Tiers and Scenarios

Sovereignty has three tiers of complexity. Start simple, add depth when ready.

Three tiers

Tier	Name	What it adds
1	Campfire	Coins, reputation, promises, IOUs, vouchers
2	Town Hall	Shared market board with supply pools, resource scarcity, dynamic pricing, resource-cost upgrades
3	Treaty Table	Binding treaties with escrowed stakes — promises with teeth

Core rules are stable through v1.x. Each tier includes everything from the tiers below it.

sov new --tier campfire -p Alice -p Bob
sov new --tier town-hall -p Alice -p Bob -p Carol
sov new --tier treaty-table -p Alice -p Bob -p Carol

Market Day (variant)

Market Day is a gentler introduction to resources. It uses a fixed-price market board where prices are always 2 coins and supply never runs out. Use it as a stepping stone between Campfire and Town Hall.

sov new --tier market-day -p Alice -p Bob

Town Hall details

Town Hall adds three resources: food, wood, and tools. A shared market board tracks supply per resource. Prices shift based on scarcity (supply 2 or fewer raises the price by 1) and events. Workshop upgrades cost 2 coins + 1 wood. Builder upgrades cost 3 coins + 1 tools.

Treaty Table details

Treaties are binding agreements between two players. Both sides put up collateral (coins and/or resources) in escrow. At least one party must stake something – otherwise, use a promise instead.

• If one side breaks the treaty, the breaker forfeits their stake to the harmed party, who also gets their own stake back. The breaker loses 3 reputation.
• If honored (or if neither side breaks before the deadline), stakes are returned and both gain +1 reputation.
• Each player can have at most 2 active treaties at once.
• Stake caps: 5 coins and 3 total resource units per stake.
• Treaties have a duration in rounds (default 3). Expired treaties that nobody broke are auto-honored.

Scenario packs

Scenarios add vibes — no new rules. Each pack sets a tier, recipe, and mood.

Scenario	Tier	Best for
Cozy Night	Campfire / Market Day	First game, mixed groups
Market Panic	Town Hall	Economy drama
Promises Matter	Campfire	Trust and commitment
Treaty Night	Treaty Table	High-stakes agreements

Using scenarios

Browse available scenarios:

sov scenario list

Generate a share code for a scenario:

sov scenario code cozy-night -s 42

Start a game from a share code:

sov new --code "SOV|..." -p Alice -p Bob

Validate custom scenarios

If you create your own scenario files:

sov scenario lint