Swing States 2012
Swing States 2012 Rulebook
Official Victory Point Games rulebook, "Swing States 2012 Rules v1.0". Transcribed from the PDF text layer; icons rendered as words.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- [0.0] Using These Rules
- [1.0] Introduction
- [2.0] Game Equipment
- [3.0] Setting Up the Game
- [4.0] Sequence of Play
- [5.0] Die Roll Modifiers
- [6.0] Regions and Modes
- [7.0] Movement
- [8.0] Available & Used
- [9.0] Headline Cards
- [10.0] Special Event Cards
- [11.0] Player Actions
- [12.0] Landslides & Fiascos
- [13.0] Sudden Death
- [14.0] Opposition Research
- [15.0] The Scandal Phase
- [16.0] The Home Stretch
- [17.0] Election Night
- [18.0] The Candidate Game
- [19.0] Optional Rules
- Extended Example of Play
[0.0] Using These Rules
New gaming terms, when they are initially defined, appear in dark red lettering for quick referencing.
The instructions for this game are organized into major "Rules" sections, as shown in large green CAPS font, and represented by the number to the left of the decimal point (e.g., rule 4.0 is the fourth rule). These rules generally explain the game's components, procedures for play, the game's core systems and mechanics, how to set it up, and how to win.
With each Rule, there can be "Cases" that further explain a rule's general concept or basic procedure. Cases might also restrict the application of a rule by denoting exceptions to it. Cases (and Subcases) are an extension of a Rule, shown in the way that they are numbered. For example, Rule 4.1 is the first Case of the fourth Rule; and Rule 4.1.2 is the second Subcase of the first Case of the fourth Rule.
Important information is in red text. References to brief examples of a Rule or Case are in blue text and this font. Text in shaded boxes provides the voice of the game's designer, who is addressing you to explain an idea or concept that is not, itself, a Rule or a Case.
[1.0] Introduction
Swing States 2012 is a solitaire game simulating a U.S. presidential election in a given year. The player is a political strategist hired by the nominee to win the Presidential Election for either the Democratic Party (symbolized by a donkey) or the Republican Party (symbolized by an elephant).
You must make strategic decisions regarding fund-raising and expenditures, where to campaign and where to advertise, when and where to send the nominees and vital surrogates, how much time they should spend fund-raising, preparing for debates, conducting opposition research, and dealing with scandals that appear out of nowhere.
[2.0] Game Equipment
- 1 two-sided Situation Room mat
- 1 two-sided Player Aid/Election Night mat
- 75 cards
- 32 square game pieces
- 5 triangular game pieces
- 6 round game pieces
- This Rules booklet
Not included in this game are two 6-sided dice.
Game Scale: The play of one Game Turn equals about half a week of real time (i.e., the days between each party's nominating convention in the late summer and the general election in early November).
Each $1 of funds represents a lot of money. In 2008 terms, each game $1 represents approximately $10,000,000 (but these elections get more expensive every four years).
The Situation Room Mat: Most of the game is played by adjusting markers on this mat. It is two-sided, depending on which side's campaign you're running. It shows five columns of colored boxes called Regions (e.g., Midwest) each with a group of crucial "Swing States" that will be won or lost in the campaign.
Around 25 states vote predictably either Democrat or Republican, so there is no point contesting them. Democrats won't take Texas, nor the Republicans California. This game focuses on the remaining states that both sides feel they could win.
At the bottom of each Region track is your political Base (i.e., the states most closely aligned to your party). At the top of each Region track are the states most closely aligned with the opposing party. A Strategy marker for each Region is placed on its track and moves up and down, showing the waxing and waning of public support for your party and its candidates. That is, states above the marker are trending against you, those below the marker favor you, and the box where the marker resides is too close to call.
Empty boxes (e.g. between Montana and Iowa) are not states. They represent the ideological distance between the voters of the two nearby Swing States. That is, arguments you use to win Iowa aren't as effective in Montana, or issues that you use to gain Florida don't carry as well in Virginia.
Above each Region's track is its Modifier Box (or Mod box) containing the United States Presidential Seal. Each Mod box holds markers affecting its associated Region track.
These tracks allowed us to design the arrangement of states in a particular order. Consider the Midwest, where we decided Michigan is the most Democratic-leaning State in its Region, and Montana is the most Republican-leaning. We based this on mathematical averages of several recent U.S. elections. Keep in mind that this is a game and that all games dealing with history include a necessary bit of abstraction. The point of the game is to have fun – and to learn a bit about politics and election strategy while doing so!
The markers: There are different kinds of markers in Swing States 2012, all of which are two-sided. These include:
- 5 Strategy markers (one for each Region, indicating whether you are in Advertising or Campaign mode there)
- 5 triangular Regional Economy markers
- 2 round green Nominee markers, one each for your Presidential and Vice-Presidential (V.P.) nominees
- 1 round marker representing your party's surrogate on its green side and a Regional Scandal on its yellow side
- 3 round yellow/gold markers representing the opposition's nominees and surrogate
- 2 square markers to track your money (War Chest and Campaign Finance)
- 25 blue/red Swing State markers to show which party has won their electoral votes on election night.
The Cards: There are different kinds of cards in Swing States 2012. For now, you should know how to read a Headline card:
(Card diagram labels: Source (Color stripe), Events, Card #, Headline, Regions, Campaign Finance, Event Instructions.)
Headline cards drive the game's activity each turn, narrating the campaign's story, listing the Events that occur, and indicating how much money you're receiving through Campaign Finance. Some cards have Special Events explained on the cards themselves.
The Player Aid Mat: This is your control panel showing your monetary situation, Campaign HQ (headquarters), the Game Turn Sequence of Play and other information useful to have at your fingertips.
The Election Night Mat: This is on the reverse side of the Player Aid mat and will help you tally up the votes at the end of the game to see if you were elected President!
The dice: The dice are used to resolve the conflicts between the party and electorate, and between the opposing parties.
[3.0] Setting Up the Game
Arrange the cards and markers for their Set Up as follows:
-
Begin by deciding which party you will be serving as Campaign Manager for in 2012, Democratic or Republican.
-
Place the corresponding side of the Situation Room mat, face-up, in front of you.
-
You need to turn all the cards face-up and sort them by their color stripes:
- 1 "Extra Surrogate" card (#0, gray stripe)
- 2 two-sided Election Year Situation cards (black stripe, unnumbered)
- 7 American Politics Headline cards (orange stripe, #1-7)
- 10 Campaign Watch Headline cards (green stripe, #8-17)
- 10 two-sided Candidate cards (white stripe, unnumbered)
- 29 Inter-News Daily Headline cards (brown stripe, #18-46)
- 16 Opposition Research or "OR" (and October Surprise) cards (purple stripe, lettered A-P)
A. Find the correct face of 1 of the 2 Election Year Situation cards (black border) that describes the game you wish to play and keep it nearby for reference. Set aside the other Election Year Situation card; it is not used.
Historically, in 2012, President Barack H. Obama is seeking re-election. Thus, if you were playing for the Democratic Party, you would have the Democratic Situation Room mat face up, along with the Election Year Situation card reading "President Seeks Re-Election: You Are the Incumbent." If you were playing for the Republicans, you would be using the other side of both of these.
