Observer Instructions — Ostrom Variant
Starting Point
Everything from the Basic Variant observer role still applies. You are still tracking resource requests, scarcity events, crashes, and general player behavior. In the Ostrom Variant, you have additional governance mechanics to watch for.
Additional Things to Track
On top of your Basic observations, pay attention to:
- Monitor election: Who became the Monitor? How many victory points did they have? Was there a tie vote?
- Monitor actions: Every time the Monitor delivers a sanction or reward, note who received it, what it was, and why the Monitor gave it.
- Town Meetings: Who called the meeting? Was it a resource-group meeting or a whole-group meeting? What was discussed? What was the outcome of any votes?
- Rule changes: Did players propose new sanctions or rewards? Did they remove or modify existing ones? Did the vote pass or fail?
- Sue the Monitor: Did anyone sue the Monitor? What was the reason? How did the vote go? If it passed, the Monitor returned 3 cards to the bank — did this change the Monitor's behavior afterward?
- Communication effects: After a Town Meeting, did players change how many resources they requested? Did cooperation increase or decrease?
Extended Tracking Sheet
Use a table like this (one row per notable event):
| Round | Event Type | Player(s) Involved | Details | Outcome / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monitor Elected | Orange | Highest VP (tied), won group vote | — |
| 2 | Town Meeting (Resource) | Red, White | Called by Red for lumber; proposed limit of 2 cards each | Passed 2–0 |
| 3 | Sanction | Blue (by Monitor) | Took 6 ore after group agreed to limit | Lost 1 resource card |
| 4 | Sue the Monitor | White (sued Monitor) | Argued sanction was unfair | Failed — vote was 2–2 (tie fails) |
| 5 | Reward | Red (by Monitor) | Requested only 1 wheat when could take 3 | Received 1 bonus card |
| … | … | … | … | … |
You can also keep your Basic tracking sheet running alongside this one.