3. Installing and Preparing a Game
The Chinese House Game is an adventure in virtual worlds and is a game for people with an interest in international relations. The game requires someone to run it (an administrator), the software and game manual (and a computer), and some players. Printed output can be obtained, but the game is designed to be played an a completely electronic environment. In the game, the administrator creates a number of states in a real or imagined world, with the states defined by various levels of military, economic, or social development (among other indicators) in differing world regions. The player's overall objective is to survive both as a state and as an individual decision maker in the state.
This is a complex game, although most computer games today focus on simplicity as an overt goal. The Chinese House Game is not a game to play one time and be rid of. It is a game that requires some introspection and play and intends to be a learning experience unto itself.
Basic Computer Requirements
If you want to see a sample game that is underway the easiest way is to simply play off of the 3.5" diskette that has been provided. All of the files necessary for the game players and the game administrator are on this diskette. This diskette should work on most any fairly new IBM-compatible machine that can read high-density 3.5" diskettes. It can also be loaded onto a hard disk, network or even be played over a modem.
This diskette is fully operational. However, you may want to consult Part III on installing the disk onto a hard drive. This will allow you to keep the disk as a backup. Also, the game runs a little faster on a hard drive. In a fully operational game it is advised to use a hard drive for the administrator's program. This is especially true if the game is played at multiple stations or on multiple disks.
A Short Description of the Game
To describe how to work the game requires a small explanation of what it is about. The Chinese House Game is a game where players represent states in a world comprised of regions. The states can be limited to one region in size, but most often states comprise several regions (there are also ocean areas). In each region there are people who live on terrains of certain types and these people have a wide variety of characteristics: wealth, military power, technology, capital stock, and others.
What is the goal of the game? One educational goal is to familiarize oneself with the game in order to be skilled enough to run a government and make the citizens happy ("Satisfied"). As noted, the overall goal is survival at the state level and at the personal level. The objective goal is set by the game administrator and it need not be limited to goals pertaining to military supremacy. The goal could be to get the highest level of income per citizen in the mythical world. Or, the goal could be a combination of economic and political security.
You as the player have a number of options at your disposal for making state policy (you could be out of power also). You can change the government type, set the national budget and tax rate, move capital, technology and social services or use military for friendly or unfriendly reasons. The decision-maker can also invest in resource programs, collect information on other regions or deter others from collecting information on your regions, and lend support to factions in other states. There are three parts in the game and three programs to use: CHG, MASTER, and CREATOR.
At the disposal of the player (the Pupil) are a number of analytical tools embodied in a program called CHG. First, you have maps which give color-coded comparisons of the differing regions on various criteria. Second, there are graphs which give time-series information on these same criteria. Third, there are comprehensive tables from which to view regional and state-wide attributes. Fourth, there is an artificial intelligence program that gives helpful advice and comments for the decision-maker. Finally, there is an abbreviated version of the game model (without the international aspects) that can be used to forecast the possible outcomes of basic government parameters, such as GNP or population. This model can be used to forecast the result next turn, or five turns down the road.
Once a game has been created the administrator (the Master) can use the MASTER program to examine regional and state characteristics and run the game. The game players use separate disks or work stations. Each state makes its own decision on the disk and turns it in to the game administrator (exiting the CHG program automatically saves the results). The Master collects all the disks or network decisions, runs them with the MASTER program, and then distributes the results back to the players. There is a menu item for all of these functions so that this step is completely mechanical. Beyond administering the game, the Master can engage in a wide variety of other activities, such as reporting information, organizing conferences or meetings, or introducing random events into the game.
The Three Programs
To use the game put the 3.5" diskette in the drive (either the A or the B drive will work) and "INSTALL" it onto your hard drive. The program will make a directory called "C:\CHG" and go there to start any of the three game programs (from the C:\ prompt type "CD\CHG"). At the prompt, you will have access to three differing programs that comprise the Chinese House Game. Here are the three programs.
MASTER -- The game administrator uses this program to collect, process and distribute the results of the game. It also can be used by the administrator to change numbers in the game (either to adjust values or to mimic random events such as disasters) and analyze worldwide game values through various screen displays (across time and across regions). The Master can advance the game "chronometer" several turns at once to see the impacts of decisions out into the future.
