Welcome to the Game of Democracy forum! In order to make the most of your visit, we have assembled a series of common questions and answers that will hopefully help explain what exactly the Game of Democracy is and what goes on inside our forum. The Game of Democracy is usually referred to as the "demogame" or "DG", which we have used in this article. If this thread does not answer all your questions, or you are still unsure about some aspects of the demogame, please don't hesitate to post it in this thread to get it answered.
Like any FAQ, this is a work in progress. If you have material to contribute, please feel free to do so, and it will be merged or linked in as applicable.
Some questions don't have answers yet, as the game is still in its formative stages!
Credit for this FAQ goes to Strider, Ginger Ale, CivGeneral, Falcon02, DaveShack, et al. (sorry to the rest, don't know how to correlate your emails to forum id's
)
What is the demogame?
As the name implies, the demogame is a game of Civilization 4 being played by a group of people. We are mimicking an organized government, a democracy, where part of the players are elected by the remaining players, the citizens, to take on various roles of our civilization, such as President, cabinet minister, Chief Justice, and Governor or Mayor. These leaders are responsible for posting discussion threads and polls on the various aspects of the game to gather the citizens' thoughts, and then, every few days, the game is played. Even citizens who do not participate as leaders still have an active role to play, as citizens provide the backbone for all discussions and decisions in the forums. Throughout the demogame as our civilization progresses, new leaders are elected, new cities are founded, and new wars are fought, but our goal to play the game of Civilization 4 collectively remains.
How long does a game last?
A normal demogame will last around 5-7 months, but the length can vary based on the game settings we're using, as a large map would take longer. However, you do not need to be present at the start of the game to play; in fact, you can jump in anytime to take a look at the save and participate in the discussions!
How can I join?
Joining is very easy and very quick - simply post in the Citizen Registry with the required information, and then go to your User Control Panel and request to join the group called "Civ4 Democracy Game II: Citizens". You will be approved by one of the moderators for the forum, and then you're in! You are officially a citizen of our nation, and can start to explore the forums, read recent discussion threads, and open the save.
Is there anything important I need to read?
Although not necessary to read if you just plan on being a citizen giving input, the Constitution is where you can view the ruleset. It contains all the information about elections, officials' responsibilities, and how we play the save. If you don't want to read all of that, just remember, if you ever open the save on your own, you are free to make any reversible changes (change laborers around in a city, play with the specialists' configuration, etc.), but you cannot do anything non-reversible (conduct a trade, explore with a unit, etc.). Otherwise, that's it!
What are the different forums for?
Where can I download the save?
I want to run for an elected position. How does this work?
What do leaders do?
Who plays the save, and how?
What are the different sub-forums?
The Citizens sub-forum is for game discussions, citizens groups, and other misc. threads. The government sub-forum contains threads related to the management of the democracy game government. The polls forum contains all polls, over game issues, constitution amendments, or other misc. things.
The RPG & Games and Multi-Team demogame sub-forum are different games, and seperate from the democracy game. You can visit those two forums for more information about their purposes.
Turnchats:
Turnchats are an IRC (Internet Relay Chat) event, during which the turns of the game are played. The turnchats are played by one of the elected designated players for that term. Some game turns may be played without a chat active, depending on the rules.
You can access a turnchat by clicking on the Chat Room link at the bottom of any CivFanatics Forum page. Insert your username inside of the name field, and change the channel from civfanatics to turnchat. Click join, and you should be inside of the turnchat channel.
Warning: You must have javascript to use the chat room link. You may also use an IRC client of your choice, using the information found in the Guide to Turnchats. [link needed]
Like any FAQ, this is a work in progress. If you have material to contribute, please feel free to do so, and it will be merged or linked in as applicable.
Some questions don't have answers yet, as the game is still in its formative stages!
Credit for this FAQ goes to Strider, Ginger Ale, CivGeneral, Falcon02, DaveShack, et al. (sorry to the rest, don't know how to correlate your emails to forum id's

What is the demogame?
As the name implies, the demogame is a game of Civilization 4 being played by a group of people. We are mimicking an organized government, a democracy, where part of the players are elected by the remaining players, the citizens, to take on various roles of our civilization, such as President, cabinet minister, Chief Justice, and Governor or Mayor. These leaders are responsible for posting discussion threads and polls on the various aspects of the game to gather the citizens' thoughts, and then, every few days, the game is played. Even citizens who do not participate as leaders still have an active role to play, as citizens provide the backbone for all discussions and decisions in the forums. Throughout the demogame as our civilization progresses, new leaders are elected, new cities are founded, and new wars are fought, but our goal to play the game of Civilization 4 collectively remains.
How long does a game last?
A normal demogame will last around 5-7 months, but the length can vary based on the game settings we're using, as a large map would take longer. However, you do not need to be present at the start of the game to play; in fact, you can jump in anytime to take a look at the save and participate in the discussions!
How can I join?
Joining is very easy and very quick - simply post in the Citizen Registry with the required information, and then go to your User Control Panel and request to join the group called "Civ4 Democracy Game II: Citizens". You will be approved by one of the moderators for the forum, and then you're in! You are officially a citizen of our nation, and can start to explore the forums, read recent discussion threads, and open the save.
Is there anything important I need to read?
Although not necessary to read if you just plan on being a citizen giving input, the Constitution is where you can view the ruleset. It contains all the information about elections, officials' responsibilities, and how we play the save. If you don't want to read all of that, just remember, if you ever open the save on your own, you are free to make any reversible changes (change laborers around in a city, play with the specialists' configuration, etc.), but you cannot do anything non-reversible (conduct a trade, explore with a unit, etc.). Otherwise, that's it!
What are the different forums for?
Where can I download the save?
I want to run for an elected position. How does this work?
What do leaders do?
Who plays the save, and how?
What are the different sub-forums?
The Citizens sub-forum is for game discussions, citizens groups, and other misc. threads. The government sub-forum contains threads related to the management of the democracy game government. The polls forum contains all polls, over game issues, constitution amendments, or other misc. things.
Spoiler Info which doesn't match the current forum structure :
The RPG & Games and Multi-Team demogame sub-forum are different games, and seperate from the democracy game. You can visit those two forums for more information about their purposes.
Turnchats:
Turnchats are an IRC (Internet Relay Chat) event, during which the turns of the game are played. The turnchats are played by one of the elected designated players for that term. Some game turns may be played without a chat active, depending on the rules.
You can access a turnchat by clicking on the Chat Room link at the bottom of any CivFanatics Forum page. Insert your username inside of the name field, and change the channel from civfanatics to turnchat. Click join, and you should be inside of the turnchat channel.
Warning: You must have javascript to use the chat room link. You may also use an IRC client of your choice, using the information found in the Guide to Turnchats. [link needed]