Ever wondered who is behind it all? In One Hour One Life, usually nobody. This can be a problem when a village needs to pull together. Therefore here is a quick summary of a few systems of government you might fancy implementing.
1: Monarchy.
Ah, the good ol’ fashioned monarchy. If nothing else the role playing it fun. Put simply, a monarch is like the village chief supervisor. They need to stop the village from collapsing into anarchy by stopping griefers while also making sure that there is at least one person for the vital crafts of berry farming, carrot farming, sheep tending, baking and forging as well as any other optional crafts that might come in handy. In order to achieve this the monarch needs the compliance of the villagers so that he or she can assign workers apprentices, request tools for trades that need them and kill any thieves or griefers if necessary. How your monarch creates a line of succession is up to you, either by bloodline or appointment. Generally, however, if you are stuck for a leader just ask your oldest resident to choose someone trustworthy. They are most likely to be experienced. New monarchs should be taught their duties above and, especially in larger towns, may find advisors to help inform their decisions. It is key for a monarch to be liked. After all, nobody needs to listen to them and there’s always the chance of violent revolution at the touch of a button. Therefore there is a small check on the king or queen by the people, but nevertheless it relies heavily on having a wise person in charge. Don’t pick a griefer or newbie! It could be disasterous since they would have the knife. Remember that you don’t need to necessarily kill people to prevent further violence. Taking and snowballs are also handy. This system of government is usually best for smaller towns and is harder to implement over multiplied villages unless you adopted some kind of feudal system. Although on the other hand it’s easy and makes use of gold for the crowns.
2: Guilds.
If you don’t fancy giving power to the crown, then you might give it to the crafters. Guilds basically refer to the main sections of industry in any village. The authoritative or oldest figure in each trade works with all their counterparts to make decisions, ensure everything is running smothely and appoint people to roles. This is much harder to organise than a monarchy but it also lessens the risk of a griefer attack from the crown. There is no one leader and if there is they are held accountable. Such a government might work best with larger towns, yet it still presents problems over which trades get their own representatives and who gets to run each trade. Nevertheless though, if done properly, you could get a full Council going as long as you can spare the time and resources. Useful for villages that want a slightly more active governmental role. However it runs the risk of degenerating over time more easily than a monarchy as people forget the traditions. A crown, on the other hand, is a fairly obvious source of authority.
3: Direct Democracy.
But what if you want to give power directly to the people? In a game where you only live an hour democracy is very limited, but you could attempt to use it in its simplest forms. By creating an Assembly any player could turn up whenever to cast a vote for leaders and new projects that are proposed by other players. The level of organisation for this is extremely high, and only recommended for large villages. You’ll also need to remember who is in what position so you don’t elect a leader twice. It would also take many generations of active government participation. For advanced and experienced settlements only. But if you can stomach it then this could make a very interesting and representative form of government that is accountable to a greater degree than the other two. It would make one awesome town that’s for sure.
Whatever you choose, a government becomes increasingly important as the village progresses. They provide a source for lore and basically keep everything from falling apart, if done properly. If not then they can cause difficulties, even starvation, if people forget to farm carrots amongst all the political paraphernalia. Any of these systems would be fun if nothing else, so the best of luck to you if you try it.