CHG -- This is the player program, where player's are differentiated by the name of their state and a secret password. The player has some of the capabilities of the Master. For example the player can analyze data across time and across regions. The player only has limited information about the world. This information pertains to one's home regions and to the information that is gathered on the rest of the world. The player has a set of decisions choices and a forecasting model that roughly tells what the outcomes of some decisions might be.
CREATOR -- Warning!! Do not start the CREATOR program unless you have somehow saved the game files in another directory or on another disk. The game administrator also uses this program to create a new game. Creating a new game is broken down into three parts. First, the administrator decides on the shape of a world that is limited to 78 hexagons. Which are land and which are water must be decided, as well as the terrain type. The pattern of the land can resemble a real or a fictional world. Second, the administrator decides how many states will exist in this world, their characteristics (Are they rich or well-armed? Is their technology developed and the social services adequate?), and some initial government structure variables (What is their tax rate and government type?). Finally, the administrator must determine which player is in power and the level of domestic power of each player. After this is done, the results are all calculated together and the program "creates" the new world. After the Master prepares the Pupil disks, players are ready to begin by going to the CHG program and making decisions.
Following is a walk-through of a sample game; it especially explores the functions and options in the MASTER and CHG programs. Relatively little attention will be devoted to explaining the CREATOR program here. For one reason, this demonstration intends to illustrate aspects of a game in progress. For another, I would suggest reading the game manual more closely prior to creating a new game. What follows is only a general description of the game rules. For specific questions, especially on the actual relationships in the game and the theory or story behind them, consult the actual game manual. You may also order pre-made games that are ready to use.
I have made a sample game for you to view. The world map in the game is a grid of 78 connected hexagons. These hexagons are what I call "regions", which are geographic areas with similar economic, cultural, social and other attributes. Players in the game represent states, which can and often do consist of more than one region. On the map there is water (represented by blue) and differing types of land which can have four terrain types (jungle, mountain, grassland, and desert).
There are five states in this game, all named after baseball teams (and with passwords that are the same). You can run the "DEMO" program by typing "CHG S" and watch the program as it makes some decisions automatically, or simply type "CHG" and you can enter as one of the teams and look at the country characteristics and make a decision. You will not see the results unless you make decisions for all players and then ran the MASTER program. Here are the teams:
o Braves,
o Reds,
o Pirates,
o Giants, and
o Cubs.
I have also made the game so that there are multiple players in the each state, represented by "Power Factions." Each faction has a power total and the one with the highest total is the state decision-maker and the other the opposition parties. Being the decision-maker gives that faction the right to run the computer program and make decisions.
All of the states control a few four regions in the world. For each state and its constituent regions, I have given the states and their regions unique attributes. One team may be a highly centralized government with medium levels of technology, capital and social welfare systems, another a moderately centralized government, with similar structural characteristics to the Braves, and a third a low centralized government with higher than average levels of military, technology and capital. Using these proto-typical parameters the Master (using the CREATOR program) can create states that are, or reflect, actual states in the world. It would be possible to create an India, an Israel, an Italy, or an Indonesia. These terms may be confusing now but you will soon have the chance to see them in action.
The MASTER Program
To begin you can see the game in progress from the standpoint of the MASTER. If you are at the DOS prompt (">") for the drive or sub-directory where the software is resident, you can start. In the following description, when I say to TYPE something I mean you should input the following and then hit {enter}. Likewise, when I say SELECT I mean to opt for that choice on the menu through the use of the arrow keys, followed by {enter}. The brackets {} will be used to enclose menu choices that you can select while input commands will be enclosed by quotations marks (""). If at any time you want to leave a screen just hit the {escape} key. Use the following command to use the MASTER program and run a game.
TYPE {Master}
You will see a screen of mixed, blinking hexagons. This screen is a map of the game in progress and will change as new games are created. The game you see played involves five players represented by differing colors.
