About the political game: which blocs are taken and which are available. Strictly speaking, there are no blocs yet. There are countries. Some have the potential to form the core of a bloc, some have the potential to be useful within one, and some don't fit anywhere. Primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary status is determined by scientific and technical capabilities in the space and aircraft industries. That's the foundation for building ships, and this factor will be decisive. Secondary countries can't carry out projects like these independently but offer undeniable benefits to primary countries. Those benefits may be political, economic, technical, or religious. Tertiary countries are those that, in my judgment, don't fall into either of the first two categories. That isn't good or bad; it's simply a classification. Players can overturn these categories. Take Iran, for example. I don't know which primary country would agree to cooperate with this cactus, BUT!!! If the players can make it work, I'm all for it!
I may well have missed something, as I did with India. So these categories are provisional. If a player says and proves that their country can do this or that, welcome aboard! We'll change its category!
To repeat: the critical factors defining the first category are space technology, an aircraft industry, and shipbuilding. These are the defining capabilities for a future faction, country, or bloc of countries.
At present, some already assigned blocs may be split back into their original parts if the parties agree. The EU, for example, is quite a push-me-pull-you. Asia and the Middle East haven't been properly covered. Africa is in deep trouble.
What's already taken: Correct me if I'm mistaken. America, India, Brazil, Russia, Scandinavia (too small to divide, though there are options), and the EU (which we'll most likely split). What can you choose? Essentially ANY country or influential GLOBAL organization. Within the EU, you can submit an application, which may or may not be approved depending on the first player who applied to represent the entire EU.
At the next stage of the game, after the second session, if a formed faction has more than one player, the PLAYERS may choose to continue managing it together. Direct correspondence and out-of-character communication between them will then be allowed.
If desired, I'll allow one player to represent several countries, provided they're in different regions. Here is a list of "difficult" countries and regions in the second and third categories that would be good to have in play: Iran, Pakistan, Mexico, Bangladesh, Vietnam, the Pacific region, North Korea, the Middle East, South Africa, African countries or regions, Bolivia, and several Central and South American countries. Something like that. If someone is absent from the list, they can be added.
So choose your roles! If your country ends up left out, don't be discouraged. Someone somewhere will drop out, a replacement will be needed, or new developments will arise. ;) In short, don't leave; move to the waiting list. Eat popcorn, watch the situation develop, and wait for your turn.