Reply #26 August 28, 2004 4:50 PM from PolMach Forums Top

If you are using a custom canidate max out their starting money and stamina, set up HQ in CA, TX, FL, and NY, these help bring in a lot of much needed money. Keep adding more HQ as the contributions they bring are tremendous as well as having your awarness boosted in that state and others (political operative).

Later on choose one of your powerhouse states, equip it with 2 webmasters and a movie director if your lucky. If you have enough politcal HQ you can release up to 5 tv ads a week, (15 max stamina/3 needed for ad = 5 ads) The 2 webmasters make the ad cost only 4000 a week nd the movie director helps out with the upfront cost.

Never underestimate endorcements, they are a good way to get national awarness and support up, if you are low on experienece pick a VP with high experence to reduce the endorcement costs.

Towards the end of the campaign just fly around oppent held states and make speeches, (works better if you have lvl 2 HQ or higher) to dislouge any chance of them winning.

Reply #27 September 7, 2004 9:26 PM from PolMach Forums Top

Television advertising in states with the most electoral votes seems to make a difference. (stick with print advertising in other states)

Reply #28 September 10, 2004 7:07 PM from PolMach Forums Top

Alright, questions from a newbie here. Like the game it's pretty cool, only played the first campaign against clark (as bush of course) and i'm curious as to wether any vets that have been playing this might share some insight on a few different area's I wasn't sure about or weren't really addressed in the manual so here goes. If there's a better place for this post let me know and I will post it there. Thanks in advance for any info.

1. $$$$$ and fund raising, I noticed as was mentioned in the final weeks he was spending cash like it was going out of style where I was pretty strapped and not much to spend, most of my weekly revenue was eaten up in ad costs already, I put out some web masters but still needed a boost of cash. The manual only addresses fund raising in short detail and it sounds like you shouldn't really try to do it to often, so I held out and then did some fund raising here and there in my key states later in the game. How often are you guys doing fund raisers? Is this something I can reasonably do in a key state each week or every other to bolster my cash towards the end? The manual almost made it sound like if you did it to often you would dry up completely in the end. Is it viable to fund raise in close states? I know you won't raise as much but is it worth it?

2. How does the VP candidate come into play? I picked one and got a boost of Cash (thank you Arnie), but that was it........I noticed the other candidates VP cruising around doing things but when i tried to click on mine i got nothing? Is this a bug or is it even a usable character?

3. Am I just blind or can you not save this thing? I'm assuming you just have to finish the campaign your in and it is automatically saved, however could someone describe how the autosave works? Does it take you back to the previous week if you leave or is it the week you are in? I can't seem to decipher the two.

4. Issue Topics Is there anywhere that the "topics" or "issues" are discussed (forum wise) a little more in detail? I understand the thumbs up and down, and kind of get the numbers but it would be nice to have a little better understanding of how those impact the overall campaign in conjunction with each state, the manual is a little vague on these.

I'm sure that a lot of this will become more clear once I've had a chance to play throught the game more thoroughly but I'm not the patient type and would find the game more entertaining if I had a little clearer understanding of how the strategies work. Like I said it's a great game, so any input would be great. Thanks

Reply #29 September 11, 2004 11:04 PM from PolMach Forums Top

I'll see if I can provide some answers to these questions.

1. Fundraising and $$$. Fundraising is a MUST late in the game against tough opponents. You'll need the initial cash to start TV ads that will help you both in a key state and overall in the country. A general rule is that after the 3rd fundraiser in a state the funds get thin. CA is the best for this (can net $500k+), NY second. Other good ones are FL, TX, IL, PA, OH. I would try to hold off on fundraisers until after you burn through the post-VP cash inflow.

2. VP candidate. If you left-click on your VP candidate, you can then right click on a state to move him/her there. They raise awareness in that state and in each bordering state. The VP uses a movement point from the main candidate and $ to move, so it is best to plant them in a corner of the board where neither candidate has much awareness (usually the upper west or New Englad) and watch the states there slowly turn your color.

3. With patch 1.01, you can save during turns. Otherwise the autosave will save after each turn you play. When you reload, you'll be in the last turn you finished and pushed the "turn" button.

4. Look around for issues and topics. A few general things about them. There is both a national percentage and state percentage of importance for issues. An issue can be important locally (like outsourcing jobs in OH & PA), but not nationally. I try to choose nationally important issues to run ads on because it gives me a major boost in the state containing the ads, but also a boost nationwide. The more ads run on a given issue, the more important it becomes to the country. To get more details about how a state responds to issue stances, either build a level 3 HQ there or move a consultant from one of your level 3 HQs in for a quick scout. (NOTE: moving one of these level 3 operatives also uses your candidate's movement points).

Reply #30 September 17, 2004 12:50 AM from PolMach Forums Top

Ok. People need to start posting more tips. I'm having a hard time beating the campaign. My main question is...At what point should you start advertising...what type of advertising?...etc.

Reply #31 September 17, 2004 5:56 PM from PolMach Forums Top

Focus only on winning the states in gray and you'll win every time.

