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  ™
  
  “A new world is taking shape at the end of the millennium
  that has two possible futures. If current trends continue we will
  have a world divided by immense inequality, with the poorest
  regions falling further behind. Our children will face a world of 
  environmental collapse, international resentment, insecurity and 
  uncontrolled international crime. Vast swathes of humanity will
  be excluded from great wealth created by a global economy.”
  “It is worth reflecting on what future generations will think
  when they look back. Will they see us as the first generation 
  to build firm foundations for international peace and to rid the
  planet of the scourges of absolute poverty and avoidable dis-
  ease? Or will they see a generation hell-bent on squandering
  every natural resource in a quest for material happiness and
  at the cost of the great majority of humanity? Will they feel
  pride or shame at what their fathers and mothers have done
  to the world they inhabit?"
  Oxfam report, 1999CE
  soft landing
  ™ v1.0
  ©2009 Greg Porter
  ISBN 0-943891-62-0
  Published by:
  Blacksburg Tactical Research Center
  www.btrc.net
  Design:
  Greg Porter
  Graphics:
  Greg Porter
  Playtesting:
  Chris Alison, Dawson Berry, Robert Chatterson,
  Cathy DeMott, Scott Fernandez, Patrick Foley,
  Richard Fortuna, Jeremy Gross, Bret Jones,
  Matthew Kincaid, Andrew Mike, Kreela Moore,
  Sean O’Brien, Ben Shanks, Scott Smith, 
  Jimmy Tobat
  Useful comments: Lee Valentine
  Other credits:
  John Kolb, loyal minion & sounding board, for assistance with the
  basic concepts and scraping Bambi off the bottom of the car.
  to Cathy DeMott, for always being there.
  All rights reserved. soft landing is a trademark of BTRC for its global
  resource manipulation game. Protected by the International
  Copyright Convention and our outsourced enforcers.
  
  start•
  soft landing is a game about hope and pragmatism, policy and
  belief, hard choices and dire consequences. And winning, of
  course. Each player takes the part of a national leader, with the
  power to make all the important decisions needed to stay in
  power, keep their citizens happy and healthy, and ensure a better
  future for all. But...
  There may not enough resources in the game for everyone, or
  they are unevenly distributed so that nations have to trade to get
  what they need. Will you share what you have and make even
  use of the open markets, or manipulate it for short-term gains? Will
  you contribute towards a brighter future, knowing other nations
  simply plan to take advantage of your investment? And will you
  find that many of your choices are already made for you, the
  expectations and demands of your populace constraining your
  ability to implement vitally needed change?
  Victory in soft landing comes from having the highest point total
  one turn after one of the end-game triggers happens. These are
  various man-made Catastrophes that send the world into a down-
  ward spiral, or the development of New Era tech that pushes
  humanity into (or at least towards) a new age of prosperity. These
  points come from the sum of your nation’s attributes and any
  improvements, plus any points gained from investments made. Of
  course, you can also lose points from natural and man-made
  disasters, or the political machinations of the other players.
  soft landing is not quite a board game, not quite a way to tell a
  story and not quite role-playing. Your stats are that of a nation, not
  a character, but the way you play that nation can represent your
  own personal beliefs and your desire to reshape the world through
  implementing them. You are taking on a role, negotiating, bluffing,
  intimidating, making the most of limited resources for the good of
  your people, and maybe even the world as a whole. The game
  can end with the dawn of a new era, or be a sad tale of a down-
  ward spiral into barbarism.
  Your job is to make sure your nation, your people and your ideals
  are the ones best prepared in either case.
  the sidebars
  Most of the pages will have marginal notes. Some may be a bit
  cynical▼, while others are simply informative▲.
  So, let’s get started.
  ▲ Winning soft landing
  is about managing
  your resources, some
  cooperation, some
  competition, a little
  diplomacy, a dash of
  guile, and maybe a
  wee bit of extortion
  here or there. You can
  work constructively,
  work to tear down
  what others have built,
  or maybe both. There
  is something in it for
  everyone.
  ▼ You can look at soft
  landing with whatever
  slant you want. You
  can feel you have
  validated your beliefs
  if you use them and
  win, or say the game
  is propaganda if you
  apply your ideals and
  lose. You’re wrong in
  either case. It’s just a
  game. While having
  fun is the object (and
  winning is nice, too),
  the choices you make
  to try to reach that
  goal and the reasons
  you made those
  choices are what you
  should be thinking
  about.
  1
  soft landing
  
  ▲ soft landing is mostly
  about you trying to
  get ahead of every-
  one else, but like all
  good economic and
  resource manipulation
  games, there are also
  ways to screw over
  the other players,
  through alliances,
  market manipulation,
  or actions that will
  slow you down a
  little, but slow down
  someone else quite
  a bit more.
  And this becomes a
  matter of pragmatism
  and diplomacy. If you
  are in a position to
  slow down the leader
  in a four-player game,
  this means that the
  two other players can
  take advantage of
  your action better
  than you can. So, you
  should be looking for
  an angle to get some-
  thing from those other
  players to offset your
  costs...
  basics••
  Almost everything in soft landing is based on skill. There are some
  elements of chance, but they affect all players in the same way,
  can be planned for and to some extent, manipulated for your gain.
  Much like real life.
  soft landing does not play for a set number of turns. Rather, play
  continues until one of the end-game triggers happens, after which
  one full turn is played for people to implement last-second plans
  for victory. Each of these end-game triggers is a ticking clock (or
  time bomb). Developing nations may overindustrialize, trying to
  build up to developed nation standards and levels of production,
  but pollute the environment in the process. Developed nations
  might overuse their resources, sparking one or more shortages.
  Unsound fiscal or trade policy might collapse a nation’s economy,
  cascading into a global depression. Political tensions can lead to
  war, or overpopulation or inadequate health care could increase
  the chance of a pandemic. On the bright side, another game clock
  is the development of “New Era technology”, which is undefined,
  but is capable of easing the other stresses on the system and
  maybe ushering in a new age of prosperity, or at the very least, a
  respite from the pressures that try to throw everything else out of
  balance.
  In soft landing, all of these things are actions that players can
  take. Which ones they take will depend on how they intend to
  win, which to a large degree depends on the nation they are
  playing. Actions can result in short term gain at the expense of
  long term potential, and vice versa. Players can work together, be
  loners or form alliances of need or convenience.
  So, to get ready for play, scrounge up about a dozen dice or
  tokens of the same color per player. For markers, you can print off
  and cut out the ones included in the game, use those from some
  other game you might have, or in a pinch use colored paper clips
  or thumbtacks or loose change. The important thing is that each
  player has some markers that are identifiable as belonging to only
  that player.
  As a matter of game terminology, when the rules say something
  like “add a token”, it can also mean “increment a die by one”.
  So, if you are using dice instead of tokens or other markers, you
  simply change the die face to represent the new number. If you
  are reading through the rules for the first time, having the full size
  nation sheets already printed will make things easier to see.
  2
  
  Nations
  Each player will control a “nation”. Each nation has five attributes
  and three possible abilities that they can utilize. Grab one of the
  nation cards and look at it. Red circles tend to indicate that you
  consume a lot or do not produce much, green indicates a general
  surplus of capacity and yellow is somewhere in between. The
  color of the icons below is just for ease of use and has no game
  effect. National attributes are below:
  Reserves
  This represents your nation’s ability and will to set aside strategic
  reserves for emergency use, “emergency” being defined as “what
  is in your nation’s best interest at the time”. 
  Lifestyle
  This is a combination of your population and your standard of
  living. A large country with a low standard of living can rate the
  same as a smaller country with a high standard of living. Nations
  that are more able to produce all the needs of their people tend to
  have better numbers than those which rely heavily on imports.
  Tech
  Your technological base. Not necessarily what you have, but what
  you can make. The stuff your people would be able to buy even if
  your nation had absolutely zero imports. Nations with high-tech
  exports have better numbers than those who do not.
  Industry
  Your nation’s industrial base. While your Tech represents the
  efficiency of what you can make, your Industry represents how
  much of it you can make. 
  Resources
  Resources. This covers the potential energy, construction and food
  resources you have access to. Mines, wells, farms, forests and so
  on. The more a nation exports, the better its numbers will be.
  The numbers
  The numbers in the yellow and red circles represent your chance
  of getting that item each round of play. The larger the range of
  numbers in a circle, the better.
  soft landing
  ▼ Nations in soft landing
  are not created equal.
  Some have a clear
  advantage compared
  to others. To balance
  this, the lesser nations
  start off with more VP
  than more developed
  nations. These extra
  VP let lesser nations
  get away with more
  and it is sometimes in
  the best interest of the
  more developed
  nations to pay the
  cost of mitigating the
  damage.
  ▲ The way a nation’s
  starting Victory Points
  are determined is that
  each nation has a
  total number of tokens
  it would get for the set
  of production rolls from
  1 through 6. Subtract
  this from 25 and add
  +1 for each red circle,
  each Population
  stress icon, and each
  stress icon past the
  seventh one on the
  nation, and that is its
  starting VP.
  ▲ Counting all parts of
  production, nations
  get from 1-6 tokens
  per turn, with national
  averages from a low
  of 2.2 (India) per turn
  to a high of 4.3
  (European Union).
  This difference is why
  India starts with 13VP
  more than the
  European Union...
  3
  
