Sick of the Election? - Vote For Airboy! (Completed)

Started by airboy, October 12, 2016, 08:52:17 PM

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airboy

As a longstanding wargamer who is sick of the election I decided to fight back the only way I know how: Playing a game simulating the election.  This is the Political Machine 2016 with a custom candidate: Wargamer Airboy.

Creating my custom candidate was easy.  The Wargamer Airboy figure took me about 15 minutes to build.  There were a lot of options to choose from so I did not have to tax my highly limited artsy-fartsy powers. 

airboy

Then you select your characteristics.  My strongest characteristics all work together.  I have very high Stamina which allows a lot of actions.  High Charisma and Creditability helps you make effective speeches.  Speeches cost a lot of stamina but no cash.

I have very low appearance and experience which negatively impacts interviews.  As a Republican, I know the media is highly biased so I'm avoiding the liberal running dogs in their press costumes.  America also wants change and the "experienced politicians" have led to the current situation.  I'm also strong on raising money and have high creditability which helps your advertising.  My starting money is good but not great.

My strategy is lots of stamina, lots of effective speeches, lots of fundraising for buying highly effective positive and negative ads.  I'm avoiding the media and interviews.  North Carolina is my home state.


airboy

Wargamer Airboy's Issues:

Next you select your issues.  You need to put 21 points into something to get to the stronger position areas.  Going away from zero in any direction costs you issue points.  I'm strong on Fighting ISIS, Securing the borders, Fighting Zika, and Religious Freedom.  I did not go as strong on supporting Religious Freedom because the democrat I'm running against is against religious freedom.  I'm strong on Zika because it is critical to Florida and somewhat important to the rest of the Atlantic Coast states.  I'm somewhat strong on Farm Subsidies in case the Midwest comes into play.  I have minor points in the Keystone Pipeline (which all of the Dems hate).  I'm for probing Hillary's Emails (because I can).  If you run as a Republican you have more base strength in typical Republican Issues and vice-versa for Democrats.


airboy

I'm playing on "easy" because I'm depressed enough about this election anyway and don't want to lose. 

This game is the fifth I've played in the last week or so.  Once you play about an hour you will understand the game mechanics.  I'm playing the next to longest game which is 42 turns which are called weeks.

airboy

In this Corner is Wargamer Airboy's Opponent: Hillary! (aka The Witch!)

You then choose your opponent.  I chose Hillary, aka "The Witch."  She is against cleaning bathrooms and for sacrificing children outside on wood fires (abortion, climate change, environment).  She wants more refugees in the USA so she will have plentiful sacrifices.  She is against fighting ISIS (who kill suspected witches), and against religious freedom (they are anti-witch).

airboy

Hillary's! Super Powers:

Hillary's strengths are fund raising (she sells cookies to attract children), experience (she is an 18th level witch), intelligence (the press lackeys feed her the questions before interviews) but is weak on creditability.  Dogs and horses shy away from witches and children naturally fear her.  All of which lowers her creditability.  Hillary's Gingerbread House is located in her "home state" of New York.

bayonetbrant

Quote from: airboy on October 12, 2016, 08:52:17 PMAs a longstanding wargamer who is sick of the election

FWIW, OSS Games has an "election fatigue" sale going on

QuoteTired of hearing about the election? So are we. Our solution? Play some games!
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http://ossgamescart.com/
The key to surviving this site is to not say something which ends up as someone's tag line - Steelgrave

"their citizens (all of them counted as such) glorified their mythology of 'rights'...and lost track of their duties. No nation, so constituted, can endure." Robert Heinlein, Starship Troopers

JasonPratt

ICEBREAKER THESIS CHRONOLOGY! -- Victor Suvorov's Stalin Grand Strategy theory, in lots and lots of chronological order...
Dawn of Armageddon -- narrative AAR for Dawn of War: Soulstorm: Ultimate Apocalypse
Survive Harder! -- Two season narrative AAR, an Amazon Blood Bowl career.
PanzOrc Corpz Generals -- Fantasy Wars narrative AAR, half a combined campaign.
Khazâd du-bekâr! -- narrative dwarf AAR for LotR BfME2 RotWK campaign.
RobO Q Campaign Generator -- archived classic CMBB/CMAK tool!

airboy

I start in North Carolina, my home state.  I upgrade my campaign HQ for $$s.  I then build another HQ in a different State.