TYPE {enter} twice
The first time {enter} is typed a game logo appears (CHINESE HOUSE GAME) and a second actually enters the game environment. What appears is a map of the world for the game at hand and various menu items for the Master. Do not run the game until you have had a decision made (or even a default decision) for each player. The Master program screen will appear with a map of the world to the left and a series of menu items to the right. The menu for the Master is shown below.
MASTER
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* Initialize Parameters *
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* View *
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* History *
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* Print *
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* Run Global Simulation *
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* Confirm Run *
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* Attributes *
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* File Management *
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* Quit *
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To give a feel for the game I will go through the menu choices available, although not in the order they appear. This first step is to familiarize oneself with the sample game. To examine the basic characteristics of the world there are several maps available.
VIEW
You can start by looking at some basic maps and data for regions of the world.
SELECT {View} {enter}
This database contains information on the world regions and the states in them. The information is available in map form across all regions. A good viewpoint is offered when you input:
SELECT {Maps} {enter}
You can select any of the attributes on the menu that appears. Let's look at the regions and areas of state sovereignty first using the cursor key or by typing the first letter of the item.
SELECT {Sovereignty} {enter}
This shows the geographic boundaries of the three states in the world (Reds, Braves, and Pirates) and those areas which are unclaimed. By unclaimed, this indicates there is no large-scale political organizations in that region. Nonetheless, these unclaimed areas have populations and other characteristics just as claimed areas do. Look at the map and you start to get an idea of the geo-political situation in the sample game. Hit any key to return to the Maps menu.
Now look at some of the characteristics of the regions in the world, keeping in mind the state regions. Look first at the second and third selections from the top: Terrain Type and Population.
(Remember to hit {enter} after each selection and then any key to return to the Maps menu.)
SELECT {Terrain Type} {enter}
SELECT {Population} {enter}
This map shows total population per region, color-coded. Generally the darker the colors, the greater the population. The color-coded patterns denote the distribution of people in the world. Try various indicators in the world, bearing in mind, or returning to, the sovereignty map. Try the following.
SELECT {Military} {enter}
SELECT {Satisfaction} {enter}
SELECT {GNP} {enter}
After you have looked over the world, go to {Quit}, type "Q" for Quit (or any of the first letters of a menu item to go to it directly), or {escape}. The other choice in the View menu is the Tables of Regional Data. This item serves a useful purpose.
SELECT {Tables of Regional Data} {enter}
You will see rows of boxes that are numbered, each of which represents one of the land regions in the world. Using the arrow key, move the cursor around to the number of the region(s) you want to change, hit the {space} bar, followed by the {enter} key. You will see basic information for the selected region appear on the screen in box form (two per screen). This item is the best sort of aggregated data collected on a per-region basis. Escape or Quit afterwards to return to the Main menu.
This option gives the Master the opportunity to print out, on the screen or to a file, information state-wide and information on all the regions in the world in a single table.
SELECT {Print} {enter}
You will be at a television-like screen with a row of options at the top (called "Data Base Analysis). You can use the {arrow} keys to select your option of choice. The choices are either to print the information to the screen or to a file that can be printed later with nearly any type of word processor. (These are ASCII files with the names "country. prn" and "region.prn", respectively.)
SELECT {View Countries} {enter}
This selection with first show the overall information for all of the regions in the state aggregated.
SELECT "BRAVES" {enter}
Aggregate information for the state of Braves will be shown. You will also be prompted whether you would like to see specific region information. Input "Y" or "N" to see the regions.
SELECT {View Regions} {enter}
This will give you the array of boxes described above. As above, you can cursor through the regions and select using the {space} bar. If you select printouts of regions or countries, the name of the file where that the information is being printed to is shown on the screen. Hit {escape} or Quit to return to the Main menu.
HISTORY
You can also opt to look at the characteristics of a region across time. Select the History option.
SELECT {History} {enter}
You will be asked which region's history would you like to view.
INPUT "1" {enter}
You will see a list of various indicators (identical to the "Maps" menu) from which to choose. Try the Population history for region 1. You will see that it has grown over time, especially in recent turns.
Try the histories on region 1 for various indicators. If you like, try any other region by simply typing in their region number. Type Quit or {escape} to return to the Main Menu.
