What you can do

Every sovereign state on the map, as well as territories with their own administration, such as Greenland, Puerto Rico or Hong Kong. The smallest micro-states, such as Monaco or the Vatican, appear on the map but cannot be played.

On the starting map, a disputed territory goes to the state that administers it in practice. When no recognised state administers it, it goes to the state that claims it. This is a simplification for gameplay, not a statement on sovereignty or an endorsement of any claim or occupation. Some real-world disputes cannot be fully represented by the current mechanics. The game’s own notice on borders is in Settings → About.

Every campaign begins on 1 January 2026, with the world as it stood that day: economies, public debt, populations and the war already under way in Ukraine. There are no historical start dates or scripted scenarios. What happens next comes from the decisions of countries, parties and people.

No. The leaders of every nation are fictional characters. Parties are generated and anonymised, so they represent no real organisation. When a leader dies or is replaced, the game generates the people who follow.

Yes. Their war is already active when the campaign begins, with war goals and occupied territory. Playing either country means taking over the ongoing conflict. Ukraine also starts with financial-support programmes from several countries, while sanctions against Russia are already in force. Supporting countries are not automatically combatants, and their support can change as the campaign develops. Support and direct involvement ↗

Search for a country or click it on the globe, or take one of the suggested starts, from countries with room to breathe to countries where everything is urgent. Then choose to lead the government or one of the country’s other parties. Four game rules are also set there: whether AI-led states may start wars, whether AI nuclear powers facing an existential threat may strike first, whether natural disasters occur and whether new pandemics can appear. AI wars and natural disasters are on by default; nuclear first use and new pandemics are off. You can change them in Settings for the current campaign. Starting outside government ↗

There is no victory screen and no end date: you set your own goals. Losing an election or a confidence vote does not end the campaign. It ends only if your nation is annihilated: entirely annexed, or reduced to a tenth of its starting population. What happens after a defeat ↗

Yes. Every government you do not control sets its budget, passes laws, reforms its institutions, imposes sanctions, proposes alliances and can go to war, against its neighbours or against you. Tensions can lead to red lines, military deployments, economic pressure and open conflict. Elections follow each country’s own calendar.

Yes, for how the world looks rather than how it plays. Mods can rename leaders and parties, give leaders new portraits, replace a country’s flag or add new flags to choose from. The rules, the economy and the way other countries behave stay the same.

Build your own in the Mod studio from the main menu, or subscribe to other players’ mods on the Steam Workshop. Both appear in Manage mods and load when the game starts; turn one off and the original names and flags come back. Larger conversions, such as alternative historical starts, are unlikely: everything in the simulation depends on everything else. Without any mod, you can still rename your nation and draw or import its flag from Overview → Nation. Make a mod ↗

You keep leading your party. If the result removes you from government, choose to continue in opposition, take the lead of the party now in power, or play as someone else in the same world. Losing a parliamentary majority does not necessarily remove you from the presidency: the country’s institutions determine which powers you keep.

No. You can start in government or choose a party outside it. In opposition, raise funds, recruit activists and campaign while the government acts on its own. If your party has seats in a chamber with legislative powers, it can also sponsor bills, at a cost in influence. You still need the votes to pass them. Preparing an election campaign ↗ Proposing a law ↗

Yes. From the pause menu, choose another country and political party, including a party in government or in opposition. The campaign continues from the same world and date.

Yes. Press Space to pause or resume. The number-row keys 1, 2 and 3 select the three simulation speeds. Opening the pause menu with Escape also stops the clock.

Yes. Open Save from the pause menu and create a named save. You can keep separate saves or choose an existing one to overwrite, with confirmation. Use Load to return to the saved campaign.

Yes. In Settings, choose an autosave every 1, 3, 6 or 12 in-game months, or turn it off. You can keep 3, 5 or 10 autosaves. Manual saves remain available separately.

Yes. Choose your language from the main menu or Settings. You can also change it during a campaign.

Yes. Settings let you enlarge the interface and choose colour-vision modes for red–green or blue–yellow distinctions, or a monochrome mode.

Yes. Choose a graphics preset, texture quality, render resolution and frame-rate limit, switch between fullscreen and windowed play, and adjust brightness and gamma. Master volume, music, sound effects and the news anchor’s voice are set separately, and breaking-news broadcasts can be turned off. You can also change how quickly the camera rotates and zooms.

They are separate resources. Fundraising adds money and recruitment adds activists; neither directly restores influence. Each month, influence moves towards a level set by your party’s support and cohesion. Keeping promises also restores it, while breaking them costs influence. Check the cost before launching another campaign operation, bill or no-confidence motion. Party resources and campaigning ↗

Yes. Through Cablegram, ask an opposition leader to support a bill, seek a foreign leader’s backing for a UN vote, or appeal for a peace review. They can accept or refuse, and your personal relationship matters. An accepted request can change a party’s voting line or secure a voting pledge. You can also ask your ministers for advice on their portfolios.

Yes. Bills need the support required by your country’s institutions. You can inspect voting forecasts, follow debates and set your party’s voting line. Even after Parliament passes a bill, executive assent or judicial review can remain part of the procedure. How a bill becomes law ↗

You can propose changes to electoral rules, term lengths, term limits and the way the head of state is selected. Constitutional choices depend on your country’s institutions. You can also call early elections when your office has that power. Politics and institutions ↗

As the reigning monarch in an executive or absolute monarchy, you can change the rules of succession by royal decree. Replacing the heir this way can create a rival claimant and cost public support and stability. Royal decrees also let you change the Crown’s powers.

