OFFICIAL RULES

OFFICIAL RULES OF THE CRAZY YEARS - A NATION SIMULATION GAME

First and foremost I'd like to thank Enrique (The Engineer) for his previous Balance of Power Games and for providing me with some assistance in developing the game mechanics.  They are what inspired me to go ahead with The Crazy Years.  I'd also like to thank Henry (TheVoice) and Ville (Dalak) for their assistance in finding accurate and detailed third party historical documents from the era.

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It's important that everyone knows that I'm the sole game master.  I'm the one who spends hours ensuring the game takes place with all of the associated research, so what I say ultimately goes - including the occasional shake up of minor details listed in these rules.  My role is to ensure that we have a fun, realistic and fair nation simulation experience.  In order to ensure this realism, I'll sometimes have to do things that you hadn't bargained for or simply don't like.  It will never ever be anything personal.  Saying that, I'm always very receptive to what you have to say - particularly regarding historical accuracy - so always know that you can approach me about anything.


GENERAL

In order to play The Crazy Years you must select a nation-state, rebellion, or side in a civil war which will hereafter be referred to as a faction. You hold executive power in your chosen faction and therefore role-play whoever is responsible for this – be they a King, President, Prime-Minister, General or Warlord.

The game takes place over turns with each turn representing three in-game months.  Every turn usually occurs over a week in real time and all of your actions should be made before the end of a turn.  Actions are everything that you wish to do and consist of absolutely anything you can think of – Including diplomacy, military affairs, research, internal politics and external politics

In order to make actions you must send them through a private message to me.  You will also receive your budget and research information through private message.  All other statistics are public.

The rules below give a brief introduction into the mechanics of the game and are intended as a guide rather than a holy scripture.  In many ways you make the rules in this game and therefore control your destiny.  Just remember that for every action there is a consequence and it's my job to ensure that these consequences are as realistic as possible.  Don't be surprised if things are not going the way you'd planned.  Be very satisfied with your actions when they do.


DIPLOMACY

The League of Nations or LN is an international organisation whose principal mission is to maintain world peace which includes preventing wars through collective security and disarmament, and settling international disputes through negotiation and arbitration. Countries will vote and interact in the LN according to their alignment, or their votes will be predetermined by random.org if unaligned.  The LN will act harshly against those with aggressive policies – so be warned.

Non-player controlled factions can be interacted with and interact back just like player controlled ones. They can align towards any major alliances or power, towards specific countries or be completely unaligned. Their alignment can shift with a change of government, improved relations or conflict.

You can improve the relations with a faction by giving them aid, investments, or through other forms of positive interaction.

If you invite a faction to join a formal defence pact it will cost 100 credits.  It will cost this even if the invitation is unsuccessful.


ECONOMICS

Countries have tax income comparable to population size and GDP.

All figures are expressed in credits, the virtual currency of the game.

Raise taxes and you will lose popularity amongst the group you are raising the taxes for.

Increase social programmes and your popularity will rise amongst the group which you are raising them for.

Lower taxes and your popularity will rise amongst the group you are lowering them for.

Growth means a positive or negative bonus at the end of every two turns depending on if you have positive or negative growth.

Positive growth will mean increased popularity, negative less.

Planned economies get a trade penalty, a consumption penalty but a heavy industrial bonus.

Market economies get a heavy industrial penalty but a trade bonus and a consumption bonus

Stimulating production with X amount of money may improve the short-term employment numbers and economic growth, but possibly worsen the long-term performance of the economy.

Reducing public expenditure may increase short-term unemployment and economic growth but possibly improve the long-term performance of the economy.

Reducing tariffs will increase trade but lower production

Increase tariffs will increase production but lower trade

If you want to make reforms then you have to specify them and they'll have effects, although they may radically alter your economy in the long term – possibly for the better or possibly for the worse.

A war economy - however limited - can severely affect long-term economic growth.


SOCIAL

Social programmes lower unrest and can also increase short-term economic growth and research speed, but can potentially affect industrial production negatively and long-term economic growth if too expansive.

Lowering social programmes to a minimum can adversely affect education and thus research speed.

Dictatorships are better at protecting research facilities from spies and saboteurs, but are worse at innovative or non-military research fields.

Democracies are worse at protecting research facilities from spies and saboteurs, but are better at innovative or non-military research fields.

Wars can increase social unity for defenders, but cause long term social unrest in the attacking nation if there is no just-cause.


RESEARCH

Research means the acquisition of new technologies.  You must set the focus of one research centre to the following areas where you can harvest new discoveries instead of focusing on the development of specific new technologies:

Infrastructure

Economics

Social sciences

Agriculture

Military (Encompassing all military branches)

Aviation Technology

Chemical Weapons

Physics

Innovation

Building a Research Centre: -500 credits

Setting the focus of a Research Centre: -50 credits

If you have a market or a mixed economic system, you can sell a research center too, for 250 credits.

New research categories may become available as time progresses.


INDUSTRY AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Increasing your industrial level means increased production and domestic income increases

You need to discover or buy at least 10 new infrastructure technologies to advance an industrial level

+1 Industrial level: -500 credits


MILITARY

Military characteristics create combat variety by acknowledging the inherent historical strengths and weaknesses of those fighting.

None: +0 aerial, +0 ground, +0 naval, 100% unit cost, 100% unit maintenance (special technique: none)

European, North American and Japanese: +3 aerial, +1 ground, +3 naval, 200% unit cost, 100% unit maintenance (special technique: firepower focus, offensive bonus)

Former Russian Empire: +1 aerial, +3 ground, -1 naval, 100% unit cost, 75% unit maintenance (special technique: numerical superiority focus, occupation bonus)

Partisans, Dissenters and Non-Conventional Forces: -1 aerial, -1 ground, -2 naval, 50% unit cost, 25% unit maintenance (special technique: stealth focus, defensive bonus)

Military characteristics can't be changed by choice but can change depending on actions taken throughout the game.  As time progresses, new categories may also develop depending on players actions.

Unit cost/Unit Maintenance Cost:

None: 50 credits/20 credits

European, North American and Japanese: 100 credits/20 credits

Former Russian Empire: 50 credits/15 credits

Partisans, Dissenters and Non-Conventional Forces: 25 credits/5 credits

It costs 250 credits to raise a military tech level and this can be done every time a research centre has successfully completed a round of military research.  Military Tech provides +1 attack, +1 defence and +1 speed per level.


COVERT

Covert operations can be extremely useful but there is no guarantee that they will occur as you hope.

Infiltrate Organisation: -25 credits

Create a civil organisation in another country: -50 credits

Create a political organisation in another country: -50 credits

Create armed organisation in another country: -100 credits

Assassinate leader: -200 credits

Sabotage Research Centre: -200 credits