Original Starting Positions

There are 16 Starting Positions, of varying levels of power. Some are single nations, and some are federations or alliances of several independent nations.

The 16 starting positions are:

1. The Azure Alliance (Southeast Africa)
2. The Black Bandits (Northwest Africa)
3. The Blue Brigade (Southern Europe, Quebec)
4. The Brown Brahmins (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka)
5. The Crimson Commonwealth (Northern Europe, Western Canada)
6. The Denim Democracy (Northern USA, Hawaii)
7. The Fuschia Federation (Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands)
8. The Green Guerillas (Eastern South America)
9. The Jade Junta (China)
10. The Khaki Khanate (Soviet Central Asia, Afghanistan)
11. The Magenta Mob (Eastern Europe)
12. The Malachite Monarchy (Russia)
13. The Orange Oligarchy (Western South America/Central America)
14. The Red Republic (Southern USA, Alaska)
15. The Silver Scimitar (Middle East)
16. The Yellow Yakuza (Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Marianas)

Don't worry if the area you want to control has a name you don't like, you can always change the name once you are in control. In the previous games, several players changed the names of their empires. For example, in SW2, the Purple Priesthood became the Olive Omnipotence, the Yellow Yakuza became the Scarlet Zaikai, the Indigo Imperium became the Vermilion Vanguard, and the Grey Jihad became the Obsidian Order.

The only rules are that the name should be alliterative if possible, and should MEAN SOMETHING. For example, the Yellow Yakuza are so called because in this world, Japan is controlled by the Yakuza gangsters through a corrupt Emperor. The Jade Junta is a military junta that took over from the Chinese Communists in a bloody coup, and so on.

Each starting position has a defined starting military force, based on the real-world military forces of the nations that make it up, although in cases where the empire was supposedly formed by one power taking over another, some units may not be present. For example, the Brown Brahmins does not include the Pakistani navy, because Pakistan was conquered by the militant Hindus of the Brown Brahmins and their navy was sunk in battle. Also, some empires have bigger or smaller militaries than in the real world due to the actions of their governments in the ten years between the time this world split off from ours (1990) and the start of the game on January 1, 2001. For example, Japan has a much bigger military, while the Second Civil War led to many losses in the former American military.

Much care has been taken to make this game as realistic as possible, but some simplifications are necessary. These simplifications are put in place to facilitate easier and simpler game play, and to allow people who have little knowledge of military technology to participate effectively.