SELECT {Military} {enter}
SELECT {Satisfaction} {enter}
SELECT {GNP} {enter}
There may even be gaps in knowledge in some histories. For example, if a region is taken over, the new decision-maker will not be given the prior history. Further, if information is collected only at single points in time, only those single points will be shown. RUN GLOBAL SIMULATION and CONFIRM RUN
Now that you are feeling brave, try to run a game. Running this option will show the types of results that occur in the game. You will see one screen of results at a time, so hit enter to continue through the processing after each screen of results appears.
SELECT {Run Global Simulation} {enter}
After each screen appears, TYPE {Enter} to advance. You will see, alternatively, the basic government information for each state. The first state will be the "Braves". The GNP for the state will be shown, along with the tax revenues. These are dimensionless units, but the initial game values are more or less scaled to a "normal" maximum value of 1,000. Most things are valued in numbers of people or in CHG dollars.
The screen also shows that revenues spent on gathering information, supporting other power factions in another state, and investing in resource renewal in one of the state regions.
Keep hitting the {enter} key to see the following screens of the basic information, the movements, to war outcomes, the information gathering and the new power point totals.
If you like the results do the following to save them.
SELECT {Confirm Run} {enter}
If you wanted to advance the simulation several turns, Run the Global Simulation again and then Confirm Run again.
ATTRIBUTES
You will probably not need to use this option during the viewing of a demonstration sample game. The ATTRIBUTES selection can be used to alter game values either to correct them if mistakes are made (unintentional wars, for example) or to change values in the name of introducing random events or factors.
SELECT {Attributes} {enter}
You will see the same box structure shown in the above menu item regarding VIEW DATA. Simply move the cursor around to the number of the region(s) you want to change, hit the {space} bar, followed by the {enter} key. You can then use the {Tab} key to move around to select indicators in the game you might want to change. For example, You could reduce a country's population and capital stocks levels under the assumption that an earthquake struck.
FILE MANAGEMENT
You will probably not need to use this option during the viewing of a demonstration sample game, since all of the required files will be in the same sub-directory on or the same diskette. There are two types of files that can be copied to either the A or B drives from a Master program located on a hard disk. One option is to store all files on a specified disk for safekeeping or storage purposes. The other option is to copy the game files onto the player disks following each game move.
The Master can also copy files from either drive. Either all of the files can be retrieved from a stored game, or the most recent decisions can be collected from the player disks after each turn is completed. (This is of course not necessary playing off of one disk or playing off of a network.) When copying you will be prompted when to insert the various player diskettes. Hit {enter} when ready to copy.
INITIALIZE PARAMETERS and QUIT
Initialize Parameters is a command that now only prints a message to go to the CREATOR program. For the moment, this is a gateway function that we intend to build later on to provide a direct link to the CREATOR program. You know how to quit.
The CHG Program
To start this program, go to the drive where the program resides and type {CHG} and then {enter}. As in Master, you should see the game map and a simulated game being played. Again, hit {enter} a couple of times and you will be asked to give the name of your state and the secret password. If you type it correctly, you should then hit {enter} again and enter the CHG program. You will see only partial information on the world, depending on what is yours and what regions you have gathered information on. The maps show the database of the world as you know it. It will differ with the Master version of information both with respect to place and time. There may even be gaps in knowledge in some histories. For example, if a region is taken over, the new decision-maker will not be given the prior history. Further, if information is collected only at single points in time, only those single points will be shown. You are automatically given information on your own regions, but the remainder must be gathered through espionage, which can be countered by "Anti-Information". These maps shows comparisons across regions that are color coded to indicate gradient of magnitude.
Almost all of the functional features that were demonstrated in the MASTER program are also available to the Pupil in the CHG program. This includes maps across regions, graphs of histories, and tables of regional data. In addition, the Pupil has access to a program that is similar to the MASTER program so it can be used to forecast behavior based on conceivable decisions. Therefore the decision maker can fine tune decisions, iterating back and forth between the decision module ("Input Current Play") and the forecasting module ("Run Mini-Simulation"). Also, there is an artificial intelligence program that gives some advice based on regional characteristics.
