Social Engineering Mode

Social Engineering Mode is the premium switch that adds a panel of national statistics to the dashboard and has the game move them after every policy the President enacts. The setup screen describes the mode as tracking national statistics such as demographics, crime, poverty and health, and reshaping the country according to the President's policies. A warning underneath notes that switching the mode on adds fifteen to twenty seconds to each turn.

What it tracks

With the mode on, the dashboard panel tracks a wide set of national statistics, including population, immigration, crime, poverty, life expectancy, home ownership, homelessness, press freedom, incarceration, overdose deaths, median income, gun ownership, and the country's racial make-up. A game built on a named historical scenario starts these figures from that scenario's own starting point rather than a generic modern one. Each statistic is described in full, with its unit, on Social statistics.

What happens each month

Each month, the President's enacted policy is read for its likely effect on these statistics, both an immediate change and an ongoing monthly trend. A migration policy, for example, shifts the country's racial make-up gradually over many months rather than all at once, and the shares always stay in balance with one another. A statement or a personnel move, rather than a substantive policy, leaves the statistics untouched that month.

The dashboard panel shows each statistic alongside the month's movement and its ongoing monthly trend, so the player can see both what just happened and where things are heading.

Access

Switching the mode on asks a free account to upgrade, and a non-premium account never actually plays with it switched on regardless of what was requested. Workshop packs can force the mode on or off, and can set their own starting statistics for use when it is on.

On the career builder, the same switch is offered with its description adjusted to name the place the player governs. A career starts with the national version of the mode off. A governor who switches the state version on instead sees a matching panel of state-level statistics: population, migration, crime, poverty, homelessness, home ownership, median income, overdose deaths, incarceration, school quality, cost of living, and the state's racial make-up. The national version only becomes available once a career reaches the presidency, and only for a premium account.