Reply #32 September 18, 2004 10:54 AM from PolMach Forums Top

i like the assload of hq's/built up hq's in big money states strategy.

newspaper advertising in states where you have high awareness, but aren't getting traction on the issues; i go on tv in fl, ca, oh or tx. i usually don't end up advertising until at least week 15.

is there a way to randomize the campaigns? who are all the locked candidates? is it possible to unlock candidates and run w/ them?

Reply #33 September 24, 2004 7:05 PM from PolMach Forums Top

Newspaper ads are the most cost-effective type of ad, if they run for a long time. They're useful if you put them in a battleground state very early in the campaign.

TV ads are very expensive, but they give you a big up-front boost, and a boost across the whole country. But after the initial boost, they are expensive to maintain and only help their own state. They're bestl later in the campaign. You really want to use them with a webmaster. If you're sure you will win a state, you can cancel the TV ads and move the webmaster somewhere else.

Radio ads are pretty worthless. TV ads are better and more efficient in all ways.


One thing I've noticed is that it is a very bad idea to go against your party's position on an issue. As a custom republican candidate, I ran some TV ads saying I was for prescriptions for seniors to try to get some independent and democrat votes. My national approval on the issue plummeted. Maybe it would have worked better if I had stuck to newspaper ads and speeches on the subject.

Reply #34 September 24, 2004 7:50 PM from PolMach Forums Top

I just beat the whole Democratc campaign and now need to beat Washington. Here's what I've found that works:

Build the biggest HQs in California, New York, Texas, and Florida FIRST AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. If you run out of money, raise funds. don't worry about political capital yet. Then, you might want to put a few HQs of varying sizes in PA, OH, NC, IL, or MI, you know, the other big guys. NOT TOO MANY. Just a few 1st or 2nd level HQs, just so you have a reasonable income number.
You don't want to put too many there is b/c you want to get to the next step as soon as possible. The reason for this being done FIRST is so you have a little money coming in while you're incapacitated for several weeks with this next step.

Then, win every single endorsement. Don't worry about anything else. In fact, ignore everything else. After they're all gone, then continue to build up big HQs until you have at least 600k or 700k dollars coming in.

Do that until you get to the Veep pick. After you pick your VP, you can continue to build HQs for a while.

Then, go to California. Place a webmaster. Then put tons and tons of TV ads.
They'll have national viewage and, with the webmaster, they'll cost almost nada to maintain. If you want, and you probably will, you can go build a few HQs if you want or place some ads in other states.

That should do it. After you have the big HQs in the big four and have all the endorsements you can get, it's often best to vary these instructions a little bit as you see necessary. But this should do it.

Lemme know how it works. It should work, because, it's not a magic elixir, it's a strategy that doesn't let the candidate beat you on anything, whether it's money, ads, or endorsements.

Reply #35 September 27, 2004 3:44 PM from PolMach Forums Top

Okay, appearently I have a very "cheap" way of winning according to the guy I played last night, but it works, and I have minor difficultly beating George Washington and Tommy J. The trick is definately, definately the large HQ's. Spend the first HALF (20 weeks) building as many as you can and raising money in CA, FL, GA, TX, WA, WI, MI, IL, OH, PA, NJ, NY, MA and NC. You should be able to build 10, and try to build them in battlegrounds. If you're a democrat, it's better to put one in TX then NY. After your VP pick (try to get someone who has a lot of MONEY), spend 5-10 weeks getting endorsements and operatives. Now, for the home streatch. You should have close to 10 million by week 30. Pick an oppenant strong hold and spend every stamina and every turn putting out TV ads (try to stick to the big 3 -- Homeland Security, Fighting crime, War on Terror) Those 3 issues seem to be high on most states. -The HQs bring in 100k per week, so if you build them before week 20, you'll be making good profit -TV ads are better then newspaper because they reach a nationwide audience If nothing else, this explains how the oppent seems to have "mystery doners" -- you're about to beat him in how much money is spent

this works wonders!
I lost to Nixon 538-0 or 500-38 like 5 times in a row then i used you startegy and on week week 31 i was down 538-0 by week 34 i was down 528-10 and I won 290-248

I had to try twice to beat Roosevelt (338-200 and 301-246) but it still worked
Thank You Jesse3581

Reply #36 October 2, 2004 6:38 AM from PolMach Forums Top

If nothing else, this explains how the oppent seems to have "mystery doners" -- you're about to beat him in how much money is spent.

These are mystery doners encoutered when visiting a question mark (?).

Reply #37 October 10, 2004 3:36 PM from PolMach Forums Top

This is just a curiosity question, has anyone ever beaten any opponet on any difficulty setting, by only giving speeches?

Reply #38 October 11, 2004 1:19 PM from PolMach Forums Top

Reagan is unbeatable in my estimation. He simply dominates most all states. I won NY and CA on my last try against him and that was it.