The program will remember the last decisions for each option you make. Exiting automatically stores that program. Once a decision is made, give it to the Master. Re-entering the program, even to view data, will set the turn decisions to the game defaults. If you test some decisions and decide you want to simply start over, type in a new budget. Each time you re-set the budget all other decisions are set to a default value of zero or none. To ensure you have correctly input the decisions you want to make, run the "Mini-Simulation" just prior to exiting the CHG program. This selection, and this alone, is to be used to set the decisions to the defaults. In the table below is the entry menu for the CHG program.
MAIN MENU
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* View History *
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* View Last Period Results *
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* View Database *
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* Input Current Play *
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* Run Mini-Simulation *
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* Quit *
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VIEW HISTORY
This is the same menu item described for "History" in the Master program. Player knowledge of histories can be sporadic or partial depending on when information was first gathered on the region.
VIEW LAST PERIOD RESULTS
SELECT {View Last Period Results} {enter}
This option gives information back to you the player on what your decisions were last turn and what were the outcomes. You will be told you GNP level and your tax revenues, your allocations by the budget, and any movements, wars, faction support or resource building you invest in. You will receive most of the results from about information right on the screen (maps and regional tables) by the ability to view the information on that region. In this option you can also be told results from anti-information (number of spies caught and where they come from) and levels of anti-information spending by other players. The ratio indicates the relative spending on gathering information versus that of anti-information.
The option also offers information of worldwide events that are reported to all decision makers. First, it reports on outcomes of all wars and changes in territory. Second, it reports on the power faction scores for each player and indicates which is in power. To move through the various screens, simply hit {enter}.
VIEW DATABASE
This option gives many of the reports that were described earlier in the MASTER program. Maps of Your Knowledge (called Maps earlier) are again available as are Tables of Regional Data. These options can here be either viewed on the screen or printed out to a file (region.prn and country.prn). One additional tool is available here which allows the player to receive advice from the Master in the form of a simple artificial intelligence program on known regions.
SELECT {Analysis: Screen Report} {enter}
The Analysis option allows uses the array of bars to select a box or boxes with the cursor keys and then hitting the {space} bar and {enter} to view the choices. However, in this case the player will receive textual reports on each region that translate various indicators into information statements. For example, if the region is over-populated the program will tell the player. It will also tell the decision-maker when the satisfaction levels are falling to dangerous points. It will give basic information, such as the level of development in the region, its terrain type or the level of technological advancement. Type {escape} or Quit to return to the Main menu.
INPUT CURRENT PLAY
This program is where the decision making actually takes place. In it are a variety of decisions that can be mixed and matched in innumerable ways.
SELECT {Input Current Play} {enter}
The following menu will appear for this option.
INPUT CURRENT PLAY
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* Constitution *
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* Budget *
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* Transfers *
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* Military *
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* Resources *
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* Espionage *
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* Insurrection *
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* Done *
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You can select any one of the following options to test or make decisions. For this section, choose the menu choices and then hit {enter}. (I think you have the hang of it by now). All of the choices will be menu prompted, so just go exploring.
Constitution
The Constitution reflects the degree of centralization in the government into high, medium and low categories. In general, the more centralized governments are better at dispensing social services and the less centralized better at achieving economic growth. These two factors have implications for several other aspects of game play. Using the arrow keys select the government type and hit {enter}.
Budget
Setting the Budget is perhaps the most critical decision. Divide up the budget into five categories: Investment Stimulus, Military, Research and Development, Transportation, and Health, Education and Welfare (HEW). You can change the allocation percent ("Old %", out of 100) by the maximum of the Increment (Inc.) shown in the table. This can be any part of the Increment. Simply type over the old budget numbers and then answer "Y" if "That's What You Want", when prompted. Next, the Tax Rate must be set. Again, determine the level you want and input it, as long as it is within the set increments. (The Increments represent how rapidly the structures of a particular government can be changed.) Answer "Y" to the prompt if satisfied with the decision, anything else to change the values again. (Note: use this selection to reset all other decisions you have made back to the default or zero levels.)
