text: [Themes: edutainment, serious, historical]
  
  It's barely dawn, but you have traveled under cover of darkness to a secret location where several prized horses are being kept. You intend to purchase one of these horses and enter it in the race. You must choose wisely.
  
  You are greeted at the villa by Marco, the man you put in charge of training your district's horse. Marco arrived the previous day and has been evaluating several horses. Marco has narrowed the choices down to two horses:
  
  (1) Peperoncino ("Hot Pepper"): A very fast but unpredictable horse.
  (2) Dormigliona ("Sleepy Head"): A slightly slower but tamer horse.
  
  Your moment of decision has come.
  
  [Author's Note: The year is 1882. The event is the Palio, a spectacular horse race that has been held annually in Siena, Italy, for hundreds of years. In the Palio, ten of Siena's neighborhood organizations (called "contrade") sponsor horses in the race. In this game, you are the leader of Chiocciola ("Snail") contrada. As the leader of the contrada, it is your responsibility to make sure that your district wins the Palio. For hundreds of years, another contrada, the Tartuca ("Turtle"), has been your district's archrival. Tartuca will stop at nothing to make sure that your district's horse loses the race. You must not let them succeed. In the world of the Palio, sportsmanship is a relative term. Bribery, sabotage, secret alliances, and intimidation of opponents are standard operating procedure. You are playing to win. Any necessary means may be employed.]
  
  > buy Peperoncino
  Several days have passed, and you have discovered that Peperoncino is a very spirited horse. Marco, the trainer, has informed you that he doesn't think that Francesco, the jockey you had plannned to hire for the race, will be able to handle Peperoncino. Marco thinks it might be a good idea to hire Carlo, a famous jockey well-known for his ability to handle difficult horses.
  
  You agree that Francesco might have difficulty with Peperoncino, but you've heard rumors that Carlo is not trustworthy. Supposedly, he's easily bribed and will think nothing of throwing the race if a competitor pays him off.
  
  > keep Francesco
  A mysterious man has asked you to meet him on the steps of the Duomo at mezzogiorno (noon). He has an important message for you. He tells you that he's a distant cousin of your recently-hired jockey Francesco. He says that Francesco suffers from a mysterious illness. He says that Francesco gets so dizzy that he can't walk down a street straight. He says that if you're smart, you'll dump Francesco and hire a new jockey before it's too late.
  
  Later that evening, you visit Marco the trainer. You tell him about your mysterious conversation. He laughs and says that the man is a liar who has been visiting all of the contrada leaders and telling them similar stories about their jockeys. It's a scheme by one of the other contrade (perhaps the "Giraffa") to create chaos before the race. It's too late to get Carlo who has been hired by another contrade, but Marco says that if you're that concerned about it, there's still time to hire his nephew Antonio, a promising young jockey.
  
  > keep Francesco
  Your jockey Francesco has some surprising news. He says that he has a friend who works at the stable where the Tartuca (your rival contrada) keeps its horse. His friend says that the Tartuca's horse is easily spooked by mice. If the horse sees a mouse, it takes him hours to calm down. Francesco says that, for the right price, his friend will release a box full of mice in the stable a few hours before the race.
  
  Do you accept or decline Francesco's proposal?
  
  > Accept
  You are visited at your home by the leader of the Bruco ("Caterpillar") contrada. He proposes a Snail-Caterpillar alliance. He says that his contrada's jockey will assist yours in the race in whatever ways are possible (e.g., strategic blocking of other horses, knocking other jockeys off their horses, etc.). In exchange, he wants a commitment that your jockey will assist theirs in the same way. Do you accept his offer of alliance?
  
  > Accept
  It's the morning of the race and you've been confronted with two very enticing offers. Unfortunately, your budget will only allow you to accept one.
  
  The first offer came from your archrival Tartuca's own jockey. He visited your home before dawn. He said that, for a certain price, he would guarantee that his horse would lose the race. Unfortunately, if you bribe the jockey, you will not have enough money left to bribe a city official who has promised to guarantee your horse a prime starting position if you pay him a large fee. What's your decision?
  
  > bribe the Jockey
  It's a beautiful summer afternoon in Siena as the ten horses take their starting positions in the Campo, the central piazza where the race will take place.
  
  The race has been preceded by an elaborate two-hour parade. Each contrada was represented in the parade by a contingent of musicians and flag-bearers wearing traditonal costumes of medieval Siena, but now the event has begun. Your horse will bring either glory or humiliation to your contrada, the Chiocciola.
  
  Despite the build-up, the race itself is amazingly short. It consists of just three laps around the Campo. The first horse to make it around three times wins. Other than that, there are no rules. Jockeys may use their whips on other horses or even against other jockeys.
  
  Your horse got off to a slow start, but after the first lap, is now running fourth and gaining! As the horses come around the turn, you are close enough to yell advice to your jockey. What do you say?
  
  > say "Hurry up!"
  The horses are coming around the final stretch of the race. And your horse is in second place, trailing the horse of the Tartuca contrada! If your jockey were to jump from his horse, the reduced weight might allow your horse to win! It's perfectly legal in the Palio rules for your jockey to do this. You have arranged a signal with your jockey in the event that you want him to jump. Now is your last opportunity to give him the signal. What do you do?
  
  > give him the signal!
  Oh, what a crazy finish! Victory was so close, but your horse finished a close second behind the horse of the Istrice contrada. The Istrice horse came on strong at the very end and eeked out a victory. If it's any consolation, your archrival Tartuca ended up finishing in sixth place.