  Here’s a sample Nation:
  Now, that looks pretty cluttered, but the colors and symbols are
  easy to figure out. The important things are:
  1. Each attribute has a symbol or symbols in it, reflecting the
  type of stress that nation puts on the global system if you do
  not have a sufficient supply. These circles never hold tokens.
  Example: If North America does meet its Lifestyle needs, it
  adds environmental 
  and political
  stress to the system.
  2. Each attribute has two rows of small circles, an upper row with
  numbers (red or yellow), and a lower row (yellow or green).
  The upper row represents potential production, and the lower
  row indicates stockpiles. In the production step of each round,
  a six-sided die is rolled, and everyone gets to put a marker
  on any empty upper row circle where that number was rolled.
  Example: If the roll at the start of the round was “4”, then North
  America would place a marker in the Reserves, Tech and
  Industry circles that had numbers in them (since 4 is in the
  range for those circles and they are currently empty).
  The color-coding of the circles has a special function which
  we will get into later. These small circles (upper and lower)
  never hold more than one token each.
  3. Each nation has three special abilities. If a nation has a token
  in the circle next to an ability, then that ability can be used.
  Once it is used, you remove the token and you have to pay
  to replace it. Shorthand for what the ability does is in the blue
  circle, but full details are in the rules and reference cards.
  These blue circles never hold more than one token each.
  4. The “VP” is the starting point score that nation has. Keep track
  of these with coins or tokens on the Victory Point track for
  whatever nation you end up with. Whoever has the most VP
  when the game ends is the winner... Every 4VP a nation
  gains will cause it to add a token to the Catastrophe Zone
  with the most tokens in it (player decides if tied).
  ▲ The symbols you will
  need to remember:
  Reserves
  Lifestyle
  Tech
  Industry
  Resources
  Health stress
  Political stress
  Economic stress
  Environment   
  stress
  Resource stress
  Population 
  stress
  When an icon is split 
  like this, it will
  count as both
  of the items, so this
  would be a health
  stress and a political
  stress. If you have a
  choice between the
  two stresses, you
  choose the one on
  the left.
  4
  1
  4
  3
  2
  
  ▲ The selection process
  insures the starting
  mix of nations has
  sufficient resources
  and variation to be
  interesting.
  ▼ Nation selection is the
  first step in strategy.
  The first player can
  effectively choose the
  subset of nations that
  each other player
  may choose from.
  ▲ As an optional rule, to
  make nation selection
  more interesting, you
  can choose any
  nation with a number
  that has not been
  selected yet, and if all
  numbers have been
  chosen at least once,
  you can choose any
  nation that has not
  had its number
  chosen twice.
  ▲ The national groups
  are designed to 
  maximize the number
  of special national
  abilities in a three-
  player game.
  setup•••
  The first thing to decide, even before you setup the game, is how
  much of it you want or need to print. You probably want to print
  the rules and the Quick Reference. You need to print the large
  score track. Whether you need to print and cut out markers for
  each player depends on whether you have dice or other markers
  you can use.
  Set up the score track in the center of the play area where all
  players can read and get to it, and give a Quick Reference card to
  anyone who needs one.
  The basic game has “nations”, which are individual nations (Japan),
  groups that are on the same continent (Africa), part of an economic
  entity (NAFTA) or otherwise have their fortunes linked in some way.
  For instance, the North America “nation” is the United States,
  Canada and Mexico. Even though they have different international
  perspectives and governments, they are a single entity for game
  purposes. However, you are free to call your nation anything you
  want, so you can call the North America card “United States”, and it
  would be about the same, since the lion’s share of the people and
  resources are in that chunk of territory. 
  The 11nations or national groups are:
  Group 1: European Union(3VP), North America(7VP), Middle East(10VP)
  Group 2: Japan(4VP), Russian Federation(9VP), South America(10VP) 
  Group 3: Africa(12VP), India(16VP), Pacific Rim(17VP)
  Group 4: China(11VP). Eastern Europe(14VP)
  The nations are listed in order of their nation group and starting
  VP. Nations with fewer starting VP have better production rolls and
  can gain VP faster than less advantaged nations.
  Nations are chosen by each player, with either the game owner
  choosing first and going clockwise, or order determined by random
  die roll. Nations have a tiny purple circle in the lower left of the
  card, with a number from 1 to 4. After the first nation choice, each
  other player must choose a nation with the next number, with 1
  following 4.
  Example: If you have three players and the first player chooses
  Japan, which has a “1” in the lower left corner, then the next player
  must choose one of the nations that has a “2” there, and the last
  player must choose a nation with a “3” there.
  5
  soft landing
  
  ▲ For less advantaged
  nations, the “global
  trade” or “outsourcing”
  abilities are the best to
  start play with. Since
  nations start with
  some of their yellow
  numbered circles filled,
  having “outsourcing”
  means that no matter
  what the production
  die roll is, you will be
  able to fill your red
  numbered circles.
  ▲ One round is probably
  a number of years,
  perhaps the length of
  one democratically
  elected government or
  a treaty or trade pact.
  ▲ The goal of the game
  is to have the most
  Victory Points after the
  game end condition is
  reached, but the goal
  of your turn is to get
  markers on as many
  of your nation’s red
  and yellow numbered
  circles as possible. In
  each player’s step 6
  (Stress), they are
  penalized for any
  uncovered circles. The
  trick is, to gain Victory
  Points (or keep from
  losing them), you need
  to remove tokens from
  the circles, so there is
  a constant balancing
  act, complicated by
  the fact that the other
  players are directly or
  indirectly sabotaging
  you with their actions.
  Once you have a nation, you put a token on each green circle (if
  any), then put a token on any one blue circle. Then put tokens on
  the numbered yellow circles of your choice until there are a total
  of 4 tokens on the card. We recommend putting your tokens on
  the yellow circles with the smallest range of numbers, if you have
  a choice.
  Example: If playing
  Japan, you start the
  game with a token on
  the green circles, one of
  the blue circles and one of the three yellow numbered circles.
  Since Tech and Industry have a smaller range of numbers than
  Reserves, Tech or Industry would be a better spot for the token
  than Reserves.
  Once everyone has their nation set up, put their initial score (the
  VP listed on their nation card) on the VP track, put markers on the
  Free and Black Market with each available item in the Free Market
  and Black Market at a level of 1, and put tokens equal to half the
  number of players, rounding up, into the Outsourcing, Global Trade,
  Military-Industrial, Foreign Aid and Market Manipulation circles on
  the left side of the turn track. The UN relief, World Bank and Perfect
  Science circles are optional rules you may want to try later on.
  sequence of play••••
  soft landing is played in “rounds”, each round being complete
  when each player has done their “turn” and any catastrophes
  have resolved. The sequence of play each round is done in the
  numerical order below.
  Sequence of play
  These steps are common to all players:
  1. Begin the round
  2. Reset nations
  3. Production
  Then, each player does all of these before passing to next player:
  4. Use special abilities
  5. Trade
  6. Stress
  7. Investment
  Then, this step is common to all players:
  8. Catastrophes
  Then the round is over and you repeat the process.
  6
  
