Be a judge for a day

The four things you protect as a Judge

• ⚖️
  Justice

  If Justice reaches zero, your day ends early with “A shaky judgment”. Justice slipped and a hasty decision was overturned. You spent the evening rereading the file.

  25% of the choices in this role lower it, and 52% raise it.

• 🏛️
  Public trust

  If Public trust reaches zero, your day ends early with “The public lost faith”. Trust faded and the gallery stopped coming. The court felt very quiet.

  23% of the choices in this role lower it, and 60% raise it.

• 🔨
  Order

  If Order reaches zero, your day ends early with “The list collapsed”. Order broke and the day dissolved into adjournments. The clerk went home with a headache.

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

• 🕊️
  Mercy

  If Mercy reaches zero, your day ends early with “A heartless day”. Mercy ran out and every case felt like a number. Even the pigeon looked disappointed.

  31% of the choices in this role lower it, and 44% raise it.

Tips for a better day as a Judge

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 a Judge, the danger is rarely the big mistake. It is the quiet neglect of one meter.
2. Watch Mercy most closely. In this role, 31% of choices lower it, which makes it the meter that slips away fastest. Public trust is the most forgiving, with 23% 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 a Judge. 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 press at the door

   A reporter wants a comment on a famous case. Your clerk says a short statement could “calm everyone down”.

   Chosen: “Say nothing and let the judgment speak”. Dignified and slightly dull.

   ⚖️ Justice +2🏛️ Public trust +2🔨 Order +2

   The road not taken: “Hold a press conference”. The corridor fills with microphones.

   Standing after this call: ⚖️ 52 · 🏛️ 52 · 🔨 52 · 🕊️ 50

2. 9:30 AM

   The mango dispute

   Two neighbours are fighting over a mango tree whose branches hang over both gardens. They have brought a basket of evidence. It is mostly mangoes.

   Chosen: “Rule that the fruit is shared equally”. A fair compromise. Both are annoyed, which is a good sign.

   ⚖️ Justice +6🏛️ Public trust +2🔨 Order +2🕊️ Mercy +2

   The road not taken: “Rule by the boundary line”. Strict, technical and correct. One neighbour looks wounded.

   Standing after this call: ⚖️ 58 · 🏛️ 54 · 🔨 54 · 🕊️ 52

3. 12:00 PM

   A letter from a friend

   An old friend writes to ask you, very kindly, to “take a look” at a case before you. The letter is polite and has a small cheque inside.

   Chosen: “Return the letter and the cheque”. Clean and stiff.

   ⚖️ Justice +6🏛️ Public trust +6🕊️ Mercy −5

   The road not taken: “Ignore it”. A small chill goes down your spine.

   Standing after this call: ⚖️ 64 · 🏛️ 60 · 🔨 54 · 🕊️ 47

4. 3:00 PM

   The loud lawyer

   A lawyer shouts at the other side and talks over you. The public gallery is enjoying the show.

   Chosen: “Warn him once, calmly”. The room settles. He nods stiffly.

   🏛️ Public trust +2🔨 Order +6

   The road not taken: “Let him finish”. He talks for twenty minutes. The list falls behind.

   Standing after this call: ⚖️ 64 · 🏛️ 62 · 🔨 60 · 🕊️ 47

5. 6:00 PM

   A difficult sentence

   A first-time offender has taken a small sum from his employer to pay a medical bill. He has returned the money and wept.

   Chosen: “Suspended sentence with conditions”. Fair, firm and kind.

   ⚖️ Justice +6🏛️ Public trust +2🔨 Order +2🕊️ Mercy +6

   The road not taken: “Short sentence to set an example”. Strict and by the book.

   Standing after this call: ⚖️ 70 · 🏛️ 64 · 🔨 62 · 🕊️ 53

6. 9:00 PM

   A case about a stolen bicycle

   A young man took a neighbour’s bicycle to get to a job interview. He returned it two days later with a new bell.

   Chosen: “Order a small fine and an apology”. A fair, light touch.

   ⚖️ Justice +2🏛️ Public trust +2🔨 Order +2🕊️ Mercy +6

   The road not taken: “Give a strict punishment”. Correct and cold.

   Standing after this call: ⚖️ 72 · 🏛️ 66 · 🔨 64 · 🕊️ 59

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 mango dispute. Two neighbours are fighting over a mango tree whose branches hang over both gardens. They have brought a basket of evidence. It is mostly mangoes.
• A very long adjournment. A lawyer asks for the fifth adjournment in a case about a lost umbrella. The court list is already late.
• The late witness. A key witness arrives two hours late, soaked by rain. She says the bus stopped halfway.
• The loud lawyer. A lawyer shouts at the other side and talks over you. The public gallery is enjoying the show.
• A case about a stolen bicycle. A young man took a neighbour’s bicycle to get to a job interview. He returned it two days later with a new bell.
• The press at the door. A reporter wants a comment on a famous case. Your clerk says a short statement could “calm everyone down”.
• The tired clerk. Your clerk has been sorting papers for fourteen hours. He drops a file and says “I am so sorry, Your Honour”.
• A very small crime. A man is accused of taking a coconut from a temple fruit stall. He says he was hungry. The stall owner wants him jailed.
• The famous face in the gallery. A well-known film star sits in the front row because the case concerns her car. Everyone is watching you, not her.
• A difficult sentence. A first-time offender has taken a small sum from his employer to pay a medical bill. He has returned the money and wept.
• The missing file. An important file has vanished from the clerk’s office. Three people say they saw it yesterday. Nobody has it now.
• The new law student. A shy law student asks to sit beside you for the day. She has a notebook and a very serious expression.
• The shared driveway. Two families cannot agree who owns a shared driveway. One has a legal map. The other has a very old photograph of a goat on the same spot.
• A letter from a friend. An old friend writes to ask you, very kindly, to “take a look” at a case before you. The letter is polite and has a small cheque inside.
• The heat wave. The ceiling fan has died, the courtroom is stifling and everyone is sweating. The list is still long.
• The settlement offer. A big company offers a quiet settlement to a farmer whose field flooded because of a poorly built drain. The offer is fair but secret.

Every ending (spoilers)