A State in Class
Player sheet
Who Pays for Us All?
You are a country. Your Income, Cost of Living and goals are on your role card. Stand up for your life; but if nobody stands up for everyone's, the country breaks down and you all lose.
Each round
- Event. The round's card is read out.
- Debate. Talk and negotiate. Only the vote counts.
- You vote on the tax in secret: A, B, C or D.
- Pay day. You receive your Income; you pay tax and Cost of Living. If you cannot: down to 0, Exclusion token and Tension +3.
- You vote on the budget in secret: which service goes up. 3 coins to the most voted, 2 to the second, 1 to the third, over and over.
- End of round. Tension moves.
What each class pays
| Tax | Upper | Middle | Working |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Flat tax | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| B Proportional | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| C Progressive | 7 | 3 | 1 |
| D Maximum effort | 10 | 4 | 2 |
What the services give
- Health At level 4 or above, everyone's Cost of Living goes down by 1.
- Education At level 3 or above, the middle and working classes are paid 1 more.
- Social Shield At level 3 or above, the working class pays no Cost of Living.
Special rounds
- Rounds 3 and 6: the services go down 1 level.
- Round 4, Midlife Crossroads: you are paid, pay nothing and draw a card; you may change class.
- Round 8: the last one. Then the final count.
Social Tension
It goes up 3 for each Exclusion token and, from round 2, 1 for each service on level 1 at the end of the round. It goes down 1 if all three are on level 4 or above.
- 1-4 · calm
- 5-7 · −2 points for everyone
- 8-9 · −5 for everyone
- 10 · Failed State: the game ends and nobody wins
Your points at the end
| Your life, by your goals (Falls Short / Get By / Live Well / Thrive) | −4 / 0 / +8 / +12 |
| Services. The three levels added up, for everyone | × 2 |
| Legacy. If that total reaches 12, for everyone | +5 |
| Exclusion tokens. Each one | −5 |
| Final Tension, for everyone | 0 / −2 / −5 |
With the hidden layer, also: +5 if you meet your secret goal and +1 for each correct suspicion.
Money does not score on its own: it counts towards your goals (including what you kept in the pact).
Most points wins. With the Legacy, the whole table also wins as a country.