Geo-Political web-based simulator

A Geo-Political web-based simulator is a nation-simulation game in which players take the roles of leaders of nations or organizations. Most geopolitical simulators are Internet forum-based and are a form of computer-assisted gaming. A few are Play by mail game (also referred to as play-by-mail, or PBM). Some are Tabletop game or Computer and video games games, but these are outside the scope of this article. Geopolitical web-based simulators are usually known as nation simulators, or nationsims for short.

A geopolitical simulator differs from a Government simulation in that it simulates a group of nations or the entire world, whereas a government simulator simulates a single nation or part of a single nation.

= History =

The history of nationsims is mostly guesswork, as the very first were played in tightly-knit Internet communities and rarely made themselves publicly visible. Generally, the original simulations tended to spawn off-shoots as players created games set in different time periods or dealing with alternate history.

One of the earliest still-running nations sims is [http://www.edwardmooney.com/imaginations/ ImagiNations], which began in September 1997 by flag enthusiasts interested in coming up with new designs. It has expanded into several imaginary planets worth of countries, although as of October 2005 not all are particularly active or publicly available.

Some gamers claim that the first public nationsim was [http://www.angelfire.com/oh/qpawn Qpawn] Qpawn is not only one sim, but rather the name of a franchise that run several sims. The first Qpawn, called quite simply Qpawn Original, was set in present day (as of 1996). The game divided in early 2000, but by then two other games had already started called Qpawn World Power[http://qpawn.avidgamers.com/](set in a post-WWI setting) and Qpawn 2000[http://qpawns.avidgamers.com/](set in and after 2000). In september 2005, one of the old administrators of Qpawn Original re-opened the game due to demand.

== History of Qpawn==

In early 2000, The Qpawn family was established, which was a franchise of political sims. [http://www.angelfire.com/oh/qpawn Qpawn] is the name a political simulation that was started in 1996. It quickly grew in popularity and had around 70 players, many of them were loyal Qpawn fans. The creator wanted to give the game the name CPAWN , which stood for Commoners Posing As World Nations, but CPAWN was already taken by another site so he randomly selected QPAWN instead. In the year 1998 another game called Qpawn2000 was started. In the year 2000, Qpawn experienced problems between the old players and many new players. The new administrator Stephen James O Keeffe tried to make the game more public and realistic. The game was split into two. Qpawn and Qpawn-world power. The original Qpawn failed quite quickly due to lack of admin efforts even though other players volunteered to administrate Qpawn, while World Power was moved to avidgamers and still exists - though with a reduced amount of players. In September 2005, [http://www.angelfire.com/oh/qpawn Qpawn Original] was re-launched. The old administrator Stephen James O Keeffe was asked to re-launch the original Qpawn. It is starting with totally new players and some old moderators. The Qpawn system has been changed to make it easier and hopefully more fun. Examples is daily news and a new moderator system. The game is played through a [http://www.politicsuk.net/qpawn/phpBB2/index.php forum]

== History of Gloria ==

An early spin off of WorldPower founded in 2003 by a member of the WP administrative staff. [http://p200.ezboard.com/bgamegoddess Glorias] raison detre is to simulate periods of greater parity between the great powers, which is why it focus on the recent past rather than the Bi or Uni-Polar periods of more recent times. Gloria has had versions played in 1880, 1900, 1903 and a 1910 version is expected in fall of 2005. The key innovation of Gloria is the time periods chosen and the relative parity of the great power at those times. Other innovations include: a simplified rule set, a board game based military system in which battles are determined by dice and modifiers rather than admin judgment, economic, political and military leader units which convey certain benefits or hindrances on the nations which receive them and persistent in game private citizens not associated with any government who tell the story of the game through a series of personal letters written in period language.