Of course, you can create a "fantasy" election using the "No Incumbent Running" Election Year Situation card. That would suppose that President Obama declined to run for re-election and matters are wide open. In that case, you would choose the "No Incumbent Running" Election Year Situation card where the "Outgoing President is from the Democratic Party."
B. Set aside the 10 Candidate cards (white border) and the 1 Extra Surrogate card (#0, gray border). They are not used in the Standard Game (see 18.0 for the Advanced Game rules).
You're ready to begin the first Game Turn by following the Sequence of Play (see 4.0).
[4.0] Sequence of Play
Swing States is played in Game Turns, each of which is composed of several distinct Phases in which certain activities take place. These Phases must be completed in strict order each game turn.
- Ready Phase: Your round markers can or must be moved, for free, at this time. A Nominee marker with its USED side-up must be moved to a new location. Otherwise you may move a Nominee or the Surrogate marker (if in play) to new locations or keep it in place (see 7.0). After adjusting your round markers, flip your Nominee and War Chest markers showing their USED sides to show their Available sides (see 8.0).
- Headline Phase: Reveal the top card in the Event Deck and place it, face up, in the Discard Pile. If it is a Headline card, it becomes the new Current Event card that you must resolve this turn. If no cards are left to be drawn during the Phase, it is Election Night and the game is ending. See 17.0 to determine the election results and discover how you did!
- Events Phase: Resolve all of the Events on the Current Event card, in the order that they are listed (i.e., from top to bottom and left to right). This includes receiving any Campaign Finance money.
- Action Phase: You now conduct Actions as you desire and can afford (see 11.0).
- Scandal Phase: If the Scandal marker is in a Regional Modifier box, that Region's Campaign Strategy marker is attacked by that circumstance (see 9.1).
[5.0] Die Roll Modifiers
After being rolled, certain die roll modifiers (DRMs) can be applied to modify that result up or down. The die roll is unchanged (which is important, as "odds" and "evens" matter sometimes) but results are modified.
DRMs occur on a Regional Track when your Surrogate marker, a Regional Economy marker, and/or the Scandal marker are there.
[5.1] Extreme Cases
Modified results of less than 1 are treated as '1,' and modified results greater than 6 are treated as '6.'
[5.2] Natural Causes
When rolling versus a Regional Strategy marker's value, or on Election Night to determine the "toss-up" states, a natural die roll of 1 always results in failure, and a natural die roll of 6 always results in success.
Die roll modifiers cannot make a die roll either certain or impossible; the voters are just too fickle for that!
[5.3] Opposition Personalities
the Opposing Party's Nominee and Surrogate markers contribute their numbers to those that result in the failure of a natural die roll (and thus function as "enhanced Natural Causes;" see 9.1.2).
[6.0] Regions and Modes
Campaign Modes
At the heart of Swing States are the five Regional Strategy markers, each with its Resistance Value shown as a single digit.
On one side, Advertising, your side is playing "offense" and hoping to drive that marker higher up its track, as indicated by the green up arrow.
On the other side, Campaign, your side is playing "defense" to preserve the gains you've made by slowing down potential future losses in that Region, as indicated by the yellow stop sign.
Region Tracks
On each Region Track, the top spaces represent states that are the most inclined toward the opposition (e.g., if you are playing for the Republicans, the topmost states will be blue, Democratic-leaning states, and vice-versa). The bottom spaces show your "base," i.e., the states that favor your side.
Your task is to Advance your Regional Strategy markers up their tracks (into "enemy territory") and keep them at or near the top to win those states on Election Night. You must also prevent them from dropping to or below the bottom boxes (thus losing "friendly territory" to the opposition).
[7.0] Movement
You begin your Ready Phase by redeploying ("moving") your round green Nominee markers and Surrogate marker (if available) for free. A Nominee marker with its USED side-up must be moved to a new location. Otherwise you may move a Nominee or the Surrogate marker (if in play) to new locations or keep it in place.
[7.1] Where to Go
The six locations where they can always be placed are the five Regional Modifier boxes and the Campaign HQ box on the Player Aid mat.
[7.2] What to Do
What they can do at each of these locations is summarized at the top of the Player Aid mat for your convenience.
[7.3] Debate Preparation
While a nominee has a debate pending, its marker can also be moved into the Debate Preparation box on the Player Aid mat (see 10.1.1).
[7.4] Additional Travel
You can also voluntarily move any or all of your round green markers during your Action Phase by paying $1 to do so (see 11.3). None of your markers must move at that time, even the used ones (see 8.0).
[8.0] Available & Used
Your two round green Nominee markers, and your War Chest marker have an Available side and a USED side. When it is available, it "can be used" to perform its special purpose one time that Game Turn, after which it is flipped to its USED side as a reminder that it has already performed its once-per-turn feat.
When a Rule says that a marker "can be used," it means flipped from its Available side to its USED side.
These markers are refreshed, and flipped back to their respective Available sides, at the end of the Ready Phase each Game Turn.
[9.0] Headline Cards
The green, brown and orange cards are collectively called "Headline cards." These cards drive the narrative of the times as it affects your campaign.
The same deck of cards neatly affects both the Democratic or Republican candidate (i.e. the player) the same way. So one card says: "Ninth Circuit Hands Down Landmark Gay Rights Ruling" but doesn't say which way the court ruled. For game purposes it made whatever decision would turn people in the indicated Regions against you!
General Rule
During the Headline Phase, the top card in the Event Deck is revealed and placed, face up, in the Discard Pile, and it becomes the Current Event card for that turn.
Card Key
- Yellow circle: A yellow circle causes the named (round, yellow) Opposition marker (Pres. = Presidential Nominee; V.P. = Vice-Presidential Nominee; and Surr. = Surrogate) to be immediately moved from its current location (wherever it may be) to the Modifier box of the listed Region. In the Standard Game, place these so that their yellow-side is face-up (i.e., the side with a 1 on it). The other side is only used in the Candidate Game (see Rule 18.0).
- Yellow triangle (pointing downward): A yellow triangle "raises your negatives" and circumstances may push that Region's Strategy marker down by one box (see 9.1).
- Yellow lightning bolt: A yellow lightning bolt not only "raises your negatives" (as above) and may push that Region's Strategy marker down by one box, it also immediately places the Scandal marker in that Region (see 9.2).
- Orange triangle (pointing toward the Region's name): An orange triangle is treated as either a red or green triangle (see below), depending on which political party you represent or which party "owns the economy" (see 9.3).
- Green triangle (pointing upward): A green triangle "raises your positives" and automatically pushes that Region's Strategy marker up by one box (see 9.4).
- Red triangle (pointing down): A red triangle does not appear on any cards, only in these Rules. It is an irredeemable "drop in your position" that automatically pushes that Region's Strategy marker down by one box, even if it is in Campaign mode (see 9.3 and 12.2).
Resolving the Events Phase
For each Headline card, resolve each Region in order (i.e., from top to bottom on the card, and from left to right on your Situation Room mat), from the SOUTH to the BORDER, one at a time.
To resolve a Region, first place its (round) Opposition and/or Scandal marker there (if indicated on the Current Event card). Then resolve the card's triangle for that Region (if one is printed on the card for that Region).
[9.1] Attacked by Circumstances
If a yellow (downward) triangle or a yellow lightning bolt (see 9.2) is the result for that Region, your Regional Strategy marker on that track goes down by one box.