  1. Begin the round
  The player with the lowest score goes first and play proceeds in
  order of score. If there is a tie score, the tied player who acted later
  in the previous round acts earlier on this one. Put the individual
  markers on the turn order track. As each player finishes their step
  7 actions, they move their marker to the “done” spot. When all
  players are done, you do step 8 and then a new round begins.
  2. Reset nations
  All empty green circles have tokens placed in them, all red circles
  with tokens in them have their tokens removed, and all yellow and
  blue circles remain as they are. The player with the lowest score
  puts tokens equal to half the number of players (round down) into
  their choice of the Military-Industrial, Global Trade, Outsourcing,
  Foreign Aid and Market Manipulation circles. These circles may
  accumulate no more tokens than the number of players, and
  tokens must be placed if possible.
  3. Production
  The first player rolls a six-sided die. Any yellow or red numbered
  circle that is empty and has numbers matching this roll will get a
  token (e.g. a roll of 5 means all empty circles with “2-6”, “3-6” or
  “4-5” will get a token, while those with “2-4” do not). No nation
  has a roll where they get nothing, but rolls of “1” and “6” are
  always poor, and rolls of “4” or “5” are usually the best.
  These are the starting Round actions. After this, players take their
  individual turns, starting with the first player and going in order of
  score. That is, each player completes steps 4, 5, 6 and 7 before
  play passes to the next player.
  4. Use special abilities
  If you have a token in one or more of the blue circles at the top of
  your nation, you can use them at this point in your part of the turn.
  Using special abilities may allow you to gain VP. If the circle on
  the turn track for that ability has tokens in it, you gain VP equal to
  the number of tokens, then you remove a token from that circle.
  Military Industrial Complex: You may remove a Military token to
  move up to three different color tokens from one Catastrophe Zone
  to another. The tokens do not have to come from or go to the
  same zone, but they must be of different colors, and you cannot
  move tokens in or out of the New Era Tech zone.
  Global Trade Pact: You may remove a Global Trade token to add a
  token to up to two empty yellow numbered circles on your nation.
  ▲ A “turn” is when it is a
  particular player’s
  chance to act, which
  happens at a specific
  time in a “round”, and
  is broken into several
  “steps”. Don’t worry
  about this much, the
  definitions are just
  here in case you
  have questions about
  who can do what,
  when.
  ▲ Since the availability
  and price of items on
  the Markets are very
  dependent on what
  other players have
  done that round,
  going first gives you
  the best chance to
  get what you want,
  or manipulate markets
  to the detriment of the
  other players.
  ▲ If your score crosses
  a
  threshold due to
  gaining VP from a
  special nation ability,
  you must add one of
  your tokens to the
  Catastrophe Zone with
  the most tokens in it
  (you decide if tied).
  You do this before
  you use the special
  ability.
  7
  soft landing
  
  ▲ The default stresses
  each nation generates
  are extremely abstract,
  but based as much as
  possible on current
  geopolitics, resources
  and consumption. So,
  it is no surprise that
  the first two stresses
  for the Middle East
  are the “political” or
  “population” stressor
  (which exacerbates
  whichever global
  condition is currently
  most stressed), or that
  Africa has “political”
  and “health” as its first
  two stressors.
  ▲ Stressors are things
  contributing to global
  destabilization. For
  instance, industrial
  nations exporting
  toxic waste to a less
  advantaged nation.
  The industrial nation
  suffers no direct ill
  effect from its waste,
  but is still adding to a
  global problem.
  ▲ An idiosyncracy of the
  markets is that even if
  a commodity has a
  price of zero, you can
  still buy something
  with it. On the market
  shown at right, you
  cannot sell Resources
  (and drive Resource
  prices down), but you
  can use Resources to
  buy a Tech (and drive
  Tech prices up).
  Outsourcing: You may remove an Outsourcing token to add a
  token to up to two empty red numbered circles on your nation
  (note that all red circles are numbered in the basic game). 
  Foreign Aid: You may remove a Foreign Aid token to remove one
  of your color tokens from one Catastrophe Zone, but you must
  also remove one of someone else’s tokens from one Catastrophe
  Zone (these can be from different zones). Gain any VP for using
  this ability before removing tokens from Catastrophe Zones.
  Market Manipulation: You may remove a Market Manipulation
  token to shift up to three items on the commodity markets by one
  point each. Do not move any price more than once.
  5. Trade
  Trade involves one or two actions.
  First, you may freely shift any
  attribute tokens on your nation
  from the larger numbered circle to
  the smaller one for that attribute, or
  vice versa. This is moving stuff
  from production into stockpiles, or
  stockpiles into production. This is
  only done within each attribute
  (e.g. you cannot shift from
  Reserves to Lifestyle).
  Second, you may use the Free Market or Black Market (not both).
  If you are buying from the market, you spend between zero and
  three tokens of any type on your nation to get exactly one token
  of either Tech, Industry or Resources to add to your nation, in
  either the numbered circle or the stockpile for that attribute. If you
  sell to the market, you spend exactly one token of Tech, Industry
  or Resources from the numbered circle or the stockpile to get zero
  to three tokens of any other type to add to your nation. Let’s
  explain:
  Buying: Look at the current value of the commodities on either the
  Free Market or Black Market. You must spend that number of any
  type of tokens off your nation to buy one token of that attribute,
  and then you move the cost for that attribute up by 1. It is very
  inefficient to do so, but you may spend tokens from blue circles to
  buy from the Market. What you use to buy an item with does not
  affect the market (i.e. using Industry and Tech to buy Resources
  does not adjust the Market’s supply of Industry or Tech). Only the
  price of what you buy goes up.
  8
  
  Example: If the Free Market has Tech at a cost of 1, you could
  remove one token from anywhere on your nation to buy one Tech
  token, which you would put on any empty Tech circle on your
  nation, and then move the Free Market cost for Tech up to 2. If the
  Free Market has Industry at a cost of 2, it would take two tokens
  from anywhere on your nation to buy one Industry token, and
  then you would move the Free Market cost for Industry up to 3.
  And if the Free Market cost for Resources was zero, you could
  buy a Resources token for free and then move the Free Market
  cost for Resources up to 1.
  Selling: Look at the current value of the commodities on either the
  Free Market or Black Market. You must sell one token off that
  national attribute or its stockpile to get that many tokens, and you
  get to put them on any attributes or attribute stockpiles you want,
  except the one you just sold. You then decrease the cost of that
  item in the market by 1. Only the price of what you sell goes down.
  Example: If the Free Market has Tech at a cost of 1, you could sell
  one of your Tech to the Market and get 1 token of any type
  (except Tech). This would drop the Market cost for Tech to zero.
  This would mean no one could sell Tech on the Free Market, since
  they would get zero return for it. If the Free Market has Industry at
  a cost of 2, you could sell one of your Industry to the market and
  get 2 tokens of any type (except Industry), and put them on any
  empty attribute circles or stockpiles on your nation. You then
  decrease the Market cost for Industry from 2 to 1.
  Basically, when you buy something from the Market, the buy/sell
  price for everyone else goes up. When you sell, the buy/sell price
  for everyone else goes down. The only commodity whose price is
  affected is the one you are buying or selling.
  The difference between the Free Market and the Black Market is
  that any use of the Black Market by a player means that one of
  their tokens goes into the Economic or Political Catastrophe Zone
  (that player’s choice). The Black Market does not necessarily have
  better prices, but the penalty for using it means that it might be
  available when the Free Market is too expensive.
  Remember that you only get to make one trade during your turn,
  you may buy or sell (not both), and may use either the Free
  Market or the Black Market.
  ▲ If you have thought
  about the way the
  rules work, it is very
  unlikely a nation can
  be stress-free on a
  continual basis. Even
  if you have temporary
  fixes like global trade
  pacts or outsourcing,
  they cannot be main-
  tained if you get a few
  bad production rolls. 
  So, this does put the
  game on a clock, and
  players have to plan
  how to make a game
  end in their favor.
  Using a constructive or
  destructive strategy is
  a matter of individual
  choice.
  ▲ You cannot buy
  Reserves or Lifestyle
  on the Market. You
  have to sell Industry,
  Tech or Resources to
  get them during the
  Trade step. Or, you
  could use Outsourcing
  or Global Trade to fill
  those yellow or red
  circles during step 4.
  ▲ Even if the “buy” price
  of a Black Market item
  is zero, you still
  generate a Political or
  Economic stress token
  if you get that item
  from the Black Market.
  9
  soft landing
  
