Introduction

This guide is intended to serve as an instructional tool for how to play 'Fate of the World', a PC only game now available on Steam. It isn't inherently a walk-through of every mission, since that's essentially for another guide and there is a random element to each turn.

I picked this game up during the Holiday Sale of 2011, and found a damn hard game. It's almost impossible at first, but with time and patience you can learn how to save or (destroy) the world.

Therefore, this guide will introduce you to some key concepts, the cards available for play, and hints on one of the hardest missions of game.

Key Concepts

To win almost any mission in this game, you need to understand several different elements and how they affect the game.

Human Development Index (HDI)

In most missions, you are tasked with maintaining an average level of HDI save for the early missions that require a standard for every region. While it's not entirely difficult in most missions to keep this at a high level, here are some ways to increase the region's HDI.

• Increase the region's GDP. There are cards that can switch your region's workers into jobs with more money and a card that n facilitate development.

• Keep the population of a region in check. This is usually unnecessary, but in India and China it's an option worth looking at.

• Get people medicine. This is a great idea when your population is under control and the region has a lot of sick people. Alternatively, have the region gain at least a 'Balanced' or 'Communal' Outlook.
• Educate them. At minimum, you should play the 'Education Enrollment' card until it disappears.

Contentment and Stability

Each of the word regions will become less content to some degree each turn, which in turn will eventually destabilize a region- even if you have no agents in the region. General upkeep / spending money n the form of green and red cards will keep most regions happy, though in Russia, India, the Middle East, and Africa it's already somewhat unstable.

Outlook

Each region begins with its opinion on global warming and the concept of environmentalism. In most missions your regions will start out with a consumerist point of view. While this gives them better economies, it means they will resist your efforts to change their behavior. Playing the 'Eco-Awareness Campaign' card until your regions are 'Balanced' or 'Communal' makes the changes easier to implement without forcing undue pressures on development.

Peak Oil/Gas/Coal

During the first few turns of any mission, you'll receive notices of 'Peak Oi Reached' or something along those lines with another fuel source. This means that the maximum production of that fossil fuel has been reached and production will start winding down. Since allowing this to go unchecked will lead to a global financial collapse, this is a very important thing to fix.

That said, you eventually do have to switch your regions onto renewables sooner or later to avoid perpetual energy shortages.

Global Financial Collapse (GFC)

A global financial collapse saps lot of the money you have available to spend for each turn it's going on. This can make surviving to the endgame more difficult, and you will likely encounter at least one in most missions until you have a finer understanding on how to manage your priorities.

A GFC has two primary causes. The first is an imbalance between the profits of your agriculture/industrial sectors and your commerce sector. Generally I've found that once the ratio goes smaller than 1 (Ag/Ind):2(Com), you start risking the meltdown.

The second is a fuel shortage, as stated under the Peak Oil/Gas/Coal section. While you can stave off this cause with the proper card use, you are going to run out of fossil fuels sooner or later. By that point you should hopefully have gotten yourself either onto a different fossil fuel or onto renewables to help spread the oil around.

General Tips

These are some general tips that you should know and to try to get done as soon as possible. These missions may not fit for every mission ala 'The Flood' but they're good tips to live by.

Projects

Cap and Trade

Don't play Cap and Trade turn 1. Your first few turns give you far too much other stuff to do than worry about cap and trade. This card has its uses, but you shouldn't play it until at least 2040.

• Industrial Carbon Regs

This card becomes available the turn after you play 'Cap and Trade'. It's intended to reduce emissions sed by your Industrial sector. While the duration is supposedly indefinite, in reality it takes roughly 5 turns/25 years for it to be fully implemented.

This card is fucking awesome and it's cheap, meaning you should play it immediately following Cap and Trade.

Sulphate Aerosols

These will save your life in the early-to-mid game when you're still giving off high emissions and you're climbing towards three degrees. They directly lower the temperature of the world, and have a higher impact the more regions that play them. But they can cause droughts if you play them too long. Generally try to start decreasing your temperature as soon as you can, and let off once the game starts to warn you about droughts caused by inconsistent temperatures.