== History of Magna Grecia ==

An offshoot of WorldPower created in 2004 by members of the WP administrative staff, Magna Grecia [http://p196.ezboard.com/bmagnagrecia (MG)] is set in ancient Greece. Among Magna Grecias greatest departures from previous games was the creation of two classes of players, the majority of players would play as leaders of Greek City-States as in typical geopolitical sims while a minority would play as Greek Gods. The Greek Gods would process orders and create events as admins do in other sims but would also be players themselves as they were not required to assume a neutral stance on game events but rather to pursue the agendas of the Gods in which they were playing. There was even an intricate system in which Gods received power from the players through the sacrifice system, in which players would essentially trade resources or money for favors from Gods. To date two versions of Magna Grecia have been played and a third is expected in fall or winter of 2005

== History of NATIONS ==

The Nations Simulation was established November, 2004, largely influenced by the Diplomatic Immunity ruleset formulated by the former administrator of the True World Simulator. Nations, although allowing participants to engage in military confrontation and operations, focuses primarily on diplomacy, with the United Nations responsible for a growing number of the actions conducted throughout the game. Leaders are able to conference and discuss matters pertaining to domestic or international affairs via a player established Local News Agency (for example, the US, and Fox News) as well as a Leaders Discussion board. Several other multilateral organizations, including the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the European Union, are also simulated.

== History of SuperPower Classic ==

In 2001, what is today recognised as one of the largest nationsims was started by a breakaway player from Qpawn 2000. Using the rules and layout of Diplomacy and Conquest (with permission from the previous operators of that sim), he created a new game called SuperPower Classic [http://calego.cc/superpower]. SuperPower Classic has evolved to adapt a new set of rules different from those first rules from Diplomacy and Conquest. SuperPower Classic is the only geopolitical sim that uses real-life individual military units which add a depth to the game (especially in the area of military construction/purchasing). The SuperPower Classic board feature many functions that ease the workload of the avatars and help the players better enjoy the game. There is an automated military purchase market that allows players to purchase military units from each other, or order the construction of military units from domestic military industries. A Nations List provides quick and easy access to complete information on every played and non-played nation on earth. A treaties section list important treaties and the nations that are signatories to it. An automated budget system helps the players compile their annual budgets. An embassy function also allows player to see which organizations/treaties other nations are part of using a graphic chart. SuperPower Classic has so far had 7 rounds (a round ends when the ingame world ends) and is currently going on its eighth round. SuperPower Classic has always had the same timeline, starting in the present day.

== History of True World Simulator ==

Another sim that was initiated by ex-players of Q-Pawn, the True UN Simulator began in late 1999. In mid-2000, due to internal issues, almost all of the players broke away from TUN and reformed it under the name True World Simulator [http://worldsimulations.com/TWS/index.php]. While perhaps one of the longest-running nationsims on the Internet, it has constantly been hampered by sporadic player and moderator activity. It is currently the sister-site of one of the most successful US Government Simulators on the Internet, USGovsim [http://worldsimulations.com/USG/index.php]. TWS is mainly a war-based simulation; however in June-July of 2005, a reset made a drastic move away from the war-oriented theme of the game in the midst of the TWS-USG merger. Is currently on hiatus until Fall of 2006, where it will be brought back online as a purely United Nations Simulator (mainly for the students of the game s head-admin) and be a starting point for people interested in nationsims.

== History of WorldPower ==

WorldPower [http://pub4.ezboard.com/bworldpower (WP)] was founded in 2003 as a contemporary sim focusing on geopolitics and diplomacy. WorldPower has had several variants, including a Samuel Huntington Clash of Civilizations version, and has directly contributed to other associated sites such as Gloria and Magna Grecia, set in different eras. Today, WorldPower is widely considered to be among the most innovative and widely emulated game in the genre. Some of WorldPower s features include player game awards, scrolling marquees with game news, graphical military tech tree, game-specific characters for multiple international organizations, a foreign policy magazine section which allows players to comment in game from a supposedly neutral point of view, and Administrative INBOXES devoted to managing different game functions. WorldPower is one of the largest and most active geopolitical sims on the Internet today.