Important Exception: If that Region's Strategy marker is in Campaign mode (i.e., you're "on defense" in that Region), this loss is not automatic. Instead, you must conduct a Campaign Defense as follows:
Campaign Defense
To perform a Campaign Defense, roll a die and apply all Regional DRMs (i.e., -1 if the Scandal marker is present, +1 if your Surrogate marker is present, ±1 if a Regional Economy marker is present, etc.). Compare that modified result to that marker's Resistance Value (in the yellow stop sign).
- If it is greater than that marker's Resistance Value, the result is a success and that Strategy marker does not move; it remains in place and, if the Scandal marker is located at that Region, it is removed back to the Holding box. You've disproven the scandal's veracity.
- If it is less than or equal to that marker's Resistance Value, the result is a failure and it is lowered by one box.
Important: In addition to, and regardless of, the outcome, if the unmodified die roll result is odd, you must flip that Region's Strategy marker over so that its Advertising mode is face up. If the unmodified result is even, the marker remains in Campaign mode.
[9.1.1] Your Vice-Presidential Nominee
If your V.P. Nominee marker is available in that Region, it can be used (8.0) to roll two dice (abbreviated zz) for the Campaign Defense there. You may choose to apply either result (applying its result to both the potential movement and flipping of that Region's Strategy marker).
[9.1.2] Opposition Personalities
If there are one more round Opposition Personality markers (i.e., a person, not a scandal) in that Region's Modifier box, compare your unmodified die roll's result to their Blocking Number(s) as shown by the die roll faces on these markers.
- If it matches a Blocking Number, the result is automatically a failure; remove the corresponding Opposition marker(s) to the Holding Box.
- If it does not match a Blocking Number, apply the result normally and those Opposition markers remain in that Modifier box.
Example: The Current Event card places the Opposition Surrogate marker and the Scandal marker in the MIDWEST, where your Strategy marker shows that you're in Campaign mode. Also in the Regional Modifiers box for the MIDWEST, is your Vice-Presidential Candidate marker, as shown here. The Resistance Value is '3,' but with the -1 DRM, you'll have to roll a 5 or 6 to preserve your position there (because a modified result of 4 or higher is required for success). But the Opposition Surrogate's Blocking Numbers are 1, 3 and 5, which cuts out half your chances for success (i.e., a 5 is an automatic a fail result).
In the face of these circumstances, you opt to use your V.P. Nominee marker, flipping it to its USED side and rolling two dice (zz) instead of just one (z). Hopefully, one of them will be a 6!
You actual results are 2 and 5. If you decide to use the 2 for the outcome, it is reduced to a '1' and you fail (so your Strategy marker goes down one box, to Iowa), but because the unmodified roll was even, at least your marker will remain in Campaign mode. If you decide to use the 5 for the outcome, it is automatically blocked by the Opposition Surrogate marker; thus the defense fails (lowering the Strategy marker to Iowa), and because that unmodified result is a 5, it would also send the Opposition Surrogate marker back to the Holding box and flip your Regional Strategy marker for the MIDWEST over to show its Advertising mode side.
Decisions, decisions…
[9.2] The Scandal Marker
If the card calls for the placement of the Scandal marker (lightning bolt; which is located on the back of your Surrogate marker), whether or not it is actually placed (see 18.0, the Candidate Game), your Surrogate marker (if in play) goes away; the Scandal takes precedence. Place its marker in that Region's Modifier box as indicated. Sorry!
After placing the Scandal marker, that Region is also immediately "attacked by circumstances" (see 9.1), but with the Scandal's -1 DRM hindering you!
[9.3] Orange Triangles
There are "animal" cards (bear, bull, donkey and elephant) with orange triangles on them. Those orange triangles are treated as either a red (bad) or green (good) triangle as follows:
[9.3.1] Political Party Cards
If a donkey or elephant card is revealed, the orange triangles on it are treated as red (bad; see 9.0) if that animal belongs to the other party (donkey = Democrat; elephant = Republican), or green (good; 9.4) if that animal belongs to your political party.
[9.3.2] Economy Cards
If a bear or bull card is revealed, it will help or hinder you depending on the news and whether your party "owns the economy."
Who Owns the Economy?: If you're the incumbent President running for re-election OR there is no incumbent running for president but the outgoing President is of your political party, then your party "owns" (i.e., it is currently politically accountable for) the economy. Otherwise, the other party owns the economy.
If a bear card is revealed, that is bad if you own the economy and good if you don't. If a bull card is revealed, that is good if you own the economy and bad if you don't. This is illustrated as a mnemonic on the black-bordered Election Year Situation card that you chose during set up.
If that bear or bull card is good for you, then in each indicated Region, do only the first item on the list below that applies:
- Remove the yellow triangular (-1) Regional Economy marker from its Modifiers box, if one is present there; OR
- If there is no yellow triangular (-1) Regional Economy marker in its Modifiers box, place a green triangular (+1) Regional Economy marker its Modifiers box; OR
- If there is already a green triangular (+1) Regional Economy marker its Modifiers box, simply treat this as a green (good) triangle result (see 9.4).
And you always remove all lingering yellow triangular (-1) Regional Economy markers that remain in other Regions.
If that bear or bull card is bad for you, it works the opposite way. In each indicated Region, do only the first item on the list below that applies:
- Remove the green triangular (+1) Regional Economy marker from its Modifiers box, if one is present there; OR
- If there is no green triangular (+1) Regional Economy marker in its Modifiers box, place a yellow triangular (-1) Regional Economy marker in its Modifiers box; OR
- If there is already a yellow triangular (-1) Regional Economy marker in its Modifiers box, simply treat this as a red (bad) triangle result (see 9.0).
And you always remove all lingering green triangular (+1) Regional Economy markers that remain in other Regions.
Example: There are yellow (negative) triangular Regional Economy markers in the MIDWEST and WEST. The Current Event card indicates an economy that is good for you, and specifies the WEST and BORDER Regions. Going down the card from top to bottom, you would first remove the yellow Regional Economy marker from the WEST and place it back in the Holding box (the -1 marker being "canceled out" by a newly placed +1 marker, so the net effect is that they cancel each other out, or +0). Then you would place a green (positive) triangular Regional Economy marker in the BORDER Region. Finally, you would sweep away the remaining yellow Regional Economy marker from the MIDWEST, as the overall national economy is now "trending in your direction."
[9.4] Green Triangles
If a green (upward) triangle is the result for that Region, your Regional Strategy marker on that track automatically goes up by one box.
[9.5] Campaign Finance Amount
Add the dollar amount shown in the green box on the lower-right part of the card to your Campaign Finance track.
[10.0] Special Event Cards
The 7 American Politics Headline cards (orange stripe, #1-7) are "Special Event" cards and explained in more detail below:
[10.1] Presidential Debates
There are three Presidential Debate cards in the deck (#1-3). When one is revealed, it means that debate is approaching and that Nominee has time to prepare (or not) for that debate. The purpose of a good debate performance is to bring in a lot of Campaign Finance cash that turn.
A good debate leads to a rush of donations. A poor performance sees your backers get skittish and write fewer checks.
Procedure
After revealing a Presidential Debate card, do not implement it! Instead, leave it face-up at the top of the Event Deck and draw two cards from the Reserve Deck and place them, face-down, on top of the now face-up Presidential Debate card. Continue play normally, by revealing the first of those two face-down cards and completing that turn.