Play the Tobin Tax

North America, Europe, Russia, Japan, and Oceania can all use the card 'Tobin Tax' on turn 1. This gives you $100 more to work with each turn one of these is active, at the cost of diminishing support. This will eventually get you banned, so you need to time lifting the tax carefully.

Russia's an odd case where on Turn 2, it becomes too unstable to continue the Tobin Tax. Playing 'Security Assistance' is the fastest way to keep it going.

Avoid Forest Collapse

On your very first turn, you must play 'Protect Land, Soil, and Forests' in South Asia and Latin America. In the early game, keeping the forests here are your best ways of reducing emissions since they absorb CO2.

Electric Transport

This card drastically reduces your reliance on oil by switching transportation use to electricity. This is a fantastic card to play in Europe and Japan. But in regions with extremely dirty energy sectors like China, this will increase emissions. As a result, you should try to clean up a region's energy production a bit before playing this card.

GEO HQ

Put the HQ in a region that is stable and you're not doing much else in. Europe and Oceania are good candidates.

Space Program/Lunar Colonization/Helium-3 Mining

This is purely optional, and only for if you're going for Second-Generation Fusion.

Renewables

Until you have some technologies in a region that accelerates its adoption, it is a wasted investment except in two areas.

Green Cards

Storm, Flood and Coast/Drought, Erosion, and Fire Defenses

Invest in these ASAP. They're cheap at $10, and will be good enough for the early game.These help keep people happy when disasters hit- and they WILL hit.

Organic Farming

This reduces the agriculture sector's reliance on fossil fuels, but doesn't completely eliminate them. It's a good choice for Latin America and South Asia

Biochar

This reduces deforestation, CO2, and helps out your agriculture a bit. This isn't a top priority, but if you an get it it's a very nice buffer against emissions.

Artificial Trees

Once you have nano-tech, this card becomes available. Play it. The longer they're in pay the more effective they are.

Blue Cards

Research, Research, Research

You're going to want new technologies as fast as possible. While any region can do scientific research, to do it fast you need a region with a high HDI, good stability, and a place that you're not going to be doing much else in. While North America is the obvious candidate, it's going to be drilling for fuel. Here's my usual set-up for research:

• Japan: Energy and Robotics
• Oceania: Biotech
• South Asia: Information
• Europe: Materials

Japan, Oceania, and Europe are all easy picks. They're not going to destabilize without you fucking up, and start with naturally high HDI. South Asia is a stranger choice, but it's a great candidate for Information Tech. Alternatively, Europe and North America could pinch hit to South Asia instead.

2nd/3rd Generation Biofuel

These really help reduce biofuels have on a region. 2nd generation eliminates any impact on food supplies, 3rd generation doesn't affect water supplies. This is a good investment combined with Expand Biofuel for Europe/China/South Africa/South Asia.

CCS

This takes a while to implement, but takes a chunk out of energy-related emissions. Pay this in Europe and North America ASAP, and in China when you can.

Supertensile Materials/Advanced Drilling Techniques/Solar Photovoltaic Collectors/Advanced Turbines

All four of these technologies allow renewables a bigger chunk of energy production and help increase the rate of renewable production. Get these when you can.

Super-Smart Grids

This technology accelerates the rate that you can pick up renewablels even faster. BUY THIS.

Quantum Computing/Artificial Intelligence

These two technologies are a godsend. Quantum boosts your GDP, AI grants you Market AI- which can help avert a GFC. They're worth it.

Yellow Cards

Ban Clathrate Exploration

This is a disaster waiting to happen. Clathrates has a decent chance of destabilizing every turn they're mined, resulting in high emissions and jumps in temperature. You don't need to ban this immediately, but around 2050 at earliest or whenever a region does say they discovered the tech you need to ban it.

There is a technology later in the game that allows for 'Advanced Exploration' roughly when you get AI. This makes Clathrates safe to use, but hopefully by that point you're already weaning yourself off of gas.

Avoid Peak Oil/Gas

These are the only two fossil fuels you actively need to worry about. On your second turn, you should be playing 'Expand Natural Gas' and 'Expand Oil' in North America- meaning you need to play 'Regional Energy Office'. Europe, the Middle East, and Russia all can be producers if you need them to be.

