Half-Earth Socialism Guide
29 Mar 2024
I became a little obsessed with this strategy game called Half-Earth Socialism a while back.
I failed a lot at the beginning, but I finally found a strategy that consistently can get me to the win state. Now, because the game has random events every turn, I can’t actually make a step-by-step playthrough. Consider this more of an assist.
There are two versions of this strategy that work: one where you alienate the accelerationists (easier), and one where you remain allies with them by the end of the game (harder). I’m posting an unedited version of the first of these two in the hopes it will one day motivate me to write down both versions in full. :) I have a lot of little observations about the game that could be fun to anyone else who also got obsessed with it.
This is in a pretty raw state so bear with me. Also, don’t take the use of any of these in-game strategies as approval of anything in real life… it’s just a game.
round 1 (2022)
Electricity
Move 4 from Coal to Wind
Move 1 from petrol to nuclear
Fuel
Decrease BioFuel by 3 and move 2 to Natural Gas 1 to coal
Crops
Move 1 from Industrial to Organic and 1 to Smallholder
Research
3PC to Cellular meat
3PC to electric arc furnace
3PC to floating wind turbine
3 pc to green hydrogen
3 pc to high density battery
3 pc to next gen solar pv
Infrastructure
3pc to battery storage network
3pc to energy conservation campaign
3pc to expand recycling
3pc to indigenous sovereignty
Policy
5 pc to animal liberationist curriculum
5pc to ban outdoor cats
5pc to ecofeminist curriculum
5 pc to environmentalist curriculum
5pc fanonist
10pc universal family planning
5pc utopian curriculum
45 remaining pc
2nd round (2025)
utopian joins me
environmentalist joins me
Electricity
Move 3 from coal to terrestrial wind
move 1 from petrol to wind
Fuel
Move 1 petrol to natural gas
Agriculture
Move 1 industrial to organic
Infrastructure
3PC expand nature preserves (?)
3PC expand public transit
3PC reconcile town and country
3PC remediate and protect ecosystems
Policies
10pc Feminist science
5pc meatless mondays
3rd round (2030)
ecofeminist join me
consumerist hate me
Electricity
move 3 hydropower to terrestrial wind
move 1 from nat gas to wind
fuel
move 1\3 coal to natural gas
crops
move 1 smallholder to organic (failure)
or
move 1 industrial to organic
Research
1 rp to green container ship
1 rp to advances in ecosystem modeling
1 rp alternative refrigerants
1 rp to ecosocialist video game
1 rp to hempcrete
1 rp to perennial cereals
1 rp to phage therapy
1 rp to reintroduce apex predators
Infrastructure
3 biochar
3PC to coastal wetland protection and restoration
3 compost
3PC pedestrian and bike friendly cities
Policies
15 ban non indigenous hunting
5 fanonist
4th round (2035)
consumerist hates you
goal: don’t die from low contentedness!
Electricity
Move 2 from natural gas power gen to floating wind
move 1 petrol power gen to floating wind
move 2 nuclear to terrestrial wind
Fuel
remove 2 natural gas
remove 2 petrol
move 3 to green hydrogen
move 1 to coal
(if nat gas and petrol are failing, you put too much of the land under conservation and they are failing because they do not what they need)
Livestock
Move 4 to cellular meat
Research
1rp advances in ecosystem modeling
1rp alternative refrigerants
1rp drought resistant crop
Infrastructure
3PC to biochar
3PC to compost
33PC (11 dots) to continental smart grid
3PC electricy road vehicles
3PC esperanto
6pc expand public transit
3pc to multistrata agroforestry
3pc passive building mandate
3pc reconcile town and country
3pc to regenerative agriculture
3pc sewage treatment
Policy
20 abolish prisons
5 champagne
15 ban exotic animal trade
10 ban high seas fishing
10 marine protected areas
10 masculinity detox
27 vegetarian
10PC universal family planning
Round 5 (2040)
authoritarian hates you
animal liberationist likes you
electricity
move 2 natural gas to floating wind
move 2 nuclear power to terrestrial wind
fuel
move 1 from petrol to green hydrogen
crops
move 1 from smallholder to organic
livestock
move 4 from industrial livestock ag to cellular meat
research
2rp to de-extinction
infrastructure
6PC (2 spots) to expand public transit
6PC (2 spots) to food waste campaign
9PC (3 spots) to green roofs
3PC electric road vehicles
33PC (11) mass electrification
3pc multistrata agroforestry
3PC regenerative agriculture
policies
round 6 (2045)
fanonist joins you
accelerationist hates you
electricity
move 3 terrestrial wind to floating wind
fuel
move 3 petrol to green hydrogen
agriculture
remove 3 industrial crop
2 to organic crop
1 to smallholder farms
livestock
move 5 industrial livestock to cellular meat
research
1rp to alternative refrigerants
1rp to de-extinction research
infrastructure
15PC (5) to electrify road vehicles
15PC (5) to green roofs
30PC (10) to passive building mandate and retrofit
3PC phase out commercial fishing
policies
18PC vegetarian mandate
Round 7 (2050)
electricity
3 terrestrial to solar pv (assumingg solar is done)
fuel
move 3 petrol to green hydrogen
agriculture
move 1 industrial crop to organic crop
livestock
move 5 industrial livestock to cellular meat
research
1rp to space (why not?)
infrastructure
30PC (10 spot) global demiliterization
policies
15 restrict air travel
20 rien faire comme une bete
32 vegan
round 8 - (2055)
electricity
move 3 from terrestrial to floating
fuel
move 3 natural gas to green hydrogen
agriculture
move 1 industrial to organic
livestock
move 2 industrial to cellular meat (100%)
research
3rp and 18PC (6) to extraterrestrial life
infrastructure
45PC (9) to de extinction
infrastructure
5PC to accelerationist
30PC ban cars
168PC energy quota (optional)
round 9 (2060)
electricity
remove 3 from terr 1 to solar and 2 to float
fuel
remove 2 coal 1 petrol to green hyd
crop
move 2 industrial crop to organic
policies
25 cap and trade for children
round 10 (2065)
electricity
move 1 terrestrial to solar and 1 to flaot
fuel
move everything to green hydrogen
agriculture
move 1 industrial to organic
policies
73 degrowth
30 one child policy
round 11 (2070)
agriculture
move remaining into organic
round 12 (2075)
(hopefully you will have won by this point!)
round 13 (2080)
Tags: videogames