  ▼ Some nations can for
  all practical purposes
  extort assistance from
  others. A major Health
  Catastrophe causes
  nations to lose Tech
  and Foreign Aid
  tokens. Africa does
  not have Foreign Aid
  as an ability and is
  unlikely to leave a
  token on its Tech, so
  such a catastrophe is
  of no concern (except
  for the VP it would
  lose). So, Africa can
  contribute to a Health
  Catastrophe and have
  a good chance that
  when other nations
  use Foreign Aid to
  remove their own
  Catastrophe tokens,
  they will also remove
  one of Africa’s Health
  Catastrophe tokens.
  ▲ Remember that stress
  is caused by not 
  having tokens on the
  numbered circles.
  Having tokens in the
  small stockpile circles
  does not count.
  ▲ As a strategy note, it
  is difficult to get the
  game to end through
  New Era Tech if only
  one nation contributes
  to it. You really need
  two or more players
  competing for it to
  accumulate tokens
  fast enough.
  6. Stress
  After each player has done their trading (if any), they check their
  nation sheet. Any attribute whose red or yellow numbered circles
  (the upper ones) are not covered can contribute to global stress.
  Starting on the left side of their nation (Reserves), each Attribute is
  checked in order, and tokens are added to Catastrophe Zones
  until the Attributes are done, or three tokens have been added to
  Catastrophe Zones, whichever comes first. If the third token added
  to a Catastrophe Zone would come from an attribute with two icons
  in it, the player must choose the top one first.
  Example: After trading,
  Eastern Europe has
  tokens on Reserves and
  Lifestyle, with Tech and
  Industry empty and a token in the stockpile for Resources. Check
  from left to right: Reserves and Lifestyle add no stress, Tech stress
  adds one token to the Environmental and Health Catastrophe
  Zones, then Industry stress adds one token to the Economic
  Catastrophe Zone. This is three tokens, so no other stress checking
  is needed. Note that Eastern Europe deliberately left Resources
  uncovered, knowing it would not add any extra stress to do so.
  Population stress is a special case. There is no “Population   
  Catastrophe Zone”. Instead, if this is one of the stress items for
  your nation, you must add a token to whichever Catastrophe Zone
  has the most tokens in it at the time (not the most of your tokens,
  the most tokens in total). If zones are tied for the most tokens, you
  may choose which to add to.
  7. Investment
  Now, each player may spend some or all of the tokens on their
  nation. You simply remove tokens from your nation card as
  required to pay the cost of a particular purchase. 
  New Era Tech: Any nation may invest in New Era Tech. You may
  spend one (and only one) Tech token and put one of your color
  tokens into the New Era Tech zone. The first player to invest in
  New Era Tech in a round may remove one token of any color
  from any Catastrophe Zone or the New Era Tech zone. So, the
  first player in a round to buy New Era Tech can add to the global
  tech pool, or say that their tech supercedes someone else’s and
  renders it irrelevant. Note that since the player with the lowest
  score has the first shot at this, and the more developed nations
  start with lower scores, the more developed nations are more likely
  to get the most benefits from investing in New Era Tech.
  10
  
  Victory Points: Any nation may buy VP and may use any type of
  tokens to pay for them. Cost is based on your current score and is
  the number in the small circle at your spot on the VP track. You
  may buy more than 1VP, but you buy them one at a time and the
  cost may change based on your current score. If your score lands
  on a
  icon when you gain VP, you must add one of your tokens
  to the Catastrophe Zone with the most tokens (you choose if tied).
  Military Industrial Complex: If your nation has an empty blue
  “Military” circle, you may buy this. This has a cost of one Tech, one
  Lifestyle, one Industry and one Resource token, and lets you put
  a token in the blue “Military” circle. You may remove that token in
  step 4 to move up to three different color tokens from one
  Catastrophe Zone to another. Tokens do not have to go to or
  come from the same zone, but they must be different colors, and
  you cannot move tokens in or out of the New Era Tech zone.
  Global Trade Pact: If your nation has an empty blue “Global Trade”
  circle, you may buy this. This has a cost of one Industry, one Tech,
  and one Lifestyle, and lets you put a token in the blue “Global
  Trade” circle. You may remove that token in step 4 to add a token
  to up to two empty yellow numbered circles on your nation.
  Outsourcing: If your nation has an empty blue “Outsourcing” circle,
  you may buy this. This has a cost of one Reserves, one Lifestyle
  and one Resource, and lets you put a token in the blue
  “Outsourcing” circle. You may remove that token in step 4 to add
  a token to up to two empty red numbered circles on your nation.
  Market Manipulation: If your nation has an empty blue “Market
  manipulation” circle, you may buy this. This has a cost of one
  Reserves, one Industry and one Resource, and lets you put a
  token in the blue “Market manipulation” circle. You may remove
  that token in step 4 to add a token to shift the value of up to three
  separate commodities by 1 point each.
  Foreign Aid: If your nation has an empty blue “Foreign Aid” circle,
  you may buy this. This has a cost of one Reserves and one Tech,
  and lets you put a token in the blue “Foreign Aid” circle. You may
  remove that token in step 4 to remove one of your color tokens
  from one Catastrophe Zone, and you remove one of someone
  else’s tokens from one Catastrophe Zone (may be different zones).
  This ends the individual player turns. Remember to move your
  turn order marker to “done”. The Catastrophe step happens to all
  players at once, and when that step is done, the round is over.
  ▲ The longer a game
  runs, the more likely
  the more advantaged
  nations will win, since
  they are almost certain
  to have the tokens to
  gain VP each turn.
  Less advantaged
  nations can win by
  forcing Catastrophes
  or New Era Tech as
  fast as possible. The
  more advantaged
  nations can offset
  this with Foreign Aid
  or their superior ability
  to invest Tech. The
  nations in between
  have to balance one
  versus the other. There
  are a lot of possible
  strategies to try out.
  ▼ Investing in a Military-
  Industrial Complex
  never makes things
  better, it just rearranges
  the blame. This is an
  important way to both
  temporarily avert a
  major Catastrophe (or
  just blame someone
  else for it when it 
  happens).
  ▲ New Era tech is a
  race. If it is realized,
  whoever gets the
  credit can benefit
  immensely, but the
  other contributors get
  nothing.
  11
  soft landing
  
  8. Catastrophes
  Everything that players can do in a round is now done. This step
  covers the fallout from these actions and is a common step to all
  players. You resolve actions in this step in the listed order, but
  note that Major Catastrophes might trigger more minor (or even
  major) Catastrophes. This step is not complete until any and all
  cascaded effects fully resolve.
  There are two types of Catastrophes, minor and major. Whether or
  not one happens is a random roll. People do not know exactly
  when a crisis will occur, only that they are making one more likely
  by their actions. Random chance could cause a major disaster
  early in the game. To determine what happens, roll three six-sided
  dice. You need to keep track of the highest die and the total of the
  dice. The result you get will apply to all the Catastrophe Zones.
  Example: If the three dice rolled came up “3”, “4”, “5”, the total for
  the three dice add up to “12” and the high die is “5”.
  Minor Catastrophe:
  If the highest die rolled is equal or less than the number of
  tokens in a particular Catastrophe zone, that zone has a minor
  Catastrophe. 
  Major Catastrophe:
  If the sum of the dice rolled is equal or less than the number of
  tokens in a particular Catastrophe zone, that zone has a Major
  Catastrophe. If two or more Major Catastrophes happen in a game,
  this triggers an end game state.
  New Era Realization:
  If, after all Catastrophes have resolved, the sum of the dice rolled is
  still equal or less than the number of tokens in the New Era Tech
  zone, there is a major tech breakthrough that triggers an end
  game state. Note that New Era Tech realization is checked after
  Catastrophes. A Catastrophe that removes New Era Tech tokens
  might prevent New Era Tech from being realized.
  Any given zone can have a major or a minor Catastrophe, not
  both, and a major Catastrophe result trumps a minor Catastrophe
  result. No zone can have multiple Catastrophes on the same turn. If
  there are multiple Catastrophes of different types, resolve the major
  Catastrophes first, in order: 
  , Economic, Resource, Political,
  Environment, then see if other major Catastrophes are triggered,
  then check the token totals again to see if there are any minor
  Catastrophes in zones that did not have major Catastrophes.
  12
  ▲ Just so you know, the
  chance of a major
  Catastrophe is below,
  given the number of
  tokens in a particular
  zone. This is also the
  chance of triggering
  an endgame condition
  for that many tokens
  in the New Era Tech
  zone.
  Tokens
  Chance
  2
  -
  3
  <1%
  4
  2%
  5
  5%
  6
  9%
  7
  16%
  8
  25%
  9
  38%
  10
  50%
  11
  63%
  12
  75%
  13
  84%
  14
  91%
  15
  95%
  Example: If there are 7
  tokens in the New Era
  Tech zone, there will
  be a 16% chance that
  the endgame will be
  triggered.
  The chance of a minor
  Catastrophe is below,
  given the number of
  tokens in a particular
  zone. 
  Tokens
  Chance
  1
  <1%
  2
  4%
  3
  13%
  4
  31%
  5
  59%
  6
  100%
  
