# Stratum Protocol — complete player guide

> Stratum Protocol (https://sgame.to) is a free, browser-based persistent economic strategy game: one shared world, hundreds of simulated cities, and an economy driven by real players. This document is the full "How to play" guide in plain markdown. The illustrated version lives at https://sgame.to/guide.

Important: Stratum Protocol is an online game. Everything shown here — corporations, parties, markets, prices, people and events — is part of its simulated world and does not depict or represent any real-world company, organization, person, product or trademark. Real place and country names appear only as the game's setting.

## 1. The world & game time

The game world runs faster than real life — the top bar always shows the current in-game day and the speed multiplier. Prices, demand, wages, and taxes all live in this accelerated clock, so a "day" of shop revenue arrives in a fraction of a real day. Every city has its own population, labour pool, tax rates, and geographic traits; every country has its own currency. Money your businesses earn lands in your corporation's account in the local currency.

## 2. Found your corporation

Everything you own runs through a corporation. Pick a country on the map — it fixes your currency, tax regime, and home market. Your first corporation receives 100,000 in founders' bootstrap capital the moment it's registered: enough for land, your first build, and the opening payroll. Registering consumes one Incorporation License — your account starts with one free.

After incorporation, the Corporations page shows a live "Open your first business" checklist. It tracks your real progress — each unfinished step links straight to the page where it happens.

## 3. Grants — free runway

Governments publish grants aimed at young corporations: seed subsidies, first-business credits, industry incentives. Applying is free and instant; the payout lands automatically once you hit the milestone. Apply early — "build your first business" style grants pay out for things you were going to do anyway.

## 4. Secure land

Every building needs a parcel with the right zoning — a coffee shop wants Commercial Retail (C-1), a factory wants industrial land. You can bid on parcels for sale, but the fastest start is renting: government-owned parcels list at fixed monthly rents, most with auto-accept — your offer is accepted instantly. City-located parcels cost more but pull more foot traffic.

## 5. Build your first business

The build wizard starts from geography: regions carry traits (Tourist Destination boosts footfall, Skilled Workforce helps hiring, mineral reserves gate mines), and cities differ on population, labour pool, and tax rates. Then pick a blueprint — for a first business, the Coffee Shop is the classic: cheap to build, staffed by two people, and it earns from day one. Every blueprint lists its build time, land needs, and materials. Starting a project consumes one Business License — your account starts with five.

## 6. Supply the materials

Construction materials are real goods bought on your country's commodity exchange and physically shipped to the site. "Provision & Ship All" does the whole list in one review — materials, freight (fuel billed at the market gasoline price), carrier choice, and a delivery ETA. Player-run carriers compete with the national ones on price, and the best value is picked by default. Prefer control? Each material also has an individual Provision flow, and once shipments are on the road the project card shows live per-material arrival times.

## 7. Hire the builders

With materials on site, hire a construction company from the city — the public-works builder is always available, and player-run construction yards compete on price and speed. You pay the labour quote upfront; the build's actual duration depends on the builder's efficiency (staffed, well-run yards finish early).

## 8. Open the doors

The moment construction finishes, your business posts its staff openings automatically at the market wage — the local labour pool fills them within minutes. Until the crew arrives the venue shows as Suspended (no staff, no service); once seats fill, efficiency climbs and customers start walking in. The Staff tab shows each role's real impact on the business and lets you raise salaries — for one person or the whole team — to hire faster and keep morale high.

## 9. Stock, sell, profit

A coffee shop earns two ways: the menu (espresso and bites prepared at its service station — keep the ingredients stocked) and the shelf (products you list and price yourself). Ingredients and stock are bought on the exchange and shipped in, exactly like construction materials. Cities send restaurants a steady stream of diners scaled to their population — every visitor is recorded, and anyone who walks away tells you why: prices too high, queue too long, ingredients missing. Fix what the feedback says and the room fills.

## 10. Where to go next

- Vertical integration: farms grow the wheat, mills grind the flour, your bakery sells the bread — every step you own is margin you keep.
- Logistics: build a Distribution Center and your corporation becomes a carrier — hauling freight for other players at rates you set.
- Construction: a Construction Yard turns you into a builder that other corporations hire.
- Markets: trade commodities on the exchange, sign long-term supply deals, buy and sell whole businesses.
- R&D and brands: researchers raise your product quality; advertising builds a brand that pulls customers from competitors.
- Politics: found or fund a party, win city budgets, and shape tax policy in your favour.

The simulated world is live right now: exchange prices and player decisions evolve continuously, while its corporations, customers, events, and identities remain part of the game rather than real-world entities.

## Quick reference

- Play free: https://sgame.to/sign-up (100,000 in founding capital, no download, no credit card)
- Illustrated guide: https://sgame.to/guide
- Release notes: https://sgame.to/changelog
- Live world stats (public JSON): https://sgame.to/-/api/world_stats
- Market ticker (public JSON): https://sgame.to/-/api/market_ticker
- Sitemap: https://sgame.to/sitemap.xml