Frustrated by liberal snowflakes and their socialism? Sick of conservatives and their racist capitalist dogma? Tired of the government dragging their feet when there's a clear answer to all the country's problems? Wish you could just show "them" why your solution works the best? Well, here's your chance! You have just been elected as head of government and it is now your responsibility to turn the country around and fix all of its problems before your term is up. Easy, right?

Now, there are plenty of government games out there. But you aren't looking at those games, you're looking at Democracy 3. Does this one deserve your time and money over the others? Can it really prove you have the next best idea? Wait, did I say "voting is gay"?

PROS

+ The beauty of this game lies in the simplicity of the mechanics. There is no map, no districts, and no campaigning. While you are ultimately concerned with getting re-elected, this game is not about actually winning the election itself; it's not called "Politics 3", "Diplomacy 3", or "Elections 3", and none of those things are in this game.

+ HEAVY community mod support, and you'll NEED it past a certain point. Normally I would list this as a con, but the simplicity of the mechanics means that the game is basically a template and people can do whatever they want to it. There's a mod called "Monkey Island" where you're the ruler of an island of pirates. Good stuff.

+ The first thing you'll notice about Democracy 3 is that it's more complicated than it looks. But hey, so is Democracy! If you lower taxes, the government's deficit will increase. Bigger deficit, less national credit. If credit is too low, GDP tanks, and all those lower taxes don't mean ♥♥♥♥ if the economy collapses. All of this is comprehensively displayed on the main overlay; if something affects something else, there's a green positive or red negative indicator. You'll see very quickly how no action can be taken in a vacuum. This will be your big "Ooooooohhhhhhh" moment; you can't just tax the rich at 75% because they'll leave--or just not exist as a taxable class bracket anymore--and then the middle class won't have an incentive to start their own business. An obesity epidemic means less productivity and a lower GDP, but God ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ forbid you take people's cheeseburgers away because they will vote you out of office, and if you fail to get re-elected, it's game over.

+ If you can realistically imagine a government policy, it can effectively exist in this game. With the click of a button, you can ban abortions, send a man to Mars, subsidise flying cars, abolish income tax and replace it with a flat tax, and even enact mandatory microchips for all your citizens!

NEUTRALS

0 Having established that this game has extensive mod support, the game is inherently disappointing. The only difference between, say, France and the United Kingdom is the parameters, which are just numbers; the more you think about the mechanics of this game, the more boring it becomes. You really have to make your own fun out of the game, which isn't hard, but can become dull.

0 You can name your political party. Take a second and think about that. Seriously, take a second... Yes. Yes, you can play as that party in Germany. This aspect is neat and all, but the idea that I can be the "Let Them Eat Cake Party" in France and somehow was elected as President with no explanation is just bizarre. Like, day one in office I had 1% support, and sure that literally makes complete sense and all, but it begged the question, "How the ♥♥♥♥ did I get here" lol. I mean "♥♥♥♥ the poor" must have been one hell of a campaign slogan.

CONS

- "Wait a minute, isn't the United Kingdom a monarchy?" Well, yeah, it is, and that was the first question I had, too. There is a box you can check called "monarchy" but it is one of the most disappointing aspects in the entire game because all it does is allow for the possibility of a royal to say something racist. I mean, I know that most European monarchies are mostly ceremonial, but Queen Elizabeth II isn't totally absent from politics and Prince Charles actively campaigns for environmental justice; it's hard to say "♥♥♥♥ the Prince of Wales" as head of the Conservative Party. It's an aspect with potential that just isn't taken advantage of.

- The name of the game is "Democracy". As much as you would like to, you cannot dissolve Congress, make yours the only legal party, and establish a dictatorship; whatever you make, there is a "democracy" or "constitutional" in there somewhere (i.e., Constitutional Monarchy, Totalitarian Democracy, Union of Democratic Socialist States of America, etc.) This can take away from the immersion. I was playing as Germany where there were literally 0 ethnic minority voters, total media censorship, and mandatory microchips (I swear to God idk how that happened, I was role-playing the Weimar Republic), and yet somehow there were people running against me in the upcoming election. Disappointing.

- Total absence of international interaction. "War" and "peace" are concepts which are completely absent in this game. They exist only in your imagination of what your government is doing with a military which has a budget of "overwhelming force" and a drone policy of "preventative strikes". At first I thought that was okay, but then I realised that it doesn't matter if your hippy liberal Canada has a military budget of just $3.50, events could take the reigns out of your hands, like, for example, the U.S. deciding to just make you the 51st state. But that will never happen in this game.

TL;DR/CONCLUSION

Ultimately, Democracy 3 is a cheap pickup with little flavor or variety, but extensive community mod support. It's fun to waste time on. Most importantly, though, it will make you realise just how complicated democratic governance really is and how stupid you really sound. Most of the frustrations you'll have with this game are not of Democracy the game but democracy the concept.

If you're like me, you'll work tirelessly to establish a stable, prosperous, and healthy society only to be voted out of office because it just isn't good enough for voters. And then it'll hit you:

Voting is gay.

