The dilemma. The Lamp, a small investigative site that has exposed your company twice, is going bankrupt. Theo says buy it and let it die quietly, or just let it die. Funding it with no strings is the one thing nobody suggests.
From the gameThe painting on this decision card in Meridyen.
What would you do?
Play itDecision 1 of 1
Dilemma
Your fiercest critic is going broke
The Lamp, a small investigative site that has exposed your company twice, is going bankrupt. Theo says buy it and let it die quietly, or just let it die. Funding it with no strings is the one thing nobody suggests.
If the roll succeedsThe Lamp survives, stays sharp and says so on its front page. Everyone believes in your sincerity.If it failsThe Lamp's first story with your money is an exposé about you. Fair, but painful.
What happenedThe Lamp now covers parking regulations. Nobody reads it, which was the point.
What happenedThe Lamp's last article is a farewell. It mentions you twice.
No right answer.
In the game the roll is d20 plus your adviser’s skill. Here the bonus is a flat +2.
The options and what happens
Fund it with no strings attached (₥600).Bold · decided by a d20 roll against 12
Succeeds: The Lamp survives, stays sharp and says so on its front page. Everyone believes in your sincerity.
Fails: The Lamp's first story with your money is an exposé about you. Fair, but painful.
Buy it and appoint a friendly editor (₥500).Certain outcome
The Lamp now covers parking regulations. Nobody reads it, which was the point.
Let it die.Certain outcome
The Lamp's last article is a farewell. It mentions you twice.
About this card
This is one of 8 hand-written dilemmas set in Meridyen (The present day), one of three ages in Be a CEO, a business strategy game where you run a trading house. Each dilemma has one bold option, decided by dice, and safer options with certain outcomes. The text above is the card exactly as it appears in the game, with the amounts it showed on the first day of a new game.
Questions
What are the options in “Your fiercest critic is going broke”?
There are three: “Fund it with no strings attached (₥600)”; “Buy it and appoint a friendly editor (₥500)”; “Let it die”. The first is the bold option: the game rolls a d20 plus your adviser’s skill against 12. The other two have certain outcomes.
What happens if the bold choice fails?
The Lamp's first story with your money is an exposé about you. Fair, but painful.
What happens if the bold choice succeeds?
The Lamp survives, stays sharp and says so on its front page. Everyone believes in your sincerity.
NorthStar is going underNorthStar Freight is a week from bankruptcy, and three hundred drivers will lose their jobs.
Your best dispatcher talked to the pressImani, your best dispatcher, gave Signal News your real idling-emissions figures, which are worse than your brochure says.
Written by the Mantar Tech team from the game’s own data and text. Be a CEO is in closed alpha, so numbers and cards can change. About the art: much of it was made with AI tools and then selected and edited by hand.
