Field manual
How to play 195-0
195-0 is a five-round draft. You build a government out of whoever the game happens to offer you, then send them out to conquer all 195 nations. A run takes about two minutes and you do not need to read anything first — but the five paragraphs below will roughly double your score.
The loop
Five steps, five rounds
Read the round
Each round pairs a country with a category — Egyptian rappers, French comedians, Mongolian athletes. That pairing decides who you will be offered.
Scout the candidates
Between three and six real people appear, all from that country and category. In Classic you can respin either half of the pairing as often as you like.
Pick one, then place them
Choose a candidate, then choose which open seat they fill. The appointment is permanent for that run, so check what is still vacant before committing.
Repeat five times
Five rounds, five seats. Every round draws a fresh pairing, and nobody you have already appointed comes back.
Send them out
The campaign simulates and reports how many of the 195 nations your regime took, plus a short account of how it went wrong.
The cabinet
What the five seats do
President
The public face. Political authority travels furthest here.
Vice President
The flexible seat. No specialist bonus and the narrowest weight range, so park a good-but-awkward pick here.
General
Runs the campaign. Command experience wins; poets are destroyed.
Propaganda Minister
Controls the story. Broadcasters, performers — and, oddly, dictators.
Treasurer
Funds the war. Money or the ability to acquire it by other means.
Only four of the five carry a bonus for a well-matched category. Vice President has none, which makes it the natural home for a strong candidate who does not fit anywhere else.Full weight tables for every seat →
The one rule
Always have someone in charge
If your finished cabinet contains no Politician, no Dictator and no Military Commander, it loses a flat 30 campaign strength — the single largest swing in the game.
Across every possible cabinet, that one condition is worth about 32 territories. The country bonus, by comparison, is worth about 5. If an authority figure is on the board and you have a seat open, take them, even if the fit is poor.What it actually takes to reach 195 →
Modes
Classic and Daily
Classic is the default: random pairings every round and unlimited respins. Daily gives every player in the world the same five rounds, with no respins and a luck roll pinned for the day — the fair comparison.
Field notes
Beginner questions
Do I need an account to play 195-0?
No. There is no signup, no download and no payment. The game runs entirely in your browser.
How long does a game take?
About two minutes for a first run. Most people then immediately play three more.
Can I change an appointment?
Not within a run. Every appointment is final, which is what makes the order you fill seats matter.
What is the most common beginner mistake?
Building a cabinet with no Politician, Dictator or Military Commander in it. That costs a flat 30 campaign strength — about 32 territories at the median, far more than any individual assignment.
Does picking famous people help?
No. The game only reads a candidate's category and country. A world-famous politician and an obscure one score exactly the same.