At the beginning of the next turn (which starts with one face-down card atop the face-up Debate card), you have a decision to make during your Ready Phase about fully preparing (10.1.1) for that debate or not. If you opt not to, conduct a normal turn with that final face-down card before the Debate card.
At the beginning of the Debate card's turn, if you opted not to prepare during the previous turn, you once again have a decision to make during your Ready Phase about whether or not to at least make partial preparation (10.1.1) for the debate. If you opt not to, just conduct the Debate card as per 10.1.2 during the Headline Phase without modifications.
If you wish for your nominee to prepare for the debate (fully or partially), see below:
[10.1.1] Debate Preparation
During your Ready Phase prior to resolving a debate, you may move your Nominee's marker to the Debate Preparation box on the Player Aid mat, to either the Full or Partial box (depending on your timing, above). While in the Debate Preparation box, that Nominee marker cannot be moved or participate in the game in any way until after it is used following the debate.
That candidate is in the Twilight Zone of intensive debate preparation. Note that it is better to be fully prepared, but even partial preparation is better than none at all.
[10.1.2] Debate Performance
First, place the Opposition marker whom your Nominee is "debating" in the Holding box if it is not currently there.
After conducting all of the Debate card's Events, roll one die (z) to simulate the debate's outcome. Roll a second die if your Presidential Nominee is partially prepared and a third die for being fully prepared. The highest value rolled is the amount of money added to your Campaign Finance for that turn (so, up to $6 is up for grabs – ka-ching!).
If your Nominee marker is in the Debate Preparation box, flip it to its USED side and complete that turn.
[10.2] The Vice-Presidential Debate
There is one Vice-Presidential Debate card in the deck (#4). It functions identically to a Presidential Debate card, but affects the Vice-Presidential Nominee marker instead.
The result of the V.P.'s debate performance is handled differently in that you resolve the debate by rolling two dice (zz) and receive the lowest value rolled to generate Campaign Finance funds that turn. With its marker receiving partial preparation, roll only one die, and with full preparation roll two dice but use the highest value rolled.
[10.3] Receive a Surrogate
There are two such cards in the deck (#5 and #6, a third, #0, is added in the Advanced game). They add your round green Surrogate marker to your arsenal as explained on those cards.
Since your Surrogate marker is on the back of the Scandal marker, this means that placing your Surrogate automatically removes that scandal!
Your timing for playing these cards can be important, since they make scandals go away. However, a Surrogate marker only lasts until the next scandal occurs (see 9.2).
[10.4] Super PAC
Follow the direction on this card to flip any or all of your Campaign Strategy markers.
[11.0] Player Actions
During your Action Phase, you can spend your money and play held cards to perform Actions that can advance your case for winning the White House. These Actions are explained below:
Executing the Plan
[11.1] Advertising
For $1, you can pick any Region where its Strategy marker is in Advertising mode (i.e., where you're "on offense") and roll the die to improve your standing there. You may perform this Action multiple times per turn (even making multiple Advertising "attacks" in the same Region) as long as your money lasts.
To Advertise, roll a die and apply all Regional DRMs (i.e., -1 if the Scandal marker is present, +1 if your Surrogate marker is present, ±1 if a Regional Economy marker is present, etc.). That modified result is then compared to that marker's Resistance Value (in the green triangle).
- If it is greater than that marker's Resistance Value, the result is a success and that Strategy marker is raised by one box and, if the Scandal marker is located at that Region, it is removed back to the Holding box. You've disproven the scandal's veracity.
- If it is less than or equal to that marker's Resistance Value, the result is a failure and it simply remains in place.
[11.1.1] Your Presidential Nominee
If your Presidential Nominee marker is available in that Region, it can be used (8.0), before the die is rolled, to roll two dice (abbreviated zz) for that single Advertising effort. You may choose to apply either result.
[11.1.2] Opposition Personalities
If there are one or more round Opposition Personality markers (i.e., a person, not a scandal) in that Region's Modifier box, compare your unmodified die roll's result to their Blocking Number(s) as shown by the die roll faces on these markers.
- If it matches a Blocking Number, the result is automatically a failure; remove the corresponding Opposition marker(s) to the Holding Box.
- If it does not match a Blocking Number, apply the result normally and those Opposition markers remain in that Modifier box.
Example: Representing the Democrats, you decided to go "on offense" in the BORDER Region where your Strategy marker indicates that you are in Advertising mode. In the Regional modifier box is your Surrogate (+1 die roll modifier) and the Opposition Vice-President marker (automatic failure on a 1 and 4).
The Resistance Value is only '1,' and with the +1 DRM from your Surrogate marker you brim with confidence. After spending $1 and reducing your Campaign Finance marker (by one box to the right) to indicate that, you roll the die and the result is a 1. At first, you think "Success!", for with the +1 DRM your total is raised '2,' which is just enough to beat the marker's Resistance Value of '1' and advance up the track.
But no! A die roll of 1, no matter how modified it is, always results in a failure (see 5.2). At least, in this case, it is not a dollar completely wasted, as it does shoo away the Opposition Vice-President marker and send it packing to the Holding box.
Advertising is dynamic, aggressive and expensive. When a Regional Strategy maker is in Advertising mode, you can attack and try to advance your cause in that Region. But an Advertising strategy is vulnerable to Events!
Campaign mode is cheap, safe and passive. While in Campaign mode, you can't attack and advance, but most Events do not automatically cost you, either; you can at least roll to defend against them.
Yes, it sounds weird that advertising is active and campaigning is passive. The point is that advertising is effective. Personally campaigning keeps your name in the news and solidifies support, but modern national political strategies rely on big-budget television advertising to win over voters in large numbers by "conveying the message" directly to them.
[11.2] Change Mode
For $1, you can flip one Regional Strategy marker between its Campaign and Advertising modes. You may perform this Action multiple times per turn as long as your money lasts.
Hint: Where you are not on offense, solidify your position by going on defense (i.e., into Campaign mode).
[11.3] Move
For $1, you may move either or both of your Nominee markers that are not in the Debate Preparation box (keeping their current available or used status) and, if available, your Surrogate marker, as per Rule 7.0. You may perform this Action multiple times per turn as long as your money lasts.
[11.4] Damage Control
For free, an unused Nominee marker in the same Region as the Scandal marker can be used to send it back to the Holding box. An unattended to scandal has harmful repercussions at the end of the turn (see 15.0).
[11.5] Support
For free, if the Vice-Presidential Nominee (only) is available in the same Regional Modifier box where the Presidential Nominee marker is currently USED, your available V.P. Nominee marker can be used to flip the Presidential Nominee marker back to its available side (so that it can be used again this turn).
Dirty Tricks
[11.6] Conduct Opposition Research
For $2, your Presidential or V.P. Nominee can be used at Campaign HQ to buy the top card in the Opposition Research deck. Each round marker there can pay to perform this Action once per Game Turn. The diabolical effects of Opposition Research are explained in Rule 14.0.
Money Management
[11.7] Fund-raising
For $2, your Presidential Nominee marker at Campaign HQ can be used to increase your War Chest by one box, at which point your War Chest has been used for that turn.
[11.8] Cash In
For free, if you do not fund-raise that turn, at any time during your Action Phase, you can use your War Chest. This is done by reducing your War Chest one box and adding to your Campaign Finance track the amount in the War Chest box that marker just moved from.
