Game Concept

Lawmaker is a role-playing game which puts you in charge of a political party in a fictional democracy.

You create a party with a clear ideology, vote on proposals to build a legislative record, compete in elections where voters judge that record, win seats, form governments, and propose laws of your own — then do it all again, cycle after cycle.

The "role playing" part is important. While Lawmaker does provide some mechanics to make the game structured, the core quality of the game is determined based on how well parties roleplay.

How voters decide

This is what makes Lawmaker different from most political games: elections aren't random or formula-driven. Your country's population is modelled as a set of individual electors, each with their own job, background, priorities, and positions on the political issues.

When an election comes, each elector looks at how every party actually voted (even if proposals didn't become law), compares it to their own values, and supports the party that fits best. Recent votes matter more than old ones, so your record is always live. Vote consistently with your platform and you build a base; flip-flop and voters lose track of what you stand for.

Lawmaker uses proportional representation — your share of the vote is roughly your share of the seats. No single party usually wins a majority, so coalition-building is essential.

Learn more: Elections & Voters.

The systems you'll use

• Party Management — your platform, branding, and identity.
• Legislation & Voting — propose laws and vote on others'. Each proposal bundles 1–5 article changes and is open for 60 game days; votes are weighted by seats.
• Characters & Activists — recruit the people who front your bills and fill cabinets. Their traits shape how persuasive you are.
• Government & Cabinet — after elections, parties form governments by appointing activists to ministerial posts.
• Political Power — the action currency. You earn it over time and spend it on major moves; it prevents spam and forces real choices. Every cost is listed in the Quick Reference.
• Campaign Events, Communication, Economy, Constitution, and — in some countries — Hereditary Monarchy add further depth.

Winning

Lawmaker is an ongoing simulation with no fixed end. "Success" is whatever you make it: winning the most seats, passing landmark laws, leading governing coalitions, moving the country toward your values over many cycles — or, in countries with a throne, founding a royal dynasty.

The recurring tension is ideological purity vs. electoral viability: do you vote your conscience or chase voters? Add coalition trust, resource management, and timing, and you have a game that rewards long-term thinking over any single clever move.

Multiple countries

Every country runs its own self-contained simulation — separate laws, elections, and economy, its own population and legislatures, and sometimes special institutions like a monarchy. What happens in one country doesn't change another, and each develops its own meta-game and community — though players can still connect across borders through international blocs. You can run a party in more than one, using a separate account per country.

Next steps

• Getting Started — if you haven't created a party yet.
• Party Management — build and customise your party.
• Strategy Guide — how to actually do well.