Presidential Race 1 c 1986 Jean-Claude Falmagne Rules of the game Jean-Claude Falmagne (October 30, 1986)

Transcription

1 Presidential Race 1 c 1986 Jean-Claude Falmagne Rules of the game Jean-Claude Falmagne (October 30, 1986) Object and outline. The object of this board game is to be elected president of the United States. A second place may be obtained as a vice president-elect on the winning ticket. In general, the rules of the game simulate the presidential election in the US in many of its most important aspects. This includes the primaries, the conventions, the financial implications of a political campaign, the role of the press and the television, etc. As in real life, the victory is achieved by first winning the nomination of a party at the conclusion of the primaries, and then the presidential election. The votes are collected either by visiting the states and making political appearances and speeches, which is simulated in the game by throwing the dice and moving the figurine representing the candidate along the sides of the board, or as a result of purchasing, using fun money, political advertisements in the press or on the television, which are also translated into number of voters. Chance cards introduce unpredictable events which may affect the outcome of the game. Each of the participants plays the role of a past president, such as: Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Reagan (for example). This identification is only critical in the expert version of the game, in which press conferences and debates are organized. Questions are then asked to the players, the content of which draws on real events of the time of these presidents. There are four phases in the game: 1. Phase 1. The Primaries 2. Phase 2. The Conventions 3. Phase 3. The Presidential Campaign 4. Phase 4. The Election Day This game can be played by two to eight players. For two players, or an odd number of players, a slight alteration of the rules of the game is required. Equipment. A board (see p.13,14), on which is displayed a map of the US, with all the states clearly indicated, as well as the nine divisions: New England, Middle Atlantic, South Atlantic, East North Central, East South Central, West North Central, West South Central, Mountain and Pacific. The colour of the states is the same within each division. Around the board is a rectangular frame made of contiguous cells. Most cells also represent states. The colour of the cells representing states is the same as that of the corresponding divisions on the map. Figurines representing past presidents. Two dice of different colours, coloured chips (one colour per player), chance cards, black cards, fun money and toy planes and trains. 1 1

2 In the expert version of the game, there are also special cards containing questions relative to events of the life of the past presidents represented by the figurines. Preparation. The board is placed on a table, with the chance cards and the black cards face down on the indicated spaces on the board. Each player chooses a figurine, and is given $500,000 as a start up campaign fund, and one black card, which is kept for later use, its text remaining unknown to the other players until that time. Each player also chooses his chips, which are kept in front of him. (These chips represent number of voters, and will be accumulated on the map at the center of the board during the game.) The rest of the money and of the equipment goes to the bank. A referee and a banker are selected among the players. The banker will handle all financial transactions. The referee will keep track of the time. The same player can be the referee and the banker. Either by throwing the dice, or by choice, the players are distributed as equally as possible in two teams, representing the democratic and the republican parties. (For example, in the case of five players, there may be two republicans, and three democrats). Only the republican party and the democratic party are considered in the first phase of the game. Each player throws the dice, and the player with the highest total places the figurine representing his candidate on the corner of the board marked Start (which also displays a? sign). A timer is set to exactly one hour. PHASE 1. THE PRIMARIES (The first two phases of the game are omitted when there are only two players.) The first player throws the dice, and moves his figurine an appropriate number of spaces in the clockwise direction along the board. If the figurine lands on a primary state (those states are marked with a red P sign), the player collects the number of voters indicated, in the form of one or more of his chips, which are placed in the appropriate division on the map at the center of the board. For example, if the total of the dice is 8, the player places his figurine on the space representing New York state, and chips representing 700,000 voters are placed on the division Middle Atlantic. (Note that, for practical reasons, the votes are cumulated over states in each of the nine divisions.) If the total of the dice is 2, the figurine is placed on Maine, a non primary state, and no further action is taken. If the total is 7 or 11, the figurine is placed on a? square. The player picks a chance card, reads it aloud, and follows the instructions. When the first player completes his move, the turn passes to the left, and the game proceeds. After exactly one hour, the referee informs the players that two complete turns with the dice remain before the Conventions (Phase 2 of the game). Remarks and special rules: 1) Several figurines may occupy the same square on the board. 2) Each time a figurine lands on or passes through the Start square, the player collects $500,000. During Phase 3 of the game (The Presidential Campaign) this amount is raised to $1,000,000. 3) Any player, at the time of his turn, may purchase political advertisement by 2

