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sovereign

Getting Started

Three ways to play

Section titled “Three ways to play”
Section titled “1. Browser, zero install (recommended)”
Terminal window
npx @mcptoolshop/sovereign

This downloads the package, opens the digital simulator in your default browser, and exits. No global install required. The CLI accepts a few flags:

Terminal window
npx @mcptoolshop/sovereign --print    # the printable 34-sheet board game
npx @mcptoolshop/sovereign --start    # audience-routed landing page (player / designer / auditor)
npx @mcptoolshop/sovereign --path     # print the playable HTML path and exit
npx @mcptoolshop/sovereign --help     # all flags

2. Hosted (no install at all)

Section titled “2. Hosted (no install at all)”

Open https://mcp-tool-shop-org.github.io/sovereign/ in any modern browser. Click Play now.

3. Offline release bundle

Section titled “3. Offline release bundle”

Each tagged release attaches sovereign-vX.Y.Z-release.zip to its GitHub Release page. Download it, unzip, and double-click 00-START-HERE.html. Everything runs offline.

What you need

Section titled “What you need”
  • A modern browser (Chrome / Firefox / Safari / Edge — anything from the last 3 years).
  • For npx: Node 18 or newer.
  • Nothing else. No account, no key, no network connection during gameplay.

First game

Section titled “First game”

The default game seats you (slot 0) against two of three scripted profiles:

  • Hamilton (Treasury / Finance) — slot 1.
  • Morris (Merchant / Infrastructure) — slot 2.

The header shows seed: 2026 — that’s the default deterministic seed. The game ends on circuit victory: when one player completes their fourth crossing of Treasury Opens. That takes about 22–23 rounds (~67 turns) in typical play.

Swift-Start opening

Section titled “Swift-Start opening”

On your first run, a non-blocking Swift-Start coach walks you through the opening 1790 Funding Debate one beat at a time — vote on the Funding Act, take your first roll, buy your first holding, read the three tracks, and learn the win condition. It tracks your real play (it advances when you actually do the thing) and never blocks the board. The game hides nothing: hover or tab to any action and a telegraph shows its exact effect before you commit. You can skip the coach at any time, and replay it later from the Game ▾ menu.

Click Roll dice, Buy / Decline / Bid / Vote as the surfaces present them. Every decision lands in the Ledger (bottom panel) with a human-readable reason. Press the Ledger button (or the corner book icon) any time to open the Chronicler’s Ledger — a searchable encyclopedia of every term, mechanic, and the real history behind it.

When the game ends, the Endgame Report appears automatically with your Influence breakdown vs. the opponents’. Note that the player who triggered the ending is not always the winner — the heaviest ledger at Final Accounting takes it.

File map

Section titled “File map”

After npm install @mcptoolshop/sovereign (or unzipping the release):

release/
├── 00-START-HERE.html              ← hyperlinked entry point
├── README.txt                       ← plain-text version
├── CHANGELOG.md                     ← full version-by-version history
├── board-game/
│   ├── sovereign-board-game.html   ← printable 34-sheet board game (v0.2)
│   ├── sovereign-economy-audit.html
│   └── sovereign-print-audit.html
├── digital-mode/
│   ├── sovereign-solo.html         ← the playable digital game (v1.5.0 beta)
│   └── sovereign-v0.10-freeze-audit.html  ← historical v0.10 balance-freeze audit
├── balance-evidence/               ← v0.10 batch reports + raw JSON
└── design-history/                 ← Phase 1 concept + Phase 2–5 audits

Next

Section titled “Next”
  • How to play — the actual game loop, board, Acts, and scoring.
  • Profiles — what your scripted opponents do, and why.