== History of Imperium 2300 ==

Imperium 2300 [http://s12.invisionfree.com/imperium2300 (Imperium)] is a spin-off of Nations set in the year 2300, as the title suggests. It is one of the few geopolitical sims of its type, and includes colonization of other worlds, futuristic space combat, and new battle systems, calculated primarily by sets of factors. Imperium 2300 was founded in July and has experienced a dip in activity due to the vacation of an admin and the site falling into neglect. Imperium 2300 includes an in-depth military system, data archives and colonization.

== History of World Dominator 1990 ==

While founded by the same member as Imperium 2300, [http://s14.invisionfree.com/world_dominator_1990 World Dominator] is a more tightly-knit game with a complex military system. Combining aspects of Nations, International Politics and other nationsims, and adding its own spice , such as a unique military frame/design system. World Dominator is set in the 90 s, and advances at a pace of 1 year to six weeks. World Dominator 1990 was formed partly because of a small upheaval in Imperium 2300 meaning the administrator could not reach the site for a period of time, but also as an experiment with geo-political nationsims, using a military system not used before and combinations of other rules, while keeping a good feel .

= How a geopolitical simulator is played =

Each player takes the role of the leader of a nation, or in some cases the leader of an organization (such as a terrorist organization). Some games have more than one player taking a role in a single nation. For example, one may play the head of state while another plays the head of government, or one may play the leader of the nation while another plays an opposition candidate or a rebel.

Players submit actions to one or more referees or game leaders, who are usually called avatars. Such an action is generally a detailed plan for something the player wants to happen. Actions can be anything a player can imagine (such as an order to start a war or raise the income tax). In forum-based games, actions are sent to the avatars through the private message or in-game message system that is a feature of most Internet forums. In Play by mail game, actions are sent by email.

Players also need to prepare budgets (usually once each ingame year) in which they decide how they will spend their nations revenue. Budgets differ greatly in complexity from game to game. Some nationsims allow the players to set different tax rates for different types of goods, while others simply use an infrastructure rate that allows the player to choose how much money is to be spent on the nation s infrastructure and other domestic costs.

Computer-assisted geopolitical simulators often have many players. As a result, they usually have several avatars. There may be one avatar for each continent or one for each general type of action (such as one for domestic actions and one for military actions).

The avatars determine the results of actions based entirely on their own experience and knowledge; players usually have no say in the avatars decisions. This can lead to problems, since a good avatar must be experienced, completely unbiased, and have a great deal of knowledge about international and domestic politics.

The avatars create news bulletins announcing the results of actions. As news is released, the players react by making statements or sending additional actions. Roleplaying is important, as players must act as if they were actually the leader of the nation they play.

In a forum-based geopolitical simulator, players have access to common boards and usually to a few private boards for organizations (such as OPEC or NATO). The common boards usually include a forum in which players discuss world events, an Out of character forum, and a news forum in which the avatars post the news. There is usually a common United Nations forum as well.

Most sites have introductions and FAQs for new players that explain how that sim is played. SuperPower Classic has an introduction for players that have never before played geopolitical sims [http://calego.cc/superpower/index.phpact=Help&CODE=01&HID=41].

= List of geopolitical simulators [http://calego.cc/superpower/index.phpshowtopic=3926] =

== Far Future ==

*[http://s12.invisionfree.com/imperium2300 Imperium 2300]

== Future ==

*[http://9.forumer.com/mforum=conflicts Conflict] *[http://worldsimulations.com/TWS/index.php True World Simulator]

== Near Future ==

*[http://annex2.avidgamers.com/ Annex Version 2.5] *[http://ward2.avidgamers.com/ War and Diplomacy] *[http://wdg.avidgamers.com/forums.html World Diplomacy: 2008] *[http://ww3.avidgamers.com/forums.html World Of Wars 3]

