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Designer's Notes |
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Fallen Flags is a term used to describe old railroad companies that no longer exist, at |
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least as independent entities. This game is about the economics of those railroads and |
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related industries, and the sociopolitical situation of the era. Fallen Flags was |
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originally going to be much more detailed. I planned on including management of various |
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industries, Amerinds, multiple currencies, banking, and combat. However, the game |
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quickly grew to be too complicated for a tabletop game. At that point I decided to begin |
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planning a video game of the same name that will include all of those features. |
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PLUTOCRACY |
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The plutocracy is an offshoot of the public idea, as well as the moneylenders NPC in the |
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2018 tabletop game Merchant Adventurer. The general concept is having an NPC that |
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fulfills background socioeconomic roles dynamically. The plutocracy represents the |
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wealthiest class of Americans and Britains, as much of the early American railroads were |
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financed by British, mostly English, investors. |
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GOVERNMENT |
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Along with companies, this is a standard entity I like to put into games. This allows |
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players who are able to gain political power to try and manipulate the game with an |
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entity that has its own separate advantages and issues to deal with. Just like in the |
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times of the old railways, the government will be regulating labour unions and keeping |
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the mob in check, or working with them. The governor is also in control of tax rates and |
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welfare payments. This leaves much room for economic experimentation, and a balancing |
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or domination of market versus command economies. Especially because the government |
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can control their own companies. |
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PUBLIC |
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The public is an NPC entity that is descended from the entity of the same name in the |
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2019 tabletop game Monopolization. The public represents the general population, and in |
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this game is a bigger factor. Settlement of new villages and maintenance of existing |
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municipalities is done with public the public's own funds, therefore an impoversished |
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population can severely stunt economic growth. Shares can also be traded with the public, |
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just as in Monopolization. |
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UNION AND MOB |
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These are 2 more minor entities added to generate strategic friction. Like in most of my |
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previous games, with entities such as governments and companies, these 2 can be |
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controlled by players and change player hands. The union symbolizes labour unions in |
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general. Players can utilize this entity to harass rival companies. Likewise, the mob can |
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be utilized to harass both rival companies or the union. This addresses both historical |
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realities of the potential for crime and labour movements to work with or against each |
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other. |
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