City crises

Now and then something happens to the whole city at once: a market crash, a strike, a flu, a boom. These are city crises. They hit every player, they last a limited time, and the paper tells everyone when one starts.

What a crisis is

A crisis is a temporary change for everybody: some things get cheaper or pay more, others get dearer or pay less. There are good ones (a boom), bad ones, and a few that simply shake things up. Some of the kinds:

• Stock market crash: share prices on the City Exchange drop at once (The Stock Exchange).
• Property bubble bursts: property income and selling prices fall.
• Run on the banks: the banks freeze interest payments for a while (Bank). Your savings are safe, they just earn nothing.
• Police crackdown: crime pays less and jail sentences are longer.
• Dock strike: the black-market dealers raise their prices.
• The Mayor's levy: property upkeep goes up.
• Flu outbreak: hospital stays are longer and private doctors cost more.
• Boomtown: jobs and crime pay more.
• Warehouse fire sale: everything at the black markets is cheaper.
• Union strike: called by the Union Hall; shifts pay more for a while.
• Treasury men raid the city: see below.

How one starts and ends

• By chance: once an hour the game rolls. A crisis strikes on about 10% of days, never more than 1 at a time, and never closer than 3 days after the last.
• When the economy is out of balance: if far more money is being made than taken out of the game (prices running away), a crisis is 3 times as likely, and it will be one that takes money out. If money is too tight, a boom can strike instead. That keeps prices in check.
• By staff: staff can set one off or end one early.
• It ends by itself when its time is up. The story in the paper says how long (hours or days).

How you find out

• The Evening Racket prints a story when a crisis strikes (The Evening Racket).
• City → Today in the city lists the Crises and raids running today, with when each ends, and the ones that ended today (The city in numbers and the Citizens list).
• Your record counts how often you were hit by each crisis.

The Treasury raid

When prices in the city have risen by more than 20% in 30 days, federal agents may raid the city, at most once every 30 days. A raid takes 2% to 5% of the cash in your pocket (one rate for everybody in the raid, printed in the story). It only touches players from level 10. Money in the bank is never touched, and being raided also costs a little happiness. You are told how much was taken.

Tips

• Keep your cash in the bank: it is safe from a Treasury raid, from muggers and from burglars (Bank).
• A crash can be a chance: bargain hunters are already circling, as the paper says.
• Check Today in the city before a big purchase: a crisis may have changed prices.