The Political Machine (series)

The Political Machine
Genre(s)Government simulation
Developer(s)Stardock
Publisher(s)Ubisoft
Creator(s)Stardock
Platform(s)
First releaseThe Political Machine
August 10, 2004
Latest releaseThe Political Machine 2024
May 2, 2024

The Political Machine is a government simulation game series from Stardock, in which the player leads a campaign to elect the President of the United States. The player accomplishes this goal by traveling from state to state and engaging in a variety of activities to either raise money or raise poll numbers.

Games

Release timeline
2004The Political Machine
2005
2006
2007
2008The Political Machine 2008
The Political Machine Express 2008
2009
2010
2011
2012The Political Machine 2012
2013
2014
2015
2016The Political Machine 2016
2017
2018
2019
2020The Political Machine 2020
2021
2022
2023
2024The Political Machine 2024

The Political Machine

Main article: The Political Machine

The Political Machine is the first game in the series.

The Political Machine 2008

Main article: The Political Machine 2008

The Political Machine 2008 is the second game in the series.

The Political Machine Express 2008

The Political Machine Express 2008 is the third game in the series and was free to download upon release.

The Political Machine 2012

Main article: The Political Machine 2012

The Political Machine 2012 is the fourth game in the series.

The Political Machine 2016

Main article: The Political Machine 2016

The Political Machine 2016 is the fifth game in the series.

The Political Machine 2020

Main article: The Political Machine 2020

The Political Machine 2020 is the sixth game in the series.

The Political Machine 2024

Main article: The Political Machine 2024

The Political Machine 2024 is the seventh game in the series.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]

Candidates and characters

23 Presidents of the United States and 72 other candidates have appeared as playable throughout the series, including George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, George Bush, Jeb Bush, John Kasich, Paul Ryan, Jim Webb, and Jill Stein. Candidates are added and removed as candidates announce themselves and as Stardock chooses.

Aside from candidates, the player can be invited onto cable news shows parodying real life equivalents. Such parodies have included takes on The Colbert Report, The O'Reilly Factor, Good Morning America, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Tucker Carlson Tonight, and The Ben Shapiro Show.