Transfers and Military
For these menu choices, indicate which region the resource is moved from and which it is moving to. Also, show what percent of the total of that item in the region is to be moved. You can make up to 20 transport decisions and up to 50 percent of one of these items from a region. You can move Capital Stock, Research and Development, and HEW. You are asked which region to move from, which to move to, and the percent of the region total of that item. Military is also a kind of transfer, but the intention of the movement may differ. Operationally, the inputting of movement is the same for Military as other Transfers, except you must declare if the purpose of the move is "At War" or "Friendly." The former will result in actual conflict, the latter will result only in force re-deployment. Make sure you allocate sufficient Transportation to the movements you undertake.
Resources
All of the following items are allocations that are subtracted from the tax revenues prior to the budget allocation. Each region has a resource threshold. When it is exceeded (by the population and the amount of capital stock), the resource base begins to decline. To counteract this the decision maker may need to invest in expanding the resource base through reforestation programs and the like. Naturally, this should happen prior to the onset of the problem.
Espionage
Besides your own state regions, you know nothing of the rest of the world. You may gather information via this menu choice by indicating which region you want to "spy" on and with what percent of your budget. You can also devote a certain portion of your budget to catching spies and deterring information gathering (the latter is applied across all of your regions).
Insurrection
If you want to support a particular power faction in another state, for whatever reasons, you can do so through this option. First use the arrow keys to select the state, hit {enter}, then a list of the potential decision makers in that state will appear. Do the same and select which one. Determine how much of your budget you want to spend supporting this potential leader.
When you have completed all of your decisions SELECT {Done} or {escape} to return to the CHG Main Menu.
RUN MINI-SIMULATION
After having made some decisions, select Run the Mini-Simulation. This program gives a partial look at the outcomes from the decisions (minus international impacts). Hit {enter}.
Note the turn number at the top of the first screen. Now, note the forecast results for new indicator values (GNP, tax revenues and budget allocations) and the decisions that went into those new outcomes. Similar to Run Global Simulation in the MASTER program, you will see a Fiscal Report, computations for your budget expenses, and the your Budget Distribution. This will be followed by some basic state characteristics (GNP and population forecasts, for example), followed by a listing of movements and whether they were successful or not. Hit {enter}.
A second screen will show the forecast results for certain important attributes of the state (population, research and development, GNP, etc.). Hit {enter}. A third screen will show your movements and transfers. Hit {enter} again and you will be returned to the Main Menu.
Select Run Mini-Simulation again. On the first screen note that the turn number has advanced one and the numbers have been extrapolated out a second turn. Go through the screens and return to the CHG Main Menu.
If you are satisfied with the decision simply exit the program and give the disk to the Master. Once you exit the program, do not re-enter it unless you intend on re-inputting all of your decisions. Starting the CHG program erases the last set of decisions made. If you would like to make more changes go ahead. At the completion of your decision making, the Master will collect all the disks and run the game.
Done works the same as Quit.
3. INSTALLING AND PREPARING A GAME
Enclosed you will find the written materials for the Chinese House Game as well as a diskette which contains the game software. I have tried to make the written materials more in the form of a manuscript than just simple game documentation. With the packet you will receive a 3.5" diskette that contains the CHG software and a sample game. The purpose in this section is only to describe how to load and copy the game.
There are two "BATCH" files to use in transferring information or preparing diskettes. Once the game is set up most of these tasks can thereafter be done through the MASTER program. The first file installs the game from the diskette to a specified hard drive location. It is set up to automatically copy the software to a hard drive for use. From there, a new game can be created or the Master can retrieve the game on the sample diskette with the "File Management" feature.
The command "INSTALL C:\CHG" will automatically create a new sub-directory called \CHG on the C: drive (this must be specified). Install will copy everything into the \CHG sub-directory from a "batch " file.
A second "BATCH" file (they are the files with the .bat extensions) is used to prepare player disks. The file "PLAYDISK.BAT" is to be used from the installed hard disk to prepare player diskettes for the game. Simply type "PLAYDISK A:" to prepare a Pupil version of the game (the CHG program only) on the A: drive. Either the A: or B: drives can be specified.
To copy this sample game or others, use the "MASTER" game administrator program and ("File Management") to copy to or from a disk.
