So you started the game for the first time, looked at some numbers, charts, read the report and now you wonder what to do? Well you can simply... do nothing. Just click the ”next turn“ button and see what happens. Watch how various numbers change to get a feel of the dynamics of the system. Check the approval ratings and take a look at the social groups to see what their members are appreciating and what annoys them. Open the budget panel to see what are the values of budget deficit and national debt. Pay special attention to the variable called ”National Debt as percentage of GDP“ . If the value of this variable exceeds 50%, you will have to modify the policies in such a way, that the planned budget balance is positive.
By doing nothing, i.e. not making any changes to policies, you can actually get quite far in the game. However, around three turns before elections, the national debt will exceed the level of 50% of GDP and you will be forced to either increase taxes, or reduce spending. Whatever you do, you will loose public support and that is not a good thing when elections are just around the corner. It is still possible to win the game at this point, but you will have to apply some methods used by hard line populists.
The key to winning ”The economy, stupid!“ is to modify policies, at an early phase of the game, when the global economic situation is good and exports rise. If you manage to significantly reduce unemployment, the national debt will not exceed 50% of GDP later in the game and you will not have to implement unpopular policies just before elections. Initially, your decisions may make your cabinet loose popularity. However in the end, you will regain your voters and win the elections. Of course, there are many ways to win. The game is quite short, so you can experiment with various approaches.
One final tip: When the unemployment benefits are high, the unemployed prefer to live on the benefit instead of looking for jobs.
Good Luck.