The Government Interface provides information about your government, and allows you to change government type and wrangle your advisors.
The top left section shows your government type, and the bonuses and penalties resulting from this government type. You can change government types by clicking on the Crown and Arrow button.
Directly beneath this is the name of your current ruler and his or her title, which is associated with the type of government you possess as well as their skill levels in Administration, Diplomacy, and the Military arts. These are the points they will add each month to your Administrative Power, Diplomatic Power and Military Power, so obviously the higher the numbers, the better the monarch. Particularly low or high Monarch Skill Points also have another important impact on your nation. If you follow the little twisted ribbon to the right, you will see the Country Modifiers. Hover your mouse over these and tooltips will popup explaining what unfortunate or delightful effects your nation is currently enjoying, and why. These can range quite widely, from a ruler incapable of managing the tax revenue (-33% to your tax income) to Shady People coming to work for you (adding 10% to your Spy Defense).
Just above your Country Modifiers you will see the two masks. Your primary culture is indicated to the right of the masks. Hovering over this opens a tooltip which lists the cultural group to which you primary culture belongs, and the other members of your cultural family. The bottom half of the Government Interface focuses on your advisors on the left and your Administrative Power, Diplomatic Power, and Military Power on the right. These are your Monarch Points.
The Power section on the bottom right displays in bold numbers your monthly gain in Monarch Points. The bar underneath shows your total point reserves, relative to the maximum number of unspent points you can keep on hand. Hovering over each will call up a tooltip which explains the growth of your Monarch Points. These values are important because you will spend Monarch Points not only to grow your nation technologically and ideologically, but also to erect buildings, hire generals and admirals, perform many domestic, diplomatic, and military missions, and do just about everything else you need to do in the game. These values are the key to your success.
To the left are your advisors. Certain Ideas will allow you more than three advisors, but you will always have the option of at least one Administrative Advisor, one Diplomatic Advisor, and one Military Advisor.
Clicking on the burgundy shoe will unceremoniously show an unwanted advisor the door, while clicking on an advisor’s portrait will bring up the list of potential replacements.
The cost of an advisor is determined by his skill level, as well as his age at the time that you hire him. Younger and more skillful advisors command a much higher “signing bonus,” and a greater monthly salary than an old and foolish one would claim. Advisor costs can get out of hand quickly if you are careless. An advisor’s skill level augments your Monarch Points, boosting your monthly Administrative Power, Diplomatic Power, or Military Power.
Advisors also provide other useful benefits, depending on what sort of advisor you have chosen. The advisor types, grouped by the type of Monarch Points they influence are
