This is a puzzle. You can solve it as you read, or use it in your RPG campaign.
The puzzle is embedded in kind of a long-winded story. I think making it more short-winded would defeat the purpose; if that sort of thing seems frustrating to you, you probably won’t enjoy it.
The Mayor of Windport invites your party over to his manor for dinner and conversation. The stories of your adventures entertain him greatly. Having been assured of your love of rewarding challenges, he suggests that you and him play a game called Crisis in the Golden Empire.
He brings over a gorgeous decorated mahogany box. Opening it reveals mechanical compartments containing masterfully crafted statuettes of gold, silver and bronze, as well as two silk mats.
“It’s based on real history,” says the Mayor with more showmanship than sincerity. The story goes like this:
The Golden Empire, history’s greatest terror and splendor, is in crisis.
Its cities have grown large and unruly, breeding babies, rats and ideas with alike speed. A new religion, calling for the destruction of ancestor idols and the embrace of equality of all before the Divine, is gaining followers every day. The fertile eastern provinces are reconsidering their longstanding role of easily exploited backwaters. The glorious Imperial armies are becoming more ambitious with every victory. The Imperial Family, once an exemplar of unity and control, is in disarray over personal desires and resentments.
All this presents a risk for total collapse, but also an opportunity for secret dark powers to restore stability on their own terms.
The Mayor then shows and describes every statuette:
The Golden Emperor
The most powerful man in the known world, but he is old and his grip is slipping.
The Golden Prince
The heir apparent. Brazen, arrogant, paranoid. Has new ideas about how to rule the Empire, but fears that his disapproving hidebound father would rather him die than implement them. Perhaps he should move against him first?
The Golden Princess
Kindhearted girl who feels alienated from her own family. Hates the idea of being given away as a prize in a political marriage.
The Silver General
Experienced, wise strategist who nonetheless misses seeing the enemy face to face on the battlefields of his youth. Harbors disdain for Imperial decadence, wants a return to the age of honorable warrior kings.
The Silver Knight
Woman from the eastern provinces, awarded knighthood by exception. A zealot guided by Divine vision, she inspires fanatical loyalty in her troops.
The Silver Squire
Bright, bookish young man, always at the Knight’s side. Loyal but disturbed by the bloody madness of war. Could there be a better way?
The Bronze Laundress
Hands ruined by years of handling corrosive soaps in a noisy Capital laundry. Wants a better life for her grandchildren. Why’d they ever leave the countryside, anyway?
The Bronze Farmer
Him and the Imperial Lords have an agreement. He toils on the rich provincial soil and pays most of his surplus in taxes. In exchange, he gets… what, exactly? Maybe it’s time to rethink the bargain.
The Bronze Preacher
Capital street urchin. Started preaching as just another grift, but became amazed at the way his words can ignite the fire in people’s eyes. This power — where could it come from if not from the Divine?
The Mayor then shows you the two silk mats. Each is embroidered with the symbol of a manipulative secret society seeking to obtain behind-the-scenes power and use it to further their long-term political goals. One of them is the Turners of the Living Wheel, who want the Empire to expand outwards; the other is the Brotherhood of the Crossed Spears, who instead want it to self-isolate and focus inwards.
Now, finally, the rules!
The Spears player goes first. Take turns moving exactly one statuette from the box to your mat. Once put there, it stays there until the end of the game.
The goal of the game is to assemble a stable coalition (a set of 3 particular statuettes) on your mat. This represents you working to organize an alliance that helps resolve the Empire’s political crisis, thereby also gaining the ability to influence said alliance from the shadows.
There are 8 possible stable coalitions:
Absolutism (Emperor, Prince, Princess). The Imperial Family reconcile their differences and agree to cooperate for the glory of their house. Their rule is now more unrestrained than ever.
Shogunate (General, Knight, Squire). Might makes right. The General becomes the de facto ruler of the country, while the Emperor’s role is downgraded to a ceremonial one. The military grows ever stronger.
Revolution (Laundress, Farmer, Preacher). The common people have had enough. The Imperial Palace is burned to the ground, and a citizens’ republic is proclaimed.
Reaction (Emperor, General, Laundress). A return to the old ways. The old ancestral religion becomes mandatory, and internal movement is highly restricted, slowing down urban growth significantly.
Compromise (Prince, Knight, Farmer). The Prince declares his father too old to be able to perform his duties, and rules in his name as regent. The Imperial Capital is moved to the eastern provinces.
Progress (Princess, Squire, Preacher). New ideas for a new generation. Imperial power is limited by a constitutional charter. The letter of the law binds rich and poor alike, and all faiths and ideas are to be protected from persecution.
Theocracy (Emperor, Knight, Preacher). The Emperor’s strange and unexpected conversion leads him to publicly humble himself before the Divine. The new faith becomes the Empire’s official religion.
Matriarchy (Princess, Knight, Laundress). Who made the decisions that caused this whole mess? All men! (“This is because our brains are between our legs,” says the highly amused Mayor.) After the institution of female primogeniture, the Princess becomes Empress. Women get legal privileges and are charged with leading their families.
Once a player has assembled a stable coalition, they immediately win the game. If you have assembled two coalitions at the same time (which is possible), choose one of them to be the “real” one (this is a storytelling formality, you win either way). Statuettes on your mat that aren’t part of the coalition can be ignored.
Alternatively, if there are no statuettes remaining in the box and no player has assembled a stable coalition, the game ends in a draw. The Empire collapses, its remains become rival rump states or are conquered by barbarians. Thus ends the Golden Age. This, says the Mayor, is likely what actually happened.
To make the game more interesting, the Mayor offers an incentive:
Play against him, once, tonight. Feel free to take a good while to think of strategies beforehand. You may choose to play as the Spears or the Wheel.
If you win, you get to take the entire game box with you (market value: ~500 silver Thalers).
If you draw, you get a consolation prize: a single item of your choice from the Mayor’s decorative teaspoon collection (value: ~5 to 15 Thalers).
If you lose, you get nothing. No rematch!
The Mayor claims to have made this exact offer to his guests many times. Some have lost and some have drawn; no one (evidently) has ever beaten him. “Perhaps you'll be the first!”, he says.
That’s surprising. The Mayor seems like a clever man, but he’s no savant.
What’s your strategy?
Just like that, tic-tac-toe has more lore than chess