//This Dev Blog was originally posted as an update on the Earth Rising Kickstarter on September 2nd, 2021//

The Eco Investor is the specialist of the Infrastructure sector.

His ability lets him draw extra cards and give them away to other players, or put them at the bottom of the Social Influence deck.

As with other abilities, the more Sustainable practices within his sector, the more cards he can draw and give away.

What is Infrastructure, and why is the Eco Investor its specialist?

The Infrastructure sector is the means through which our society functions - the roads we travel upon and how they’re planned, the water pipes and electrical lines, the internet speeds and accessibility, along with what these things are made from. Of course, the foremost part of any society is that it is where we live, and so the quality and design of our infrastructure is what directly determines our quality of living.

The Eco Investor is the specialist of this sector because, while our financial system remains as it does, no project of any kind is able to be built without considerable financial backing.

Yet despite assumptions, the Eco Investor is not necessarily a private investor, but represents investments from all origins: Private, Not-for-profits, governmental and even public fundraising!

These are the means through which our Infrastructure is funded, and in turn enable us to put into place positive, long lasting solutions that serve the public interest. It’s when these investments are focused on short-term monetary gain with no concern for longevity that we find ourselves with overpriced services, low quality housing, failing water supplies, intermittent power, and low speed internet.

By implementing practices such as rent control, helping expand and conserve natural infrastructure (such as wetlands and forests which create natural temperature and flood protection), and ensuring everyone has access to the amenities they need would guarantee that we could create a high quality of life, without costing the planet.

A Fresh Start for an Uncertain Future

The fascinating thing about investments is that they are an enabler, nothing more. Money can be given to any venture, and money can be lost if those ventures are mismanaged. An investment into a project is a seed, but ultimately does not determine the end result. Any regular Kickstarter backers will know just what I’m talking about! 😉

Due to this, we felt the Eco Investor would be perfectly suited to an ability that passed cards to other players. By giving Influence cards out at a greater rate than usual, and to people of their choosing, the Eco Investor becomes a powerful ally to other sectors, allowing them to make use of their own sectors cards in their turn, rather than relying simply on what they’ve drawn, or the more limited ability of other specialists to pass them cards. In this way, the Eco Investor facilitates the transformation of our society through other players, far more than through their own turn.

Beating the Status Quo at Their Own Game

The other way that the Eco Investor excels is by taking Status Quo cards that are drawn during their “investment” action and being able to place them at the bottom of a deck. This generally evokes a cheer from around a table, which we feel to be a very valid response to stopping a Status Quo Strike in its tracks, but a common and understandable question is: Why can the Eco Investor do this?

Simply, we felt it was great to have a small way in which players could “beat the Status Quo at their own game”. Just as they use their own vast sums of capital to influence the board, the Eco Investor is able to counteract their efforts by placing similar sums in counter-campaigns, or using their own influence to scupper their plans before they’ve begun.

It can be hard to remember sometimes, but those who use their money to manoeuvre the levers of power are human too, and what they can do, we can do. It just takes the right kind of influence!

Before we go, we’d like to put out a big thank you to Leo Horn-Phathanothai of the World Resources Institute for helping us with this sector of the game! His knowledge and explanations of what is an incredibly complicated sector were invaluable, and we wouldn’t have been able to portray it correctly without him.

As with all sectors, Infrastructure cannot work alone. The network of support created by all six sectors is necessary for change, which is why throughout the blog we’ll be doing more specialists and their sectors.

The Activist	The Grass Roots Politician	The Climatologist	The Ecologist	The Innovator