Do the math. Once you can raise your War Chest to +3, you can add $2 to it this turn and withdraw $3 from it the next turn. Repeating this process can net you a lot of Campaign Funds over the course of the game.
Note that money left over in your Campaign Funds or War Chest at the end of the game doesn't help you win the election. Therefore, be careful to spend your War Chest down on every turn prior to the election so that it is empty (or at least very low) on election day.
[11.9] Take Out a Loan
For free, you may flip your Campaign Finance marker over to its "-$1 Loan Outstanding" side and receive an immediate +$1 in Campaign Financing. You cannot have more than one loan.
You need never repay this loan. It is, in effect, a free $1.
[11.10] Repay Your Loan
For $1, either Nominee's marker at Campaign HQ can be used to repay an outstanding Campaign Loan and flip the Campaign Finance marker back.
This allows you to take out another loan on a future turn when the need might be urgent.
[11.11] Banking
At the end of your Action Phase, you can save (retain) a maximum of $1 on your Campaign Finance track. Thus aside from this $1, you cannot accumulate money from turn to turn, so use it or lose it.
[12.0] Landslides & Fiascos
A key concept about the Regional tracks is that, if its Strategy marker would rise off the top or fall off the bottom, it instead adjusts the Strategy marker on the track next to it. In other words, there is a "Big Mo" (momentum) in politics that can spread far and wide.
[12.1] Landslides
If a Strategy marker is in its top box and goes up (e.g., you can still go on offense and conduct an Advertising Action while that Region's Strategy marker is at the top box), it results in a Landslide and causes the marker on the next path to the right to move one box higher (green triangle) instead* (regardless of its Campaign Strategy mode).
*Exception: a Landslide in the BORDER Region has no effect.
Example: Your Strategy marker in the NORTH is in the highest box on its track and is in Advertising mode. If you perform a successful Advertising Action there, this will raise the Strategy marker in the MIDWEST, even though that marker is currently in Campaign mode.
[12.2] Fiascos
A Fiasco is the opposite of a Landslide. If a Strategy marker is in its bottom box and must move down one box, it results in a Fiasco and causes the marker on the next path to the left to automatically move one box lower instead (red triangle, 9.0)*; in addition, your Nominee markers at Campaign HQ automatically flip to their USED sides when a Fiasco occurs.
*Exception: a Fiasco in the SOUTH automatically lowers the BORDER Region by three boxes (red triangle, 9.0), not just one box!
Look out if this cascades over to other Regions! See 12.3, below.
Example: Your Strategy marker in the WEST is in the lowest box on its track and must be lowered again. That is a Fiasco, so the Strategy marker in the MIDWEST is automatically lowered by one box (red triangle, 9.0) instead.
[12.3] Cascading Effect
If a Strategy marker that is affected by a Landslide or Fiasco is already in its highest or lowest box (respectively), then the next Region over is affected instead. Thus, there is a "cascading effect" of momentum when things are going really good (or really bad).
Example: Your Fiasco at the BORDER Region causes an automatic drop (red triangle, 9.0) in the WEST, where your Strategy marker is, sadly, in the lowest box on its track. It is in Campaign (i.e., "defense") mode, but that doesn't help versus a red triangle result!
Unfortunately, this means that the MIDWEST Region automatically plummets (red triangle), and since that Strategy marker was also at the bottom box on its track, this Fiasco continues cascading over to the NORTH.
In the NORTH, you are doing better, with your Strategy marker being near the top of that track and in Campaign mode. There is still no Campaign mode defense roll against a red triangle, however, and the NORTH Region is lowered by one box accordingly. Ouch!
[13.0] Sudden Death
If all your Regional Strategy markers are in the top boxes on their respective tracks and any of them starts a Landslide (12.1), the game ends immediately in an automatic victory. You're unstoppable now!
Conversely, if all your Regional Strategy markers are in the bottom boxes on their respective tracks and any of them starts a Fiasco (12.2), the game ends immediately in an automatic defeat. There is no hope of salvaging things by Election Day.
Did we mention that you're only competing for the swing states because Republicans can't win California or New York and Democrats can't win Texas? In these Sudden Death circumstances, all bets are off and a monster blow-out election like 1964's Johnson / Goldwater or 1984's Reagan / Mondale contest is about to occur.
[14.0] Opposition Research
When you purchase an Opposition Research card during your Action Phase to dig up a scandal about the opposition that you hope will derail their campaign, enjoy its headline and follow its instructions.
- A few are trivial scandals that produce no effect and are placed in a Discard Pile, face-up next to the Opposition Research Draw Pile.
- A few are minor scandals that result in no effect other than to cause the Opposition Research Discard Pile and Draw Pile to be reshuffled together to form a new Draw Pile.
- Most are cards you retain with significant scandals that can be played (i.e., discarded) during your Action Phase to send an Opposition marker from a Regional Modifier box back to the Holding box and get it out of your way.
- Some are major scandals dubbed an "October Surprise." These are placed, face-down, at the bottom of the Reserve Deck (i.e., the green striped cards used to fill in the turns before a debate and end the game) and will come into play during the critical "Home Stretch" (see 16.0).
[15.0] The Scandal Phase
If the Scandal marker is in a Regional Modifier box during the Scandal Phase (i.e. you have not dealt with it that turn by either sending a Nominee marker to remove it or conduct a successful Campaign defense or Advertising attack there this turn), it automatically "attacks" (see 9.1) that Region's Strategy marker (again).
[16.0] The Home Stretch
When the last card in the Event Deck has been played, the election has entered its final week and you are into the "Home Stretch." The remaining, face-down, cards in the Reserve Deck are shuffled together, and then played to constitute the final Game Turns (serving as though they were the final cards of the Event Deck). When these Home Stretch cards have been played through, it is Election Night and your performance is determined (see 17.0).
There should be at least two green striped cards, supplemented by all October Surprise cards added through Opposition Research, constituting the Home Stretch.
[17.0] Election Night
America's national election day is the Tuesday following the first Monday in November. As the polls close across the country and the votes are counted, news shows display an Electoral Map of the United States, coloring those states they predict (based upon exit polling) will go Democratic in blue and Republican in red.
Procedure
In Swing States 2012, the Electoral Map is located on the reverse-side of the Player Aid mat. After completing the Home Stretch (16.0), remove all of the markers on the Player Aid mat (they have no effect on Election Night) and flip it over to its Electoral Map side. Grab the 25 Swing State markers and place them with their Blue or Red sides up as explained below:
On each Region's track, in any order you choose, note which box your Campaign Strategy marker is in and what its Mode is. In general:
- You win the states shown in that Region's track that are below its Strategy marker (placing their Swing State markers on the Electoral Map with your party's color-side up).
- You lose the states that are above that Regions' Strategy marker (placing their Swing State markers on the Electoral Map with the opposition's color-side up).
- And the state where that Region's Strategy marker is located (if there is one in that box), is a "Toss Up" and must be rolled for to determine which party wins that state (see 17.1).
Exception: If your Strategy marker for that Region ends the game in Advertising mode, the two boxes adjacent to it on that track (i.e., the ones immediately above and below) are all Toss Up states and each must be rolled for separately (see 17.1).
Note that adjacent empty boxes are not states! If your MIDWEST Strategy marker in Advertising mode is in Wisconsin, the only adjacent state is Iowa. Four States – Florida, Indiana, Montana and Arizona – have no adjacent States.
