Coalition Politics

1. Each player starts the game with $100.
2. The game is played in a series of round. At the start of each round, each player contributes $20 to a central pool.
3. The Election Cards: The Bank holds a pack of "election cards", each of which bears a number from 1 to 10. The make-up of the pack may alter from round to round but
   1. there will always be exactly as many cards as there are players remaining in the game; and
   2. the numbers on the cards will sum up to 20.
4. The Election: Each player pays $20 to a prize pool. The election cards are shuffled and one card is dealt face up to each player. The number on the card indicates how many seats in "parliament" that player controls after the election. The election results are displayed publically.
5. Forming a Government: The players now bargain with each other to decide which group will form a government. The successful coalition will receive the prize pool for distribution among its members. To assume power a coalition must
   • control more than half of the 20 seats in the parliament;
   • have reached an agreement about how to divide up the prize.
6. The Bargaining: There are two version of bargaining.
   • Public Bargaining: The Bank announces a time limit for the bargaining period (say fifteen minutes). The player with the largest number of seats starts the bargaining process. E has two minutes in which to make a preliminary proposal for a government coalition, specifying the players in the coalition and the way in which the prize is to be distributed. The proposed participants are asked whether or not they provisionally accept the proposal; they will be free to offer alternative proposals later. A proposal which is provisionally accepted by all of the proposed coalition members is now "on the table". If rejected by any of the proposed pariticipants, the is no deal on the table. Play proceeds clockwise around the table. The next player now has two minutes in which to propose a coalition with a different membership, a coalition with the same membership but a different division of the central pool, or simply pass. A new proposal which is provisionally accepted by all proposed coalition members becomes the current proposal on the table. If a proposal of "no deal" is made, and is approved by a group of parties who between them control a majority of seats, then any deal currently on the table is removed.

     During and between turns, players may make private deals and side payments. No such deals are enforceable.

     At the end of the specified bargaining period, the proposal currently on the table takes effect. The prize is distributed among the players in the winning coalition in the manner agreed upon. If there is no deal on the table with the time limit for the round expires the central pool is "jackpotted" into the next round.

   • Private Bargaining: The Bank announces a time limit for the bargaining period. During this period all players are free to communicate with the others in an effort to negotiate their way into a government coalition on the best possible terms. When the alloted time expires, all talking must stop immediately. Each player then has a minute to write down the coalition that is wishes to propose, listing the members an the division of the prize. The papers are collected by The Bank. If the same winning government coalition has been proposed by ALL its members, and if the division of the prize is the same on all these proposals, then that coalition forms a government and splits the prize pool as agreed. If this does not happen, then each player adds a further $20 to the pool, and another election is held.
7. After the payout, each player contributes $20 to the next prize pool and another election is held immediately. A player who cannot pay the $20 at the beginning of a round is eliminated from the game and may not re-enter the game. This process is continued either until the time limit for the session is reached, or until there are only two players left in the game, at which point the game ends.