My fellow political junkies: Election 2004 Computer Game

[Mattforclark]

http://www.hotpotsoftware.com/p2000/p2000.htm

Here's how my Kerry/Clark ticket is doing (sorry about poor image quality):

http://onfinite.three10.com/libraries/display.php?lid=5251&d=6d259294640b50203823588dcea64d91

Try the demo. You know you want to annihilate Bush. :)

If you get the full version, there is also a newer version of the game, you can play campaigns from other years, etc.

[Kathleen04]

1. This thing is so fun!

Thanks for posting this. :)

I don't know why the program thinks Clark is from Virginia though.. :shrug:

You should post this in the Lounge..I bet alot of them would get a kick out of it.

[Mattforclark]

3. You can change Clark's state in the candidate editor

or if you don't have the candidate editor, you can change his state to number 3 in his txt file, and that should do the trick.

Hmm, I guess it would make more sense to post this in the lounge :)

[Kathleen04]

5. Cool..

I paid for the full version last night..alot o' fun for $12. :)

[Josh]

2. It's fantastic. I've had it since January -

and the free update on Feb 15.

You can change the candidates' info - for instance, GWB is 57, not 50, and Clark is from Arkansas. Just go into the Candidate Editor. You can also add running mates. I've added Bob Graham, Evan Bayh, and Bill Richardson already.

I just had a big win the other day. I played Kerry and took 398 electoral votes to Bush's 140. Massive landslide.

Let me know when you've achieved this feat that it took me 9 times to win: I played as Jimmy Carter and beat Reagan in the 1980 election! Not an easy task.

[Mattforclark]

4. Winning with Carter

is indeed a challenge...

I also added running mates and have done some fooling around with the data :)

[Zynx]

6. After three attempts, I beat Bush.

281 to 257. I lost some strange states like Mass., Conn., and RI, but I won Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, and Tennessee and that's how I won. I would have won more if I had used a scandal on Bush that I didn't know I had. The whole campaign starting in the second week was wall to wall scandals.

[Zynx]

7. I also won 65 electoral votes as Perot and made the election a tie.

Clinton got picked by Congress though.

[Mattforclark]

11. I just played one as Perot

Popular Vote:

Clinton - 39%
Bush - 35%
Perot - 24%

Electoral College:

Clinton - 292
Bush - 216
Perot - 30 (ME, KA, NE, WY, MT, UT, NV)

I lost California to Clinton by .8% - 70,000 votes. If I had won that, nobody would have gotten an electoral college majority. And I didn't even realize that California was that close, so I didn't spend much time campaigning there. My biggest %s in a single state were 49.1% in Wyoming, and 47.5% in Maine. I also lost Missouri by 1%, and there were some other close states. :)

[Mattforclark]

12. One thing that you can do

is rename the electorate trends to a .txt file, then change the %s of voters in each state that can be swayed to vote for the other candidate, under some circumstances. It is set at 50% by default, which I personally think is probably a bit too much, so if you set it down a bit you can make strange outcomes like Bush winning Rhode Island while Kerry takes Indiana less likely.

[liskddksil]

8. This game is hard

But a lot of fun. It took me three games for my Kerry Edwards ticket to win.

[Zynx]

10. I didn't know about scandals so I got clubbed the first time I played.

I only won DC. That's partially because I just gave up after a while.

[The Zanti Regent]

9. Damn, I need a MAC version!

C'mon and port this to the Mac!

[shawn703]

13. Looks like the author has a conservative bias

I went into the platform editor and started customizing my views. Move the Terrorism issue all the way to the left, and it says "We should surrender to the terrorists"!


:puke:

[MilDem]

22. I noticed that also

It seemed unfair, they don't seem to do that with the other issues, however. What would you put for the far left on Terrorism?

[MrSlayer]

14. Kick! This game is awesome.

I've won the Presidency as myself several times. The editor is great, you can give Chimp his real stats and kick the shit out of him. The full version is like 6 or so megs, if any one wants it through IRC or FTP send me a PM or email.

[dusty64]

15. Its fun

and I've won three times and lost three times. I wish I understood a little more how it works. I can't seem to find a tutorial to explain how the points on the issues work. I've won with some very strange results, lost Conn., Oregon, Wisconsin, and won a great deal of the South. How does that happen?

[Mattforclark]

16. kick

[stryker18]

17. Won with Kerry/Edwards in a close one

Won 290 EVs. Gee, they should have put in a little Katherine Harris bug that steals elections. :)

[MilDem]

23. the 2004 one is almost always close

It a tough one (like this election looks like it's going to be)

[Kathleen04]

18. The Carter one is impossible!!

I've tried every strategy I can think of! It's drivin me crazy. :crazy:

[Mattforclark]

19. Lots

and lots, of scandals... Use spies. Lots of attack ads too.

I managed to win a ~400 electoral vote landslide that way.

[Kathleen04]

20. k, I'll try that strategy.. n/t

[MAlibdem]

21. Not very hard for me...

for some reason...just played a lot of ads on integrity, leadership and economic issues and I was at like 333 electoral votes b4 they demanded I buy the liscence.

Of course, I had used $50 million, but I was about to do some more fundraising...

[MAlibdem]

25. yeah...i spoke a little early

Basically the Bush or Dean strategy...worked for a while too...but then funds ran out and that's no good and you get creamed.

[MAlibdem]

24. Bought the full version

Fun, but hard...won the 2004 contest (barely) and just played as Perot in 1992.

Lots of fun...
As Perot I split the vote, got Texas, Maine, Ohio, North Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, Utah, Kansas, and Alaska for 88 electoral votes. Billy won it b/c of Congress tho.

[quam]

26. Any other games someone could recommend...

this is interesting.

[Zynx]

27. I won as Perot in 1992.

I got good scandals on both Bush and Clinton, got lucky with a lot of high profile speeches making news, and won the last debate. I got 288 electoral votes and 33% of the popular vote.