THE SOVEREIGN TABLE · EARLY PLAYTEST

Your country.
Three independent AI rulers.

Download the playable game, negotiate with other governments, build coalitions, and command wars across multiple turns. Potluck runs the AI on your own computer.

Mac 0.8.0 · Apple Silicon ↓ Mac 0.8.0 · Intel ↓ Windows 0.9.0 · x64 Test build ↓

Windows playtest 0.9.0 · Mac 0.8.0 · No separate Node.js install or terminal needed.
Apple Silicon is for M1 and newer Macs. Mac apps are signed and notarized. Windows remains unsigned and may show a publisher warning. A tester confirmed that 0.8.0 installs and launches on Windows; the new 0.9.0 AI timeout fix needs their confirmation.

Windows update: more time for local AI

Version 0.9.0 gives Council and diplomacy up to five minutes per reply, uses shorter chat responses, requests direct replies from detected Qwen3 models, and explains timeouts. It also adds war goals, negotiated peace, regional withdrawal and scheduled reparations.

Close the game before installing the update. Keep Potluck and your existing campaign saves. This fixes the game’s 90-second cutoff; it cannot guarantee a response if the model itself stalls. If a reply still times out, try a short prompt directly in Potluck and send Rob the model name and PC memory.

The signed Mac installers remain on 0.8.0 and do not include these changes yet. Mac users should download the DMG above and open The Sovereign Table from Applications. Start-Mac.command belongs to the older portable ZIP.

01 · INSTALL THE GAME

Download, open, play

On Mac, open the DMG and drag The Sovereign Table into Applications, then open it. On Windows, open the installer to add the game to your user account and Start menu.

Follow your operating system’s normal installation and first-open prompts. The download page itself does not run the game.

02 · ONE SETUP BUTTON

Let the game get Potluck

Choose Use local Potluck, then click Set up Potluck. The game downloads and verifies the official Potluck app, installs it for your user account, and opens it. If Potluck is already installed in its usual location, the button opens it.

Potluck is a separate download of roughly 440–500 MB. Allow about 4 GB of free space during setup, plus room for your model.

03 · PREPARE YOUR RULERS

Approve your model

Inside Potluck, choose a model that fits your computer, approve its download, then load it. Enable Settings → Connect tools. One loaded model serves all three rulers.

These choices still happen in Potluck. The game does not silently download models or turn on cloud inference. Qwen3 4B Instruct has been tested with the game on a Mac.

04 · TAKE YOUR SEAT

Return to the table

The game checks Potluck automatically. Once the connection is ready, choose your country and start a campaign. Keep Potluck running while you play.

Your campaign is saved separately from the installed app. Scripted Demo is also available while you set up local AI.

A first mission

  1. Choose France in the 1992 scenario and send Britain a trade proposal.
  2. Ask Council: “Build a coalition with Britain to sanction Russia for two quarters.”
  3. Review the initiative, negotiate its duration and confirm the commitment.
  4. Advance turns and see whether each ruler follows through.

Desktop saves stay in your application data folder, outside the app. AI runs locally, with no cloud inference charge per turn. The separate model download and local processing use disk space, memory and power.

New: the War room

Declare war on a country, then command offensives or fortify three strategic fronts. Supply, readiness, exhaustion and economic strain decide how long you can fight. Offer peace or surrender through the same turn orders.

Existing campaigns upgrade with no invented wars. This version models strategic fronts; national border changes, automatic allied entry and nuclear escalation remain future work.

Tell Rob what happened

Send your operating system, model name, country and turn number, plus anything confusing, slow or surprising. Keep gateway keys and configuration files private.

Portable version and existing saves

Prefer the original package or use Linux? Download the portable ZIP (0.4 MB). It requires Node.js 24 LTS and a separately installed Potluck app. Extract the whole ZIP, then open Start-Mac.command or Start-Windows.cmd, or run sh Start-Linux.sh. See START-HERE.txt inside.

Existing portable saves remain in the original folder’s .data directory. Keep that folder when updating the portable game. The desktop app starts with a separate save location; it does not automatically import portable campaigns.

Portable ZIP SHA-256: 215113ac1c542e022d9c9cb5931500be9765bb652725df2bcad8fe5602b7c99a

Desktop download checksums

Installer sizes and SHA-256 checksums