Államcsíny: six decisions, a mandate of your own

An issue lands on your desk. Someone needs an answer, and someone else would probably set a different priority. A public-life board game can begin with that small situation: take a role, choose an option, then see what follows.

Államcsíny – Légy te is politikus! is SSP’s own browser game. Its characters and game situations are fictional. The central action is making a decision: which benefit do you choose, which cost do you accept, and how do you approach the next issue? The short promotional film introduces that world. The game and the film are in Hungarian.

Six decisions, a visible route

You begin by choosing a role. The Mandátumösvény board has six decision stations. After each decision, your own playing piece moves four spaces towards the centre. From the start to the end of your mandate, the route covers twenty-four steps.

The board has a practical purpose. You can see where you are, which issue comes next, and how much remains. Completed stations receive a marker, while the next decision is highlighted. At the end of the game, you can open your own report.

Your decisions set the pace. You can pause at an issue, read the options and consider them. Moving faster earns no extra points. The interesting moment may be the one where you think you already know your answer, then stop to read what that choice entails.

Something should follow the choice

Pressing a button would offer little on its own. After a choice, the game shows its in-game consequences and the playing piece moves on. Finishing an issue and continuing the journey become parts of the same action.

The screen makes it clear what you are responding to, what you chose and where you can continue. Text, markers and the board work together to make the sequence easy to follow. You can also return to an unfinished mandate with your earlier decisions preserved.

The feedback follows the game’s own rules. Its final report is a record of your particular playthrough: these choices, along this route, produced this result.

A Cabinet with its own characters

Seventeen fictional Cabinet characters give the world a more personal feel. They are worth exploring: an issue takes on a different atmosphere when you meet a character as well as reading a label. The board-game artwork, playing piece and cast belong to the same setting.

There is also a parliamentary play area alongside the main board. Here you can take a proposal from preparation to a vote among fictional representatives. It offers another entry point for players interested in discussion and the process of reaching a shared decision. The “Így működik” guide on the landing page explains how to get started.

A first visit

I would start by opening the game and looking around the board. Then I would choose a role and complete the first issue. At the result, I would ask one question: was this the consequence I expected from my choice?

That gives you something to consider at the next station. After six decisions, take a look back at the whole mandate. If you are trying it with friends, the same issue can start a conversation: which option would each person choose, and why? That is one way to explore it together; the site also lists its separate shared game modes.

From the SSP workshop

In Államcsíny, the interface and game work together. The board shows progress, the decision screen focuses attention on the current issue, and the feedback makes room for its consequences. This is the kind of software design we enjoy at SSP: each part of the screen has a specific job.

Choose a role and try your first decision. The 23-second promotional film above is in Hungarian. To explore the workshop behind the game, visit the SSP projects. If you have a web project of your own, start with our building process.