  Example: If the dice result indicated a major Health Catastrophe
  and a minor Economic Catastrophe, you resolve the major Health
  Catastrophe first. The effects of the Health Catastrophe might
  change the minor Economic Catastrophe to a major one.
  Minor Catastrophe: 
  When a minor Catastrophe occurs the player or players with the
  most tokens in that Catastrophe zone each lose 1VP and remove
  one of their tokens from the New Era Tech zone (if they have any).
  Minor Catastrophes all have the same game effect, regardless of
  the type. After a minor Catastrophe, any player who lost VP
  because of it may remove one of their tokens from that Zone. The
  minor disaster reduces a little stress from the system, and the
  nations most affected hopefully learn a little from their mistakes.
  Major Catastrophe: 
  When a major Catastrophe occurs the player or players with the
  most tokens in that Catastrophe zone each lose 3VP and remove
  two of their tokens from the New Era Tech zone (if they have any).
  The player or players who lost the VP must each add 1 token of
  their color to another Catastrophe Zone, which will depend on
  which type of Catastrophe was triggered.
  Then, immediately apply the other effects of that Catastrophe type.
  Catastrophes can have effects that trigger other major or minor
  Catastrophes on the same turn. After each major Catastrophe
  resolves, remove all tokens from that Catastrophe zone.
  Example: If a major Health Catastrophe happens, you remove all
  tokens from that zone after the effects happen. If somehow
  enough tokens went into that zone afterwards to cause a minor
  Catastrophe, you would just ignore it since a more severe
  Catastrophe had already happened.
  When a major Catastrophe happens, it will add tokens to another
  Catastrophe Zone, and if this raises the number of tokens to the
  minor Catastrophe threshold for that Zone, then another minor
  Catastrophe may happen. It might also change what would have
  been a minor Catastrophe to a major one, in which case the major
  Catastrophe result happens instead of the minor one.
  ▲ For chance of a minor
  Catastrophe, “6” is the
  magic number. If a
  zone ever has 6 or
  more tokens in it, you
  are guaranteed to
  have at least a minor
  Catastrophe in that
  zone.
  Example: Six or more
  tokens in a zone
  automatically means
  the highest die rolled
  is equal or less than
  “6”.
  ▲ Increases in Political
  Catastrophe chance
  come from people’s
  expectations not
  being met, blaming
  other nations for it
  (they jacked up the
  price of oil, they are
  exploiting our workers,
  they are corrupting our
  values, etc.).
  ▲ Increases in Economic
  Catastrophe chance
  represent things like
  tariffs or protectionism,
  embargoes, cartels or
  problems associated
  with moving jobs from
  one country to some
  other with lower labor
  costs.
  ▲ You do not add
  tokens to Catastrophe
  Zones if crossing a VP
  stress level when your
  score goes down.
  13
  soft landing
  
  ▼ A “minor” Catastrophe
  is something killing or
  adversely affecting
  at least a hundred
  thousand people. A
  major Catastrophe
  is an international
  disaster that affects
  millions. Some major
  Catastrophes in game
  terms would be the
  influenza epidemic
  of 1918 (Health
  Catastrophe), the Great
  Depression (Economic
  Catastrophe) and
  World Wars 1 and 2
  (Political Catastrophe).
  ▲ Catastrophes are
  generally very, very
  bad. Some are worse
  than others, and most
  of them make it harder
  to keep your nation
  running smoothly, and
  thus increase the
  chance of some other
  sort of Catastrophe
  further down the line.
  ▼ One of your greatest
  joys as a destructive
  player will be causing
  multiple other people
  to be blamed for a
  major Catastrophe,
  and having the results
  of that trigger another
  Catastrophe.
  The full effects of the Catastrophes are as follows:
  Health Catastrophe: Most likely this is a global pandemic.
  This could be a slow problem like HIV, or something
  faster like influenza. Poor living standards and health
  care plus a high population have created a reservoir for some sort
  of pathogen, which then spreads across the globe, overwhelming
  health care and causing disruption in other parts of the global
  machine.
  In the event of a major Health Catastrophe the major contributors
  lose VP as described earlier, and the nation or nations who
  contributed the most to the Catastrophe add 1 token each to the
  Economic Catastrophe Zone. In addition, any nation with tokens
  on Foreign Aid or Tech or a Tech stockpile removes them.
  Economic Catastrophe: An economic catastrophe deals
  with trade embargoes, exchange rates, imbalances of
  trade, incompatible labor practices or standards, banking
  defaults, cartels and monopolies all combining to bring about or
  exacerbate a global economic downturn.
  If there is a major Economic Catastrophe the major contributors lose
  VP as described earlier, and the nation or nations who contributed
  the most to it add 1 token each to the Resource Catastrophe Zone.
  In addition, any nation with tokens on Market Manipulation or
  Industry or a Industry stockpile removes them.
  Resource Catastrophe: This could easily be the long-term 
  depletion of non-renewable resources, but could also be
  a severe shortage of some other necessary resource,
  such as a famine.
  If there is a major Resource Catastrophe the major contributors lose
  VP as described earlier, and the nation or nations who contributed
  the most to it add 1 token each to the Political Catastrophe Zone.
  In addition, any nation with tokens on Military or Resources or a
  Resources stockpile removes them.
  14
  
  Political Catastrophe: A Political Catastrophe is probably a
  major war, or something of equal disruptive power, like a
  number of minor wars going on simultaneously. Nations
  that cannot keep their populations happy may engage in wars as
  a political tool or resource-gathering measure. 
  If there is a major Political Catastrophe the major contributors lose
  VP as described earlier, and the nation or nations who contributed
  the most to it add 1 token each to the Environmental Catastrophe
  Zone. In addition, any nation with tokens on Outsourcing or
  Reserves or a Reserves stockpile removes them.
  Environmental Catastrophe: The most obvious candidate
  for this is global warming, with increased flooding of low-
  lying coastal areas, increased hurricane damage, atypical
  floods, droughts, disruption of the Gulf Stream, pest species moving
  into areas normally too cold for them and so on.
  If there is a major Environmental Catastrophe the major contributors
  lose VP as described earlier, and the nation or nations who con-
  tributed the most to it add 1 token each to the 
  Zone. In addition, any nation with tokens on Global Trade or
  Lifestyle or Lifestyle stockpile removes them.
  Anarchy: 
  If, after Catastrophes (and possibly New Era Tech), a nation’s VP
  would be reduced to less than zero, the nation’s VP stays at zero,
  but that player must immediately lose all the tokens from their
  nation and that nation devolves into temporary anarchy. They do
  not get to use the Free Market or Black Market on the following
  turn (though they may move tokens from production to stockpiles),
  nor can they make any investments in step 7. The nation adds no
  tokens to Catastrophe zones for failing to provide necessary
  goods and services during step 6 (their people are already rioting
  in the streets). If the nation does not lose any VP to a major or
  minor Catastrophe on that turn, then they pull out of anarchy and
  can act normally on the following turn. If game circumstances make
  them lose VP due to another minor or major Catastrophe, then
  the state of anarchy continues. This can result in a player being
  effectively unable to act on the final turn of the game. Anarchy is
  very unlikely state, but it can happen.
  ▲ A major Catastrophe
  can make it difficult to
  impossible to reach
  the New Era tech,
  depending on the
  number of players
  and their nations.
  Even the minor
  Catastrophes have
  the potential to start a
  downward spiral into
  oblivion.
  ▼ Major Catastrophes
  may be inevitable. For
  some sets of nations
  or tactics, there is not
  sufficient ability to
  remove Catastrophe
  tokens to keep the
  system going. Not all
  games will (or can)
  have a happy ending.
  Plus, differing player
  styles and different
  combinations of
  nations mean that no
  two games will be the
  same.
  ▲ You do not have to
  agree with all of the
  national rankings and
  stressors. soft landing
  works regardless of
  the name on the card,
  and you can assign
  any name you want
  to a nation so that it
  matches the way you
  perceive its attributes
  and stressors.
  15
  soft landing
  