This has the advantage of giving you a chance to win the state immediately above that Region's Strategy marker, but at the risk of possibly losing the state immediately below it. Ending with a Regional Strategy marker in Advertising mode is an important calculated risk.
A last-turn play to switch Strategy markers to Campaign mode "locks down" the states below them securely.
[17.1] Resolving Toss Up States
"Toss Up" states are resolved individually, going from leftmost Region (i.e., the SOUTH) to the rightmost (BORDER), and the highest-boxed state to roll for to the lowest boxed state to roll for (when there is more than one in a Region), each state being resolved by a single die roll.
Basically, if you roll low (1, 2 or 3) you lose that state, and if you roll high (4, 5 or 6) you win that state. What makes it interesting is the application of die roll modifiers (DRMs) to each of these rolls:
- All of the markers in that Region's Regional Modifier box have their full effect. This means all DRMs apply; allowing for double-dice rolls if that Nominee marker is still available and the Campaign Strategy marker is in the correct mode; automatically losing to Opposition marker numbers when their numbers come up, etc..
- +1 DRM if that state is your base color (blue for Democratic; red for Republican).
- -1 DRM if that state is your opponent's base color.
There is no DRM for purple states.
- +1 DRM if that state is in the box below the Strategy marker in the Region.
- -1 DRM if that state is in the box above the Strategy marker in the Region.
There is no DRM if your Strategy marker actually occupies that state's box.
Important: Note that Rule 5.0 regarding extreme outcomes is in full effect!
After rolling to determine whether you win or lose that Toss Up state, place its Swing State marker on the Electoral Map and continue resolving Toss Up states until they have all been decided. At that point, you count up how many Electoral Votes you've garnered to see if you've won the game (see 17.2).
[17.2] Determining Electoral Victory
The American Presidency is not determined by the popular vote, but by Electoral Votes (hereafter abbreviated EVs) cast by each state. Each state receives a number of EVs equal to the total number of Senators and Representatives it sends to Congress. These states generally cast their entire allotment of EVs ("winner takes all") to the party that wins the popular vote in that state on Election Night.
There are two exceptions; notable among the swing states (i.e., in this game) is Nebraska. In the game, Iowa has 7 EV and Nebraska has 4, but in reality it is 6 and 5! We changed them to reflect that Nebraska splits its EVs by individual congressional districts, and the 2nd district (Omaha), tends to vote for the same party as the state of Iowa votes for. The game effect is that one Nebraska elector is a competitive "swing" vote. So, whoever wins Iowa is deemed to have won the Omaha congressional district, too.
It takes a majority of 270 EVs to win the election. Of the twenty-five non-swing states on the map that are not "in play," the Democrats begin Election Night with 175 EVs "locked up," and the Republicans only 101 EVs. To these EVs are added all of the EVs from the Swing State markers showing your party's side. If you get to 270, you've won the election and the game!
Thus, if you're playing the Democrats, you win if you can garner 95 EVs among the Swing State markers on Election Night. If you're playing the Republicans, you need to earn 169 EVs from among the Swing State markers on Election Night to win.
As you can see, because of the pre-decided states' EVs, the Republicans have to win considerably more swing states.
But the Democrats should not get cocky, nor should Republicans lose hope. While the Democrats have an advantage in pre-decided "big" states (California, Illinois, New York, etc.), Republicans often have the edge in close swing state races.
The Headline cards reflect this advantage in a subtle (and, hopefully, uncrackable) way. Our playtesting analysis shows that either party has the same chance of winning, assuming the luck factors average out.
If your EV total is exactly one vote short of victory, you and your opponent are tied and have started a constitutional crisis. Google "Samuel Tilden" and go from there…
If your EV total is more than one short of victory, console yourself on the fact that it only took you a half-hour, you didn't spend half a billion in real dollars, and you don't have to wait four years to set the game up and try it again.
Election Night Example
As the Democrats, your Election Night situation is as shown here:
Starting in the SOUTH, you have won no states outright, so you place Georgia, North Carolina, Louisiana and Virginia on the map with their red-sides up. You get to roll for Florida, which is under your Strategy marker in Campaign mode. There is no DRM for the state's inherent color (purple), nor for it being adjacent to your Strategy marker (it is stacked with it), but there is a -1 DRM for the Economy marker.
Fortunately, your Vice-Presidential Nominee marker is available in the SOUTH, so you use it to roll zz for Florida. The results are 2 and 4 which, after the -1 DRM, gives your best roll a modified value of '3,' which is a loss. You place the Florida Swing State marker on the Electoral map with its red-side showing and have completely lost the SOUTH.
In the NORTH, your Strategy marker resides in the New Hampshire box in Advertising mode. This means you'll lose Indiana, win Maine, and be rolling for Ohio, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania (in that order). A -1 DRM Economy marker, your Surrogate marker (+1 DRM) and the Opposition V.P. marker are all in the Regional Modifiers box. Die in hand, you roll for Ohio first, with no modifier for its purple color but a -1 DRM for its position one box higher than your Strategy marker (i.e., it's leaning Republican). You roll a 5, which is modified down to a '4' result and have won Ohio, so you place its Swing State marker on the Electoral Map, blue-side up.
You roll for New Hampshire next with a +1 DRM for its color of blue and no DRM for its position under the Strategy marker. With a roll of 4, you achieve a result of '5', but the Opposition V.P. marker causes an automatic loss on a roll of 4, so you place New Hampshire on the map with its red-side up and remove the Opposition V.P. marker from play (at least it can't interfere with the next state now). Forward to Pennsylvania where you enjoy a +1 DRM for its blue color and another +1 DRM for its position below your Strategy marker (where it is leaning Democratic). Your die roll of 2 is modified to a '4' result; barely enough, but you squeak out a win and place Pennsylvania on the map with its blue-side up, along with Maine which is securely in your camp.
In the MIDWEST, your Strategy marker rests in Montana (well done!) in Campaign mode, and there is a -1 DRM Economy marker in the Regional Modifier box. So there is another -1 DRM from the state's color of red, but none for its position under your Strategy marker. Your roll of 1 is an automatic loss in any case, so you place Montana on the map with its red-side up, and Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan with their blue-sides up. You're doing pretty well now!
In the WEST, your Strategy marker is in New Mexico in Advertising mode, and only your USED Presidential Nominee marker is in the Regional Modifiers box. You place Arizona and Colorado on the map showing their red-sides and roll for the other three states, starting with Nevada with no DRM for its purple color and a -1 DRM for its position above your Strategy marker. Your roll of 4 gives a result of '3', and so you barely lose Nevada, placing its marker on the map red-side up. New Mexico looks more hopeful with a +1 DRM for its blue color and no DRM for being under your Strategy marker, but a roll of 2 only provides a result of '3', which costs you that state as well, and so you place New Mexico on the map with its red-side showing. Oregon should be easy, with a +1 DRM for being blue and another +1 DRM for being in the box below your Strategy marker; the roll is a 6 and you triumphantly place the Oregon marker on the map with its blue-side up.
Finally, in the BORDER Region, your Strategy marker is in Campaign mode and is parked on the last state, Missouri. Only the Opposition President marker is in the Regional Modifier box. After placing Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Arkansas on the map with their red-sides up, you roll for Missouri. With no DRMs either for the state's purple color or position under your Strategy marker, your roll of 5 would have succeeded, but it is blocked by the Opposition President and so doesn't get the job done. You have lost the entire BORDER Region as you place Missouri on the map with its red-side up.
