September 2004 Cabinet

[cavebear]

September Cabinet:


Consul -

Foreign Minister -
Minister of War -
Minister of Science -
Minister of Trade -
City Planner -

[Daddy-O]

Ben? This droid said that he once belonged an Obiwan. Do you know him?


Um Sparrow and Kenobi sent me.

[cavebear]

The recommendation of Sparrowhawk and Ben Kenobi is valued...

[Ben Kenobi]

So pick a spot.

And where is Sparrow?

[Ben Kenobi]

I'm nominating myself for the position of Consul.

[Daddy-O]

First of all which Cabinet thread should we be in, "September 2004 Cabinet" or "September Cabinet"?

Next is there a quick rules set for Demo games that I could read up on? An old thread?

My pick. Give me science or trade.

[Ben Kenobi]

First of all which Cabinet thread should we be in, "September 2004 Cabinet" or "September Cabinet"?

The topped thread.

As for the rules, best advice is to dig through the forum, looking at the threads for our rules.

We don't have a constitution, which has served us well in the past, because it allows us to make changes should an issue arise, and it means that we don't spend endless time debating over the rules.

Sort of a British Democracy game then.

[Ben Kenobi]

Generally, what has happened, in the past, is that everybody must stand for election, once they have all nominated themselves.

We have separate elections for each position, contested positions have each candidate running against each other, and against the banana.

Uncontested positions also run against the banana, and they must beat the banana in order to be elected. This way, people who do not want a candidate to serve, can vote banana.

Once the elections have been confirmed, they generally run 3 days, but I will probably lengthen the period to 5 depending on how much support we get.

Then once the elections are over, and everyone is nominated, we can play a round.

The president plays the round with the advice of his ministers. Each minister picks a subject to poll on. In a poll, however the people vote must be followed by the president, unless a compelling reason forces him to disregard the request.

If two polls conflict with each other, the president decides which will take precedence. For both of these reasons, science has the easiest job of polling, as they only have to ask which technology we want right now, and then, which path should be followed.

New polls take priority over old polls, to reflect changing conditions.

For the other positions, foreign minister polls often deal with whom shall we declare war, or whether we should seek peace with a nation whom we are at war.

Military and cityplanner are more important positions, that often have the biggest effect from polls. There are a great variety of polls in both categories, they can overlap, in the military advisor requesting a poll for increased troop builds, and for what troops he would like to build, or for approval of a military plan. The cityplanner, could also poll on whether we should focus on improvements or troops.

[Ben Kenobi]

Ministers also file reports, publicly or privately. Private reports arrive by PM to the president, and what they do is offer the suggestions and recommendations to the president as to what should be done. Again, the president will take these recommendations into consideration, and should act accordng to his ministers. Sometimes though, a president will find conflicting orders, and then have to act as he feels best.

The public reports come after the president posts the latest turnset. Each minister reports on his specific area, be it diplomacy or military, etc.

The president's job is to play the game according to the polls, and the recommendations of his ministers. As such, he tends to face plenty of public scrutiny for his actions.

Now, there can also be a vice-president who takes over for the president, should the president drop the game. We haven't had the players for some time to work with a proper vice president. The VP also calls the elections at the end of each term.

Each term lasts 1 month, and no player should serve more than 3 consecutive months. This is to reduce player fatigue, but has needed to be amended as the situation arises.

Also, one big change has been the posting of the save. In the past, only the presidents and the ministers got the save, where all the plebians got the screenshots that showed the progress of the game. I liked that rule, and I would like to see that rule return, because it forces the ministers to provide better reports, and the same with the president.

Please, I ask the vets to add their own comments to the rules, as I have not been here from the beginning, and I may have left stuff out.

[cavebear]

Actually, the "topped" thread is for listing the current month administration for reference. Nominations and discussions should be in a regular (non-topped) thread.

But keep using this thread and I'll unstick it so it becomes a normal thread. When the elections are held and the results settled, I'll make a new topped thread for reference and lock it.

[Bloody Monk]

Good job with the rules and procedures. I hope you will reconsider this part though.

Also, one big change has been the posting of the save. In the past, only the presidents and the ministers got the save, where all the plebians got the screenshots that showed the progress of the game. I liked that rule, and I would like to see that rule return, because it forces the ministers to provide better reports, and the same with the president.

At a time where lack of interest has been the greatest problem, why would you want to restrict folk from seeing the game??

Monk

[Ben Kenobi]

Even posting the save didn't seem to revive interest in the game.

I don't mind continuing to post the save, I just think that it makes it harder to recruit miinisters since anyone can see the save.

[Bloody Monk]

Well, I could be wrong (again ), but I think the game went fallow for the lack of someone who felt qualified to lead AND had the time to run things. But, if it were a choice between you taking the lead or seeing the save, I most definitely want you or someone to take charge.

Monk

[Daddy-O]

Excellent update on the rules. Hopefully you'll nominate me for the science post. That was I can play and not screw up too badly in my first position.

[Ben Kenobi]

Read the rules.

We nominate ourselves for the position that we desire, and then the election starts.

So if you want the science position, "Ask and ye shall receive."