Succession happens automatically under the country’s inheritance rules. The royal family view lets you explore the family tree, the heir and the line of succession. If the new monarch is under 18, a regent takes over their duties.

Your powers depend on the offices your party holds and the country’s institutions. In government, you can manage public finances, negotiate abroad, direct the armed forces and set policies. In opposition, you organise your party, campaign and use the parliamentary powers available to it. Explore the decisions ↗

Yes. If your party holds seats and the constitution allows it, you can table a no-confidence motion. Check the voting forecast before committing. Some systems also require an alternative majority capable of forming a government. Tabling a no-confidence motion ↗

Open Cablegram, select one of your ministers and choose Ask for advice. Their reply includes an assessment of their portfolio and a recommendation. Use Open file to reach the relevant screen. You decide whether to act on the advice.

Each chamber and elected executive office has its own timetable. A legislative vote can take place during a president’s term. Some chambers renew all their seats together; others renew only a fraction at each election. Assembly shows upcoming dates, while Institutions explains the renewal rules. Chambers and election calendars ↗

Yes, where the presidency and government are separate. A parliamentary election can install a different government while the president remains in office. The constitution determines which powers each side holds. Who governs after an election ↗

Not necessarily. Where government depends on Parliament, the game resolves coalition formation and any required investiture after the election. Parties need compatible partners and sufficient support; a minority or caretaker government is also possible. Seats, coalitions and majorities ↗

Yes. Announce up to three commitments on laws, taxes, spending or electricity capacity, with targets to meet. The game tracks progress during the mandate: fulfilled promises improve party credibility and influence, while broken promises damage them. Announcing a policy does not implement it. Build and defend a platform ↗

You can propose adding or removing an upper chamber and reform Parliament’s powers, executive vetoes and judicial review. These changes follow the relevant constitutional procedure and depend on your authority and the support required. Reforming the constitution ↗

When governing, you can change the annual cap on regular immigration. The law card shows capacity and actual admissions. A higher cap creates room for arrivals; it does not guarantee that people will move to your country. Changing admission rules ↗

Yes. You can propose a set of asylum rules covering access to protection, the right to appeal and detention limits. The law card tracks pending claims and how many were granted or rejected. Immigration and asylum ↗

Yes. Demographics compares arrivals and departures by age and qualifications. When people leave, you can inspect the social groups involved and their main destinations, alongside the overall migration balance.

Yes. Communities shows population shares, integration and naturalisation, alongside your country’s diaspora abroad.

Benefits do not cover everyone without a job. Eligibility, waiting periods, formal employment and exhausted entitlement affect coverage. Under Unemployment insurance, you can change the Replacement rate, Maximum duration and Access to benefits. Compare the projected coverage and cost before submitting the law; the beneficiary population changes over time. Changing unemployment benefits ↗

Yes. Pension indexation lets existing pensions follow prices or wages. Old-age minimum provides a separate payment to retirees outside the ordinary pension scheme, with its own indexation rule. These are law changes: choosing a value does not enact it. Indexation affects future adjustments; it does not automatically make up for earlier losses. Pension and benefit rules ↗

Yes. Set the monthly Child benefit, the qualifying age and means-tested or universal eligibility. You can also index payments to prices or wages. The law preview shows the covered children and annual cost. Changing eligibility or the age limit creates no payments while the benefit is disabled; the proposed law still needs to be adopted. Changing family benefits ↗

More victims may be reporting offences. Community policing can improve trust and reporting, so recorded incidents can rise without an equivalent rise in underlying crime. In Security & Justice → Police, compare Estimated reporting rate, case clearance and the explanation beside the incident figures before changing policy again.

No. It widens access and reduces inequality, but schools still need teachers, buildings and operating funds. If capacity falls short, learning can suffer. Targeted support concentrates help, while Merit-based selection restricts access and favours the results of admitted students. Compare the preview before confirming: education policies phase in over a year and cannot be changed again for two years. Staffing public services ↗

Full effect and the next permitted change are separate dates. A civil-service reform takes 18 months to phase in but commits you for four years; territorial organisation takes two years and commits you for five. Other administrative policies have shorter commitments. The confirmation shows the next change date before you adopt the policy.

Yes. The legislation system includes working hours, paid leave, the minimum wage and retirement age. Choose the change, check the balance of support and submit it through the applicable procedure. Raising the retirement age changes future retirement entries; it does not send people already retired back to work. Proposing a law ↗

Yes. Cannabis can be prohibited, decriminalised, restricted to medical use or regulated. Other controlled drugs have separate options, including a state monopoly or a licensed market. You also choose how users are treated and whether enforcement targets trafficking routes, organisations or criminal finances. The Drugs screen tracks legal sales, tax revenue and the remaining criminal market. Changing the law ↗

You can investigate an organisation, build an infiltration network and target its finances, weapons or logistics. Track identified members, then attempt a capture once your intelligence establishes who and where they are. You authorise the operation and follow its report; success is not guaranteed. Intelligence operations ↗

You can choose universal coverage, social insurance, a regulated mixed system or targeted coverage. You also set care priorities and prevention strategies. Wider coverage reduces financial barriers but can bring more patients into waiting queues; emergency priority draws resources away from other care. Policy changes take time to phase in and commit you until the date shown before confirmation. Health and public services ↗

Yes. In Society, open a social group to compare income before and after tax, wealth, satisfaction and militancy. Groups react differently to living costs, unemployment, housing and public services. Understanding social groups ↗

Yes. Meet the representatives involved in a dispute and offer a compromise or meet their demand. Compare each union’s response and the cost of the measure. An accepted proposal still needs to be implemented through the budget or legislation; the promise alone does not end the strike call. Negotiating a labour dispute ↗

Yes. Workers on strike reduce the labour available in the affected sectors and public services. Labour relations shows the workers involved; choose View disruption to inspect the movement and its effects.