Adding up the EVs of all the swing states that you've won, we see: 18 for Ohio, plus 20 for Pennsylvania, 4 for Maine, 7 for Iowa, 10 for Wisconsin, 10 for Minnesota, 16 for Michigan, and 7 for Oregon for a total of 92 EVs – and it takes 95 EVs to win as the Democrats. So you have barely lost the election!
[18.0] The Candidate Game
With this Rule, you're moving from "game" to "simulation" and, at this point, we can no longer guarantee play balance as you'll be making choices as to specific nominees with their various strengths and weaknesses. Be warned!
The Candidate Game brings the Candidate cards into play. Presidential Nominee cards are full-size, while on their backs are two Vice-Presidential Nominees.
-
During Step 3B of the Set Up (see 3.0), select one Presidential and one Vice-Presidential Nominee for both parties (yours and the opposition). Slide the Vice-Presidential Nominee cards under the bottom half of that party's Presidential Nominee card to form its "ticket" of running-mates for the election.
-
Consult the upper half of the opposition ticket for its effect on your set up:
(Card diagram labels: Presidential Nominee card; Opposition ticket data; Your ticket data.)
A. First, look on the top-left side of the Opposition ticket's cards and lower your Strategy markers by one box each in every Region denoted there (B = BORDER; M = MIDWEST; N = NORTH; S = SOUTH; and W = WEST).
Example: You represent the Republicans and decide to run against the incumbents: Barack Obama for President and Joe Biden for Vice-President. Their Regional designations are S, M and W for Obama, and N for Biden, so your Regional Strategy markers in the SOUTH, NORTH, MIDWEST and WEST states all set up one box lower on their respective tracks.
B. Then, look on the top-right side of the Opposition ticket cards and place the three round Opposition markers in the Holding box with their indicated faces showing; that is, either their yellow (normal) or gold (strong; i.e., no 1) side is in play.
Example continued: Barack Obama yields strong Opposition markers for both the Presidential Nominee and the Surrogate, while Joe Biden uses the normal Vice-Presidential Nominee marker.
That is all that the Opposition ticket does; affecting only your set up by lowering some Strategy markers and establishing some potentially strong Opposition markers.
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Finally, examine the bottom halves of your ticket's cards and note the special rules on them. Nominees provide advantages (with green titles) and disadvantages (with brown titles) that you must apply.
Those applicable during set up should be tended to at this point, before play begins. The rest are noted and indicate the times in which they take effect. Make sure to do so!
[18.1] Priorities
The special rules text on the Candidate cards takes precedence over the rules in this booklet. When there is a conflict, use the rules text on the cards.
[18.2] Pre-Game Fiascos
If the lowering of Regional Strategy markers results in a pre-game Fiasco, ignore that Fiasco's normal effects (12.2) and lose $1 of your starting Campaign Finance money instead.
[18.3] Surrogacy
A ticket can receive card #0 (the extra surrogate) only once, even if both nominees award it.
[18.4] Scandals
Even when a nominee's ability prevents placement of the Scandal marker, that Event still results in the removal of your Surrogate marker (if in play, return it to the Holding box) and causes an attack by circumstances in that Region (see 9.1).
[18.5] Cumulative
Die roll modifiers, even on Election Night, are cumulative, but a 1 is always a failure and a 6 is always a success.
[19.0] Optional Rules
These Optional Rules can be combined or used separately as you desire.
[19.1] The South May Rise Again
A Landslide (12.1) in the BORDER Region might have a positive impact on the SOUTH Region. When this occurs, roll an always unmodified die and, on result of 5 or 6, increase the SOUTH Regional Strategy marker by one box. Any other result has no effect.
[19.2] You are "The Pundit" Scenario
In this variant scenario, you are making a prediction about how future events are likely to unfold and "build" the Event and Reserve decks during set up accordingly.
During set up Step D (see 3.0), combine the brown and green striped cards, examine them, and then select which 13 of these will be shuffled in with the 7 orange cards to form the Event Deck during Step E, and which 10 of them will be shuffled together to form the Reserve Deck during Step F.
In this scenario, you are prognosticating what the circumstances of the campaign are most likely to be and play the game as a simulation to test your theory and find out what the outcome would be.
When combined with varying the election circumstances (the black-bordered card you select during set up) and which Candidate card combinations you use, Swing States 2012 becomes a powerful tool for "what ifing" American political possibilities.
[19.3] Design Your own Candidates
We couldn't include every potential candidate, and you might have your own favorites. In hopes of not getting too bogged down in the mathematics, here are some guidelines for designing your own Candidate cards (in terms of roughly balancing the advantages and disadvantages you use to define them).
Nominee's attributes are assigned point values for their various game effects, measured in "EVs" (Electoral Votes at the end of the game, assuming good play and average luck), many of which are listed here:
Attribute Values
| Value | Attribute |
|---|---|
| 1.5 EV | One V.P. Nominee Action (e.g., rolling zz in a Region's defense) |
| 2.2 EV | One Pres. Nominee Action (e.g., Fund Raising at Campaign HQ) |
| 3 EV | + (has) / - (vs.) Strong (gold) Surrogate marker |
| 4 EV | + (has) / - (vs.) Strong (gold) Presidential Nominee marker |
| 4 EV | $1 in Campaign Finance money |
| 4 EV | Per level of V.P. debate prep. |
| 4 EV | Partial Presidential debate prep. |
| 6 EV | Full Presidential debate prep. |
| 5 EV | + (has) / - (vs.) Strong (gold) Vice-Presidential Nominee marker |
| 5 EV | BORDER sets up +/- one box |
| 6 EV |
Guidelines
For the top half of a Nominee card, determine the Opposition Regions affected and the Opposition marker strength based on your gut instinct, guided by wisdom and experience. In general, an incumbent President is inherently well suited to have attached to it the strong Surrogate marker (from the support of the bureaucracy's resources).
For the bottom half, the net value of advantages and disadvantages for a Presidential nominee fall between 8 to 30 EVs, while the V.P. nominee should weigh in at between 5 to 15 EV. Note that the values of the top half and bottom half should be as close to equal as possible for play balance. As you can see from the Candidate cards included with the game, generally, a Presidential contender receives two advantages and a disadvantage, while a V.P. Candidate receives one of each.
Try to be even-handed in your appraisals and fair in your presentation of each nominee's strength(s) and weakness (if any). Have fun and good luck entering the political fray!
Example: You want to create a Rachel Maddow card (the MSNBC news caster). From her Wikipedia page, you learn she was born on April Fool's Day in 1973, and her career path has been pretty much "Political Commentator and Author." Clearly she would be a Democratic candidate and, what the heck, let's make a card for her as the Presidential nominee!
For the top-half of her card, your instincts says the BORDER (+5 EV) Region would be her "home turf," and she would start with a normal Presidential Nominee marker (no political experience; +0 EV) but a strong Surrogate marker (for her media connections +3 EV). Thus, her top-half value totals +8 EV.
For the card's bottom-half attributes, her first advantage could be "Polished Debater (from her show): Receive +1 z at her debate performances (+8 EV)." Her second advantage might be "Youth Vote (being young for a Presidential nominee at 39, cool and lesbian): On Election Night, treat purple States as blue States (+7 EV)." Her one Disadvantage might be "Non-Traditional: The MIDWEST (-7 EV) Region sets up one box lower."