  Catastrophe Example: Three dice are rolled for Catastrophe chance.
  If the highest of those three dice is equal or less than the number
  of tokens in a particular Catastrophe zone, then there will be a
  minor Catastrophe in that zone. If the total roll is equal or less than
  the number of tokens in a particular Catastrophe zone, then there
  is a major Catastrophe in any zone that meets this criteria.
  In this case, we are guaranteed to have at least a minor Political
  Catastrophe, since there are 9 tokens there (more than any one
  die). For this four-player example, the roll of three dice comes up
  “2”, “4”, “2”. This means a major Political Catastrophe (since there
  are 9 tokens there and the total roll was 8) and no minor
  Catastrophes (yet, since none of the other zones have 4 or more
  tokens in them and the highest of the dice rolled was a “4”).
  In case it is hard to see, the Resource
  Catastrophe zone has two North
  America tokens (red), the Political
  Catastrophe zone has one South
  America token (purple), three China tokens (blue) and five Middle
  East tokens (green), and the Environment Catastrophe zone has
  two North America tokens and one China token.
  The major Political Catastrophe resolves. Middle East contributed
  the most (5 tokens) and loses 3VP and would lose 2 tokens from
  New Era Tech (if they had any). In addition, all nations lose all
  tokens they had on Outsourcing, Reserves and Reserves stock-
  piles. Then remove all tokens from the Political Catastrophe zone.
  Since Middle East contributed the most to the Catastrophe, they
  add one of their tokens to the Environment Catastrophe zone. This
  means there are now four tokens there, triggering a minor
  Catastrophe (the highest die rolled was “4”). North America has
  the most tokens in this zone, so they lose 1VP and would lose 1
  token from New Era Tech if they had any. North America then
  removes one of their tokens from this zone. Note that even though
  North America did not contribute at all to the Political Catastrophe,
  they still got hit by the fallout from it, losing 1VP from something
  that wasn’t even their fault!
  ▲ Some Catastrophes
  are going to be more
  likely than others, to
  some extent modified
  by the nations in play.
  ▲ This is also a reminder
  that if you have the
  Foreign Aid or Military
  ability, a little planning
  can save you some
  grief. In this example,
  the potential political
  catastrophe is fairly
  obvious. If the North
  America player had a
  Military, they could
  have used it earlier in
  the turn to move one
  of their (red) tokens
  out of the Environment
  zone and one of
  China’s (blue) tokens
  into the Environment
  zone from the Political
  zone. This means that
  China would get the
  blame for the minor
  Environmental
  Catastrophe and loses
  1VP instead of North
  America losing it.
  ▼ A dirtier trick would be
  to move one North
  America and one
  China token from the
  Environment zone to
  the Political zone, and
  one Middle East token
  from the Political zone
  to the Environment
  zone. Work that one
  out for yourself.
  16
  
  game end•••••
  There are three ways to trigger the endgame of soft landing. It is
  possible more than one can happen. In each case, one more
  round is played. The first condition is realization of New Era Tech.
  If, after Catastrophes, the total Catastrophe dice roll is equal or less
  than total investment in the New Era, this triggers the end game. 
  Example: If after all Catastrophes have resolved, there are six
  tokens in New Era Tech and the total of the Catastrophe dice is “6”
  or less, this triggers the end game.
  Each player with tokens in New Era Tech rolls a six-sided die and
  adds their tokens in that zone to the result. Whoever has the high
  total gets VP equal to the tokens they have in the New Era Tech
  zone, and the other contributors get nothing. If there are ties, reroll
  until there is a winner. Remove all tokens from the New Era Tech
  zone. No one may invest in New Era Tech for the rest of the game.
  If the end game is triggered by realization of New Era tech, there
  are special conditions. After the production die roll (step 3), each
  nation may add a token to any one of their numbered circles.
  Then, they may remove one of their color tokens from one
  Catastrophe zone, in turn order.
  The second end game trigger is based on Catastrophes. If two or
  more major Catastrophes happen (including two occurrences of the
  same major Catastrophe), this also triggers the end game. If the
  end game is triggered by two major Catastrophes, there are special
  conditions. After the production die roll (step 3), each nation must
  remove a token from one of their numbered circles if possible. 
  The last end game trigger is if any player gets to 30VP. No special
  effects happen, but you play one more round after this happens.
  The maximum possible score is 30VP, so if you make it there, no
  one can beat you, but they can tie or try to drag you down.
  Remember, if any (or all) conditions are met, one more round is
  played after the one in which the end game trigger happened. VP
  can be gained and lost by all the normal means during this final
  round. At the end of this final round, whoever has the highest VP
  total is the winner, with ties broken by the number of tokens of
  any kind remaining on their nation. If another end game trigger
  happens on the final turn, the game still ends on that turn. This
  second end game trigger may adjust VP totals, however.
  ▲ If you somehow
  manage to realize
  New Era Tech on the
  last round of the
  game, you do get VP
  for it, but the game
  does not continue for
  another round.
  ▲ For the Catastrophes
  where one nation is
  heavily represented,
  it is clearly in the
  interest of that nation
  to do something
  about it, otherwise
  they will be the main
  culprit, losing the most
  VP as a result.
  ▼ Of course, “doing
  something about it”
  could just mean
  investing in a Military-
  Industrial Complex to
  shift the blame for the
  problem elsewhere...
  ▲ The Catastrophe
  example gives you a
  good idea of the
  interconnected nature
  of the global system.
  Your actions (or your
  inactions) can have
  effects that spread
  farther than your own
  sphere of interest or
  influence.
  ▲ Do not be lulled by
  low numbers of
  tokens in the various
  Zones. Many are the
  games that will end
  with a surprise low
  roll.
  17
  soft landing
  