3 paying the bank. This automatically results in a gain of voters. The rate of exchange is one dollar per voter. The player can then place the corresponding number of chips anywhere on the map. Thus, a player may give give $500,000 in fun money to the bank, and place two 100,000 chips on the Pacific division, and one 300,000 chip on the Mountain division. 4) Any player may, at any time during the game, lease a campaign plane (or train), at the cost of $500,000 for each full turn around the board. The advantage of the campain plane is that its use may double the number of visits of the states, by permitting the figurine to land on two squares for each throw of the dice. The red die must be counted first. For example, a player with a figurine on the New Jersey square, with a throw of the dice giving 2(red) + 5(green) = 7 will have his candidate visit first Pennsylvania and then Georgia. 5) When the figurine of a player lands on a? cell, a? card must be taken from the top of the pile. When the text of such a card indicates the loss or gain of some number of voters, chips of the appropriate amount have to be removed from the board. Except when otherwise indicated, the player has the choice of where to put or remove these chips. When the card instructs the player to remove voters, while there are no chips on the board, no action is taken. 6) Note that Puerto Rico is a primary state, but plays no role in Phase 3 and 4. (The Puerto Ricans do not participate in the presidential election, but did vote in recent primaries.) 7) A black card may be used at any time at the beginning of a player s turn (before throwing the dice). A black card not used during the primaries has to be returned to the bank. Some black cards are to be used against another player, and determine a loss of some number of voters. Some chips belonging to the other player have then to be removed from the board. The aggressing player may decide where those chips have to be taken. 8) A player who runs out of money and has to make a payment must borrow money from the bank. This player will pass as many turns with the dice as the number of times 100,000 is contained in the borrowed money. (Example: A player borrowing $500,000 must pass five turns.) 9) In the case of an odd number of players, any player in the party having currently the largest number of candidates can join the other party at any time during the primaries. However, a player can switch parties only once. 10) If a throw of the dice yields a double (the same number for both dice), the player makes his move and throws the dice again. PHASE 2. THE CONVENTIONS At the end of Primaries, the figurines are remove from the board, and the black cards which have not been used are returned to the bank. The money not spent is kept by the players. Each player computes then the total of his voters in each division, leaving the chips in place. In each of the two parties, the player with the highest total wins the division (in case of a tie, the winner is decided by one or more throws of the dice). This player receives all the delegates for that division. For example, a 3

4 republican player with the highest number of votes in the Pacific states will receive 67 delegates 2 at the convention of the republican party. The total number of delegates is then computed for each player. To win the nomination of a party, a candidate must have the simple majority (more than 50% of the total). If no candidate has a simple majority, ballots take place. Rules for the ballots. The candidate with the smallest number of delegates releases his delegates. A throw of the dice decides who of the remaining players will receive these delegates. If there is more than one candidate with a minimum number of delegates, a throw of the dice will decide which candidate will release his delegates. This process is pursued until one player has the majority. Each of the two presidential candidates chooses then a running mate. Note that the chips have remained on the board. This means that the corresponding voters remain committed to the same candidate for the second phase of the game. Creation of an Independent Party and a Progressive Party. At the beginning of the second phase of the game, two players not nominated (as a presidential or as a vice presidential candidates), have the option of running jointly on an independent or a progressive ticket. Rules for an odd number of players. Any player who is not nominated, and cannot form a ticket with another player removes himself from the game. Rules for two players. These players begin immediately at Phase 3 of the game. 2 In reality, this winner-take-all rule is only used in some states. Also, we have simplified the game in making the number of delegates at the conventions equal to the number of electoral votes. In fact, the number of delegates is twice the number of electoral votes. 4