No. Regulation affects covered contracts and spreads as they turn over. The housing screens distinguish the market rent from the rent households actually pay. Rents and housing policy ↗

Yes. Capped resets limit increases at future scheduled resets of eligible mortgages. Existing fixed-rate contracts and purely variable-rate loans keep their own terms. Mortgage protection ↗

Yes. Set pay against comparable private-sector jobs, then choose whether wages cover none, half or all of future price rises. Apply the budget to adopt these changes. Pay affects recruitment, but filling vacant posts takes time and depends on the workers and qualifications available. Staffing and pay ↗

Buildings are only part of capacity. Hospitals also need staff, operating funds, medicines and equipment. In Health, check the bottleneck shown and compare installed beds with usable beds. Staff qualifications, fatigue and the number of patients needing care also affect how much treatment gets done. Hiring and funding staff ↗

Yes. Domestic production alone does not tell you what reaches households or what they can afford. Health → Food tracks shortages, hunger and dependence on foreign suppliers. Imports can fail, harvests can fall and rising prices can put food out of reach. Grain reserves can cushion a disruption, but releases use existing stock and take effect at the next monthly settlement. Food shortages and reserves ↗

Check how much of the prison population is awaiting trial. In Security & Justice → Prisons → Related laws, Maximum pretrial detention lets you change that limit. Shortening it can reduce pretrial detention; it does not release convicted prisoners or clear the courts’ pending cases. Court capacity and the prison regime remain separate decisions.

Yes. The Reduce delays doctrine increases processing capacity but raises procedural-error risk. Due process guarantees favours quality and trust at the cost of monthly capacity. A doctrine change takes six months to reach full effect and commits you to the choice for one year.

Yes. Automatic access favours speed and coverage, with more targeting errors. Means testing improves targeting but slows processing and reduces coverage. Local service desks improve territorial access but need more staff.

Yes. You can facilitate and protect a protest, contain it, disperse it, order an armed crackdown or deploy the military. Stronger coercion can cause casualties and increase political pressure. Review the available forces and risk estimates alongside the movement’s demands. Responding to a protest ↗

Yes, if New pandemics is set to Possible, when you start the campaign or later in Settings. It is off by default. A new pathogen can then appear somewhere in the world, roughly once every 25 years, from one of four virus families: coronaviruses, a new influenza A subtype, henipaviruses or filoviruses. It first shows up as an unidentified syndrome, gets a provisional name once a country identifies it, then official names a month later, such as SARS-CoV-3 for the virus and COVID-31 for the disease. Several can circulate at the same time. Some burn out; others, whose immunity wanes, can become endemic. The vaccine race ↗

You only see what each country publishes, and how much it publishes depends on its press freedom. A country with a muzzled press publishes nothing, so a quiet list is not proof of zero cases. Your own figures undercount too: reported cases depend on your surveillance, which you can enhance, and estimated incidence corrects for it. Contain an epidemic ↗

Your country can start vaccinating as soon as its laboratories find the vaccine. Other countries can use their own discovery too; worldwide availability comes 180 days after the first discovery. Once that first vaccine exists, other countries’ research progresses twice as fast. Your research target follows the most serious outbreak in your country’s reported figures, so it can change during the race. Vaccine research and availability ↗

Yes. Mobilising more health workers speeds up vaccination but reduces the staff available for other care. Check that trade-off before launching, especially when hospitals are under pressure. You can stop a campaign early without undoing doses already given. Running a vaccination campaign ↗

No. You can choose a lower tier or No measures under Public health measures in Health → Epidemiology, confirm and check when the change takes effect. The review after 28 days of strong measures is a reminder to reconsider them; it does not end them automatically or lock you into keeping them. Changing health measures ↗

Yes, with targeted health borders rather than a blanket closure. A country joins your at-risk list on its own when its published figures show an epidemic, or any reported case of a new pathogen, and leaves it 21 days after things calm down. You choose stricter checks or suspended entry, for arrivals only or departures too, and can exempt an ally or include a country you distrust. Fewer travellers means less tourism revenue, and countries whose entry you suspend hold it against you. Set health borders ↗

Fund value includes investments and foreign currency, not just cash you can spend. Withdraw to the Treasury uses domestic currency cash only. To sell eligible shareholdings, switch Automatic management to Manual, then use Stock market. Sales settle at month end as buyers allow, so the full amount may not arrive at once. Withdrawing and investing fund cash ↗

Buy shares pays existing shareholders; the company receives no cash. To fund an eligible domestic listed company, select it in Money & Finance → Stock market and use Inject capital. The fund receives newly issued shares. The amount depends on the company’s cash needs and the fund’s available cash, and may leave part of the funding gap uncovered. Using the sovereign fund ↗

No. Existing debt keeps its original currency, so repayments become foreign-currency obligations. The new currency starts at the same value as the old one, then floats. The preview shows the resulting foreign-currency debt share before you confirm. Creating a national currency ↗

Income-tax brackets have a detailed editor. VAT has different rates and product categories, so individual products can receive different treatment. These changes join the same budget proposal as your other tax and spending edits. Taxes and budget reforms ↗

