Needs and Revolt
A growing city's people expect more; if they do not find it, the tax shrinks, and in the worst case nobody pays it at all.
What are Needs?
A small city makes do with little. As the population passes certain thresholds the people expect more comfort from the city: grape tables, buildings, a monument, a god's favour. The comfort they expect is counted in points and rises in the steps of the table below.
Comfort expected by population
| Citizens | Comfort expected from the Tavern and buildings |
|---|---|
| ≥ 300 | 6 |
| ≥ 600 | 9 |
| ≥ 1,000 | 13 |
| ≥ 1,800 | 17 |
| ≥ 3,500 | 21 |
The comfort, in points, that the people expect from the Tavern and buildings once the city reaches this population. Even after a threshold is passed, the expectation does not change at once; it is refreshed from time to time.
What meets them?
Anything that gives satisfaction is comfort: the Tavern's table, buildings that give satisfaction, the Monument, the objects of treaties in force at the Mouseion (treaties), a god's favour, and every source added later. If together they reach what is expected, the people are content and nothing happens.
The city's fixed civic baseline and penalties for unrest do not count as comfort: a city that lives on the baseline falls short as it grows, and a city under a penalty falls short by more.
What does a shortfall do?
If comfort falls short of what is expected, the difference is taken off satisfaction. You see it on the Needs line of the card titled The people's state on the Economy screen; the line gives the comfort expected, the comfort provided and what is missing.
A city in shortfall does not grow. But it does not shrink for that reason alone: the people pay for the shortfall by emigrating, and only once satisfaction falls below zero.
Tax by satisfaction
When the people are content they pay the tax in full. Once satisfaction falls below zero the share they pay drops, and at a certain point nobody pays. The fall is a straight line: a point in between is a share in between.
Tax table
| Satisfaction | Tax collected |
|---|---|
| ≥ 0 | 100% |
| ≤ −9 | 50% |
| ≤ −10 | 0% |
These shares follow total satisfaction, so a shortfall in Needs lowers the tax too. When satisfaction rises, the tax is back to normal that instant; there is no waiting or recovery period.
How to prevent it
First look at what the city expects: the Needs line gives the missing comfort in points. Raising the grapes the Tavern serves is often the quickest way (Tavern). Buildings that give satisfaction and objects at the Mouseion close the same gap; you can move an object to the city with the gap whenever you like (Mouseion). As the population nears the next threshold the expectation rises; the line says so ahead of time, so you can prepare before you fall short.
The figures come from the game's own content. Balance updates can move some numbers; the rules themselves are as written here.