Candidate 2004 2008 Express 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
George Washington Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No
John Adams No No No No No Yes No
Thomas Jefferson Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No
James Madison No No No No No Yes No
Abraham Lincoln Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No
Ulysses S. Grant Yes Yes No No Yes No No
Theodore Roosevelt Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No
William Howard Taft Yes No No No No No No
Woodrow Wilson Yes Yes No No Yes No No
Franklin D. Roosevelt Yes No No No No No No
Dwight D. Eisenhower No No No No No No Yes
John F. Kennedy No Yes No Yes Yes No No
Lyndon B. Johnson No Yes No No Yes No No
Richard Nixon Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes
Gerald Ford Yes No No No No No No
Jimmy Carter Yes Yes No No Yes No Yes
Ronald Reagan Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes
George H. W. Bush Yes No No No No No Yes
Bill Clinton Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes
George W. Bush Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes
Barack Obama No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Donald Trump No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Joe Biden No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Ajamu Baraka No No No No Yes No No
Michael Bloomberg No No No No Yes Yes Yes
Doug Burgum No No No No No No Yes
Barbara Bush Yes No No No No No No
Jeb Bush No No No No Yes Yes No
Laura Bush Yes No No No No No No
Pete Buttigieg No No No No No Yes Yes
Herman Cain No No No Yes Yes No No
Ben Carson No No No No Yes No No
Lincoln Chafee No No No No Yes No No
Dick Cheney Yes Yes No No No No No
Chris Christie No No No No Yes No Yes
Hillary Clinton Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Wesley Clark Yes No No No No No No
Dan Crenshaw No No No No No Yes Yes
Ted Cruz No No No No Yes Yes Yes
Catherine Cortez No No No No No Yes No
Ron DeSantis No No No No No No Yes
John Edwards Yes Yes No No No No No
Carly Fiorina No No No No Yes No No
Al Franken No No No Yes Yes No No
Tulsi Gabbard No No No No No Yes No
Dick Gephardt Yes No No No No No No
Newt Gingrich No No No Yes Yes No No
Rudy Giuliani No Yes No No No No No
Barry Goldwater No No No No No Yes No
Al Gore Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Mike Gravel No Yes No No No No No
Alexander Hamilton No No No No No Yes No
Nikki Haley No No No No Yes No Yes
Kamala Harris No No No No No Yes Yes
Mike Huckabee No Yes No No Yes No No
Jon Huntsman No No No Yes Yes No No
Gary Johnson No No No No Yes No No
Tim Kaine No No No No Yes No No
Robert Kennedy Jr. No No No No No No Yes
John Kerry Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes
Amy Klobuchar No No No No No Yes No
Dennis Kucinich No Yes No Yes Yes No No
John McCain No Yes Yes No No Yes No
Mitch McConnell No No No No No Yes No
Ralph Nader No No No No No No Yes
Michelle Obama No No No Yes Yes No No
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez No No No No No Yes No
Martin O'Malley No No No No Yes No Yes
Sarah Palin No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Rand Paul No No No No Yes Yes No
Ron Paul No Yes No Yes Yes No No
Nancy Pelosi No No No Yes Yes No No
Mike Pence No No No No Yes Yes Yes
Ross Perot No No No No No No Yes
Rick Perry No No No Yes Yes No No
Dean Phillips No No No No No No Yes
Vivek Ramaswamy No No No No No No Yes
Condoleezza Rice Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No
Bill Richardson Yes Yes No No No No No
Mitt Romney No Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Marco Rubio No No No Yes Yes No No
Paul Ryan No No No Yes Yes No No
Bernie Sanders No No No No Yes Yes Yes
Rick Santorum No No No Yes Yes No No
Arnold Schwarzenegger Yes No No No No No No
Tim Scott No No No No No No Yes
Jill Stein No No No No Yes No Yes
J.D. Vance No No No No No No Yes
Tom Vilsack Yes No No No No No No
Tim Walz No No No No No No Yes
Elizabeth Warren No No No No Yes Yes Yes
Jim Webb No No No No Yes No No
Bill Weld No No No No Yes No No
Marianne Williamson No No No No No No Yes
Andrew Yang No No No No No Yes Yes

Reception

Aggregate review scores
As of November 13, 2023.
Game Metacritic
The Political Machine 72[8]
The Political Machine 2008 73[9]
The Political Machine 2012 54[10]
The Political Machine 2016 72[11]
The Political Machine 2020 TBA[12]
The Political Machine 2024 TBA[13]

References

  1. ^ "Announcing The Political Machine 2024". Steam. November 7, 2023. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  2. ^ "Stardock Announces "The Political Machine 2024" - The Definitive Political Strategy Game for Aspiring Presidents". PR Newswire. November 7, 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  3. ^ redskittlesonly (November 7, 2023). "Stardock Announces The Political Machine 2024". The Political Machine. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  4. ^ Stardock Entertainment (November 7, 2023). "Stardock Announces "The Political Machine 2024" - The Definitive Political Strategy Game for Aspiring Presidents". WFMZ-TV. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  5. ^ Callaham, John (October 19, 2023). "A quick look back at the launch of Stardock 30 years ago today". Neowin. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  6. ^ Stardock (November 7, 2023). "Stardock Announces The Political Machine 2024". Stardock. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  7. ^ Gough, Harriet (November 13, 2023). "The Political Machine 2024 Lets Players Battle for the Presidency". Casual Gamer. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  8. ^ "Political Machine, The". Metacritic. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  9. ^ "Political Machine 2008, The". Metacritic. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  10. ^ "Political Machine 2012, The". Metacritic. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  11. ^ "Political Machine 2016, The". Metacritic. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  12. ^ "Political Machine 2020, The". Metacritic. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  13. ^ "Political Machine 2024, The". Metacritic. Retrieved November 13, 2023.