Monarchy

The monarchy is one of eight governments. Monarchy is the only government which does not apply a 14%-39% switching penalty when players select a new government. It is also the only government without any bonuses or penalties.

Bonuses and penalties

The monarchy does not have any bonuses or penalties assigned to it.

Common strategies

Most players pick other governments for specialized strategies. It is very uncommon for the top countries to remain long as a monarchy or to finish as a monarchy.

Other uses

The monarchy serves its best purpose as a starting or transitional government. The tyranny and dictator governments offer very few benefits to countries which are not attacking. Players who plan on warring later in the set often play as a monarchy for an extended period. Once war comes, the player then switches to tyranny or dictatorship without penalty. Of course, it is possible to play as other governments before war. However, switching from a government other than monarchy will lead to, at minimum, a 14% of most resources, including missiles.

Players who do construction site-heavy startups may also delay switching to a new government. As an example, suppose a player wishes to eventually play the farmer strategy with the fascist government. If the player spends his first few hundred turns building cs and exploring, the fascism government will not offer any benefit. The player should switch to the fascism government only once the increase in bushel production outweighs the loss in tax revenue.

Finally, the monarchy may be a good choice for a transitional government. Suppose that a player explored as a republic and now wishes to switch to a dictator for war. The government switch will cost 50% of the players readiness and a portion of the player's buildings, so the player may wish to build buildings instead of attack for the first 16-17 turns following the switch. The dictator government offers bonuses for attacking and spying and a significant penalty for bpt. It would be best for the player to switch to monarchy, build until readiness is up, then switch to dictator before attacking.

As another example, consider a player who wishes to destock as the theocracy government but wants to finish the set with full readiness. Suppose that this player is playing the farmer strategy. Switching to the theocracy government followed by cashing 16-17 turns offers no benefit: the player will lose a significant amount of bushel income due to the theocracy tech penalty. Instead, the player might consider switching to monarchy, cashing to get readiness up, then switching to theocracy to begin destocking.