Yes, if investors will lend to your country. In Budget → Summary, choose an amount and review the quoted rate, additional annual interest and treasury balance after borrowing. You can also repay debt from available cash. Borrowing and repayment are separate from applying tax or spending changes. Borrowing and repaying debt ↗

Yes. Recapitalize only restores capital while leaving ownership unchanged. Recapitalize and nationalize also makes the bank state-owned. A solvent bank short of liquidity can instead receive a central-bank loan; that loan does not replace missing capital. Bank rescue and liquidity ↗

You can finance corporate investment, reorganise a distressed company or liquidate it. The finance screens also let you buy foreign equity through the sovereign fund and close or reopen the stock exchange. Companies and investment ↗

No. Each marginal rate applies only to income inside that band. You can also set a personal allowance and choose whether thresholds follow wages, follow prices or stay frozen. In the income-tax editor, Test a household shows the calculation before you apply the budget. Tax bands and indexation ↗

Yes. Labour income uses the tax bands after the applicable deductions and personal allowance. Capital income can join those bands, face a separate rate or be exempt from this tax. Compare the effects on social groups before applying the whole budget proposal. Income-tax rules ↗

Yes, where ownership rules allow it. You can increase the State’s share, sell public stakes or transfer eligible unlisted private stakes to employees. Choose how much to transfer and review the price and consequences. Nationalisation offers market-price buyouts, negotiated buyouts or seizure where permitted; cooperative transfers are paid for by the State. Changing sector ownership ↗

Yes. Set employee and employer contributions separately, cap the pay assessed for each, and reduce employer contributions on low wages. The relief tapers off as pay approaches your chosen threshold. Test a salary compares employer cost and pay after contributions but before income tax. These changes take effect when you apply the budget. Editing contributions ↗

Yes, when your monetary system allows it and the central bank is under government control. In Budget → Summary → Emergency measures, choose Create money and review what the Treasury actually receives, the extra debt and the loss of monetary credibility. Printing raises prices; an IMF programme can prohibit it. You can later use Treasury cash to Repay the central bank, withdrawing that money from circulation. Money creation and repayment ↗

Yes. Under Budget → Summary → Emergency measures, Suspend debt repayments lets you review a default before confirming it. Part of the debt is written off, but borrowing closes and creditors—including domestic banks—take losses. The Treasury keeps its cash. Once that buffer runs out, the state cannot keep funding a deficit through the markets, so actual spending falls back toward what revenue can cover. Reviewing a default ↗

Yes. Compare current and projected revenue, spending and balance while preparing the proposal. Apply commits the package; Discard abandons the pending changes. Editing the forecast does not itself change the budget in force. Reading and applying a proposal ↗

Yes. Set up a productive-investment programme for a company, a specific good or an entire sector. Choose whether to produce more at home, sell more abroad, create jobs or reduce a critical dependence. Set a budget ceiling and duration, then review the proposed projects and their requirements before authorising the programme. Planning an industrial programme ↗

Yes. Businesses can start expansion projects themselves when demand, expected returns and financing support them. Employment adjusts over time to production needs and the workers available. You can follow employment and investment projects in the economy and finance screens.

Where your country controls its monetary policy, you can set the policy rate yourself or restore central-bank independence and let it adjust rates automatically. Currency unions and exchange-rate arrangements can restrict direct control. Public finances and monetary policy ↗

You can change visitor entry rules, fund promotion and set a visitor levy. In Economy → Tourism, entry rules are a separate decision; promotion and the levy use the shared budget draft and need to be applied. Follow visitor origins, spending and accommodation pressure. Safety, prices, transport and accommodation affect arrivals, so more promotion alone does not guarantee more revenue. Tourism and events ↗

No. Visitor spending pays tourism businesses; it is not all government revenue. Economy → Tourism shows foreign visitor spending separately from Visitor levy revenue. The levy rate shown can belong to your pending budget draft, while the revenue figure reflects the last calculation. Editing the rate does not immediately turn the displayed spending into tax receipts.

Yes. Bid for an open Olympic hosting contest and follow the host vote. You can also organise cultural festivals, conventions and international championships, choosing their location and scale. Events need venues, funding and available security forces. Preparing an event ↗

Check Transport → Open the Transport Room → Diagnose. Undelivered hydrocarbon exports identifies problems in your own network, a transit route, a strategic passage or the customer’s network. Exporting gas by tanker also requires liquefaction capacity; an ordinary port is not enough. Expanding your terminals will not fix every blockage abroad. Checking export routes and LNG capacity ↗

It depends on the cause. Storage helps recover wind and solar output that your grid cannot currently use. Imports depend on connections, trade rules and neighbouring suppliers; opening purchases does not build a line or guarantee supply. Check Electricity → Grid and Fuel reserves before committing to another project. Finding the bottleneck ↗

Stop suspends production and keeps the installation; Resume can restart it, subject to its condition. Close site removes installed capacity. The remaining resource stays underground, but extraction needs a new construction project. Neither action restores resources already extracted. Opening, stopping and closing sites ↗

No. The quote identifies the company or state paying for construction and shows the Treasury contribution. Production and operating margins are not the same as government revenue: the public share depends on sector ownership, while taxes and company distributions are settled separately. The displayed estimate uses current prices, not a guaranteed return. Reading an extraction project ↗

