Crisis Control Confusion

[willgamer]

Crisis Control goes up, goes down, and seems to be quite important, but I can't see it displayed anywhere.

Help.

[NefariousKoel]

Yeah I'm not even sure how Control is factored into the crisis gameplay, much less how much each have.

[Balck]

Last night I had my first successful crisis as Prussia. Spent some time reading the tool tips for the cards and played my hand so as to increase crisis control. The last card was a warning, figured it would force the issue after amassing control. The results were impressive, I gained outright control of Samoa and 1361 PP. Went from 6th in prestige to 2nd in one fell swoop, incredibly satisfying

I don't believe the crisis control is shown in the four values above the cards until you end the turn and play it out the following turn. You'll see the values change under each hand played then. Hope that helps.

[Aragos]

good job Balck.

Yes, he is right--the control, etc. means little to nothing until the turn plays out. What control reflects is whether the crisis has spun out of control (toward war) or not.

The best way to handle a crisis is think about what you want--do you want to win at all costs or just end it quickly w/o losing anything?

[NefariousKoel]

So what decides each kind of outcome?

I read that Control is just a modifier for a 'control' roll you get every turn. So is it a second way of a war starting, besides the Intensity rating?

And I've seen some quite different outcomes.. pot split evenly & no war, pot won by me but other country declaring war, etc. I'm not sure which affects which. Control roll can lead to war?? What decides who wins the prestige pot and how much? What decides a win over a colony, and gaining control of all it's CP?

Confuzzled.

[willgamer]

Confuzzled.

Me too, more than when I first posted!

I thought I was asking about some factor that is not displayed.

It seemed like whether or not things "spiral out of control" is partly under my control but I don't know what the controls are or how close I'm coming to pushing the big red button.

[Balck]

Me too, more than when I first posted!

Sorry about that, last post was a drive by one. Let me see if I can help a bit.

I thought I was asking about some factor that is not displayed.

That is true, the factor isn't displayed, until after you've played your hand.
Crisis control however is displayed as an attribute for several of the crisis cards you can play.
Some increase your control, others lower it, then a few affect both parties. The belligerent cards appear to lower control while the more diplomatic cards seem to increase it.

It seemed like whether or not things "spiral out of control" is partly under my control but I don't know what the controls are or how close I'm coming to pushing the big red button.

The first part is true but the AI's cards also have an impact. It is a game of rock paper scissors really. I would recommend reading the tool tips on each card before you play it, don't even bother with the preset hands to the right. This helped me understand what the intent was behind each card and thus what combination to play given my set goals.

With Samoa I was going strictly for prestige. The hand the US played was very belligerent. All of my cards except the last were aimed at increasing crisis control (conference/negative press and such with warning for last) The US started with cards that lowered their crisis control (ei threaten/partial mobilization and such) with their last one increasing crisis control (congress) ending in a negative balance. When paired up in opposition my hand literally clobbered theirs to the point where I earned massive prestige and full rights on Samoa.

From this I understood that maintaining crisis controls really matters only in what your goal is. If you want war you want the crisis to spiral out, preferably on both sides, while keeping intensity mid to low (i think). If you want prestige you want to keep it under control while increasing intensity.

Hope my ramblings were somewhat helpful.

[willgamer]

Thanks! That was very useful.

The other term that comes up, but that I don't see displayed anywhere is "crisis intensity".

Any words of wisdom on that concept?

[NefariousKoel]

The crisis intensity is how to get a war out of it. When it hits 100+, war is declared by someone.

I've seen it happen a few times. That's how intensity works. I have no idea if something happens if it hits 1, however.

The dominance is what wins the big part of the stake. -3 is instant win for 'defender' and +3 is instant win for the 'aggressor'. The one with Just Cause starts off at 1 or -1 depending on which has the JC, so they basically get 1 bonus domination to start. If the crisis ends at zero, the pot is split. If it ends up positive, most of it goes aggressor, negative goes defender.

So I know what dominance and intensity do; Win the stake and lead to war, respectively. That's why I still have little idea of the Control modifiers and how that system works, what it affects. My only guess is that the rounds continue until someone loses the "control roll" and loses .. something?? Maybe gain the CP or whatever the crisis is over? Or maybe just ends the crisis in whatever stalemate it's at?