Game reference

Game compendium

Short definitions for the systems used during each quarterly turn. In-game terms link back to these entries.

Align

Set a policy lever to the faction's requested target. The change enters this quarter's plan before it is committed.

Approval

A measure of how strongly the public or a faction supports the government. Low approval makes elections and coalition management harder.

Coalition support

Support held across the factions backing the government. Elections require enough coalition support to retain the mandate.

Faction

An organized political bloc with its own approval, priorities, and influence. Factions can support, pressure, or leave the governing coalition.

Legitimacy composite

A summary of how accepted and effective the government is. It combines consent, state capacity, and coercion pressure.

Mandate

The authority to govern and carry out the program promised to supporters. In PoliSim, objectives and elections show whether that authority is holding.

Mobilization

The point when a faction turns concern into organized political pressure. Mobilized factions demand faster action and carry more influence.

Overdrive

Push a policy beyond its normal governance limit for one quarter. The move is temporary and carries an immediate legitimacy cost.

Political capital

The action-point budget for policy changes this quarter. Costs appear while planning and are charged when the quarter advances.

Policy lever

A government setting you can raise or lower, such as tax rates or infrastructure spending. Lever changes enter the current plan first.

Salience

How urgent an issue feels to a faction right now. Higher salience pushes the faction closer to mobilization.

Signature threshold

The salience level at which a faction mobilizes around its defining demand. Reaching it makes that faction harder to ignore.

Slack

The distance between the current result and an objective target. Positive slack meets the target; negative slack shows how far the run is behind.

Tier

The victory grade earned from the objectives completed and the slack remaining. A stronger tier reflects a more complete mandate.