Yes. After oil lets you support electrification of cars and trucks, building heat and industrial heat. You can also develop alternatives such as hydrogen-based steel and fertiliser, synthetic fuels and recycled chemicals. These need working power supplies, technology, equipment and time. Build hydrogen distribution capacity and choose which uses get priority when it runs short. Replacing fossil fuels ↗

Open Housing → Buildings. Heating and cooling setpoints and the emergency response are saved with Apply setpoints. Renovation, cooling access, heat pumps and climate shelters have separate targets, pace and funding: save these with Fund the programs. Mobilization needs existing shelters, and new equipment takes time to arrive. Installed heating or cooling also needs energy to work. Weather and protection ↗

Yes. The economy’s use of coal, oil and gas, along with cement production, feeds global emissions. CO₂ and temperatures evolve over time rather than changing instantly when you adopt a policy. Heat, cold and water stress can reduce crop yields. Open Climate to compare the global trend with your country’s emissions and world share. Other countries contribute too: reducing your emissions does not immediately reverse warming. Risks → Weather shows active weather episodes; After oil covers reducing fossil-fuel dependence. Climate and energy transition ↗

Yes, through the ownership controls for the relevant sector, where the rules permit a buyout, seizure or privatisation. Site operations are separate: develop a deposit, stop or resume production, or close an installation. Closing removes its capacity; it does not transfer ownership or restore the resource. Changing sector ownership ↗

You can set strategic-reserve targets and monthly purchase budgets, then release stocks manually or select automatic releases during supply disruption or price stress. Purchases still depend on funds and supplies. Military stockpiles have their own targets, which you set through the armed-forces controls. Resources and reserves ↗

You can place power plants on the globe, build ports and airports, draw transport corridors and select provinces for infrastructure programmes. Schools, hospitals, police stations, courthouses and prisons also use provincial placement. Infrastructure and transport ↗

For a passage under your control, you can open or restrict access and set military-transit rules. Port terminals and transport corridors are also manageable parts of the network. Passages and access ↗

Yes. Existing plants can be stopped and restarted. You can also expand their capacity where available, or retire them through a separate decision that shows any decommissioning cost. Managing power plants ↗

As an OPEC member, vote to cut, hold or raise production, then choose whether to respect your quota or overproduce. Eligible swing producers also have the option to start an oil price war; that power is restricted to the relevant members. Resources and oil policy ↗

Both. Fund hazard-specific prevention programmes and watch preparedness develop. When disaster strikes, choose the scale of the response and prioritise lives, national continuity or a balance of both. Follow reconstruction by province and contribute to another country’s recovery. Prevention and disaster response ↗

In Diplomacy → Aid, select an eligible country under Recipients. Set Monthly amount under Bilateral aid, then select Apply. This is a recurring Treasury transfer, subject to available funds and aid limits. Stop this aid ends that commitment; Stop all ends your bilateral commitments. Neither changes Multilateral aid (budget), which is distributed across eligible countries. Military support is separate too.

Yes. In Diplomacy → Agreements, open an active agreement and choose Withdraw from the agreement when available. Withdrawal takes effect after six months; the agreement still applies during the notice period. Leaving damages relations with the other parties. If your trade bloc signed the agreement, withdrawal needs collective approval. Negotiating and leaving an agreement ↗

Yes. Success and secrecy are separate outcomes: the objective can be achieved while your involvement is detected. Read both the result and exposure in the report. Extract the network can reduce exposure by giving up some access, but extraction is itself an operation with a cost and risk. Operations and exposure ↗

In Intelligence → Situation, choose between Negotiate, Stall, Order an assault and Meet the demand, then commit the mandate. An assault needs sufficient location intelligence and ready services. Stalling can improve intelligence but may cost lives; extensions are limited. A ransom is paid to the organisation, and a pending mandate cannot simply be replaced. Managing a hostage crisis ↗

Yes. In Diplomacy → Sanctions, select individual measures such as an arms or energy embargo, technology controls, an asset freeze or investment restrictions. Availability depends on your country’s leverage. You can add measures to an existing regime and change how strictly your country enforces it. Choosing and enforcing sanctions ↗

You can propose a mutual withdrawal, but the other side must accept. If you opened the crisis, you can withdraw your demand. A neutral country can offer to mediate if both sides have sufficient relations with it. Giving in follows the actual demand; a ceasefire still needs the countries at war to agree. Negotiating a way out ↗

You can impose sanctions, negotiate trade terms, commit foreign aid and offer military guarantees. Under Diplomacy → Crises, a dispute can lead to a red line, border mobilisation, naval deployment or patrol, maritime interdiction or economic pressure. Available measures depend on the issue, your forces and the reach of the action. You can also seek a settlement or withdraw your demand. Managing a diplomatic crisis ↗

Yes. Trade negotiations let you select individual products and set each side’s import-duty reduction. You can exchange counteroffers and phase reductions in over time. A 50% reduction halves a duty; it does not set a 50% tariff. Product-by-product negotiations ↗

Military access, non-aggression, defensive pacts and guarantees are distinct treaty choices. A defensive pact can include additional clauses such as intelligence sharing or offensive assistance. You can also negotiate foreign basing agreements. Treaties and their commitments ↗

Intelligence missions include disrupting a power grid and sabotaging an identified plant. Operations need preparation: build a network, learn about the target system and establish the required access. Review the briefing’s cost, duration and risk before authorising it. Preparing an operation ↗

Yes. You can investigate intrusions and run counterintelligence operations to purge or turn hostile access. Operation reports show the results and exposure; intelligence dossiers also provide actions against identified clandestine organisations and individuals. Intelligence and counterintelligence ↗