Reply #39 October 17, 2004 12:51 PM from PolMach Forums Top

I almost beat Condoleeza Rice by only visiting certain battle ground states.
I lost 278-262, had I taken Wisconsin, Minnesota, or Mississippi I'dve won.

Reagan is unbeatable in my estimation. He simply dominates most all states. I won NY and CA on my last try against him and that was it.

If you use Jease5381's strategy (or some variation of it) you should probaply beat Reagan
(or at least come close).

Reply #40 October 17, 2004 6:07 PM from PolMach Forums Top

Beating Nixon is hell. I now hate him jsut cause of the game. ah well.


One thing I notice is that if your the democrat and youy inw the christian confederation endorsement, in knocks a lot of points off of the GOP's southern strategy, and teh inverse is true if the alliance for colored people, goes GOP

Reply #41 October 23, 2004 5:21 PM from PolMach Forums Top

Could someone explain exactly how the VP candidate helps? I've heard people mention get one with money, get one with experience. Does the game look at his rating and somehow modify your candidate's rating in that based on him?

Reply #42 October 23, 2004 5:22 PM from PolMach Forums Top

Also, I see the computer making speeches on issues (Chinese Military, Korean Diplomacy, and some other vague ones) that I never have access to. Also talking about attributes, such as experience, charisma, etc. Am I just missing an aspect of this game somehow, or is that not something I can ever address?

Reply #43 October 25, 2004 4:04 PM from PolMach Forums Top

How do you unlock a candidate without playing them in camapaign mode?

Reply #44 October 25, 2004 9:03 PM from PolMach Forums Top

Anyone else have luck beating Washington yet? I've lost to him at least five times already, the closest I've come was losing by 73 electoral votes.

Reply #45 October 28, 2004 3:45 PM from PolMach Forums Top

Washington is the only candidate in the game I have not been able to beat. I defeated all Democrat opponents with George W. Bush, and every Republican up to Washington with Bill Clinton, but nothing seems to work against Washington. I've tried the "big political hq" tactic described above, but it seems to me that Washington will simply flood the map with advertisements, get way too far ahead on a key issue, and therefore be impossible to catch. You definitely have to go on the offensive against him, or you'll wake up and see nothing but read, and GW with an awareness of 60%+ in every state while you are still a virtual unknown.

Reply #46 October 28, 2004 4:56 PM from PolMach Forums Top

I defeated all Democrat opponents with George W. Bush

So, did I but I beat Washington with a custom Canidate I made.

Reply #47 October 29, 2004 8:51 PM from PolMach Forums Top

"Reagan is unbeatable in my estimation. He simply dominates most all states. I won NY and CA on my last try against him and that was it."

I thought Reagan would be hard, but I creamed him on my first try with Clinton. But then, a few weeks later, I tried it with Jefferson, and I had to try to beat him several times before I won. Go figure.

Reply #48 October 30, 2004 1:11 AM from PolMach Forums Top

I just beat Washington today with my custom Howard Dean / Ed Broadbent (he picked Cheney), but it was close. I saved at week 39 and got Al Gore'd (win popular vote, lose Florida. I want a recount! ). I loaded my game and won with over 300 by getting FL and TX. I used my build HQs and capital for 1st 25-30 weeks, (Especially focus on big HQs in potential battlegrounds when your running mate gives you the cash) and came back from something like losing 50 states. also, Washington presumably ran out of money and had to cancel a lot of his ads, and I was able to catch up on a few key issues (Terror, Economic Recovery, Jobs, Crime, etc.).

Reply #49 October 30, 2004 4:03 PM from PolMach Forums Top

I know that HQs are important, but I can't see building that many to level 3 status. Sure they bring in the big bucks, but they cost $1.75 million to build. Do you build up gradually to start with 10 level ones, then build 10 level 2? and move from there? I just think the overall cost is too much. Its crippling in the short term. It also doesn't allow to do anything else. In order to move to a new state and build to level 3 is 13 stamina points. That's more than some candidates have in a whole turn.

Reply #50 October 30, 2004 9:34 PM from PolMach Forums Top

I know that HQs are important, but I can't see building that many to level 3 status. Sure they bring in the big bucks, but they cost $1.75 million to build. Do you build up gradually to start with 10 level ones, then build 10 level 2? and move from there? I just think the overall cost is too much. Its crippling in the short term. It also doesn't allow to do anything else. In order to move to a new state and build to level 3 is 13 stamina points. That's more than some candidates have in a whole turn.

My favorite character (custom Dean) has 15 stamina, and starts with a lot of fundraising and money. I start by building 2 biggies (usually TX, then CA), do a little fundraising, and then build a third in either his home state or FL. Then, I will be getting enough $$ to build a level 1 each turn, plus fundraising for another biggie. By week 20, I have a few in key states, and level 1s in a bunch of others. Also, when I get my running mate, I use his cash to build another one or two in states where I am still, or can eventually be somewhat competitive in. The biggies help give you a lot of awareness, and can really help in big states, and helping win over states that you are far behind. Plus, they give you money for late-game advertisements.