Being "King of Germany" for once. Or at least Chancellor. How that would be? One would of course do everything better, or at least differently. At Planet Schule, you can try this out – virtually and without the risks and side effects that political decisions have in real life. With the chancellor simulator the players take over the affairs of state for one legislative period. From election promises to draft legislation, from trouble with the coalition partner to successful re-election as chancellor, from failed PR campaigns to successful TV appearances: Everything is on offer here – almost like real life.
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In the chancellor simulation, you have to master as many political challenges as possible during a legislative period. Here, a bill is currently being discussed with a representative of the opposition in the committee debate. Meanwhile, the media is reporting on a current PR campaign by the chancellor.
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General information about the educational game "The Chancellor’s Simulator"
In the role of the Chancellor or. of the German Chancellor, players in the Chancellor simulation must demonstrate political skill and diplomatic tact over the course of a legislative period.
The election poster displays party name and one of the key election promises of the candidate for chancellor.
The playfully designed simulation is based on the parliamentary conditions in the Federal Republic of Germany. Government formation and legislation are the central topics of the game: as soon as the players have managed to bring about a coalition capable of governing, the main part of the chancellor simulation begins. The goal is to implement all the bills with which one ran for election. The political success in the game depends decisively on whether the chancellor with his / her political decisions is capable of gaining a majority – both within the government coalition and in the Bundestag.
The chancellor simulation playfully answers elementary questions about our democratic system: What is the importance of parties? What does it mean to form a coalition and what influence does it have on the government?? Who are the political opponents and how do I counter them most skilfully?? Where and when do the decisive stages of parliamentary opinion-forming take place??
The game interface of the Chancellor*s Simulator
Before the chancellor simulation begins, the players can view the most important functions of the game interface in an interactive intro and set the default settings. If you move the mouse over the individual controls, information texts appear.
When Chancellor’s Advisor Dr. Disselbeck with helpful tips, praise or warnings to the Chancellor or the Chancellor, vibrates on the far left in the menu bar a cell phone icon.
Timeline
Basically, the game is structured in the form of a timeline that corresponds to a legislative period of the chancellor or chancellor’s advisor. corresponds to the Federal Chancellor. All game events come into the game as mini-posters as if on a conveyor belt from the right. When they reach the chancellor, the corresponding task window opens.
Political weather situation
In the background of the game there is a sky that – depending on how the political weather situation develops for the chancellor or chancelloress – is sometimes darkened, sometimes bright and sunny.
Menu bar
At the bottom of the game is the menu bar with the controls. The following actions can be called up.
- Cell phone: Communication with Chancellor*s Advisor Dr. Disselbeck
- Path to the media: Launching public campaigns
- Germany index: Checking the effects of the budget
- Political barometer: Read the sympathy points of the population
- Factual points: Scoring for successful political action
Gameplay of the chancellor simulator
Design the chancellor
The first task is to create a personal avatar for the chancellor. There are different hairstyles, clothes and accessories to choose from. Furthermore the players can choose between a male and a female figure.
Election promises
Before you can become chancellor, you must first win the upcoming federal election. To do this, it is essential to put together an election program that shows the citizens what the chancellor would stand for if elected.
The budgets of the federal budget have to be set by the chancellor every year.
- Culture and education
- Environment
- Social
- Economy
- Security
You can compare your own position with the position of the German population. On the other hand the player gets the agreement with the parties of the German Bundestag displayed.
The players are guided step by step through the different phases of law formation. The committee debate is taking place here.
Select chancellor party
In this step, the players decide which party they want to run for chancellor. The substantive match between one’s own election promises and those of the real parties in the Bundestag plays a major role here.
The election result
As soon as the preparations for the election are completed, the election Sunday will have. The election result is announced in the news: A pie chart and percentages show the parties’ shares in the new Bundestag. In addition, the newsreader interprets the result.
The new parliament
Similar to the TV election results, the Bundestag parliament is displayed as a pie chart, whose party composition is shown as differently sized and colored shares. The chancellor*s party is on the left edge of parliament ("Your party"). Detailed information on the party positions in parliament and the individual parliamentarians can be called up – an important basis for decision-making for the upcoming formation of a government.
If you move the mouse over a member of parliament, a properties map opens up. It shows the party affiliation by its color. In addition, the parliamentarian’s profession is noted – an important indication of which arguments the person is particularly receptive to in political debates.
Forming a government
If the federal election has produced a result in which forming a government with the player’s own chancellor or chancelloress at the helm is possible in principle, a window opens for forming a government. This proceeds in three steps:
- of the coalition formation
- of the chancellor election
- the appointment of ministers
At the bottom of the window, gray arrows indicate which phase of government formation has been reached in the game.
The budget
During the government’s term, a new budget must be passed before each of the four years in office, in which the chancellor defines the amount of money needed for the various areas in the state. By moving the small triangle at the respective bar of the diagram, the budgets can be quickly determined.
Legislation formation
All campaign promises made before the election appear as mini-posters on the timeline after the election. If an election promise reaches the chancellor, an action window opens under the mini-poster, where you now have the opportunity to turn the election promise into a federal law. At the bottom of the window, gray arrows mark which phase of law formation the player is currently in:
In discussions with political opponents, the chancellor has five arguments from the areas of culture, environment, social affairs, economy and security at his disposal.
- Coalition debate
- first vote
- Committee debate
- Second vote
Persuasion tools
In order to keep an election promise and get a law over all parliamentary hurdles, it is necessary to convince the opponents of the law of its advantages. The chancellor simulator offers u.a. the following possibilities: Arguments, power struggle, political deal or compromise.
Public relations campaigns
In the daily political business, it can happen that the chancellor loses contact with the population because of his or her work. If his or her sympathy score decreases or remains at very low levels, something urgently needs to be done here – otherwise re-election is at risk. The Chancellor’s Simulator offers various PR campaigns for this purpose. Another way to score points in terms of sympathy among the German population is to attend a popular guessing show.
events
During the government period, as in real life, there can also be unannounced incidents such as family dramas or political scandals to which the chancellor or chancelloress must respond. They are in the public eye with most of their decisions, no matter how personal they are.
If the chancellor succeeds in convincing his or her political opponents with powerful arguments?
Points
For almost all actions and decisions in the game there are points or points deducted. The points achieved are displayed separately in sympathy and factual points at the bottom of the board.
End of the game and the result of the game
The game ends either with a lost federal election right at the beginning of the game or after the reign has ended.
During the game, an early end can also be achieved by bringing forward the next federal election: To do this, in the lower right corner of the menu there is the Zoom in. It shrinks the timeline so that the mini-poster for the next general election appears. If the players click on this sign, the reign can be ended by a mouse click.
At the end of the reign, the points achieved by the chancellor are displayed in red and, in addition, the result of his or her political work is commented on in a small text panel.