5 PHASE 3. THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN The chips of the presidential candidate and of his running mate in each party are placed on the same pile in each division. As in Phase 1, the black cards are shuffled, and each player is given a black card. The dice are then thrown to select the first player to start the game, and a timer is set to one hour. The rules for this phase of the games are identical to those used in the Primaries, with the following differences: 1) The votes are cumulated between the presidential candidate and his running mate. The campaign funds are put in common. 2) Each player receives $1,000,000 (rather than $500,000) whenever passing through the Start corner. 3) A presidential candidate-player can challenge at any time (on his turn), another presidential candidate-player to a debate. A player refusing to debate automatically looses $500,000 voters. When a debate has been accepted, any other presidential candidate may join the debate. A player winning the debate receives 1,000,000 voters. Moreover, if the challenging player looses the debate, 500,000 voters are taken from him and removed from the board by the winning player. A similar debate may take place between vice-presidential candidates. Only one challenge can be initiated by a player during the game. Rules for the debates. Standard version: both players throw the dice and the player with the highest score wins the debate. A tie leads to another throw of the dice. Expert version: For each player participating in a debate, a card is picked up and read aloud by the referee (or by another player, if the referee is participating in the debate) from the special pile corresponding to the past president represented by the figurine used by the player. The player must answer the question on the card. If only one player answers correctly, this player wins the debate. Otherwise, another card is taken for each player. The questions relate to events of the live of the presidents. Debates can also take place between vice-presidential candidates, with the same rules. As in Phase 1, the referee informs the other players after one hour that two turn with the dice remain before Election Day. PHASE 4. ELECTION DAY The rules are similar to those used for the Conventions. 1. Step 1. The popular votes represented by the chips are transformed into electoral votes in each division, using a winner-take-all rule. Thus, the party with the largest number of popular votes in a division receives the total number of electoral votes in that division. 2. Step 2. The total number of electoral votes is counted for each party. The two players in the party with the highest total wins the game. In case of ties, the outcome of the game is decided by throwing the dice, following the same rules as for the ballots in the Conventions. 5

6 Remarks. In reality, the procedures governing the presidential campaign and the election are very complex. Obviously, such procedures could not be mimicked realistically by the rules of a game lasting two hours. Besides, important aspects of the procedures vary from one state to another, and from one election to another. Among the most important simplifications that we have introduced are certainly: (1) The fact that delegates and electoral votes are cumulated accross state in each of the divisions. (2) The winner-take-all rule for assigning the delegates to the candidates in each divisions. (In many states, a proportional representation is used.) (3) The fact that the outcome of many important phases are decided by throwing the dice, rather than by human agonizing decisions. We believe that this game may nevertheless have educational value as a revealing miniature of a crucial democratic process. In general, we have adopted as guide lines for deciding some of the aspects of the game (such as which states have primaries, the number of electoral college votes per state, the expected number of voters in a normal game, etc.), the 1980 elections (cf. Pomper, 1981). REFERENCE Pomper, G.M., Baker, R.K., Frankovik K.A., Jacob, C.E., McWilliams, & Plotkin H.A., The Election of Reports and Interpretations. M.M. Pomper, (Ed.. Chatam House Publishers, New Jersey. TEXT OF THE? CARDS 1) It is reported in the news that the candidate is investigated by the Ethics Committee of the House. The negative reaction of the public cost the candidate 200,000 voters. 2) A natural disaster occurs. (A breakage of a dam in a southern state.) The candidate visits the site, and is seen on prime time television talking with compassion to the families of the victims. The candidate gains 200,000 voters in the East South Central states. [+200,000 voters] 3) The candidate is endorsed by the A.F.L.C.I.O [+1,000,000 voters] 4) The candidate is questioned by a reporter on his position regarding gun control. His hesitant, ambivalent response manages to antagonize both sides of the issue, and the candidate loses 100,000 voters. [-100,000 voters] 5) While visiting a state with the candidate, a close associate is heard making disparaging remarks on an ethnic group important in the state. The candidate looses 500,000 voters in each of the two states adjacent to the? cell. [-1,000,000 voters] 6) At a dinner given in the honour of the candidate, contributions in the amount of $300,000 were received. [+$300,000] 6