To start a new game, simply type "Creator" and all the existing files will be erased. Since this is the case, this program should be used with care. To have the game use an old game to create a new one, use the "File Management" to "Copy All Files" from a stored location. This will automatically initialize a game that was previously created.
Here is the order of events for installing, creating, and running a game.
1. Use the "Install" file on the disk to load the program onto your hard drive. [Type "INSTALL C:\CHG"]
2. From the C:\CHG directory, prepare enough disks for each player using the "Playdisk" command. [To prepare a disk in drive "A", type "PLAYDISK A:"]
3. Look at the demo of the CHG program. [Type "CHG S"}
4. Look at the sample game in the "Master" and "CHG" programs. [See "Sample Game" enclosure for team names and passwords]
5. After planning the game world you want to make, use the "Creator" program. You will need to, in order, access the first four functions and provide the requisite information. Simply exit the program to save the new game. [Type "Creator"]
6. For each player, use CHG to enter their individual programs. This will initialize the player program. [Type "CHG" and player name and password]
7. Use Master to view the new game. [Type "Master"]
Now, the programs and the set-up procedures are described in more detail and explained piece-by-piece, starting with the game installation.
Game Installation
1. Use the “install” file on the floppy disk to load the program onto your hard drive. TYPE “install c:\chg” at the prompt. If you are loading the files into a subdirectory of C:, move to that subdirectory, then to a:, and then type “install chg”. Install will then copy everything from the disk into the \CHG directory. Then, move back to the sub-directory (“CHG”). From there, any of the game programs can be run. For example:
-cd c:
-a:
-install c:\chg
-c:
-cd \chg
2. From the CHG directory, prepare enough disks for each player using the “playdisk” command. Put a blank formatted disk in drive A: and TYPE “playdisk A: [player/group name]”.
Game Demonstration
3. Look at the DEMO of the CHG program. TYPE “CHG S”. The demo is a CHG script file (made up of preset commands) made to run with the current “world environment”.
4. Look at the sample game in the MASTER and CHG programs. There are five teams in this game; Braves, Reds, Pirates, Cubs and Giants. The teams passwords are the same as the team names.
Game Creation
5. After planning the parameters of the game, use the CREATOR program. In sequential order, you will need to access the first four functions and provide the requisite information. Simply exit the program to save the new game. To access the program, type “creator”.
6. For each player, use CHG to enter their individual programs. This will initialize the player program. TYPE “chg”, and enter names, passwords, and then quit to initialize player files.
7. Use MASTER to view the new game. TYPE “Master”. In the MASTER program you must copy CHG files to individual player disks before quitting (File Manager). Players will run their part of the game and return the disk to you. Once again run MASTER to create one time period or to change the world environment. Finally, CHG files are copied again to individual disks, and another time period will begin again.
Running Error Free
8. The most common way to run the game as the MASTER will be to load the Master program onto a hard drive. Players then can run off individual disks on a variety of computers. The easiest way to run a game is off of a network, but in that event make sure that all the files are marked "shareable read-write". There may be some problems in reading batch files on certain types of networks.
9. The most common source of error is the game administrator, or the game disks. Remember that, in most cases, you are reading and writing files to and from a number of disks. Disks go bad all the time, so absolutely keep a back-up of the most recent turn in case this happens. Also, confirm the results once and only once in the MASTER program. If need be, just go back a turn or have the player re-input decisions from a fresh disk.
10. The data files for the game all end with the extension ".CHG". The file "Master.CHG" is the total game file, while the Playerx.CHG" files correspond to each player, with the "x" associated with the number of the player. The player number matches that the information about the players are shown on the screen or in processing disks. "Master.CHG" will be the same size the entire game, while the "Playerx.CHG" files will grown in size each turn as more history occurs and needs to be remembered. Make sure that when you read the files from the Players into the Master program for processing that they are all exactly the same size. The name of the various information files in the game are described in more detail below.
The Files on the Disk
On the diskette you will find the following types of programs that are basically organized by the extension. Files that end in EXE are program files. On your diskette the files ending with "EXE" are executable program files: the CHG, Creator and Master programs.
CHG.EXE
MASTER.EXE
CREATOR.EXE
Each time that a player opens a file that ends with TRN a new decision output file is created. These files are organized by the player number. For a game where there are four players the four files with the decision information needed for a game to run would be as follows.