Coal-Free Industry/Ban Coal/Ban Unconventional Oi/Ban Shale Gas

This is why you shouldn't be worrying about coal. At a minimum you need to play 'Coal-Free Industry' (a project card, not yellow) in China and India ASAP because they are the biggest users. Africa is another good candidate, but this card needs to be played wherever you can, as early as you can. It can take anywhere from one turn to several depending on the region. You need to play cards that wean off reliance on coal because it is the most polluting fossil fuel you have save for one other, and industry starts beholden to the fuel.

In a best case scenario, you should play 'Ban Coal Production' at any point between 2070 to 2080.This will dramaticaly reduce emissions, and if you've shifted your reliance onto other fuels and renewables you should survive without a GFC.

Unconventional oil and shale gas are pricklier issues. By the time you've actually banned coal, you're already on your

Red Cards

Change Regional Outlooks

Like I said earlier, most regions will start with their Outlooks on 'Materialist' or 'Consumerist'. These are both Consumerist Outlooks, and need to be pulled towards 'Balanced' or 'Communal' to make your efforts to protect the environment more palatable. China is the only exception, as it usually begins play as 'Balanced'.

Education

Again, educating your underdeveloped regions (Africa, India, Middle East) are crucial to making them productive, contribute to the economy, and stabilizing them cheaper than security assistance.

One Child Policy

These will help you out in the long term in China and India. While it's unpopular, it's also going to free up food and jobs that wouldn't be there if left unchecked.

Transportation Efficiency

This helps underdeveloped regions increase their GDP. It's a good investment early on, but not essential.

Black Cards

Don't Bother With Security Assistance

Yes, I did just say to play this card in Russia, but that's only to get the Tobin Tax to keep working. 9 times out of 10, this is not a good card to play. In both regions of Africa, the Middle East, and India, you're better off educating them, changing their outlook, building environmental projects, and giving them medicine- in that order.

The only time you should be playing anything like this card other than early-game Russia is if the 'Declare Martial Law' card is available.By that point a region has fallen into war and you'll have to play this to buy yourself time and make the people less agitated.

Don't Encourage Consumerism

Just don't. It only gives you headaches.

How to Fix: China

China is going to be a tricky beast to work with. It's stable and starts with a Balanced Outlook, but has a mess of problems. It should be your first region to six agents, and they all need to be firing in order to force China into line.

One Child Policy

China's population is going to explode if you don't put this into play.

Renewables

Remember when I said this was a wasted investment? Well, China's too heavily invested in fossil fuels and coal to move on its own. It NEEDS this one.

Coal-Free Industry

This is a major, major way to cut emissions in China and the only way you're going to wean it off.

Electric Cars

After a few turns, play this card. By then you should start having enough renewables for oi dependency to decrease.

Biofuel

This is the other prong in your effort to wean China off of fossil fuels. Get Second Generation when you can.

Oil Fix It: India

Yes, this mission is actually one of the hardest in the game, despite being the second mission available.

India is going to be a pain in your ass in this mission. All of the regions need to have a HDI of 0.7 for you to pass, and India will always be a few points short. Here's my tips to make sure it doesn't- I managed roughly a .76 HDI by doing this.

One Child/Transportation/Eco-Awareness/Education

Four red cards right there. One Child keeps the population in check, eco-awareness will condition the people to accept a lower HDI and help stabilize the area, Education Enrollment and Higher Education will increase the population's access to education (and therefore its HDI), and transportation will increase development and it's GDP.

Let Agriculture Crash

This seems counter intuitive, but hang with me.

You need it at 0.7 by the END of the mission, and it doesn't specify how. By never investing in anything that solves water stress (Water Management/Protect Forests), you'll further decrease the surplus population and increase the money available for everyone else. Yes, it's a Scrooge method, but it *Works*.

Famine Relief Programme

Don't pay this card until the last turn if you can. This gives a couple points of boost to the HDI.

Feedback

Feedback /criticism is greatly appreciated to expand the guide or to make it better.