MOVEMENT

WASD or Arrow Keys — Move Rex around the city.
A golden arrow points toward the nearest building.

INTERACTIONS

E or Space — Interact with buildings and NPCs.
Walk up to a building's ENTRY marker and press E to open it.
Walk near NPCs (colored circles with icons) for free quick interactions. ESC — Close any open panel or window.

MAP

M — Toggle minimap showing buildings and your position.
P — Pause / open the STATS & GOALS window (click any stat in the bar, or the ? for what each stat does).
? — Toggle this help screen.

AP (ACTION POINTS)

You get AP per day. Walking to buildings and taking actions costs AP.
The day ends automatically when the clock hits 10 PM. AP resets.
Some actions are FREE (0 AP) — always check for those.

PHASES

Phase I — Build approval to 50+ and loyalty to 35+ to seize power.
Phase II — Break institutions below 25%.
Phase III — Reduce population below 50.
Phase IV — THE CARVE-UP. Sell everything at the FIRE SALE EMPORIUM (left side of the map): sell all 5 assets and hit 500+ credits. The galaxy is a fire sale. Everything must go.

LOSE CONDITIONS

Credits hit -150. Approval hits 0 while fear is low. Loyalty hits 0.
Population hits 0. Legal bills overwhelm you.

MILITARY DANGER

Keep military at 10+. Below that, each game-hour carries a chance of a military overthrow that grows as your numbers drop. High fear keeps the army in line; low fear makes a coup more likely. Military 0 is the highest risk, but it's a roll, not instant death — still, don't let it get there.
Moves that spend military (or fear) now require you to actually have them. Rebuild troops cheaply with the Military Base's 0-AP "Recruit 'Volunteers'" — the base unlocks in Phase II, so until then keep what you have.

LEGAL ISSUES

Lawsuits pile up over time. Settle your own judgments at the COURTHOUSE (the list in the corner is display-only).
Ignore them too long and they become YOUR problem — the law hits harder when institutions recover.
Gargoyliani has his own stack of trouble — watch his gauge and settle him at the COURTHOUSE before he flips.
Some actions are crimes. Commit enough and they come with paperwork.

TIPS

- Grift at the Business District to fund your operations.
- Rallies at the Rally Stage boost approval AND loyalty.
- Propaganda at Media Tower is cheap approval.
- Keep your MEDIA up. If you lose the narrative, approval AND fear drain unchecked.
- Free actions (0 AP) exist at some buildings — use them every day.
- The Bureau of Tremendous Science (bottom-right, Phase II+) turns funding into media, "public health" surveys into fewer people, and legitimacy into cash.
- The streets react to your rule: supporters when popular, protesters when hated, judges while courts survive, and worse things as the regime rots.
- Out of AP and bored? Hit SKIP TO MORNING to fast-forward the day — but every skipped event defaults to "Do Nothing," so it costs you.
- New people on the street: real scientists you can bribe, menace, or (for free, weakly) suppress; quack scientists who'll publish any fake paper for the right price; spies with secrets, influencers with followers, and union bosses with muscle.
- Events pop up and demand a response. Every one lets you Do Nothing for 0 AP, but ignoring always costs you a point or two — spending AP is usually the better move.