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Showing you how government works, in case yours doesn't!
Speaking from one organization that has had an unpopular shutdown to another: America. What are you doing? America? Stahp.

Shutdowns are never popular, and all of the polls show that this is not a big hit with most Americans either. Americans may be looking for something fun to do, since all their parks are closed for the moment. Thankfully your favorite purveyor of digital games is here to help. It occurs to us that one of the problems may be that there are people on Capitol Hill who don't know what a functioning government looks like, so we thought we'd help and point a few out with a special 24-hour 50% off [url=http://www.gog.com/promo/shutdown_promo_091013]Shutdown Promo.

The Guild: Gold Edition is a great place to see where the term "Machiavellian Politics" originated from. If you're looking to find a land where earning power was the key to success in the political arena, look no further. Meanwhile, in Capitalism Plus and Capitalism 2, you can get the best economic sims that money can buy half off and see for yourself how a demand economy functions. Tropico Reloaded is 50% off as a reminder of what can happen when governments go awry, and Alpha Centauri (with the Alien Crossfire expansion!) has more different styles of governments modeled than you can shake a stick at. So, really, these games are a quick lesson in civic government. Because we're concerned for you guys.

There has been a lot of furor over health care in America leading up to this shutdown, and we think it's a shame so many people are upset about medicine and how to treat each other. To help further our educational mission for this promo, we figured we'd put Theme Hospital in the sale as well, because that way you can judge for yourself just how tricky it can be to balance the needs of sick patients against limited budgets. Finally, for reasons entirely unrelated to who may or may not have been involved in shutting down the US Government, we also appear to have Redneck Rampage on sale 50% off.

Finally, we would like to express our condolences to everyone who's been furloughed by the shutdown. More than that, actually, we'd like to offer you the games pack of our special Shutdown Promo for free. Send an email to [url=]thanksobama@gog.com[/url] with your picture holding the official furlough letter you received, before Friday 11 October 2013 at 12:00 EDT and we'll give you The Guild: Gold Edition, Capitalism, Capitalism 2, Tropico: Gold Edition, Alpha Centauri + Alien Crossfire, Theme Hospital, and Redneck Rampage free.

We hope the games will keep you all occupied while you're waiting for someone on Capitol Hill to get their act together. Meanwhile, get The Guild, Capitalism Plus, Capitalism 2, Tropico: Gold Edition, Alpha Centauri + Alien Crossfire, Theme Hospital, and Redneck Rampage 50% off (or free if you met the requirements above), in our special Shutdown Promo! The offer lasts until Thursday, October 10, at 12:59PM GMT.
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wolfsite: Would have been somewhat humourous if Papers, Please! was part of this promo.
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tinyE: Only in the state of Arizona.

I wish that was a joke.
I wish I could +5 this comment.
This blog made me laugh. Thank you, GOG. I have no interest in the games, but thank you none the less. :)
shouldn't that be thanksgop@gog.com?
Great job on the news post, I found it very funny. One of the best promos I've seen since joining. And the free games for furloughed workers is a nice touch!

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Hengst2404: For what it is worth, as a Government employee, it is actually an ethics violation to take part in this promotion. Because it does not apply to "all" government employees, it is unethical to accept or take part in it. They have pretty specific rules for most agencies regarding the accepting of gifts or discounts and cannot be part of a "targeted" promotion. I seriously had to sit through the yearly ethics training last week and listen to them tell us to avoid these "Furlough discounts".
Thats one of the problems with the government, way too much bureaucracy and generic rules. It does make sense to have rules regarding targeted promotions and free gifts during normal working conditions as it could result in bias or influence over policies. But considering lobbyists do this all the time and furloughed people are not receiving an income, for them to say it is a violation to accept a discount during their financial hardship is ridiculous. Out of principle, I urge you and every furloughed worker on GOG to apply for the free games.

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tinyE: The answer is clear.
That pic actually made me laugh out loud.

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sgttsmitty: the furloughed employees will be better off than us as they will have been sitting at home for the entire time, and will still be paid.
Yeah, that part is really screwed up. My brother was furloughed for a total of 3 days. But then somehow the Secretary of Defense got all employees that fall under the DOD called back to work the following Monday. Now he has to work while not getting paid even tho he is "non-essential".
low rated
I don't take any side but for a gaming website it is incredibly dumb to get involved in politics by taking a side. You will make half of your users happy and piss off the other half.
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scampywiak: Big balls GOG. You have big balls.
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Kunovski: it's not as if USA would invade Poland... would they...?
All you need is one guy high up to say Poland has weapons of mass destruction and watch all the Republicans fall in line and say Poland must be stopped.

Also, really nice promo idea GOG.
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yinhh: I don't take any side but for a gaming website it is incredibly dumb to get involved in politics by taking a side. You will make half of your users happy and piss off the other half.
Whose side are they taking and which half is going to be pissed off?
Post edited October 09, 2013 by teshra
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Taalen: Well, thanks to a two-party system, the US always has conservatives with an absolute majority. Even if the type of conservative changes every few years.
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emperor20: Thanks for not making any sense.

The employees are going to get back pay as they always did. Another thing that gets paid is any debts that would cause a default, by law. Why else would Obama not care about something that further destroys the economy as he has been doing for years?
Emperor20, you are the worst kind of idiot. The kind of idiot who think he knows everything.
It's not often a sale manages to bring a smile to my face.
You go GOG!

Now to expand my library of only three games...
Post edited October 10, 2013 by JanIIISobieski
LMAO
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yinhh: and piss off the other half.
Only the half that can't take a damned joke.
The fact that you're willing to give furloughed employees games for free really shows how awesome you are, GOG. Proud to support this website and everything it does for its userbase.

Also, bump all the haters with no sense of humor.
GOG is just having a little fun, isn't having fun the reason you're on the site in the first place? :p
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Vaalesh: The fact that you're willing to give furloughed employees games for free really shows how awesome you are, GOG. Proud to support this website and everything it does for its userbase.

Also, bump all the haters with no sense of humor.
GOG is just having a little fun, isn't having fun the reason you're on the site in the first place? :p
As a fellow 'Merican...*fist bump*
It's too bad that there's no 'Papers, Please' in promo which is supposed to 'show how government works, in case ours doesn't'. :)
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emperor20: Thanks for not making any sense.

The employees are going to get back pay as they always did. Another thing that gets paid is any debts that would cause a default, by law. Why else would Obama not care about something that further destroys the economy as he has been doing for years?
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Pinball: Emperor20, you are the worst kind of idiot. The kind of idiot who think he knows everything.
It's been a few posts since I last said it, So: Ad hominem attacks directed at anyone aren't productive. Do not engage in such or you'll face the wrath of my Mallet of Loving Correction.
Hey GOG employees, do we get games tonight (perchance a classic one)?