Frequently Asked Questions
General
Q: What is this 'Particracy' thing?
| A: Particracy is a free browser-based online strategy game. Players control political parties in the country of their choosing. They vie for power in elections, by voting on bills. |
Q: What does it cost?
| A: Nothing! Particracy is entirely free to play. If you want to support the game, however, feel free to donate using PayPal. Donations will be used to pay for hosting services. |
Q: Can I help making the game?
| A: Yes! Contact me on msn (lievenswouter@hotmail.com) or by e-mail (lievenswouter@gmail.com) and we'll see what can be done. You don't have to be a PHP coder: we also need graphics for flags, an expanded tutorial, more FAQ questions, larger and more varied news templates, world maps, and new topics to legislate upon. |
Q: I have a really neat idea that would definately improve the game.
| A: Very good! Explain the idea on the forum, and I will consider its implementation if it is feasable and interesting. Go to the Development Ideas or Creating the Law section. |
Q: Will there be knights, trolls and aliens in the game?
| A: Not really. Particracy is intented for modern-era nations with parliamentary democracies in a ficticious universe. However, in the not-so-near future I may consider creating alternative game sessions such as a Real World version or a science fiction universe. |
Q: What do I do if the website doesn't work?
| A: Report the problem on the forum. Often, the problem is already known and you will be able to find information on the extent and nature of it on the forum. |
Q: Can I join someone else's party?
| A: No. A party in particracy is equivalent to a player. Every player controls only one party. |
Q: What are cabinets for?
| A: Currently, cabinets have little actual powers. Certain ministries have the power to propose things in the nation. They will have more powers though in the future. In role-playing terms, cabinets are a way of saying who your allies are in the nation. |
Q: Can we wage war?
| A: It is a planned feature for the future. |
Q: What does the name "Particracy" mean?
| A: The first part of the word is "parti" which implies political parties, the second part is "cracy" which comes from the old Greek kratos which means "to rule". Particracy means "rule by parties". |
Q: It seems like there are no vacant spots left in any of the nations, but I really want to join Particracy, what should I do?
| A: Well the only thing you can do is wait till a spot opens up or a new country is released. Usually a few spots open up every day and new countries are created regularly. If you have to wait more than three days for your spot, you should report it on the Particracy forum. |
Q: I know I\'ve seen it, but I can\'t find it. How do you propose changes to the budget?
| A: You have to go to the cabinet page of your nation, which you can access via your nation\'s main page. On that page you\'ll be able to access a special page with all of the cabinet powers and there you\'ll find a links to the budget page. |
Q: What's the diference between Centralization and Gov. Responsabilities?
| A: Centralisation is how centralised the government is: unitarian parties favour a single central government; federalists favour local governments having power. Government responsibilities reflects the size of the government: big governments take control of large aspects of citizens lives; small govenrments let people do what they wish. |
Q: How do you use polls?
| A: Polls can gather info about how a group voted or their view on an ideology based on the last two elections. Simply select various criteria from the upper portion of the page. Then choose your question from the lower half.
If you hit refresh it will calculate the cost of the poll, hitting generate poll will give you the results which are also saved in your party newspaper for later reference.
An example which shows you how you can interpret polls: http://www.takeforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3331&highlight=analysis&mforum=particracy |
Q: According to the rules of this game, can some parties in a nation force an RP war with another, or do all the parties have to agree? It doesn't seem quite fair to me, that one set of parties can force another to RP a war.
| A: All roleplayed events must be done with mutual consent. When war becomes a game feature, however, this will of course not be the case |
Q: I'm going on holiday for a few days, what should I do with my account?
| A: If you're going away for a few days, you can inactivate yourself on your user page. You will then loose all your seats but your party account won't be deleted. You can ask for reactivation when you get back on the Particracy forum, in the moderation section. |
Q: Simple question, how many RL hours to a game month, is it 3 or 4 hours?
| A: The most important conversions are:-
4 RL hours = 1 game month
1 RL day = 6 game months
2 RL days = 1 game year |
Q: I want to move my party to another nation, how do I do it?
| A: Unfortunately, you cannot move your party as such, however it is permitted to set up a new account.