When you govern a country on the Security Council, you can vote on the condemnation, ceasefire and sanctions resolutions before it. Review the draft and voting forecast, then vote for, against or abstain before the deadline. A permanent member’s vote against is a veto. A ceasefire resolution applies political pressure; it does not itself end the war. Reviewing and voting on a resolution ↗

Open Budget → Revenue & taxes → Customs duties. A customs union may control this rate instead of your government. Agreements reduce the duty on covered goods; targeted measures add extra duties afterwards. Check the WTO ceiling and affected partners before applying a rise: exceeding the ceiling can open trade disputes. Tariffs and trade disputes ↗

Once consultations expire, Prepare response becomes available to the complainant in Diplomacy → Agreements → Measures. It opens a retaliatory act for you to review and apply. If the original measure is later withdrawn, your retaliation does not disappear automatically: it loses its basis and can trigger a dispute against you. Preparing a trade response ↗

Yes. In Diplomacy → Agreements → Measures, compose an act and choose its partners, goods and additional duties. Each clause can have its own notice period and duration. When a trade bloc controls these measures, you need its approval. Targeting goods covered by an agreement can trigger a trade dispute and damage relations. Targeted import duties ↗

Diplomacy → Organizations brings together the UN Security Council, the European Union and its central bank, OPEC, the IMF and the IAEA. NATO is a standing alliance under Defence → Alliances: when a member is attacked, each ally decides whether to enter the war, send military support, grant access only or refuse the call. Trade blocs such as USMCA, Mercosur, ASEAN or the African Continental Free Trade Area negotiate agreements as one party, and their members vote on the bloc’s mandate. Diplomacy and organisations ↗

Yes. When the Council election opens, declare your candidacy in your regional group and vote for the candidates you back. Voting takes place in rounds. The lowest-ranked candidate drops out until a candidate wins enough support or is the last one remaining. Elected members sit for two years alongside the five permanent members.

An eligible country can file an application once it meets the entry criteria on stability, inflation, debt, default and war. Negotiations advance only while you keep meeting them, and every member state must approve your accession. As a member, vote on candidates, propose changes to EU rules such as tariff powers or the treaty amendment rule, campaign in European elections and help appoint the Commission. You can also leave the Union, at a cost to your relations with its members. Applying for membership ↗

No. Adopting the euro is a separate decision for eligible EU members issuing their own currency. The game checks inflation, the deficit, debt and long-term interest rates. Review the conversion before confirming: debt issued in your old currency is converted, the ECB sets your policy rate, and you lose the ability to print your own currency. EU membership and the euro ↗

Yes, when your country faces a real crisis: foreign-currency reserves running short, lost market access, or a sovereign default. The first payment adds foreign-currency reserves and debt, and the first stage of the stabilisation plan applies when you sign. Later tranches depend on budget reviews. Loosening the budget too far beyond the signed plan can suspend payment; the budget screen warns you before a change would fail the review. Applying and following the programme ↗

Deliveries enter the national arsenal first. The general staff reinforces formations over time using available equipment and replacement personnel, with units at the front taking priority. Open Defense → Order of battle and expand a unit type to check its formations. Rebuilding a lost formation also needs enough personnel and equipment, followed by a formation period. From deliveries to equipped formations ↗

After a country is completely conquered, the main conqueror may take custody of its remaining arsenal. Choose whether to integrate the recovered stock, dismantle it or transfer it to an available nuclear partner. Weapons at sea are excluded. Keeping recovered warheads can make your country a nuclear power and trigger a proliferation response; keeping fissile material alone does not. Deciding the arsenal’s fate ↗

The front moves day by day between real formations. Terrain, supply lines, encirclement, air superiority and sea control decide where it advances, and a province counts as occupied only once most of its ground is held. Air forces fly patrols, strikes and close support from their bases; navies fight for control of the sea, and a blockade cuts maritime trade. Each side’s support for the war wears down with casualties, duration and lost territory, and a collapse can force defeat. Occupied provinces stop producing for their owner, so a war is felt in the economy as well as on the map. Preparing and directing a campaign ↗

Yes. The war council asks for your grounds: defence of an ally, a coercive operation, disarmament, imposing a political status or conquest. Each is rated from legitimate to aggression, and the cost at home rises with it. Before you confirm, review the provinces you claim, the countries expected to join the fighting, back the target or condemn you, where your ministers stand, and the expected loss of stability and approval, including any treaty you would break.

The general staff assigns units to sectors and carries out their movements and attacks. You set the campaign directive: Hold, Limited pressure or Major offensive, with changes available at the next monthly review. Across multiple fronts, leave theatre priorities on Auto or override them yourself. You still decide equipment orders, stockpile targets and amphibious assaults. Directing a campaign ↗

Yes. A coercive operation is a limited air and missile campaign. Choose a targeting doctrine: suppress air defences, degrade missile forces, or hit energy or resources. Ground combat and naval manoeuvre stay outside the mandate. You can conclude the operation, or authorise an invasion to escalate to full war at a further political cost.