You win votes in a State by having awareness of your candidacy and persuading people on your issues.  My core strategy is to build campaign HQs in a lot of States which take money.  Campaign HQs also give you understanding of how people in the state respond to 15 issues.  Without the campaign HQ you get information on only 5 issues which can kill you if they are not your strong issues.  You can also give a speech within a State which helps you in the state if the voters like the message (which depends on the HQ to understand what those are and the strength of support).  Speeches take a lot of stamina but cost no money.  Campaign HQs also give you a positive cash flow - more for each level of HQ you build (there are 3 levels costing $250,000; $500,000; $1,000,000 per level.  Higher HQs allow you to raise more money.

You also get more money when you fundraise if you raise money in a rich State.  This usually boils down to California (#1), Texas (#2) and New York (#3).  Fundraising also builds stamina.

If you understand the issues it tells you where to place ads which also cost money.  You have inexpensive "ground game" ads which only impact your standing within that State.  I just figured that out today.  Much more expensive TV ads help you in the state and also change awareness nationwide.  So your TV ads should focus on things that are popular nationally (again - I just figured that one out).  Your ads can be positive (I support this issue) or negative (my opponent does not support this).  Or vice-versa: I'm opposed and the Witch supports.

Other buildings allow you "political capital" which can be used to gain endorsements.  The last type of building allows you to hire political operatives which can give you an overall bonus everywhere on specific attributes, or can help you within a State.

I'm going to run through this quickly because I did not make the proper screenshots.  You see where you need to work based on the map of the USA - and I did not screen shot many. 

The Witch is initially strong in several New England States, New York, and California.  All have lots of covens.  I'm strong initially in the Mountain West and some of the Southern States.  I'm also strong in West Virginia because the Witch promised to throw everyone out of work in the coal industry and eat their children.


airboy

In week 2 I built stage 1, 2, and 3 of the building which gives me Political Capital to gain endorsements.  I built this on turn 2 because endorsements get gobbled up quickly - so you need to act fast.  This took a lot of money ($250k + $500K + $1million = $1.75 million).  I built it in Connecticut because it is hard for me to carry this state.  Hillary! built a stage 1 PR building in Vermont - a good choice because it has lots of liberal covens and has few votes.  She also built another Campaign HQ.

airboy

In Week 3 Hillary! picks up a Kook in Missouri.  The Kook tells people that "witches are not real."  We both build two Campaign HQs.

I'm barely behind in the popular polls, but I'm ahead in the electoral college.  Better, Hillary! has her electoral votes concentrated in just a few states.  I have support in a lot of States which makes it harder for her to extinguish my electoral votes because they are very spread out.

airboy

Week 4:
This is one of my only early Map screenshots.  I'll do a 2nd AAR on this better.

In Week 4 my endorsements start to pay off.  I pick up Foreign Relation Group because they help me spread the hatred of ISIS.  This also helps my national polling.

I've provided a pretty detailed explanation of the game map.  I'm slightly behind in the polls - but there is a very long time left in the election.  I've built campaign HQs in many of the battleground States.  This helps my long-run cash flow as well as my awareness in critical States. 

airboy

Week 5:

I pick up yet another endorsement!!!  Once the endorsements are gone they are locked.  This is why I invested so much so early in this.  I'm also leading in the national polls.  Sorry no map shot.

airboy

Week 6:

My lead builds.  I have enough cash and stamina to build HQs in Washington State and Colorado which are currently undecided.  These states combine for > 15 electoral votes which is quite a few.  No covens are there.  Doing this in Week 6 makes it harder for Hillary! to catch up.

JasonPratt

I am pleased to see TN early supports against witches; but sort of puzzled by the tepidly neutral early stance in North Carolina. Then again, I think the original Witch Mountain from the novels was there, so...

(In the first Disney version it's in Callifornia or anyway the western Rockies; not sure where in the remake with the Rock. In the books it's vaguely in the Appalachias somewhere in the Virginia / NC / TN area. When we drove to South Carolina for Dad's trade shows in the summer, I always amused myself watching for Witch Mountain.  :smitten: )
ICEBREAKER THESIS CHRONOLOGY! -- Victor Suvorov's Stalin Grand Strategy theory, in lots and lots of chronological order...
Dawn of Armageddon -- narrative AAR for Dawn of War: Soulstorm: Ultimate Apocalypse
Survive Harder! -- Two season narrative AAR, an Amazon Blood Bowl career.
PanzOrc Corpz Generals -- Fantasy Wars narrative AAR, half a combined campaign.
Khazâd du-bekâr! -- narrative dwarf AAR for LotR BfME2 RotWK campaign.
RobO Q Campaign Generator -- archived classic CMBB/CMAK tool!