Start with a country and a role
Your first Geoplanetical campaign can feel busy before a single day has passed. This Geoplanetical beginner guide starts with the controls that give you time to understand your country. Choose your role, pause the simulation, and make a save before committing to a major decision.
Search for a country or select it on the globe, then choose to lead its government or another political party. Government and opposition offer different powers: an opposition party can campaign and use the parliamentary rights available to it, but it does not automatically control public finances or the armed forces.
Every campaign starts on January 1, 2026. Review the campaign rules before starting, especially AI wars, nuclear first use, disasters and new pandemics. The country and role you choose matter; a map location alone does not establish an easy or best start.
Pause, inspect and save
Press Space to pause or resume. The number-row keys 1, 2 and 3 choose the three simulation speeds, while Escape opens the pause menu and stops time.
From that menu, open Save and create a named save. Existing saves can be overwritten with confirmation; Load returns to a saved campaign. In Settings, autosaves can run every 1, 3, 6 or 12 in-game months, with 3, 5 or 10 retained copies. Manual saves remain separate.
A useful first habit is to save before testing a substantial reform, then inspect the result rather than immediately adding more changes.
Ask your ministers where to begin
When you are governing, open Cablegram, select a minister and choose Ask for advice. Their reply assesses their portfolio and suggests an action. Open file takes you to the relevant screen; the advice does not make the decision for you.
Use the Agenda and country reports alongside those replies. They help you identify a problem that needs attention without assuming every country needs the same opening sequence.
Make proposals become real decisions
Budget forecasts and enacted policies are different things. Compare projected revenue, spending and the balance while editing a proposal; Apply commits the package and Discard abandons it. Borrowing is a separate action that creates debt and interest.
Laws also require more than selecting a value. Check support, submit the bill, and follow the applicable parliamentary and constitutional procedure. Your office and the country's institutions determine which decisions you can make.
The October 29 version 1.0.2 notes rename Treasury to State cash. Older official explanations still use Treasury, so recognize both labels when reading financial help. The same update rebalances game speeds; the pause and speed controls remain the practical way to give yourself time.
Consult the developer's official gameplay guide and FAQ when a menu or institutional rule needs more context.
FAQ
Do I have to play the government?
No. You can begin with another party and organize it from opposition.
Does losing an election end the campaign?
No. You can continue with your party, and the institutions determine the powers it retains.
Can I switch countries without starting a new world?
Yes. The pause menu lets you choose another country and party while keeping the current world and date.