Be a President or Prime Minister for a day

The four things you protect as a President

• 📈
  Economy

  If Economy reaches zero, your day ends early with “The economy collapsed”. Your treasury and markets failed together. By evening, your cabinet was looking at other job listings.

  29% of the choices in this role lower it, and 23% raise it.

• 🤝
  Trust

  If Trust reaches zero, your day ends early with “Citizens lost faith”. Public trust vanished. Crowds filled the capital and your motorcade took the back door.

  38% of the choices in this role lower it, and 42% raise it.

• 🌍
  Diplomacy

  If Diplomacy reaches zero, your day ends early with “Isolated on the world stage”. No ally returned your calls. Novaria became the country nobody wanted to sit next to at summits.

  29% of the choices in this role lower it, and 29% raise it.

• 🛡️
  Security

  If Security reaches zero, your day ends early with “Novaria was not safe”. Security failed. Emergency powers passed to the military before the night was over.

  17% of the choices in this role lower it, and 21% raise it.

Tips for a better day as a President

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 President, the danger is rarely the big mistake. It is the quiet neglect of one meter.
2. Watch Trust most closely. In this role, 38% of choices lower it, which makes it the meter that slips away fastest. Security is the most forgiving, with 17% 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 President. 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 leaked files

   A whistleblower has leaked documents showing the government monitored private messages without permission.

   Chosen: “Admit it and reform the rules”. It stings, but people respect honesty.

   🤝 Trust +15🌍 Diplomacy −5🛡️ Security −10

   The road not taken: “Prosecute the whistleblower”. The story gets bigger, and so does the protest.

   Standing after this call: 📈 50 · 🤝 65 · 🌍 45 · 🛡️ 40

2. 9:30 AM

   The insult

   A foreign leader insulted Novaria in a speech. Your advisers are drafting angry replies.

   Chosen: “Call them privately”. An apology that nobody announces and everybody knows.

   🌍 Diplomacy +10

   The road not taken: “Reply with a sharp speech”. Your people applaud. Foreign ministries tidy their desks.

   Standing after this call: 📈 50 · 🤝 65 · 🌍 55 · 🛡️ 40

3. 12:00 PM

   A new airport

   Contractors propose a giant new airport. It would boost trade and tourism, but it is very expensive.

   Chosen: “Approve it”. Cranes everywhere and a lot of debt.

   📈 Economy +15🤝 Trust +5🌍 Diplomacy +5

   The road not taken: “Reject it”. Savings now, and a lot of jokes about your small ambitions.

   Standing after this call: 📈 65 · 🤝 70 · 🌍 60 · 🛡️ 40

4. 3:00 PM

   Boats in your waters

   Fishing boats from a neighbouring country have crossed into Novarian waters, escorted by a navy ship.

   Chosen: “Send the navy to patrol”. The boats leave. Their government is not pleased.

   🤝 Trust +5🌍 Diplomacy −10🛡️ Security +15

   The road not taken: “Take it to an international council”. Forms are filed. The boats stay until lunch.

   Standing after this call: 📈 65 · 🤝 75 · 🌍 50 · 🛡️ 55

5. 6:00 PM

   A spy scandal

   A diplomat from a friendly country has been caught photographing a military site.

   Chosen: “Expel the diplomat quietly”. A cold, polite end to a warm evening.

   🌍 Diplomacy −5🛡️ Security +10

   The road not taken: “Make it public”. The press loves it. The embassy does not.

   Standing after this call: 📈 65 · 🤝 75 · 🌍 45 · 🛡️ 65

6. 9:00 PM

   A friendly country needs help

   A strong earthquake has hit a friendly neighbour. They ask for rescue teams and relief supplies.

   Chosen: “Send a large relief mission”. Planes full of supplies leave by noon. The thanks last for years.

   📈 Economy −10🤝 Trust +5🌍 Diplomacy +20

   The road not taken: “Keep out of it”. The budget is saved. The memory is not.

   Standing after this call: 📈 55 · 🤝 80 · 🌍 65 · 🛡️ 65

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.

• Boats in your waters. Fishing boats from a neighbouring country have crossed into Novarian waters, escorted by a navy ship.
• Fuel prices jump. Global oil prices spike overnight. Petrol stations have queues around the block.
• The big trade deal. At a global summit, a huge trade deal is on the table. It would boost exports, but it exposes your farmers to cheaper imports.
• Banks under attack. A cyber attack has frozen the country’s largest banks. A message demands payment in return for access.
• The midnight call. The national football team won the world cup at 2 AM. The captain is on the line, and the whole country is awake.
• The insult. A foreign leader insulted Novaria in a speech. Your advisers are drafting angry replies.
• The currency slides. Novaria’s currency has lost a tenth of its value in a week. Prices are creeping up.
• The general strike. The opposition has called a nationwide strike. Trains, schools and offices are expected to stop tomorrow.
• The leaked files. A whistleblower has leaked documents showing the government monitored private messages without permission.
• A friendly country needs help. A strong earthquake has hit a friendly neighbour. They ask for rescue teams and relief supplies.
• A heatwave and a blackout. A record heatwave has pushed Novaria’s power grid to the edge. Millions may lose electricity tonight.
• A spy scandal. A diplomat from a friendly country has been caught photographing a military site.
• The teachers’ march. Thousands of teachers are marching to the capital for better pay and fewer exam duties.
• A new airport. Contractors propose a giant new airport. It would boost trade and tourism, but it is very expensive.
• A refugee boat. A boat with 300 refugees from a war-torn country has arrived at your coast. They ask to land.
• The Nobel invitation. A famous scientist from Novaria wins a global prize. She wants to meet you, and says she has a harsh message about science funding.

Every ending (spoilers)