Be a reporter for a day

The four things you protect as a Reporter

• 📰
  Scoops

  If Scoops reaches zero, your day ends early with “Scooped by everyone”. You had no story worth printing. The rival’s front page was your front page.

  23% of the choices in this role lower it, and 56% raise it.

• 🔍
  Accuracy

  If Accuracy reaches zero, your day ends early with “Printed a mistake”. Accuracy cracked and a correction ran under your name. The editor wants a word.

  17% of the choices in this role lower it, and 58% raise it.

• 🤝
  Sources

  If Sources reaches zero, your day ends early with “Lost your sources”. The people who trusted you stopped calling. The phone has never been so quiet.

  38% of the choices in this role lower it, and 35% raise it.

• ⚡
  Energy

  If Energy reaches zero, your day ends early with “Fell asleep at the keyboard”. Energy ran out and the screen was blank when the editor came by. The coffee machine understood.

  48% of the choices in this role lower it, and 35% raise it.

Tips for a better day as a Reporter

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 Reporter, the danger is rarely the big mistake. It is the quiet neglect of one meter.
2. Watch Energy most closely. In this role, 48% of choices lower it, which makes it the meter that slips away fastest. Accuracy 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 Reporter. 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 late-night call

   At 10 PM a source calls with a hot lead. You are exhausted, the edition closes at midnight and you have had no dinner.

   Chosen: “Hand it to a colleague”. A fair split. Your colleague is delighted.

   📰 Scoops +4🤝 Sources +4⚡ Energy +4

   The road not taken: “Promise to call back at 8 AM”. Polite and safe. The lead might go cold.

   Standing after this call: 📰 54 · 🔍 50 · 🤝 54 · ⚡ 54

2. 9:30 AM

   The long interview

   A famous author finally agrees to an interview, but only for twenty minutes and only about her new book.

   Chosen: “Stick to the book”. Smooth, safe and a little dull.

   🔍 Accuracy +4🤝 Sources +4⚡ Energy +4

   The road not taken: “Ask the questions you really want to ask”. She stiffens, then opens up. It is a good piece.

   Standing after this call: 📰 54 · 🔍 54 · 🤝 58 · ⚡ 58

3. 12:00 PM

   The exclusive, but unchecked

   A very senior official’s assistant hands you a “leaked” document. It would make the front page. You cannot tell if it is real.

   Chosen: “Show it to the official and ask for comment”. He is furious, then answers. A fair, sharper story.

   📰 Scoops +8🔍 Accuracy +8🤝 Sources −6⚡ Energy −6

   The road not taken: “Print it with a big headline”. The city talks about it all day. A small detail turns out to be wrong.

   Standing after this call: 📰 62 · 🔍 62 · 🤝 52 · ⚡ 52

4. 3:00 PM

   The source wants to stay hidden

   A nervous clerk gives you details about missing funds, but only if his name never appears. He is clearly scared.

   Chosen: “Promise full protection”. He relaxes and gives you more. You are now the keeper of a secret.

   📰 Scoops +8🔍 Accuracy +4🤝 Sources +13⚡ Energy −6

   The road not taken: “Offer to use his name for credibility”. He leaves. The story stays thin.

   Standing after this call: 📰 70 · 🔍 66 · 🤝 65 · ⚡ 46

5. 6:00 PM

   The headline fight

   The editor wants a headline that screams. Your story says “mixed results”. The headline says “DISASTER”.

   Chosen: “Offer a clever, accurate compromise”. The headline is sharp and true. The editor is quietly impressed.

   📰 Scoops +4🔍 Accuracy +8⚡ Energy −6

   The road not taken: “Let it go and move on”. Many clicks. A few angry emails.

   Standing after this call: 📰 74 · 🔍 74 · 🤝 65 · ⚡ 40

6. 9:00 PM

   The suspicious invitation

   A famous businessman invites you for a “private discussion”. His assistant says it will be “worth your while”.

   Chosen: “Politely decline”. Clear and safe. Your editor is proud.

   🔍 Accuracy +4🤝 Sources +4

   The road not taken: “Go and see what happens”. It is uncomfortable and a little revealing.

   Standing after this call: 📰 74 · 🔍 78 · 🤝 69 · ⚡ 40

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 anonymous tip. A caller says the new flyover is “cracking like a biscuit” and hangs up. You have one phone number, no name and a deadline.
• The exclusive, but unchecked. A very senior official’s assistant hands you a “leaked” document. It would make the front page. You cannot tell if it is real.
• The source wants to stay hidden. A nervous clerk gives you details about missing funds, but only if his name never appears. He is clearly scared.
• Breaking news at the station. A railway station is crowded and tense. Details are patchy and social media is full of rumours.
• The politician’s lunch. A local leader invites you to a very good lunch “to discuss the city”. The biryani is already on the table.
• The headline fight. The editor wants a headline that screams. Your story says “mixed results”. The headline says “DISASTER”.
• A photo that moves everyone. A freelance photographer has captured a heartbreaking picture of a flood-hit family. He wants a price and a credit.
• Correction needed. A reader writes to point out that yesterday’s story spelled a local doctor’s name wrongly and mixed up two clinics.
• The rival’s scoop. A rival paper breaks a big story you have been chasing for a week. Your editor looks at you in silence.
• The long interview. A famous author finally agrees to an interview, but only for twenty minutes and only about her new book.
• The press release. A company sends a glossy press release about “record growth”. It contains very few numbers and many adjectives.
• The late-night call. At 10 PM a source calls with a hot lead. You are exhausted, the edition closes at midnight and you have had no dinner.
• The school visit. A school asks you to talk to Class 8 about “how news is made”. They are lovely and they have many questions.
• The weather story. A storm is approaching. Everyone is writing about it. You could be the first to take a different angle.
• The suspicious invitation. A famous businessman invites you for a “private discussion”. His assistant says it will be “worth your while”.
• The lunch queue. You have thirty minutes for lunch before a big council meeting. The canteen has a long queue and a very good samosa.

Every ending (spoilers)