7 7) A relative of the candidate is involved in a scandal. The candidateruns the risk of loosing 20% of the votes. $500,000 are spent in political advertising to counterbalance the damage. [-$500,000] 8) An access of the flu forces the candidate to interrupt his campaign for two days. (The player passes the next turn.) 9) Due to the weather conditions, the departure of the plane of the candidate is delayed. The candidate must cancel his appearance at an important political rally. (The player passes the next turn.) 10) The candidate uses the private plane of a wealthy supporter to make an unexpected appearance at an important meeting. (The player can move his figurine to a cell anywhere on the board, without however passing through the start corner and cash the usual matching funds. The player continues the game at the next turn from the new position.) 11) Take a black card, and keep it for later use without revealing its content. (There are four such cards.) 12) Personal difficulties force the candidate to interrupt campaigning for four days. (The player passes 2 turns.) 13) The candidate announces his firm commitment to reduce, and eventually eliminate, the budget deficit. He outlines an apparently cogent plan to achieve this goal. [+300,000 voters] 14) Some widely publicized remarks of the candidate suggesting that he would support high tariffs brings him the votes of many farmers. [+300,000 voters in the West North Central states.] 15) A debate is organized by the League of Women Voters. According to the Press, the candidate wins the debate. [+300,000 voters] 16) A close associate of the candidate is accused of misappropriating public funds. [-100,000 voters] 17) Press Conference. Standard version of the game: the player throws the dice. If the sum of the the numbers on the two dice is even, the candidate obtains an additional 200,000 voters. If the sum is odd, he looses 200,000 voters. Expert version: The referee picks up a card in the special pile of the player, and reads the question aloud. The candidate gains or looses 200,000 voters depending whether the player s response is correct or not. [+-200,000 voters] 18) The candidate receives matching funds totalling $1,000,000. [+$1,000,000] 19) In a televised press conference, in answering a question from a reporter, the candidate displays a surprizing ignorance of the functioning of political systems in countries under the umbrella of the Soviet Union. [-300,000 voters] 20) In a televised press conference, in a response to a question by a reporter, the candidate appears to confuse two countries in Latin America. A follow up question is met by an evasion by the candidate. 21) It is reported in the Press that the candidate has used some money from a slush fund. Much is made of this event in New York, and the candidate looses 300,000 voters 7

8 in the Middle Atlantic states. If there are no voters in those states, the players gives $300,000 to the bank. [-300,000 voters] 22) A position statement is circulated, making clear that the candidate is in not in favor of the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment). The candidate looses 500,000 voters in the Middle Atlantic states, but gains 300,000 elsewhere. 23) The results of a Gallup poll are released, showing that the candidate s national visibility is markedly on the rise. The wide publicity given to this information increases the popularity of the candidate, who gains an additional 200,000 voters. [+200,000 voters] 24) A debate is organized by the League of Women voters. (In the Presidential Campaign phase of the game, only the presidential candidates take part in the debate.) Standard version: Each of the players throws the dice. The player with the highest total gets 300,000 voters, all other players loose 100,000 voters. Expert version: Each players answers a question from the card at the top of the special pile corresponding to his candidate. 25) A visit of a foreign head of states provides a photo opportunity for the candidate, who gains 100,000 voters. [+100,000 voters] 26) The candidate criticises the president s handling of a current crisis in the Middle East, involving americans taken as hostages by terrorists. The criticism is perceived as unfair by the public, and the candidate looses 400,000 voters. [-400,000 voters] 27) It is discovered that some of the campaign contributions received by the candidate from individuals exceed the maximum allowed by the law. The candidate must return those contributions (-$500,000). The negative reaction of the public determines the loss of 100,000 voters. [-$500,000 & -100,000 voters] 28) The candidate, visiting another country, is given a reception by the head of the state. The important given to this event by the media disposes the american public favorably towards the candidate. [+200,000 voters] 29) In a televised debate, the candidate states unambiguously that, as president, he would take as one of his major priorities to drastically reduce the budget deficit. A panelist asks how this could be achieved without a reduction of the defense budget. The candidate s response is confused, but suggests that some social programs might have to be cut. 30) Energetic campaigning brings the candidate an additional 1,000,000 voters. [+1,000,000 voters] 31) During a televised press conference, the candidate presents his views on ways to improve the economy. Under questioning by reporters, the candidate s position appears vague and disorganized. 32) The candidate is endorsed by the Women Trade Union League. [+300,000 voters] 33) Questioned by a reporter on his position regarding the environment, the candidate, tired by months of intensive campaigning quips that When you have seen one redwood tree, you have seen them all. This careless statement is widely quoted. Despite his popularity, the candidate looses 200,000 voters. 8

