Getting started

Glossary

The game has its own political-satire vocabulary. Here's what each term actually means in game-mechanics terms.

Entities

Nation / Country: A single match/server of the game; each Nation has its own map, economy and government.
District: The territorial unit you own and build up by leveling its buildings.
Coalition: The player group (up to 50). The crew you push for domination with.
Votes: The score: it measures the size of a player and of a district (the sum of its buildings).
Loyalty: How firmly a district holds. It drops when Ward Bosses run ops on it; at 0 it changes hands.
Neutral: A district with no owner. It grows on its own up to a cap.
Pauta: The premium currency. It sells time and convenience, not power.

Cash: The game's base currency. Produced by The Grift.
Pork: The grassroots muscle that moves the machine. Produced by The Grassroots.
Spin: The media resource. Produced by The Spin Factory.
Population: The cap that supports your buildings and troops. Raised by The Base.

Run ops: Attack a rival district.
Back: Send troops to defend an allied district.
Return: The troops heading home after running ops or backing.
The Flip: The conquest: drive a district's Loyalty down to 0 with Ward Bosses.
Poll: Spy on a rival with Pollsters to bring back intel.
Loot: Steal a rival's resources with hauler troops (Trolls, No-Shows).
Backtime: Run ops on your own district to time an army's return.
Morale: The attack penalty for hitting someone much smaller than you. It recovers as your account ages.
Report: The write-up of a battle's or an espionage's outcome.

The Exchange: The game's market, run from The War Chest.
Deals: Public swap offers between players.
The Den: The instant premium swap with the house, at a dynamic rate.
Haulers: Your resource-transport capacity. It comes from The War Chest's level.

The Mob: The offensive infantry: Activist and Goon.
The Racket: Loot and espionage: Troll, No-Show and Pollster.
The Detail: The defensive units: Auditor, Riot Cop and Bagman. (Press Flack is a SPECIAL standalone unit.)
The Motorcade: The vehicles: Bulldozer, Rally Bus and Water Cannon.

Talking points: A coalition's internal memo, visible to the whole rank and file.
Law: A measure the President proposes and the cabinet votes on.
Executive Order: A decree the President signs directly, with no vote.
Advance notice: The 12-hour heads-up before a military measure (like a Blackout or a Quarantine).
Domination: The win condition: a coalition's top 30 members (by Votes) control 60% of the Nation's districts (configurable per Nation, default 60%).
Districts flipped (ODA): The tally of districts a coalition has seized from other coalitions.
Newbie shield: The first-10-days protection: you neither attack nor get attacked by other players, but you can still run ops on neutral districts to grow.