grade, “but nobody will ever know”.

   Chosen: “Reject it”. The proper cement arrives later and costs more. The bridge says thank you.

   🦺 Safety +15⏰ Schedule −5💸 Budget −10

   The road not taken: “Accept it”. The budget loves it. The bridge has doubts.

   Standing after this call: 🦺 80 · ⏰ 65 · 💸 30 · 🧰 85

6. 9:00 PM

   A rare bird

   A rare bird has nested on a pillar. An environmental volunteer asks you to stop work for three weeks.

   Chosen: “Ignore the request”. A news story is born.

   ⏰ Schedule +10💸 Budget +5🧰 Team −10

   The road not taken: “Stop and work around it”. The bird is delighted, the schedule is not.

   Standing after this call: 🦺 80 · ⏰ 75 · 💸 35 · 🧰 75

Situations you may face

Every game uses six of these sixteen situations, so you will not meet them all in one day. There are also 4 follow-up situations that return after specific choices and 3 surprises that can appear without warning.

• The cheaper cement. A supplier offers cement at half the price. It is slightly below the required grade, “but nobody will ever know”.
• The minister’s photo. A minister is visiting tomorrow for a photo at the “nearly finished” bridge. It is not nearly finished.
• Rain on the way. The forecast says heavy rain tomorrow. You are meant to pour a major section today.
• The crack that was almost missed. A junior engineer points out a thin crack in one of the pillars. Everyone else walked past it.
• Wages are late. Workers are on strike because last week’s wages have not been paid. The crane operator is sitting on his helmet.
• A late design change. The client wants the bridge railing redesigned, with decorative lamps, three weeks before the deadline.
• The design software. A new tool can automatically check your structural calculations for errors. Your team worries it will replace them.
• Heatwave. Temperatures hit 44°C. Two workers feel dizzy on the high platform and the schedule is tight.
• The sleeping supervisor. The night supervisor was found asleep on the job. He has three children and two jobs.
• The safety certificate. Your boss asks you to sign the final safety certificate today, before the last inspection, “just to meet the deadline”.
• A visiting school group. A class of schoolchildren wants to see the bridge site. Their teacher says they will be “very careful”.
• Missing steel. A delivery of steel bars arrived 20% short. The supplier says it is a counting error.
• A rare bird. A rare bird has nested on a pillar. An environmental volunteer asks you to stop work for three weeks.
• A very good idea. A young worker suggests a different way to join two parts of the bridge. It might save a week.
• The local festival. A local festival is planned right next to the site. The organisers want to use your road for a procession.
• A broken generator. The main generator died at 4 PM. The night shift is due and the next pour is at midnight.

Every ending (spoilers)