This puts her bottom-half total at +8 EV which matches the top-half value, and that is the "sweet spot" for gameplay balance. At only a +8 EV value nominee, her candidacy is viable if not stellar.
Extended Example of Play
The Situation: The player runs the Republican ticket and is using the Candidate cards for Mitt Romney and Marco Rubio, while facing off against the incumbent President, Barack Obama, and Vice-President, Joe Biden. Set up the following to better follow this example:
On the Player Aid Mat: The War Chest is in the +4 box (maximum), $1 (max save) is "Banked" on the Campaign Finance track, and Romney is USED at Campaign HQ.
In the Republican Situation Room:
- South: Strategy marker is in Campaign mode in North Carolina; Obama is in the Modifier box.
- North: Advertising mode in Indiana.
- Midwest: Advertising mode in the box below Iowa; the Opposition Surrogate and a -1 Economy marker are in the modifier box.
- West: Campaign mode in the box below Arizona; Rubio (USED) and a -1 Economy marker are in the Modifier box.
- Border: Advertising mode in Tennessee; Biden, a -1 Economy modifier, and the Scandal marker in the Modifier box.
The player has cards #0 (Romney's bonus Surrogate) and #7 (Super PAC) available for use.
The situation is grim as the player is flirting with Sudden Death defeat with all Strategy markers in the bottom two boxes) and the modifier boxes look like the Yellow Sea (3 negative Economy markers, all the Opposition Personalities, and a Scandal). Still the player possesses some trump cards.
Game Turn 15
Ready Phase: The player must move both of his Nominees (as both are USED) and elects to place Romney and Rubio in the North box, flipping them to their Available sides.
Headline Phase: The player draws card # 3, a Presidential Debate card. He must leave this card face-up in the Draw pile and take two cards from his Reserve Deck to place face-down over that Debate card. The new top card is drawn and revealed to be #17.
Events Phase: Card #17 is an economic card with orange triangles that may help or hurt the player. "Bear" cards hurt the party in power (Democrats) as their incumbent "owns the economy," and thus helps the Republican player. Starting left to right and top down, we find the North Region without any Economic markers, and so it gains a +1 (green) marker in its Modifier box (as per 9.3.2). The West and Border Regions have -1 (yellow) markers, so they are "canceled out" the orange triangles. Finally, the Midwest's -1 marker is swept away "from the trend." Normally, players only gain $1 from Economic cards, but Romney's first Advantage gives him +$1 when Economic cards occurs, so the Campaign Finance marker moves from the $1 box to $3.
Action Phase: The player plays (discards) his #0 card and removes the Border Scandal, flipping that marker to its Surrogate side and creating a "mini-convention" in the North Region by adding the Surrogate marker there. Next, he elects to "cash in" a box of his War Chest, so that marker is moved one box to the right and flipped to USED, while the Campaign Finance marker is raised by +$4 to its $7 box. Romney's first action is to Advertise in the North (reducing Finance to $6); he flips his Presidential Nominee marker to USED and rolls two dice (for a 1 and a 2). The player has a +1 bonus from both his Surrogate and the Economic markers, so total +2 DRM raises his 2 roll to a '4' result. This is compared to the North Resistance Value (of 3), yielding a success; the Strategy marker advances to the box above Indiana. Rubio then "Supports" Romney, flipping both nominees, and making Romney free to again roll two dice Advertising in the North (for a 4 and 5 this time), thus advancing to Ohio. One more Advertise in the North (a 6) captures New Hampshire (shades of Howard Dean). This is followed by more Advertise rolls (3) that succeed in taking Pennsylvania and (2) Maine, leaving the player only $2 in Campaign Finance. Usually the Midwest is an easier target for Advertising than the North, but not today, it seems!
The player launches another Ad in the North, even though it is at the top of the track (5) to create a Landslide which, instead of advancing the North, advances the track to its right (i.e., the Midwest) to up to Iowa (the Opposition Surrogate in the Mid-west does not affect this). Romney spends his last dollar for a final North Advertisement (roll 3) which advances the Midwest marker to Wisconsin.
Scandal Phase: Nothing happens. The Scandal marker in the Border Region disappeared when the Surrogate card was played.
Political pundits are stunned at this amazing advertising blitz through the North and beyond, declaring Mitt Romney back in the race!
Game Turn 16
Ready Phase: Romney moves back to Campaign HQ, Rubio and the Surrogate move to the West. Both nominees and the War Chest marker flip back to their Available sides.
Headline Phase: The player draws card #13. Ouch! If this card had been drawn for the previous turn, there would have been a 42% chance Romney would have suffered a Sudden Death defeat (13.0).
Events Phase: First, the Opposition markers redeploy. Biden shifts to the Midwest and the Opposition Surrogate shifts to the higher of the Border or West tracks, which is the Border Region in this case.
Next the attacks by circumstances begin: The South is in Campaign mode, so the player gets a defense roll (1) which fails miserably sending the South marker reeling back to Georgia. The roll 1 being odd means the South Strategy marker is flipped to its Advertising side. Because the wily Obama is a Strong opponent (i.e., his Blocking Numbers do not include a 1), he remains in the Region. The North and Midwest Regions are both in Advertising mode, so they automatically retreat to Pennsylvania and Iowa, respectively.
The West Region is in Campaign mode, so Rubio USES his Campaign Defense ability to roll two dice (2 and 5). Because of the Surrogate's +1 modifier, both rolls are greater than the West Resistance Value (of 2), so the player chooses the 5 roll (odd) to flip the Strategy marker to Advertising mode. Note: if Rubio had rolled snake eyes (1, 1), the West would have suffered a Fiasco (bottom of the track) and Romney would have been flipped to USED in Campaign HQ, ruining the Republican plan. Finally, the Border Region (in Advertising mode) retreats to Kentucky. The player receives $4 in Campaign Finance to help ameliorate somewhat for this onslaught.
Action Phase: Romney begins with Fundraising, reducing his Finances to $2, moving the War Chest marker back up to the +4 box and flipping to USED both his and the War Chest marker. Next, the player Advertises in the West (2) and advances into Arizona (thank you, Surrogate for the +1 DRM) and repeats that Advertising (4) to advance below Colorado, using up his Finances. All the Strategy markers are in their vulnerable Advertising mode, so the player plays (discards) card #7 (Super PAC) to flip every Region to its Campaign mode, except for the North.
Game Turn 17
Ready Phase: Romney moves into the Debate Preparation box (the Partial section), Rubio and the Surrogate move to the South (are those two an item, or what?). The Nominees and the War Chest marker flip to their Available sides.
Headline Phase: Card #3. No surprise there; the player always sees Debate cards coming.
Events Phase: Obama is removed from play to prepare for the Debate. The South is attacked in Campaign mode and Rubio USES his Campaign Defense Ability to roll two dice (2 and 3). Oh no, Marco! The player chooses the 3 (odd) roll to flip the Strategy marker to its Advertising side, even with the Surrogate's +1 DRM, he can't beat the South Resistance Value (of 4), but the South is already at the bottom of its track so a Fiasco occurs.
The source PDF ends here, mid-example (the Game Turn 17 text stops after "so a Fiasco occurs."); the remainder of the Extended Example and the Designer's Notes (inside front cover) are not in the file.