As long as you INACTIVATE your old party on the 'User Page', you are then free to set up another account, you just have to start again from scratch, on the 'Main' page. |
Elections
Q: How do I win more seats?
| A: Every once in a while, there are elections in your nation. The simulated population of your nation will vote on the parties in it, and thus you will win or lose seats. You can only win seats by raising your party's visibility, do this by voting on every bill and proposing some of your own. |
Q: How do I get voters to like me?
| A: By voting on bills. Voters never like inactive parties, so try to never abstain on a bill. Also, the voters have their own political ideologies. You can check the region pages and nation pages to see how the people there are inclined. |
Q: Is there a difference between a lower house and an upper house or senate?
| A: In Particracy, all legislatures are unicameral. I decided that it was too complicated and not very useful to implement bicameral legislatured. However, it's well known that I change my mind on what's useful and what not, so if you have a strong argument why there should be senates, just let me know on the Forum. |
Q: Does it matter how my party is aligned with other parties? Should I try to stand out on policy, or should I align myself with others?
| A: I have no mathematical proof for this (yet), but I'm quite sure that it does not matter for the election algorithm. Just vote according to your conscience. However, if there are lots of parties with similar views to your party, then the electorate is likely to split between the parties. |
Q: Do all bills have influence on elections?
| A: Not all bills do. For instance, voting on a change of the title of the head of state will not affect your election results. However, bills with proposals will have an influence on elections and it is vital you vote on them. |
Q: How is the head of state elected?
| A: The head of state is elected using a two-round popular vote system. The first round is held, and if no one gains more than 50%, a second round is held between the first and second winners of the first round. |
Q: Does my head of state candidate name matter?
| A: Not as such, but you are advised to think of a name that makes sense. If your name is unrealistic (i.e. doesn't sound like a real name), the game admin might remove your candidate. If you leave your candidate name empty, your party doesn't run for the head of state election. |
Q: How do I know the election system isn't biased towards some ideology?
| A: The election algorithm uses a very simplified system. In fact it is so simple, that it is mathematically symmetrical. The only thing that matters is the opinions of the people, and a touch of randomness. |
Q: If I have really few seats, or none at all, in the legislature, will it make the effect of my vote on bills smaller?
| A: No. Your number of seats has no influence in determining the effect on the electorate. |
Bills
Q: Do I have to vote on each bill?
| A: No, you can abstain if you want. However, it is much smarter to vote on every bill, because it will probably help your election results. |
Q: Do I have to wait out a certain debate time before starting the voting procedure on a bill?
| A: No. However, it is very much appreciated by your colleague MP's that you do, in order to find a compromise. |
Q: How do I know the electoral result of a bill?
| A: There is no way to tell. Use common sense, and what you know of the world. |
Q: How can I add proposals to a bill?
| A: First you have to create a bill to add proposals to. You have to give a title and description, but you can edit these later. Then you'll be brought to the bill page. Scroll down, and you'll see a link that says "click here to add new proposals". After clicking that, choose the type of proposal you want to add (currently only "legislation") and click "Next". Then you have to select something to legislate, click "Next", and select or enter the new value for it. |
Q: Several bills were being voted upon, but they're all back to debate now. How come?
| A: It's because elections occurred. You see, when the balance of power changes, the parties seats and their ideas on compromises may change. That's why bills that were still being voted on, are reset to the debate stage. |
Q: Does voting with no seats do anything? Does it increase visibility for example?
| A: YES! Voting in your early years is the only way to get a high visibility, therefore good election results. Vote, vote, and vote even more! |
| Random fact: Don't vote yes on a cabinet coalition that doesn't give you the power that you deserve. |
| Random quote: "civil disobedience. . . is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience. Our problem is that numbers of people all over the world have obeyed the dictates of the leaders of their government and have gone to war, and millions have been killed because of this obedience. . Our problem is that people are obedient all over the world in the face of poverty and starvation and stupidity, and war, and cruelty. Our problem is that people are obedient while the jails are full of petty thieves, and all the while the grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem." -
Howard Zinn |