Land of the Blind

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. You have two eyes, and think that’s definitely an improvement, and thus try to steal that crown this time.

The idea is that you need to manage population, threats, and technology, and swing the results of voting, all in some really simplified structure.

It’s a One Paper Game meets Logic Puzzle, so you play by printing a random paper and writing on it.

Most likely, this means your world is neatly cut up into provinces. (I’m thinking of Antiyoy type maps.)

Provinces have a clear border, of course.
They may contain natural resources.
They have a name + number of electors.
They may already have people inside.

And you have to fill in stuff in such a way that you win the election when all is said and done.

What do you do?

Every move in this game means writing something into an empty/unused square in a province. The game ends when everything is filled.

The default rule is that every province can only have one of something (one facility of each type, one tax change, one resource decree, etc.)
Similarly, you must use unique numbers for decrees. (There can’t be two tax decrees with the same number, for example.)
Provinces must always contain people. (That is, you can’t remove the last one.)
There are no 3-eyed people. If you must ever add a third eye, the person leaves instead (cross out their cell).
If you play with multiple people/parties, use basic symbols (X, O, triangle, …) to differentiate?

Possible Things To Do

TAX CHANGES => Write down a number that indicates how you tax these people ( = how many coins per person). Higher taxing = angry people, but you need the money to achieve more.
FACILITIES => Draw something useful (from defined icons), like more homes, a university, hospital.
RESOURCES => Write down a number that indicates the importance of this resource.
PEOPLE (BIRTH/MIGRATION) => Add/remove people of a specific type. When removed, that cell just becomes useless. When added, you draw the person’s TYPE.
- A person is always a smiley. But there are 3 types: You have 2-eyed, 1-eyed, and 0-eyed.
- This would allow PROGRESSING them towards you?
- HOW TO TRACK HOW MUCH CERTAIN PEOPLE LIKE YOU AND WILL VOTE FOR YOU?
SPECIAL DECREES => A few options for these are written on the paper, you pick one and cross it out.
- For example, “word of mouth”: all 1-eyed people remove an eye from those around them (if possible).

How to calculate votes?

People vote inside their province.
All 2-eyed people vote for you, unless they have a “forced vote”. (A symbol next to them, which means they vote that instead.)
If you have the majority in a province, you get it. (Ties are lost.)

Who wins a province?

This follows “American” rules, mostly.

Each province has a number of “electors” based on its size/population/wealth.
Each province is won by 1 party, and they get all electors.
Majority of electors = you’ve won.

We might actually change the system of election per puzzle, picking one of several types.

This can go two opposite ways:

You are already in power and now must shape the land to make people loyal to you.
You are not in power yet and have limited (sneaky?) means to swing votes. (Destroy voting locations, change borders, bribe, etcetera.)

Maybe … BOTH of these are possible for the same puzzle? You can play it two times, and you decide how you want to play?

How to check if randomly generated map can be won?

In these kinds of games where there’s a clear win/fail condition—“get the most votes”—I might just do random samples UNTIL I get a winner.

If not a single game manages to win this map, skip it (“too hard”).

But if too many of them manage to win, skip it too (“too easy”). Or potentially change the condition to say “you need at least 60% of the votes” or something.

_In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. You have two eyes, and think that's definitely an improvement, and thus try to steal that crown this time._ The idea is that you need to manage population, threats, and technology, and swing the _results of voting_, all in some really simplified structure. It's a _One Paper Game_ meets _Logic Puzzle_, so you play by printing a random paper and writing on it. Most likely, this means **your world is neatly cut up into provinces**. (I'm thinking of _Antiyoy_ type maps.) * Provinces have a clear border, of course. * They may contain natural resources. * They have a name + number of electors. * They may already have people inside. And you have to **fill in stuff** in such a way that you **win the election** when all is said and done. ## What do you do? Every move in this game means **writing something** into an empty/unused square in a province. The game ends when everything is filled. * The default rule is that every province can only have **one** of something (one facility of each type, one tax change, one resource decree, etc.) * Similarly, you must use **unique numbers** for decrees. (There can't be two tax decrees with the same number, for example.) * Provinces must **always contain people**. (That is, you can't remove the last one.) * There are **no 3-eyed people**. If you must ever add a third eye, the person leaves instead (cross out their cell). * If you play with multiple people/parties, use basic symbols (X, O, triangle, ...) to differentiate? ## Possible Things To Do * TAX CHANGES => Write down a number that indicates how you tax these people ( = how many coins per person). Higher taxing = angry people, but you need the money to achieve more. * FACILITIES => Draw something useful (from defined icons), like more homes, a university, hospital. * RESOURCES => Write down a number that indicates the importance of this resource. * PEOPLE (BIRTH/MIGRATION) => Add/remove people of a specific type. When removed, that cell just becomes useless. When added, you draw the person's TYPE. * A person is always a smiley. But there are 3 types: You have 2-eyed, 1-eyed, and 0-eyed. * This would allow PROGRESSING them towards you? * HOW TO TRACK HOW MUCH CERTAIN PEOPLE LIKE YOU AND WILL VOTE FOR YOU? * SPECIAL DECREES => A few options for these are written on the paper, you pick one and cross it out. * For example, "word of mouth": all 1-eyed people remove an eye from those around them (if possible). ## How to calculate votes? * People vote inside their province. * All 2-eyed people vote for _you_, unless they have a "forced vote". (A symbol next to them, which means they vote that instead.) * If you have the majority in a province, you get it. (Ties are lost.) ## Who wins a province? This follows "American" rules, mostly. * Each province has a number of "electors" based on its size/population/wealth. * Each province is won by 1 party, and they get **all electors**. * Majority of electors = you've won. > We might actually _change_ the system of election per puzzle, picking one of several types. This can go two opposite ways: * You are already in power and now must shape the land to make people loyal to you. * You are not in power yet and have limited (sneaky?) means to swing votes. (_Destroy voting locations, change borders, bribe, etcetera._) Maybe ... BOTH of these are possible for the same puzzle? You can play it two times, and you decide how you want to play? ## How to check if randomly generated map can be won? In these kinds of games where there's a clear win/fail condition---"get the most votes"---I might just do **random samples UNTIL I get a winner**. If not a single game manages to win this map, skip it ("too hard"). But if too many of them manage to win, skip it too ("too easy"). Or potentially change the condition to say "you need at least 60% of the votes" or something.