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The following are encouraged as a good way to get started, particularly for new players, but never required for any resident.

1. Introduce yourself on our Regional Message Board (RMB)! This is a great way to get acquainted with your neighbors.

2. Sign up on our offsite forum! This is where a lot of the activity happens, including debates on real life issues, region news, and election campaigns.

3. Join the World Assembly (WA)! You will be able to vote on international legislation and endorse other residents of your region. The more people endorse a region's delegate, the more votes that delegate has in the WA. If you do not want to join the WA with your main nation, a common alternative is to join with a puppet nation.

4. If you're looking for more to do, consider heading on over to the Department of Foreign Affairs, where you can sign up to be part of Conch Kingdom's Diplomatic Corps!

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The following are a collection of the most commonly received questions, especially from new residents.

1. What is...?

NationStates has a lot of acronyms, initialisms, and terms that do not exist anywhere else. Just got here and have no idea what a "WFE" is? How about an "endo?" Look no further! There is an encyclopedia of NS located right here. It can also be accessed through the "Reference" link in the menu above.

2. What is there to do in this game?

NS is essentially an open sandbox, rather than a highly structured war game, which makes it a very unique as a political simulator. There are many ways to play, and just like in real life, there is no defined way to win. You could even come up with a new use for NS; with a little creativity, anything is possible. That being said, most NSers spend their time pursuing one of four common activities: roleplaying, gameplaying, debating real life matters, and discussing WA legislation.

3. Those sound interesting!

All right, that was not exactly a question, but here are some brief descriptions of those four activities.

Roleplay: On NS, roleplay (commonly known as RP) is text-based, and consists of players writing collaborative stories that bring their nations (or people within their nations) to life. It usually takes place on the NS forums, player-created offsite forums, or region RMBs.
RP Guide: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=170098
RP Questions: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=118474
Advice for New Players: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=33989

Gameplay: The term "gameplay" (commonly known as GP) encompasses a number of things. It includes the "issues game," where players answer issues to build their nations in a certain way and compete on World Census reports; the "invasion game" (commonly known as raiding and defense, or R/D); and regional politics.
NS Issues: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=88
R/D Guide: viewtopic.php?f=12&t=307728
Region Building: viewtopic.php?f=12&t=353470

Real-world debate: This is mostly self-explanatory, and takes place in the General subforum (commonly known as NSG), or on regions' offsite forums and RMBs.
First Stop for NSG: viewtopic.php?f=20&t=88796

World Assembly: The World Assembly (commonly known as the WA) is a mixture of RP and GP. It is the world's only international legislative body, similar to the real-world United Nations. Many players like to spend time writing their own WA resolutions or discussing proposals written by others. This takes place in the General Assembly and Security Council subforums. If this sounds interesting to you, it is highly recommended that you begin there, by asking questions and reading other players' work.
General Assembly Rules/Advice: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=159348
Security Council Guide: viewtopic.php?f=24&t=218040

4. I followed the recommendations in the "Getting Started" section. Now what?

We recommend involving yourself with regional events and politics! Now, admittedly, we are biased. If you try it, though, you might find yourself unable to stop!

There are usually positions open in our government, and if you are interested, it is easy to check. Just go to the "Government" link in the menu, and the first section will list all the vacancies. The same document also describes what each official does, and gives a full layout of the entire government structure, so it is a convenient place to read about what makes us tick. Also, see our Government subforum for relevant threads.

If the business of negotiation, diplomacy, and occasional deception is not for you, there are always fun events running in the region. Even better, if you have an idea, you can start your own! See our Regional Discussion subforum for more details.

5. Can I declare war? How about setting up alliances, or trading?

NS does not include functions for war or trade, but that should be no obstacle to you! If you have a large enough group, you may attack another region, which is called "raiding" (see "Gameplay" under question 3). You can also begin an RP war with another player (complete guide here), but they must agree to it, or you will be RPing alone. Trade is also RPed on NS, so the best place to go is the GE&T subforum (Help Desk thread).

Alliances are a little more complicated, because they can take so many forms. Again, there is no built-in function for alliances, although embassies can be established between regions, and are sometimes used to signify formal agreements. In general, alliances between nations are RPed. Alliances between regions, on the other hand, are most often political gameplay agreements.

6. So does this place have rules?

Glad you asked. The site rules are located in this thread. You should read through all of them to avoid trouble with the moderators.

If you were looking for the rules of the region, go to this section (located in the Government dispatch), and look under "Regulations for Residents." You will find that there are very few rules in the region, and they rely mostly on common sense.

7. Can I get more detail about some aspect of the game?

Sure! The official game FAQ can be found here, and a more comprehensive version is maintained on the Technical subforum here.

Still have a question? Try asking in this subforum!

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