PLAYER1.TRN
PLAYER2.TRN
PLAYER3.TRN
PLAYER4.TRN
The files that end with the extension CHG are data files. Each player has a data file that records historical information and the game Master has a data file that keeps track of current game status.
MASTER.CHG
PLAYER1.CHG
PLAYER2.CHG
PLAYER3.CHG
PLAYER4.CHG
Finally, there are output files that are printed in an ASCII format that can be accessed, viewed, and printed, if desired. These files include those that end in the extension PRN or RPT. They include the following, again assuming a four-player game. The "PLAYERx.RPT" files are the inputs for the menu choice "View Last Period's Results". The two PRN files show information on a regional and a state basis. "KNOW.PRN" is produced by the Pupil program and is a print-out of the players knowledge base.
PLAYER1.RPT
PLAYER2.RPT
PLAYER3.RPT
PLAYER4.RPT
COUNTRY.PRN
REGION.PRN
KNOW.PRN (CHG only)
A note on the files and the progress of the game. The MASTER.CHG file will remain the same the same size throughout the game. However, the PLAYERX.CHG files will change and increase in size as more and more history is added. Make sure that these latter files are exactly the same size. They will change each time the Master runs the "Global Simulation" and for each turn that a Player makes a new decision with the CHG program. If not, ensure that the actual disk file is up to date with the Master version.
To actually run a game you need to gather the decisions from the players (files that end with .TRN and player files that end in .CHG) and return the updated files (anything ending in .CHG) and the print files (anything ending in .PRN or .RPT). This is automated with the master "File Management" function. You can store old decisions in the game (for safety or historical reasons) by slightly modifying these naming structures. I use the following system whereby I replace the last letter of the file extension with a number corresponding to the move number in the game. For example, to store all the decisions made in turn 1, give the following command from DOS. This will store the decision files for all the players (such as PLAYER1.TRN) in a file that can be renamed and reused later (such as PLAYER1.TR1).
copy *.trn *.tr1
Likewise, all of the game status files that end in the extension .CHG can be saved under new names after each turn (this assumes turn 1). This will include all of the player files (PLAYERx.CHG) and the administrator file (MASTER.CHG).
copy *.chg *.ch1
Enjoy the Chinese House Game!
The Three Programs
You have access to three programs that comprise the Chinese House Game. They are:
CREATOR: The game administrator uses this program to create a new game. Creating a new game contains three parts. First, the administrator decides on the shape of a 78 hexagon world and the terrain type (water, land, desert, mountain, grassland). Second, the administrator decides how many states will exist in this world, their characteristics (Are they rich or well-armed? Is their technology developed and the social services adequate?), and some initial government structure variables (i.e. centralized or semi-centralized). Finally, the administrator must determine which player is in power and the number of power points to assign to each player. After this is done, the results are calculated together and the program "creates" the new world.
MASTER: The game administrator uses this program to collect, process and distribute the results of the game. It can be used by the administrator to change numbers in the game (either to adjust values or to create particular events such as an earthquake or disease) and analyze worldwide game values through various screen displays (across time and across regions). The game administrator can advance the game "chronometer" several turns to predict the impacts of decisions. The game administrator prepares the CHG disks immediately after game “creation”, and then the players are ready to begin.
CHG: This is the player program. Players are differentiated by the name of their state and a secret password. The player has some of the capabilities of the Master. For example, the player can analyze data across time and across regions. The main difference is in access to information. Available information pertains to one's home regions and to the information that is gathered through espionage on the rest of the world. The player has a set of decisions choices and a forecasting model (mini-simulation) which predicts the impact of his or her decisions, but does not take into account actions made by other players.
Administrator Responsibilities Player Responsibilities
• Setup • Setup run installation program (INSTALL) Review game manual and software (CHG S) • Create Game • Run Game run creation program (CREATOR) copy game to disks (PLAYDISK) enter game (CHG) • Administer Game (MASTER) make decisions collect turns from players input current play run a turn exit automatically stores decision change world environment distribute results Turn in disk to Administrator distribute initial files