Yes. In Defence → Arsenal → Order, choose the equipment class and quantity. The game offers domestic production when possible, or an eligible foreign supplier when your country cannot make it or congested domestic lines would deliver later. You review the supplier, model, cost and production time before ordering; you do not pick the supplier yourself. Buying and producing equipment ↗

Equipment is paid for from the military treasury. Part of its cash is protected for operations, so check Available for orders, not just the total balance or annual budget. The full purchase amount must be available and is reserved when you order. You can make a one-off transfer from the national treasury if it has enough cash. Funding an order ↗

An order starts production, not an instant delivery. Factory capacity and existing orders affect the estimate, and units arrive progressively. Check the order’s status for an industrial or payment hold, sanctions, or a war with the supplier. Completed purchases go straight into your arsenal; they do not use the transport rules for military aid. Following production and deliveries ↗

You can cancel your purchase from the production center. Unspent funds reserved for that contract return to your military treasury. Equipment already delivered stays in your arsenal, so cancelling does not refund the whole original purchase after deliveries have begun. Managing equipment orders ↗

Yes. Other countries can place orders with your industry when it is an eligible supplier. The production center separates National, Import and Export orders so you can see who the production is for. An export contract manufactures equipment for its buyer; sending equipment you already own is handled through military support. Domestic and foreign orders ↗

The national depot and supplies carried by units are separate. Click a unit on the military map and check Ammunition endurance. Resupply draws from the depot but is limited by logistics; isolated units cannot receive it. Raising the depot target buys more ammunition over time, but does not remove those limits. Reserves and unit supplies ↗

Set their separate Depot target controls in Defence → Arsenal → Equipment. Ammunition uses days of combat reference coverage for the depot; the missile target counts missiles both in storage and with units. Outstanding orders also count towards the missile shortfall. The administration orders the shortfall as funds allow, but the stock only grows when deliveries arrive. Production can also supply foreign buyers, so check Deliveries received rather than domestic production alone. Keeping reserves supplied ↗

You can start either a declared or a clandestine nuclear-weapons programme. Fund it, pause it or abandon it, and rebuild a depleted arsenal. A clandestine programme can become suspected or exposed, so secrecy is part of the risk. A clandestine programme started under the Non-Proliferation Treaty can prompt an IAEA inspection. In Diplomacy → Organizations → IAEA, check the deadline and choose Cooperate and dismantle or Refuse and continue. Ignoring the deadline counts as refusal: the programme becomes public and triggers the international response. Cooperation abandons the programme; only its unspent reserved funds are returned. The nuclear programme ↗

Yes, if your country has nuclear weapons. Choices include No first use, Extended deterrence and Launch on warning. Your declaration can affect relations, the credibility of your guarantees and the scale of a massive retaliation. Changing doctrine commits you for a year. Launch on warning also requires a high enough alert level to offer a response before impact. Doctrine and alert levels ↗

Yes. A non-nuclear country can request a Nuclear umbrella, and a nuclear power can offer one. The partner must accept; an AI guarantor requires an existing defence commitment. The agreement includes a non-proliferation pledge. Its credibility depends on the guarantor’s arsenal, doctrine and commitment, so retaliation is not guaranteed. Making your weapons programme public breaches the pledge and may lead the guarantor to withdraw. Negotiating nuclear protection ↗

Yes, where territory has been left without a government. Select it on the map and choose Expand into this land. You need a land border and the authority to expand. Progress is gradual and other neighbours can compete; you can choose Stop expanding. This adds territory to your country rather than restoring the former state. Devastated territory ↗

In the nuclear war room, choose targets and allocate warheads while the projected retaliation is shown. A first strike severely damages your stability, approval and relations with every country, and the target and its guarantors may retaliate. If you are struck, choose your response, from holding back to massive retaliation. Strikes kill, destroy infrastructure and housing, and send soot into the atmosphere. Reduced sunlight and cooling can affect crops, fishing and solar generation even in countries that were never hit. These effects develop over time; the launch preview is not the final outcome. By default, AI powers only fire in retaliation; a game rule can allow them to strike first when facing an existential threat. Launches and consequences ↗

You can demand annexation of occupied provinces covered by your declared territorial war goals. The peace screen lets you select eligible provinces and evaluate whether the other side will accept. Occupation gives military control; the agreed settlement transfers sovereignty. You can also negotiate a ceasefire or an armistice. War and peace ↗

Choose how each occupied area is run: administer, repress or expel. Repression weakens resistance but kills civilians; expulsion drives the population out. Hostility can build from calm to open revolt, and the world watches how you treat civilians: harm done to them damages relations and can bring sanctions. Fighting also kills civilians near the front and forces people to flee, some of them abroad.

Yes. In Political Status, negotiate the purchase or cession of an entire territory with its own administration. Choose a price and proposed status. The affected authorities must agree, and changing sovereignty requires a referendum. Status negotiations also let you propose autonomy or independence where your authority allows it. Negotiating political status ↗

You can propose a ceasefire or an armistice. If accepted, fighting stops while forces hold their positions; sovereignty does not change. Fighting resumes automatically when a ceasefire expires; an armistice has no automatic end date. Breaking an active agreement damages relations and domestic support, and breaking an armistice also costs stability. A final territorial settlement is a separate peace agreement. Ceasefires and peace negotiations ↗

Defence treaties trigger a call when a covered ally is attacked; they do not guarantee that every member will fight. Each ally can enter the war, send military support, grant access or refuse. If you lead your side, Call allies also lets you ask allies to join voluntarily, including in a war you started. Their government can refuse. Defence calls and voluntary participation ↗

Yes. Offer monthly funding, equipment from your stockpiles, or both. An accepted programme makes your country a supporter without directly committing it as a combatant. Embargoes and supply routes can interrupt equipment deliveries. You can also request support when your own country is fighting. Sending and receiving military support ↗

In Defense → Alliances, use Terminate for your presence abroad or Evict for a foreign presence you host. This starts a notice period, and rent remains due until the agreement ends. Ending it also has diplomatic consequences. Negotiating and ending a basing agreement ↗

Yes, with an active basing agreement. In Defence → Bases → Open the base room, choose the type, size and an authorised location. The agreement limits military domains and capacity. Naval bases require a coastal location; logistics, air defence and shelter hardening are added to an existing base.