  Remember: Your nation in soft landing is governed by you. What
  your personal philosophy is about your nation, nationalism in
  general, the environment, resources and so on is the way your
  nation goes. You can play strictly according to your philosophy
  and see how it works. Maybe you are willing to bend the rules a
  little, maybe you are willing to manipulate the market, depending
  on your perception of how it affects your nation, the world and the
  common good.
  Just remember that if you don’t win, it won’t be your ethos that
  shapes the world of the future, it will be someone else’s.
  strategies••••••
  The best way to try for victory is based partially on your fellow
  players and partially on your nation. Obviously, if you start with
  India and its 16VP, ending the game very quickly could be to your
  advantage, while if you are the European Union with 3VP, you
  need to keep the game going so you can accumulate more VP,
  and make sure nothing happens to drop you to zero VP or below.
  Nations going first can profit more from using special abilities and
  gaining VP, and nations going first can also more easily invest in
  VP (because they have lower scores). If you choose your nation
  last and can pick one where no other players have a particular
  special ability, then you will have the VP for using that ability to
  yourself. Use your special abilities whenever it is profitable to do
  so. The VP available for using many abilities will run dry in a long
  game, so get them while you can.
  Nations with good Tech numbers clearly have the advantage in
  New Era Research, but they are also most likely to need that Tech
  to go towards other possible investments. Being the first in a round
  to invest in New Era Tech can help you get rid of stress tokens, or
  it can sabotage someone else’s New Era research.
  Keep an eye on your place and everyone else’s tokens in the
  Catastrophe zones. Manipulating the number and placement of the
  tokens there is often key to victory. Using a Military to shove three
  extra tokens into a particular Catastrophe Zone can throw a
  wrench in the works for the players affected.
  The Markets are exceptionally important. Being able to mess with
  market prices can be used to help you and hurt other nations. For
  instance, if the player after you needs Tech and you can drive the
  price up, you may be able to keep them from getting it. Or, if you
  want New Era Tech to resolve, you can help them get it...
  ▲ Play tips:
  1. Know the globe.
  Look at the starting
  mix of nations. This
  gives you an idea
  of where the stress
  points are going to
  be later on. 
  2. Don’t be shy. If you
  have something
  you need to trade
  for, get it, even if
  you have to use
  the Black Market.
  3. Do what you have
  to do. Winning is
  the object after all. If
  you can get others
  to pay to clean up
  your messes, then
  do it. If you can win
  just by shrewd
  trading, that works
  too.
  4. Keep an eye on
  Catastrophes. The
  minor Catastrophe
  that costs everyone
  involved a New Era
  token and 1VP can
  be a setback to
  your plans. And the
  major Catastrophes
  are definitely bad.
  5. Take advantage of
  going first. This
  means you have
  the lowest score, so
  use the advantage
  of going first to help
  yourself or hinder
  others.
  6. Network. The first
  and last players are
  natural enemies,
  but also have the
  best synergy.
  18
  
  optional rules•••••••
  Once you figure out what you are doing, you may want to try one
  or more of the following optional rules. Options 2 and 4 may be
  useful if everyone is being cutthroat and tokens are piling up in
  the Catastrophe zones too fast, like in a five- or six-player game.
  option 1: Two-player game
  Like a lot of games of this type, soft landing does not play well
  with two players. To get around that, try the following. When
  choosing nations, the second player chooses two nations, just as
  if there were a third player, then chooses which of these nations is
  theirs and which nation is “shared”. In any given round, the shared
  nation is played by the player who goes first. All decisions about
  use of special abilities, trade, etc. are handled by that player. The
  game end conditions are normal, but in the unlikely event that the
  shared nation has the highest score, the player in control of the
  shared nation on the final turn wins the game.
  option 2: UN relief fund
  The game starts with a relief fund of three “disaster relief” tokens.
  The last player in a round is the current chair of the UN relief fund
  and can decide how it is used. Whenever a token would be put
  into or moved into a Catastrophe zone for any reason, the chair of
  the UN relief fund can spend a disaster relief token to remove that
  token, but they may not spend to remove their own tokens. Any
  nation with the ability of “Foreign Aid” may purchase a relief token
  at the cost of a Foreign Aid token to replenish one that has been
  used. Adding tokens to the UN relief fund in this way is worth 2VP
  for the player doing it and 1VP for the chair of the UN relief fund.
  The UN relief fund can have a maximum of three tokens on it (so
  players cannot add tokens to it until it goes down to two tokens).
  option 3: UN sanctions
  If a player adds two or more tokens to a single Catastrophe Zone
  during step 6, any other player may call for a “sanctions” vote”, for
  wanton pollution, human rights abuses, etc. Voting is done in turn
  order. Only one sanctions vote is allowed per round. All players
  except the target of the sanctions vote, and if a majority is in favor,
  sanctions pass. In turn order, each nation voting in favor then
  decides whether or not to fund the sanctions. Any nation voting in
  favor of sanctions may pay one token of any kind (a fund to
  monitor the situation). If any nation voting in favor of the sanctions
  pays a token, then sanctions are in effect for this round. Otherwise
  it just ends up as another toothless UN resolution. If sanctions go
  into effect, if there is a Catastrophe of any type in that zone this
  round, each nation who paid to fund the sanctions gains 1VP.
  ▲ This is actually a
  pretty cool way to do
  a two-player game,
  but it does mean the
  player with the lower
  score has to do twice
  the work (running two
  nations).
  ▼ This just gives players
  a way to profit from
  someone else’s bad
  luck or irresponsibility.
  ▲ This option can
  remove up to 3
  Catastrophe tokens
  and possibly stave
  off disaster long
  enough for New Era
  Tech to be realized.
  ▲ This option makes it
  less profitable for less
  developed nations to
  try to overload the
  Catastrophe zones,
  since not only will that
  player lose VP from
  being blamed for
  Catastrophes, but
  other players can
  be awarded VP for
  funding sanctions
  against that player.
  19
  soft landing
  
  ▼ It’s a subsidized loan.
  The World Bank never
  expects to get its
  money back. 
  ▲ A World Bank loan
  really just gives a less
  advantaged nation an
  extra token or two of
  some kind to get it
  over a bad production
  roll.
  ▼ soft landing has no
  slant other than that
  which you put on it
  yourself. The author
  has his own biases,
  but they really just
  affect the perceived
  timescale of the game,
  not the final outcome.
  That is, there just are
  not enough resources
  on Earth to support 7
  billion people at the
  standard of living
  enjoyed by the most
  developed nations, 
  at least not with the
  current technologies
  used by the most
  developed nations.
  The only real question
  is whether this causes
  us serious problems
  sooner...or later.
  Do we run out of
  resources, stratify into
  haves and have-nots
  fighting over an ever-
  shrinking pie, or come
  up with a new way of
  doing things? You
  decide...
  option 4: World Bank
  The World Bank starts with a stockpile of three tokens. Once per
  turn during Trade (step four), a player who has or is tied for the
  fewest tokens on the sum of Tech, Industry and Resources (which
  includes stockpiles) may apply for a loan of one or two tokens
  from the World Bank. All players except for the applicant vote, and
  if a majority is in favor of the loan, the player removes one or two
  tokens from the World Bank and places them on any empty red,
  yellow, or green circles on their nation (this includes stockpiles).
  The player who is granted the loan is supposed to pay it back
  during their Trade step in the next round (by removing one or two
  tokens from their nation and putting them on the World Bank).
  If they cannot or choose not to pay back the loan by the time it is
  due, they add one token to the Economic Catastrophe zone for
  each token they did not repay. 
  However, before it comes due, any other player who has not yet
  done their Trade step can pay off some or all of the balance in
  their Trade step. If they do, they get 1VP per token they supply
  (basically, they are forgiving the loan and writing off the debt).
  Once the delinquent balance is paid, no other player can pay it off
  and get the benefits of it.
  option 5: Perfect science
  Before you make each Catastrophe roll, assign one of the dice as
  a “predictor”. Retain predictor dice from round to round and just roll
  the remainder (two dice, then one die, then none). This means the
  dice total will eventually become fixed. On any round with one or
  more minor Catastrophes, the highest predictor die is put back into
  the mix for later turns. If there is a major Catastrophe, all predictor
  dice are put back into the mix. This changes strategy quite a bit. 
  footnote••••••••
  Part of the irony of soft landing is that the sentiment expressed in
  the credits of the game is not fully achievable...ever. By some
  calculations, it would take three Earths to support the population of
  the world at a US standard of living, two Earths for an EU standard
  of living. And that is only if world population stays steady. The old
  saying is that “a rising tide lifts all boats”. That is, rising standards
  of living to some extent helps everyone. The problem is that there
  may simply not be enough water to float all the boats.
  soft landing gives the option of a “new era”, some undefined tech
  or combination of tech that lets us do more with less and thus
  “float more boats”. Whether or not it can be achieved, in either the
  game or the real world is presumably up to you.
  20
  
