Written by Stephanie Lemieux

Published on December 18, 2015

Tired of the rehearsed and empty rhetoric running rampant across political campaigns? Are you in disbelief over the dopey disagreements during the debates? Ever say to yourself, “I would make a better president than any of these people”?

Now you have the chance to prove yourself!

Democracy 3 is a game that puts the player in the position of president. After you choose the country you’d like to be at the helm of, you begin taking over any issues that may have preexisted. You also work with your cabinet of ministers, who have expertise in different policy areas, though you can hire and fire people to fill the positions to your heart’s content.

The object of the game is to keep your electorate happy so that you achieve reelection for the next term; the number of terms you can serve depends on the country selected.

Each turn of the game amounts to a quarter of one year. During each turn, you are given a certain amount of political capital, which is used to make policy decisions.

This capital is acquired by your ministers, and you get more each turn. The game mirrors real-life politics in that “bigger”and more impactful legislation cannot be passed quickly. For example, if you’d like to implement universal single-payer healthcare, you may need 60 political capital, which could take at least three turns to acquire.

 

But political decisions are not black and white, and Democracy 3 recognizes that.

 

 

When deciding how much funding to allocate for state schools, for example, choices range from “wooden schoolhouses” to “shared textbooks” to “student laptops.”

As a self-identified socialist, I chose to spend more on education, and less on defense. Yet, I needed money to fund these expensive, well-equipped schools, so I raised taxes on the wealthy and corporations. I began to get threats from a capitalist terrorist group, who later assassinated me.

Playing Democracy 3 has given me a deeper understanding of the balancing act inherent in politics, and how laws impact individuals. If you’re bored with the monotony of Candy Crush and would like to play a more educational, thought-provoking game, it’s available for Mac, PC, and iOS and can be purchased here.