7/10 (with mods), would fund global terrorism again

[h1]VOTING IS GAY (TL;DR INCLUDED)[/h1] Frustrated by liberal snowflakes and their socialism? Sick of conservatives and their racist capitalist dogma? Tired of the government dragging their feet when there's a clear answer to all the country's problems? Wish you could just show "them" why your solution works the best? Well, here's your chance! You have just been elected as head of government and it is now your responsibility to turn the country around and fix all of its problems before your term is up. Easy, right? Now, there are plenty of government games out there. But you aren't looking at those games, you're looking at Democracy 3. Does this one deserve your time and money over the others? Can it really prove you have the next best idea? Wait, did I say "voting is gay"? [u][b]PROS[/b][/u] + The beauty of this game lies in the simplicity of the mechanics. There is no map, no districts, and no campaigning. While you are ultimately concerned with getting re-elected, this game is not about actually winning the election itself; it's not called "Politics 3", "Diplomacy 3", or "Elections 3", and none of those things are in this game. + HEAVY community mod support, and you'll NEED it past a certain point. Normally I would list this as a con, but the simplicity of the mechanics means that the game is basically a template and people can do whatever they want to it. There's a mod called "Monkey Island" where you're the ruler of an island of pirates. Good stuff. + The first thing you'll notice about Democracy 3 is that it's more complicated than it looks. But hey, so is Democracy! If you lower taxes, the government's deficit will increase. Bigger deficit, less national credit. If credit is too low, GDP tanks, and all those lower taxes don't mean shit if the economy collapses. All of this is comprehensively displayed on the main overlay; if something affects something else, there's a green positive or red negative indicator. You'll see very quickly how no action can be taken in a vacuum. This will be your big "Ooooooohhhhhhh" moment; you can't just tax the rich at 75% because they'll leave--or just not exist as a taxable class bracket anymore--and then the middle class won't have an incentive to start their own business. An obesity epidemic means less productivity and a lower GDP, but God fucking forbid you take people's cheeseburgers away because they [i]will[/i] vote you out of office, and if you fail to get re-elected, it's game over. + If you can realistically imagine a government policy, it can effectively exist in this game. With the click of a button, you can ban abortions, send a man to Mars, subsidise flying cars, abolish income tax and replace it with a flat tax, and even enact mandatory microchips for all your citizens! [u][b]NEUTRALS[/b][/u] 0 Having established that this game has extensive mod support, the game is inherently disappointing. The only difference between, say, France and the United Kingdom is the parameters, which are just numbers; the more you think about the mechanics of this game, the more boring it becomes. You really have to make your own fun out of the game, which isn't hard, but can become dull. 0 You can name your political party. Take a second and think about that. Seriously, take a second... Yes. Yes, you can play as [i]that[/i] party in Germany. This aspect is neat and all, but the idea that I can be the "Let Them Eat Cake Party" in France and somehow was elected as President with no explanation is just bizarre. Like, day one in office I had 1% support, and sure that literally makes complete sense and all, but it begged the question, "How the fuck did I get here" lol. I mean "fuck the poor" must have been one hell of a campaign slogan. [u][b]CONS[/b][/u] - "Wait a minute, isn't the United [i]Kingdom[/i] a monarchy?" Well, yeah, it is, and that was the first question I had, too. There is a box you can check called "monarchy" but it is one of the most disappointing aspects in the entire game because all it does is allow for the possibility of a royal to say something racist. I mean, I know that most European monarchies are mostly ceremonial, but Queen Elizabeth II isn't [i]totally[/i] absent from politics and Prince Charles actively campaigns for environmental justice; it's hard to say "fuck the Prince of Wales" as head of the Conservative Party. It's an aspect with potential that just isn't taken advantage of. - The name of the game is "Democracy". As much as you would like to, you cannot dissolve Congress, make yours the only legal party, and establish a dictatorship; whatever you make, there is a "democracy" or "constitutional" in there somewhere (i.e., Constitutional Monarchy, Totalitarian Democracy, Union of Democratic Socialist States of America, etc.) This can take away from the immersion. I was playing as Germany where there were literally 0 ethnic minority voters, total media censorship, and mandatory microchips (I swear to God idk how that happened, I was role-playing the Weimar Republic), and yet somehow there were people running against me in the upcoming election. Disappointing. - Total absence of international interaction. "War" and "peace" are concepts which are completely absent in this game. They exist only in your imagination of what your government is doing with a military which has a budget of "overwhelming force" and a drone policy of "preventative strikes". At first I thought that was okay, but then I realised that it doesn't matter if your hippy liberal Canada has a military budget of just $3.50, events could take the reigns out of your hands, like, for example, the U.S. deciding to just make you the 51st state. But that will never happen in this game. [u][b]TL;DR/CONCLUSION[/b][/u] Ultimately, Democracy 3 is a cheap pickup with little flavor or variety, but extensive community mod support. It's fun to waste time on. Most importantly, though, it will make you realise just how complicated democratic governance really is and how stupid you really sound. Most of the frustrations you'll have with this game are not of Democracy the game but democracy the concept. If you're like me, you'll work tirelessly to establish a stable, prosperous, and healthy society only to be voted out of office because it just isn't good enough for voters. And then it'll hit you: Voting is gay. 7/10 (with mods), would fund global terrorism again