9 34) In a press conference, the candidate hesitates in answering a question from a reporter concerning a particular campaign contribution, and ends up evading the issue. The negative reaction of the public is translated into a loss of 100,000 voters. [-100,000 voters] 35) The candidate has delayed the disclosure of his personal financial situation. When the candidate s tax returns are finally made public, it appears that the candidate s total federal tax for the last three years is only $1,051. Even though no irregularities were committed,, the public s interpretation is that the candidate has taken advantage of legal loopholes, and reacts negatively. 36) At the invitation of a major university, the candidate gives a talk entitled Shifting Political Gears. Questioned by a student, the candidate states that he would favor a bilateral, closely monitored, gradual decrease in the nuclear arsenal, provided that the problem of verifying the compliance of the Soviet Union can be solved. The audience is bewildered, but the public s reaction is favorable. [+200,000 voters] 37) The candidate announces his commitment, were he elected president, to make a large place to member of minority groups in his administration. [+300,000 voters] 38) The League of Women Voters endorse the candidate. [+500,000 voters] 39) A speech of the candidate at a lunch organized by the Association of News Papers Editors is well received. This event is widely reported in the Press. [+200,000 voters] 40) An important labor union endorses the candidate. [+500,000 voters] 9

10 TEXT OF THE BLACK CARDS 1) As a senator, candidate X has been lavishly entertained by a wealthy businessman. whose company has subsequently obtained an important contract with the state of the senator. This information is leaked to the press, and candidate X looses 500,000 voters. (The player can use this card against any other player.) 2) The candidate clears himself of any wrongdoing. The story backfires, and the opponent looses 500,000 voters. (This card must be used immediately, as a reaction to a black card of another player.) 3) The weather conditions improve unexpectedly, and the plane of the candidate can leave on time. (The player does not loose a turn.) 4) Hypnotized by the charismatic personnality of the candidate, the public fails to perceive the vagueness of his conceptions relative to the economy. The candidate does not loose any voters. (This card is to be used by a player as a reaction to a? card.) 5) The FBI has discovered a suspicious relation between a candidate and an important political figure of another nation. This information is leaked to the press, and the candidate looses 500,000 voters. (This card can be used against any other player.) 6) The Committee for electing candidate X is fined $500,000 for improper accounting of the campaign funds. (The player has the option of using this card against any other player.) 7) The plane of candidate X crashes. Candidate X is unharmed, but the delay causes him to cancel his appearance at several political rallies. (This card can be used against any other player. It prevents this player to play for two turns.) 8) The candidate learns of the possibly illegal origin of some campaign funds of another candidate, and decides to leak this information to the press. (The player points to another player, who looses 500,000 votes, except if that player counteracts immediately with the appropriate black card.) 9) A wealthy businessman favoring the candidate lends him his plane. The player can use this card to place the figurine representing the candidate anywhere on the board. This card can be used only once, and must then be put under the pack.) 10) Expecting an opponent to make a last push just before voting day, the candidate preempt all television advertising time available. (This card can be used against any other player, or pair of players on the same ticket in Phase 3 of the game, to prevent the opponent(s) to spend money on political advertising for one turn. This card must be put under the pack after use.) 10