President Forever results thread...

[Representative Joe Mad]

This was my first real game (had only toyed around with the demo and a primary before this) so I played on easy.  Playing version 2008 (seemed suggested by quite a few) I settled on the 1992 Campaign.  Deciding to change history a bit, I ran as Tsongas, and built momentum throughout the primaries.  I picked up an endorsement from the environmental group that is present in this campaign, and after winning New Hampshire began to take a legitimate lead in the primaries.  Some states I won simply by dumb luck, and what ultimately saved me was how fortunate I was in getting scandals on Clinton.  Most of the candidates that dropped out supported me, and I even ultimately garnered the support of Carter.  Even with this it ended up being far too close for comfort.  We carried the battle all the way to the convention, and I only had something like a one hundred delegate lead at that point.

After being chosen, I decided to be a good Missouri boy and picked Gephardt as my VP.  Being new, one issue I noticed is how chronically short on funds I was throughout the majority of the game.  I was running ads pretty consistently, and didn't go fundraising  as often as I probably should have, but it did seem ridiculous at times.  Any particular ways to change this?

The general election was volatile throughout, though I held a slim lead the majority of the time.  I ended up having a short truce with Perot to focus on Bush, but I'm unsure how much that helped.  I focused mainly on barnstorming and using foot soldiers, though I also made sure to get my issue knowledge and debate skills up.  Running ads when I could, I ended up running out of money at one point in a rather embarrassing debacle.  Scandals and spinning stories helped keep me afloat just as much as the direct actions of my candidates, if not more.

The first debates were tied, with Tsongas winning the last (which I spun as much as I could, of course).  IN the closing days of the campaign I ended up getting hit with a scandal and saw Bush gain momentum, putting New York and Ohio (just naming the most important ones) at risk.  I panicked, and probably would have lost had I not had a scandal and a bit of saved cash waiting in the wings.  I popped it, spun the story as much as I could, and barnstormed New York (my VP was sent to Florida, which I was I was incredibly close in).

Election night was pretty nerve wracking at first, with Bush looking do quite well for himself.  I didn't really feel too comfortable until I saw New York stay blue for more than a few seconds.  Whenever Ohio was called, I was pretty confident I had it in the bag.  Florida was a bit of a disappointment, and I only lost it by .8% points.  I actually liked the way the map ended up, with South Carolina being the only egregious offender.  While I gave it a lot of attention during the primaries, I don't think I returned once after that.  The fact that it went for me was kind of funny.  Maine also irritated me a bit but that was mostly because I wanted the northeast locked down.  Perot looked like he was going to get a bit more at one point, but alas it was not meant to be.  He came pretty close in a lot of Bush states.

ONe last thing that comes to mind is the fact that none of us broke 40% of the PV.  I had 38.9, Bush had a few increments over 37, and I think Perot had 23%.

Tsongas/Gephardt (D) EV 324    
Bush/Wilson (R) EV 207
Perot/Choate EV 7

Sorry for the terribly long post, but I do have to say I ended up having a ton of fun with the game.  It satisfies the political junkie within in a way I didn't think it would!

[Representative Joe Mad]

Playing the 2008 scenario with Bayh.

Only on medium, but I'm pretty proud of the results.  The hardest part of the entire game was facing Richardson during the nomination.  I turned all the big guys on both sides off, resulting in a Bayh vs Frist campaign.  Frist led me for a short while, but I pulled ahead and maintained my lead throughout.  After all was said and done I pulled in 66.3% of the popular vote.  Frist got 31.8% and Barr (who I enabled in the hopes of making the race interesting) only garnered 1.9%.  All in all it was a fun match, and I think it is time for me to step up to hard and try my luck.

Also, I must give props to the guy above me; I almost lost after removing the strongest opponents during the primaries.  Can't imagine taking on Bush in '04 and winning.

  

[Representative Joe Mad]

Probably the weirdest map I've ever personally had.  Played as Obama on Hard.  I had played through the 2012 Scenario as Romney on Hard Difficulty and had crushed Obama, so I was expecting to have a hard fight ahead of me.  I tried to use scanadals to knock Romney out early on and potentially face someone weaker, but he ended up winning anyway (only funny thing out of all that was Perry winning Iowa).  My vast funds allowed me to air ads pretty much the entire game, which helped a lot.

I started to pull ahead towards the end, and finally went on the offensive in red states.  Came within a few percentage points in most of them.  The closest was by far Nebraska.  I ended up losing it by 318 votes. 