== Present Day ==

*[http://s10.invisionfree.com/GrowingNations/index.phpact=idx Future of Changing Worlds] *[http://groups.msn.com/Globaldiplomacy/_whatsnew.msnw Global Diplomacy] *[http://globalnations.8.forumer.com/index.php Global Nations] *[http://s10.invisionfree.com/GrowingNations/index.phpact=idx Growingnations] *[http://www.edwardmooney.com/imaginations/ ImagiNations] *[http://nations.littlespelk.co.uk Nations] *[http://polisim.avidgamers.com/forum.o8684631.html Political Simulator] *[http://www.angelfire.com/oh/qpawn QPAWN] *[http://calego.cc/superpower/ SuperPower Classic] *[http://nationsforumerc.6.forumer.com/ World Nations] *[http://p089.ezboard.com/bworldpower WorldPower 3] *[http://s9.invisionfree.com/World_Superpower/index.phpact=idx World Superpower]

== 2005 ==

*[http://wotw.avidgamers.com/forums.html Deadly Diplomacy] *[http://global.avidgamers.com/ Global Leaders] *[http://www.maxar.net/forums/IntPol/index.php Global Politics] *[http://http://qpawn2k5.icarter.com/forums/index.phpact=idx Qpawn 2005]

== 20th Century ==

*[http://www.avidgamers.com/ntws New True World Simulator] *[http://s13.invisionfree.com/LOTW/index.phpact=idx Lotw] *[http://usimp.com/MPE/ Qpawn 1990] *[http://qpawns.avidgamers.com/forums.html Qpawn2000] *[http://s14.invisionfree.com/World_Dominator_1990 World Dominator 1990]

== Cold War Era ==

*[http://coldwarsim.ipbfree.com/ Cold War Simulator] *[http://powdri.avidgamers.com/ Power Drive] *[http://coldwar.10.forumer.com/index.php The Cold War] *[http://s13.invisionfree.com/The_Superpower_1950/index.php The Superpower 1950] *[http://wape.avidgamers.com/ War and Peace] *[http://dsradio.net/worldorder/index.php World Order] *[http://groups.yahoo.com/group/world_leader/ World Leader]

== Post World War2 (1950) ==

*[http://wape.avidgamers.com/ War and Peace] *[http://powdri.avidgamers.com/ Powerdrive]

== World War 2 ==

*[http://s8.invisionfree.com/WWII/index.phpact=idx Global Simulation] *[http://www.avidgamers.com/Asia2000/ Qpawn 98]

=== Pre World War 1 === *[http://p200.ezboard.com/bgamegoddess Gloria: 1910] *[http://1900.bravehost.com/ Powder Keg European Empires:1900] *[http://qpawn.avidgamers.com/ Qpawn World Power] *[http://domination1922.avidgamers.com/ World Domination 1922] *[http://wd1914.avidgamers.com/index.html World Diplomacy:1914] *[http://p066.ezboard.com/bsolarsimulations2 Empires]

== 1800 s and 1700 s ==

*[http://cc1700.avidgamers.com/ Colonial Conquest] *[http://s13.invisionfree.com/Empires/index.php Empires] *[http://s3.invisionfree.com/Empires_and_Industry/ Empires and Industry] *[http://p214.ezboard.com/beuropeanwar180037102 European War 1800] *[http://www.rpg-chronicles.com/europeanwar/ European War 1800]

== Ancient Era ==

*[http://p196.ezboard.com/bmagnagrecia Magna Grecia]

== Several Timelines ==

*[http://s7.invisionfree.com/Global_Simulation Global Simulation]

== Unclear Timeline ==

*[http://s6.invisionfree.com/European_Union/index.phpact=idx European Union] *[http://s13.invisionfree.com/fop/index.phpact=site Future of Past]

=See also=

*Simulation *Simulation game *Nation-simulation game *Government simulation *micronation *Grand strategy *Wargaming *Role-playing game *Tabletop game *Computer and video games *Computer-assisted gaming *Internet forum *Play by mail game