Yes, for eligible territories when your authority allows it. Political Status lets you propose autonomy, independence or integration, exchange counteroffers and inspect local support. The affected authorities must consent, and changes such as independence or sovereignty transfers require a referendum. Negotiating a territory’s future ↗

In Space → Budget, Borrow lends your country’s money to an operator you sponsor. It needs available public funds and creates an interest-bearing loan the operator must repay. Repay uses the operator’s cash. Pay a dividend distributes available profits to its owners; it cannot turn an empty cash balance into income.

Open Space → Logistics and inspect the reason and deadline. An arriving mission can retry or return to Earth; the return takes time and does not refund the mission. Returning freight can be recovered, but construction modules are lost. A stuck surface shipment needs an open route to return and can be lost if none is available by its deadline. Abandon cargo permanently discards a surface shipment. Resolving held shipments ↗

Yes. Your military satellites provide navigation coverage that makes air support more effective. In Defense → Satellites, check Navigation (precision) and Strike precision, then use Arsenal to order more. The benefit follows equipment actually delivered; placing an order does not increase coverage immediately. Ordering military equipment ↗

Yes. A licence, scientific cooperation or a joint industrial project can speed up your research. Signing the agreement does not unlock the technology: you still need to launch and complete a programme. The partner must already know the technology, and relations, prerequisites and technology embargoes determine which agreements are available. Research and partnerships ↗

Economic benefits spread as the technology enters use across the country. Researchers, institutions and digital infrastructure limit how widely it can be adopted; equipment renewal and electricity supply also affect the pace. Check National deployment and compare Current with At full deployment in the technology’s details. Some discoveries unlock a capability directly rather than spreading this way. Following a discovery ↗

Some technologies that improve production or labour efficiency have further generations. Next generation shows whether another programme is available or how much deployment is still needed. Later generations use a Sovereign program, occupy a research slot and bring additional gains that also spread over time. Researching another generation ↗

Yes. Establish a site in an unoccupied lunar region, build facilities and surface links, and send trained crews. Sites can extract resources and arrange their return to Earth. Lunar sites and missions ↗

You need crewed-spaceflight capability, trained crew, enough power and room at the destination. Habitat and life support must be ready; facilities on standby in an empty base also qualify. The supply forecast must cover at least three months, counting the arriving crew and the provisions they bring. Preparing a crew mission ↗

Yes. In Space → Governance, appoint governors, set taxation and use Charter to choose an advisory council, budget powers or legislative powers. Residents can seek autonomy or independence. Granting autonomy gives the colony elected leadership and legislative powers that you cannot simply take back through the charter. Governing a lunar colony ↗

No. After a vote for independence, you still decide whether to conclude the settlement. Review the terms in Space → Governance: the transfer requires operating capital from your country. Before a request can arise, the colony also needs to meet its civic and economic conditions; subsidies alone do not count as local earned income. Once the settlement is concluded, the new state takes control of its government and sites. Autonomy, referendum and settlement ↗

Yes. Send settlers brings permanent residents, separately from the astronauts sent with Send a crew. The destination needs free housing, working life support, enough power and supplies for the arrivals. Residents have jobs, incomes and political demands. Follow the requirements shown for settlement before sending another group. Crews and civilian settlers ↗

No. Outposts automatically arrange deliveries of food, breathable gases and spare parts when their reserves need replenishing. Those deliveries still require money, launch access, transport capacity and room in storage. In Space → Outposts, check Resupply and any Resupply blocked message, then follow the shipment in Logistics. A severe shortage can lead to an evacuation; automatic resupply is not a guarantee of survival. Keeping an outpost supplied ↗

You can build a centre or request launch slots from an eligible foreign provider. Foreign access has an annual fee and needs the provider’s agreement; it does not replace the required space technology. Review offers and contracts in Space → Logistics, or use Build a center in Program. A full launch window queues a prepared mission until capacity is available. Preparing launch access ↗

Helium-3 fuels experimental and commercial fusion reactors on Earth. You need to extract it, keep the lunar site supplied and arrange its return; stock on the Moon cannot fuel an Earth-based reactor. Bringing it home does not automatically earn money or add electricity. It stays in physical storage until it is used or sold. Mining, returning and using helium-3 ↗

No. Complete the required fusion and helium-3 technologies, then build the experimental reactor in After oil. It needs 24 months of actual operation, with helium-3 and other operating supplies, before commercial helium-3 reactors become available. You can return lunar helium-3 or buy an available Earth-based supply. Commercial plants still need construction, fuel and running costs. Proving and supplying a fusion reactor ↗

Yes. The game includes console commands to add money or military equipment, set your stability, complete or speed up research, speed up construction, finish projects, shock your currency's prices, change territory, trigger a natural disaster, start an outbreak or make a new pathogen emerge. A successful cheat permanently disables Steam achievements for that campaign, even if you later turn it off. Help and display commands do not disable achievements. Console and cheats ↗

The progress already made is kept, even if the technology has not been discovered yet. Stopping a programme frees its slot. Research capacity is shared automatically between programmes that can progress, so you prioritise by choosing which ones to run. Managing research programmes ↗