Final scores were:
Obama/Biden: 56.6% 402 EVs 
Romney/Ryan: 43.4% 136 EVs

[Representative Joe Mad]

Anyone have any advice running as a Republican in 2008 (on hard difficulty)?  Twice I've ran as Giuliani, and have gotten obliterated both times.  This last time I did much better in the primaries, having it locked up by February (though McCain decided to stick around).  After that I just get my skills up and raise money, prepare ads etc.  While I was a little behind by the time the Democratic Convention rolled around, it was only a few percentage points in key states.

Then as soon as the Republican Convention ends, I lose like 15% points nation wide.  Happened both times, and it is really frustrating.  Does platform matter more than I think and Giuliani has a bad one?  Is it just set up like this?  I didn't finish the first time, and only got 47 electoral votes this time around.  Clinton is just too tough for me to take down.

I noticed that playing the 2000 scenario as McCain had a similar drop post convention, though one that wasn't even close to being as severe.  I was actually able to pull away from that one and narrowly defeat Gore.  Clinton, not even close.

[Representative Joe Mad]

First President Forever 2016 game I've played.  I played the demo awhile ago, but ended up getting 2008 instead (the learning curve of 2016 had pushed me away a bit).  Finally decided to get 2016, and I'm glad I did.  This was on medium difficulty.

Fairly uneventful game, honestly.  Clinton does get hit with a ton of scandals during the primaries, causing both Cuomo and Biden to lead in various states at random points.  Still, I built up my campaign, nabbed endorsements and ran ads in the early states and ultimately won in Iowa.  After that, my nomination was essentially sealed.  The Republican nomination was actually pretty interesting.  It came down to Christie and Ryan, with Ryan winning by only two delegates.

After Super Tuesday, I started to focus on the GE.  I trailed the Republicans at first, but by June or so I was tied or ahead in the states that mattered, and by the time of the convention I was set to win comfortably.  After the convention the remainder of the game was all about widening my margin of victory.  On election day, I had an impressive campaign operation all across the nation and was running a constant barrage of ads against Ryan.

All in all it was a pretty fun game, and I'm looking forward to seeing what else 2016 has to offer.

Clinton EV: 470 PV: 65.8%
Ryan EV: 68 PV: 34.2%

[Representative Joe Mad]

Ran as Rockefeller in the 1968 beta, hard difficulty.  The primaries were rather close, with Nixon and I battling it out (Reagan won a few states as well).  After I clinched the nomination, I chose Senator Chase from New Jersey as my running mate, forming a Northeastern Republican ticket.  This one was rather easy for the Republicans, as I don't think there was one point where we didn't hold a lead. 

I ran against Kennedy in the general, who had picked his brother as his VP candidate.  Wallace was around, but his presence was negligible.

 Rockefeller/Chase: 450 EV 51% PV
Kennedy/Kennedy: 55 EV 34.6% PV
Wallace/Chandler: 33 EV 14.4% PV

[Representative Joe Mad]

President Forever 2016, went with Kennedy in the 1968 scenario.  Primary was rather uneventful, as I easily carried most states.  Reagan ended up clinching the Republican nomination.  Was down to the Republicans by about 10 points whenever I locked up the nomination.  Obviously this ended up getting reversed and by the end I was just trying to score the biggest landslide I could manage.

Kennedy/Vance:  55.2% PV, 454 EV
Reagan/Tower:    30% PV, 56 EV
Wallace/Somedude:  14.8% PV, 28 EV

[Representative Joe Mad]

President Infinity, first time around with the update.  2016, wanted a quicker game so I jumped straight to the GE.  Played as Kasich, with my opponent being Cuomo.  I actually like the map, and aside from a few offenders (namely Oregon, Rhode Island, and Maine) it seems fairly plausible.

Kasich/Martinez: 55.1% PV, 341 EV
Cuomo/Kloubchar:  44.9% PV, 197 EV

[Representative Joe Mad]

A fun game and interesting map.  Played the general as Gillibrand vs Romney.  Was close all game, but towards the end I was pretty sure I was going to lose.  Barnstorming, ads, and my foot soldiers ended up saving me.  While I won a respectable electoral college margin, the percentages I won crucial states by were very thin (and likewise for a few of Romney's).  A single percentage point in either direction would have either padded my win or given Romney the victory.

Gillibrand/Webb:  302 Ev/51.2% PV
Romney/Ayotte:  236 EV/48.8% PV