  soft landing glossary••••••
  Below are some of the terms used in soft landing or which might
  come up in any discussion of the subject and nature of the game.
  Some items will have web links to sites holding supporting or
  opposing views on the subject.
  cartel: A group of independent producers whose goal is to fix
  prices, to limit supply and competition. Private cartels are prohibited
  by antitrust laws in most countries; however, they continue to exist
  nationally and internationally. A single entity with a monopoly is
  not a cartel, though it may abuse its monopoly in other ways.
  Cartels are inherently unstable, as members can gain financial
  advantage by exceeding their production quotas or underselling
  other cartel members.
  proponent site: www.opec.org
  opponent site: www.freedomandprosperity.org
  clear cutting: A logging operation in which all or nearly all trees in
  a selected area are harvested. The reasons for clearcutting can
  range from optimizing the regeneration of a forest to clearing land
  for other uses to taking every tree worth any money.
  proponent site: www.healthyforests.gov
  opponent site: www.ran.org
  embargo: The prohibition of commerce and trade with a certain
  country, usually as punitive measure by a group of nations in
  protest of that nation’s policies on a matter of importance to that
  group. Embargoes are often of limited effectiveness and often
  result in smuggling.
  global warming: The observed or claimed increase in the average
  temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans in recent
  decades. The prevailing scientific consensus is that most of the
  warming observed over the last 50 years is attributable to human
  activities, but this opinion is far from unanimous nor is it agreed
  that the effects of it are all detrimental.
  proponent site: www.ipcc.ch
  opponent site: www.cei.org
  peak oil: The Hubbert Peak theory posits that for any given area,
  from an individual oil field to the planet as a whole, the rate of oil
  production tends to follow a bell-shaped curve. Early in the curve
  (pre-peak), production increases due to addition of infrastructure.
  Late in the curve (post-peak), production declines due to resource
  depletion. Peak oil refers to the peak of the Earth’s oil production, 
  after which the rate of oil production will enter a terminal decline. 
  21
  ▼ This game brings up
  what is known as a
  “Prisoner’s Dilemma”. If
  all nations cooperate
  towards reaching the
  New Era, then that
  goal can be readily
  achieved, and this is
  good for everyone.
  But, only one nation
  reaps the VP benefits.
  And, nations that do
  not contribute can
  invest and possibly
  gain more VP than a
  nation that is trying for
  the New Era. 
  Plus, nations that do
  not contribute or add
  stress in an attempt to
  catch up, will hinder
  the developing of
  New Era tech, making
  it more likely that
  Catastrophes will
  overtake the world,
  making it even more
  difficult to achieve the
  New Era tech.
  So, it would seem to
  be in the interest of
  the more advantaged
  nations to help less
  advantaged nations,
  encouraging them to
  act more responsibly.
  But this of course
  makes it easier for the
  less advantaged
  nations to improve
  themselves and
  increase their chance
  of winning.
  soft landing
  
  ▲ For reference, in terms
  of US$, a per capita
  income as listed puts
  you in the listed
  percentage bracket on
  a global scale:
  US$500
  top 80%
  US$1,000
  top 45%
  US$2,000
  top 18%
  US$5,000
  top 15%
  US$10,000
  top 13%
  US$20,000
  top 11%
  US$50,000
  top 1%
  Or, put another way,
  half of the world’s
  population gets by on
  about US$2.50 per
  day. Much of the
  world’s wealth is in
  the hands of a tiny
  percentage of the
  population. So, should
  wealth be forcibly
  redistributed through
  taxation? That’s a
  matter of personal
  opinion, but consider
  that if you decided to
  redistribute the total
  net worth of every
  billionaire on Earth (all
  2 trillion US$ of it), it
  would add up to less
  than $1 per day per
  person. Is raising the
  average daily income
  to US$3.50 going to
  end global poverty?
  Unlikely. But, given
  their past track record,
  would government
  spending initiatives do
  any better? Just as
  unlikely.
  Opinion is currently split between those who think we have
  already passed this peak, and those who feel we have not and
  that alternate sources will make up any shortfall. The theory is
  named after American geophysicist Marion King Hubbert.
  proponent site: www.peakoil.net
  opponent site: www.cera.com
  slash & burn: An agricultural practice involving the cutting and
  burning of forest to remove the vegetation and release a pulse of
  nutrients to fertilize the soil. Ash also increases the pH of the soil, a
  process which makes certain nutrients more available in the short
  term, but usually to the detriment of long term. It is a sustainable
  practice only in areas of low population density, and overuse may
  result in desertification of the area. The term is normally applied to
  the practice as used in tropical rain forests.
  smuggling: The illegal transport of goods, materials or people, most
  often across national borders. This is done to circumvent any laws
  prohibiting the items, or to avoid embargo, taxes, or regulatory
  inspection. The difference between smuggling and trafficking is that
  traffickers are those doing the buying and selling of the items,
  while the smuggler is the one actually transporting the goods. The
  two terms can overlap.
  strip mining: One of several types of surface mining, the term is
  often used generically. Strip mining is the practice of mining a
  seam of mineral ore by first removing all of the soil and rock that
  lies on top of it. Variations include open pit mining and mountain-
  top removal mining. All surface mining practices require the removal
  and temporary or permanent displacement of a large quantity of
  non-ore surface material, which may disrupt or concentrate heavy
  metals in the water table.
  proponent site: www.teachcoal.org
  opponent site: www.appvoices.org
  world bank: A group of five international organizations responsible
  for providing finance and advice to countries for the purposes of
  economic development and poverty reduction. The World Bank’s
  activities are focused on developing countries, for education,
  health, agriculture, environmental protection, infrastructure and 
  governance. It provides loans at preferential rates to member 
  countries, as well as grants to the poorest countries.
  proponent site: www.worldbankgroup.org
  opponent site: www.globalpolicy.org
  22
  
  pdf-based games••••••••
  BTRC produces virtually all its products as downloadable, high-
  quality pdfs or print on demand items. In addition to the obvious
  reasons like reduced cost, it is more environmentally sound. A 
  normal game, or other conventionally printed product goes through
  a number of steps to get from where it is designed to you. Some of
  these steps are going to be required regardless of how you utilize
  the game, others generate savings because of the pdf.
  Harvesting timber: If you are going to print the game, you will need
  paper, just as if you had bought it off the shelf. At some point,
  recycled paper or not, timber had to be harvested and shipped to
  a paper making plant. No real savings there, but the choice of
  paper quality, color and whether or not it is recycled or has
  recycled content is up to you, not the publisher. Plus, there is no
  packaging and no packaging waste.
  Shipping: Paper has to be shipped to the end user. This could be
  a conventional print job done on a large press and handled
  through normal channels, or a home-printed pdf:
  Conventional
  Home-printed
  Paper manufacturer to printer
  Paper manufacturer to distributor
  Printer to publisher
  Distributor to office supply store
  Publisher to book distributor
  Office supply store to you to home
  Book distributor to book seller
  Book seller to you to home
  Re-use: You can re-use tokens, coins or pieces from other games
  in soft landing, for all-around savings.
  Storage: The total material involved in the product has to be stored.
  Each link in the shipping chain is going to require warehousing or
  other climate-controlled storage. Since the pdf version is made
  using a compact ream of paper, coins or tokens, both the storage
  and shipping costs are lower.
  Price: Because the cost of transporting the information in the game
  is merely bandwidth, the selling price of the game is far less than if
  it went through the normal publication route, with everyone in the
  chain needing to make a profit. While some of the reduced cost is
  offset by your time, ink and paper, the total cost is still significantly
  less than for a conventionally printed game.
  Durability: Not really a manufacturing cost, but a side benefit of
  pdfs. If your copy of soft landing wears out, just print a new one!
  soft landing
  23
  The point of these
  numbers is not to
  inspire gloom and
  doom, but to reinforce
  that there really isn’t
  enough to go around,
  at least in the sense
  of giving everyone the
  same opportunity that
  most people reading
  this have, and to point
  out that while there
  may be solutions, it is
  likely that there are no
  painless solutions...
  ▲ The BTRC web page is
  www.btrc.net, and has
  a full listing of our
  products and links to
  our on-line vendors.
  Among our titles:
  EABA: An open-source
  rpg and compelling,
  esoteric gameworlds
  ranging from extropian
  cyberpunk to Biblical
  zombie horror to time
  travel to nanotech
  dystopia and more.
  Infinite Armies: Down-
  loadable, customizable
  card game, winner of
  the 2005 Origins
  Vanguard Award.
  End of Days: Disaster
  threatens Earth. Can
  your nation build a
  rocketship in time to
  escape, or will political
  squabbles doom the
  human race?
  and more...
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Collections/Blacksburg Tactical Research Center/Board Games/BTRC9341 Soft Landing (demo).pdf