The Office of the Sôgmô has announced grand games in celebration of the the Month of Peace, January, which features several festivals to abstract concepts like Pax (peace), Concordia (harmony), and Felicity (Felicitas). These games will be in the vein of the Olympic Games, as well as the plethora of micronational “Olympics” spin-offs, and they seek to unite members of the micronational world to pursue peaceful creative and competitive outlets during the season in a new way that is in line with Sandum values of pacifism and peaceful cooperation.
The games will include three categories. Two are focused around video games while a third is focused on a board games. Judges will determine the winners of the two video game challenges, which ask competitors to develop a narrative and share that narrative, and in-person judges will decide the winner of the board game.
Text of the Statement from the Office of the Sôgmô
The Central People’s Government has announced the promulgation of new celebratory games, the Ludi Pacales (the Games of Peace), in honour of January the month of Peace. These games will occur every two years and will feature no violence but peaceful and friendly competition with sporting integrity. Next year’s 2020 games will feature three competitions:
- Pacifist City-Builder (e.g., Cities: Skylines)
- Peaceful Sandbox (e.g., the Sims)
- Human Harmony & Felicity (e.g., Pandemic)
The competitions will be judged on published criteria. The first and second competitions will be online, while the third will be played in real life in Quercus Candida on 17 January 2020.
The Pacifist City-Builder competition will feature competitors who build a city in a city-builder themed video game, such as Cities: Skylines or Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic. The Peaceful Sandbox category features competitors who complete a “Rags to Felicity” challenge in the acclaimed video game the Sims. More details will be shared closer to the date. In both competitions, teams must develop and share a narrative, explain that narrative publicly to the judges on Twitter using the hashtag #LudiPacales20, and demonstrate growth without violence, anger, or hatred. The judges will be the three Grand Officials of State (the Sôgmô, Party Secretary, and the Facilitator of the Council).
The Human Harmony & Felicity competition will take place on 17 January 2020. It will be played in real life and real time in Quercus Candida province over the board game Pandemic and judges present, or their representatives, will select a most valued player (MVP).
Contestants must declare by the end of 5 January 2020. Month-long competitions will be decided 31 January 2020, so get started early and keep up your good work! Winners of the games will receive a corona lavandulica, a lavender crown—a symbol of Realism in our country.
Have fun and good luck!
About the Competitions:
Pacifist City-Builder Competition
The Pacifist City-Builder competition will feature competitors who build a city in a city-builder themed video game, such as Cities: Skylines or Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic. That city should have some sort of narrative and theme, and they should focus not just on the grand scale but also on the personal level. Competitors will have to represent their creation on Twitter, though how they do that will be up to the individual. (For example, one may choose to tweet pictures and stories or challenges throughout the month.) City narratives may focus on simulationism, a particular challenge or roleplay (e.g., post-apocalyptic, space travel, climate disaster), et cetera.
Competitors will be scored on the following criteria:
- Narrative: what form did your narrative take? was it engaging?
- Completeness: how complete is your city? how is it engineered? does your city and narrative focus on the grand scale and the personal level?
- Aesthetics: how well and beautifully is your city constructed? Everything will be considered, from map to how well your city works together.
- Pax: in what way is the theme of peace, harmony, and felicity incorporated into your creation? Is there a redemption arc?
In this competition, competitors will be judged by the Three Grand Officers of the State of Sandus according to a 0-10 scale. Everything is due and must be submitted to them by 31 January 2020, and registration will be open until 5 January.
The following rules also apply:
- Custom content and mods are allowed, but an explanation should be given about why they were used.
- Contestants must use in-game currency. In other words, no city should be constructed with infinite money or with cheats that give money.
- Realist designs only: far-fetched, fantastic, and fanciful cities will not be considered.
- Absolutely no warfare or militarism: you can include infrastructure or art related to defence as part of your aesthetics, but no actual warfare is allowed.
Contestants may be disqualified for any of the above rules.
Peaceful Sandbox Competition
The Peaceful Sandbox Competition has the Sims in mind. This spin-off on the “Rags to Riches” challenge will feature competitors who develop their own Sims families that go from rags to…felicity! Step One: start out with a Sim and no money. Step Two: choose your aspiration(s) and narrative. Step Three: ??? Step Four: felicity!
Just as above, your narrative should entail a Twitter page, a journal, or a blog of some sort where the judges can see how things have progressed and changed over time.
Here are the criteria:
- Narrative: what form did your narrative take? was it engaging?
- Sancta: how pluralistic is your narrative? is it engaging and (broadly-speaking) cultural?
- Autarky: how did you define felicity and welfare?
- Pax: in what way is the theme of peace, harmony, and felicity incorporated into your creation? is there a redemption arc?
Some rules to keep in mind:
- You may not use cheats or mods in your storylines or anyways to earn money, raise skills, or complete aspirations apart from what is in the base game (or expansions/DLCs).
- Custom content should be kept to a minimum or not used at all.
- Competitors should refrain from violence, mischief, and anger, and should encourage empathy and emotional intelligence—unless it is part of a larger redemption arc or moral/meta-narrative.
Good luck!
Human Harmony & Felicity Competition
What do we do in a world at danger of pandemics and anti-vaxers? Fight back! In this sport, players do just that by playing Pandemic. On 17 January 2020, folks will come together in person in Quercus Candida for a special night of fun minus the competitiveness plus cooperation. Participants will fight to save the world from disaster—and, in the process, elect the most-valued player (MVP), giving new vision to peace and harmony.
To play, you must live in or around Quercus Candida province and should tell the Sôgmô that you are interested in playing and register to play, too.
How to Register:
To register, complete this form here before 5 January 2020. For late registration, contact the Sôgmô.
sandus.org 