The game development is going on!
We have finally completed an important part of the game: the Conclave.
What's Papal Conclave?
A papal conclave is convened when the Pope dies. Conclave is a gathering of the College of cardinals with the function of electing the next bishop of Rome.
Ubi Periculum Law defines the rules that cardinals have to follow during the election in order to choose the new Pope:
- 2/3 majority
- only attending cardinals can vote and be elected
- the vote is secret
Ballot is repeated until a cardinal outweighs the quorum.
How Conclave works in Just Power: The Papal States
In Just Power: The Papal States, the Conclave works this way:
Before the ballot, cardinals can corrupt, blackmail and make promises to other electors in order to ensure their vote. After the ballot, two things can happen:
1) a cardinal has reached the quorum and becomes the new Pope
2) nobody has outweighted 2/3 majority, so there is gonna be a new ballot. At every round of voting, the cardinals who get the fewer votes withdraw from the race, letting the top cardinals try to get the throne.
At some point, it can happen that nobody is able to become Pope and the remaining voters have obtained the same amount of votes. In this case remaining cardinals choose a compromise Pope. In return, the new Pope will guarantee top positions to his electors. The human player can be either a decision-maker cardinal or the compromise candidate.
Here some images from the game:
