By way of introduction, Rick is simply one of the best playtesters I’ve ever known. His enthusiasm for and contributions to the development of Mr. President have been numerous (usually because he was using and abusing the game system in ways that I had not anticipated – which is one thing great testers do). Many, MANY times during the development process, Rick has sent me an AAR with notes about how “easy” it was to win – and Rick REALLY likes to win. That usually ticked me off! ? But he chronicled his games in such great detail and provided me with the “whys” behind what he was doing that it made it very easy for me to compare his approach to what I believed was “real-world-plausible” and “game-legal” and then make the design better (and more challenging) based on his reports. I have received many subsequent emails from Rick – usually after I nuked or modified his favorite way to abuse a rule or Action – that referred to me as “The Evil Game Designer™” (and occasionally questioned my parentage!). As you might glean from that, Rick is a lot of fun to play (or test) games with. At our yearly playtest sessions at Consimworld Expo in Tempe, Rick provided much hilarity over his play-by-play “what I’m thinking as President right now” announcing of his test games.

Our whole team has been incredibly blessed because Rick has been a part of us. Below, you have a recent AAR that Rick wrote, to help give potential players a sense of how the game flows. He has asked me to insert comments on his play throughout. So, I guess this is my chance to get some payback! ? My comments will be in italics below. Enjoy Rick’s article! – Gene

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Greetings, fellow Presidents! This will be a play through of the Hard Level 2017 scenario, using the option for scenario Control of Congress instead of Hard Level. I have chosen the 2017 scenario due to the fact that it includes a Scandal and a Supreme Court Justice as part of the setup; those are both rare events, and it is quite possible to play a game Mr. President without seeing either one. With this scenario I will be able to shows examples of both.

My intention is to give a feel for the flow and flavor of the game, so I will include some comments to give understanding of game mechanics and the thought processes behind some of my decisions, but I am not going to give highly detailed explanations of what chits are in what region at any given time, as the size of the article would rapidly get out of hand.

SETUP

No game of Mr. President will ever be the same; in fact, no scenario setup will ever be the same, since there are a number of items in the setup that are picked randomly.

First are your Presidential Attributes. You draw a number of chits as specified by the scenario, or optionally you can just pick them. I prefer to pick them for the historical scenarios, to try to match the traits of the President in question. For Hard, you draw 2, 1 of them negative. I pick Military (+1 to one Strategic Capability/turn) and Heavily Partisan (-1 Public Approval, +1 Opponent/turn).

You then choose your Cabinet. You draw 1 chit for the Vice President, and 3 chits each for Chief of Staff, Sec State, and Sec Defense, picking 1 of the 3. The chits have names, which are strictly for flavor; what matters is the attributes. I get VP Price (+1 Domestic), Chief of Staff Hamilton (+1 Domestic), Sec State Hallsten (+1 Action, +1 Diplomatic), and Sec Def Campbell (Veteran, +1 Action, +2 Military). SecDef starts as Veteran per the scenario. Note that for most die rolls, you subtract the positive benefits (you want to roll low in most cases). So my Secretary of State, with +1 Diplomatic, will generate a -1 DRM for those Diplomatic Actions that are affected by the Sec State attribute.

Gene: Wow, this is a really good starting Cabinet. It makes me wonder if Rick paid somebody off to get the best ones. Sometimes managing your cabinet (like much of the rest of the game) is like herding cats. But these folks are good! Every one has values that align with the Actions they can take (VP and CoS with a Domestic “1”, Sec State with a Diplomatic “1”, and SecDef with a Military “2.”) And two of them get +1 Actions. I hereby title Rick “Cat-Herder-in-Chief!”

There are 5 possible Exceptional Resources; you get one to start with, and possibly a second later in the game. I draw Outstanding Homeland Security Chief.

Next you draw 5 chits to determine Public Priorities. Per the scenario, # 1 is LDI; for 2-5, I draw Homeland Security, Immigration, Cyber Security, and Expand Military. My Campaign Promise is Immigration. I pick LDI, Homeland Security, and Cyber for Admin Priorities. You don’t have to pick the same as what the public wants, but it’s a good idea.

Gene: For some extra situational awareness for you readers, here are the starting values of your main game tracks in the 2017 Scenario:

Next are Friends and Opponents in Congress. For this scenario, you start with 3 Friends and 2 Opponents. I draw

Friends James (3), Cruz (2), Jones (1, Moderate), and Opponents Ramos (3, Media 2) and Lamb (1).

The last regular item is the most important: you draw 3 Cascade Cards and resolve them as if they had just been drawn from the Crisis Deck, after which they are placed in the Cascade 2 Deck. They reflects ongoing problems that are already underway when your term starts. I get:

54/Rogue State swells with new recruits

The ISIS Rogue State in the Middle East increases to Level 2. Its Strength increases to 5 as a result.

50/Stagnation in Eurozone

Eurozone Econ to 5 Worsening. Eurozone Crises +1 to 2.

64/Your Party Fundraising under scrutiny

I choose to Defend Party: Public Approval -1 to 44%, Domestic Crises +1 to 2, Party Relations +1 to 6.

Note that I have already made one important decision before the game has even started; I could have appointed an Independent Counsel, which would have given me a 50/50 chance of sending card 64 to the Discard Pile. I most cases I’d choose the Counsel, because it’s always good to get rid of Cascade cards; but the penalties for this choice are -1 RWC, -1 Party Relations, +1 Public Approval. I have a number of pressing problems that require good Relations with Congress (RWC), so I can’t afford that -1 hit right off the bat.

Two extra things happen due to scenario special rules. First, a POTUS Scandal is placed in the Breaking Scandal box.

Second, Card 81 Supreme Court Justice is played. I choose a Moderate; the “bill” starts in the “-2” box (-1 Moderate, -1 my party controls both houses). Party Relations -1 to 5.

A second decision before the game starts: Justices come in 2 flavors, Moderate and Idealogue. Each has its own benefits when it passes (Justices are approved (passed) in the same manner as legislative bills). Improving Bipartisanship is a major priority, and there are not many ways to accomplish it, so Moderate Justice it is.

Gene: His Party is not going to be very happy with him, but this is probably Rick’s best choice at this point, given the overall Domestic situation.

TURN 1, Beginning of Turn Sequence

Most of the Beginning of Turn Sequence is skipped on Turn 1, but a few things occur.

I get 15 Presidential APs (Hard Level, no applicable bonuses).

Presidential Attributes and Exceptional Resources are now applied: I improve US Cyber Capability to 2 (For the “Military” Presidential Attribute), Public Approval -1 to 42%, and I draw Opponent Bell (2, Media 1, Moderate) – both for the “Heavily Partisan” Negative Presidential Attribute. 1 Level of Terror in CONUS is eliminated (Awesome DHS Chief).

I get 2 Focused National Intelligence counters, because my Cyber is now equal to those of China and Russia. I place them in Africa and Middle East.

TURN 1, Special Activations

State of the Union and Economic Assistance are skipped on the first turn.

Improve Strategic Capabilities

I can now attempt to improve 2 of my 7 Strategic Capabilities (Air, Ground, Naval, Cyber, Space, Missile Defense, and Recon). Dr=6, 4, mod to 4, 2 (-2 DRM Sec Def), both succeed. US Air, Cyber both +1 to 3.

Set Cabinet Focus

I now choose the Domestic priorities of my cabinet for the upcoming year. These may generate some free bonuses at 2 points during the turn, and the #1 priority will also give a DRM on related Domestic actions. My priorities are 1) Relations with Congress (RWC), 2) Domestic Crises, 3) Cabinet Effectiveness, 4) Economy, 5) Media Relations, 6) Homeland Security.

Everything is a mess and needs improvement, so why these choices? I know that over time my Outstanding DHS Chief will improve Homeland Security, so it’s last. RWC and Domestic Crises are the most pressing, so they go first, and the rest end up in the middle, with Cabinet Effectiveness the highest of the middle group because it’s in the worse shape of the three.

Gene: These are solid and make a lot of sense, given the domestic situation and that the DHS Chief has Homeland Security covered (we hope). With Domestic Crises already at ‘2,” I might be inclined to make that the #1 Priority and take the extra drm the #1 Priority provides to attack those Domestic Crises so I could work on Lingering Domestic Issues (LDI) as soon as possible. But it’s hard to quibble; Rick needs RWC, too.

POTUS/Cabinet Actions

I get 1 free action for POTUS and each cabinet member, or 2 actions if they happen to have “+1 Action”. Thanks to having 2 members with +1 Action, I get a total of 7. These actions can be used for actions on the various Action Charts, depending on who is conducting the action; for example Sec Def’s 2 actions must be on the Military Chart. Alternately, an action may instead be used to automatically remove a tension marker from anywhere on the map, with the exception that only POTUS can remove a marker from China or Russia.

POTUS: Trip to Central America: dr=4, Central America Alignment to 5. dr=10, no effect.

Sec Def: 2xMove Forces: 1xCarrier, 2xUSMC from CONUS, 1xCarrier from Asia/Pacific, all to Indian Ocean.

Sec State: Decrease Tensions, dr=2, no mod (-1 Sec State, +1 US/Russia Relations). Remove 2 tensions from Russia.

Sec State: Decrease Tensions, dr=7, no mod (-1 Sec State, +1 US/China Relations). Remove 1 tensions from China.

Chief of Staff: Discredit: AP -1 to 14. Dr=1, mod to 0 (-1 AP spent, -1 CoS, +1 Opponent rating), success, Ramos to cup.

VP: Remove 1 tensions from Iran.

Gene: A good Segment. POTUS himself wasn’t much help, but Rick used that extra Action for the Sec Def very well, getting extra Carrier and Marine forces positioned to support operations against the Taliban and Al Qaida in Afghanistan. Rick used his awesome Secretary of State to remove Tensions from Russia and China because they both start this scenario at Posture 2 (kind of nightmarish) and one of them is going to activate shortly. He wants to decrease Tensions in hopes of getting whichever one Acts down to Posture 1 (less aggressive). The VP helps a little with calming the Iranians (never a bad thing). And for the Chief of Staff Action – no surprise here. Rick is the king of “Dissuade/Discredit.” (although if I recall correctly from our in-person playtests,  I think he prefers other “D” words like “disarm, dismember, decapitate, disappear…..” to describe the Action) I would have bet anything that Rick would eschew all of the good and noble stuff he could have done on the Domestic front and gone right to Dirty Tricks! ‘Rubbin’ is Racing” I guess, huh?

I’m trying to prepare for various upcoming events: reinforcements for the 2 wars, decreasing tensions with China and Russia (one of them acts next), getting rid of my most potent opponent in Congress, and improving regional alignments so I can start removing Chinese and Russian Influence.

This would be a good point to clarify the difference between “Actions” and “Action Points”. Actions are the various things you can do, such as moving forces, decreasing tensions, discrediting opponents, etc. Action Points (AP) are a pool of points that are used to buy DRMs (when allowed), buy re-rolls, pay for actions (some require AP in addition to the Action itself), or to avoid extra penalties on crisis cards (pay X AP or such and such happens).

A successful President spends their AP carefully, as it is easy to run out of them, especially if you do not control Congress (passing bills that are Public Priorities is the main way to get more AP). In the above actions, I spend 2 AP buying a DRM to get rid of my opponents because they were Radicals and would ruin my chances of getting bills passed. Conversely, I did not spend an AP to re-roll my awful visit to South America because while I need to improve its Alignment, it’s not something that has to be done soon, unlike the Radicals who must be dealt with prior to the Legislative Segment.

TURN 1, Activation Phase 1

China Acts (dr=9)

Has China Won?: No.

Change in Posture?: No. Zero tensions but Relations not good enough. US/China Relations to 2 Pro-US.

Improve Capabilities: 3 attempts at Posture 2. dr=9, 7, 8. All fail.

Espionage: 2 attempts due to Posture 2, Relations 2. Dr=8, no mod (+1 US Cyber 1 greater than China Cyber, -1 US Ally Relations). Fail. Dr=2, Steal Tech, China Ground +1 to 2.

Improve Economy: dr=6, mod to 3 (-5 due to China Influence, -3 max DRM), China Econ to 5 Improving.

Number of Actions: 7 (China Economy +1, +1 US/China Relations).

Terror in Central South Asia (1): There are more than 5 levels of Terror groups in CS Asia, so 1 Action is spent reducing a Level 3 Terror group to Level 2.

Quell Internal Dissent: dr=5, so no internal dissent.

Cyber (2): 2 attacks due to Posture 2. Dr=3, 6. Discredit and Replace US. dr=7, 9. Both fail.

One Belt Road (3): US/China Relations to 2. +1 China Influence in C/S Asia, Middle East. +2 tensions on China, +1 tensions on Japan, India, Australia, ROK, Gulf States, and Russia.

Expand Influence (4): dr=3 success, +1 China Influence in Asia Pacific.

Secure Sea Lanes (5): dr=8, mod to 9. Neighbors Contest Expansion, US supports. Dr=9, mod to 11. Hostilities between US and Chinese forces! US Air and Naval 3 greater than China, so Chinese DDG sunk and some planes shot down before cooler heads prevail. Remove 1 China Influence in Asia/Pacific, +2 tensions on China, Japan, Australia, India. China/Japan Conflict +1 to 2. Public Approval +3 to 48%, RWC +1 to 5, Prestige +1 to 6, US/China Relations to 1 Anti-US.

Expand Influence (6): dr=2, success, +1 China Influence in South America.

Veto UN Sanctions (7): Remove UN Sanctions from North Korea.

China goes on a rampage, gaining a great deal of influence around the world. They also flood the world with tensions. Since its now Cold War II, I’ll need to hit China with both Multi-lateral and Unilateral sanctions to soak off 3 of the actions the next time China acts. I also need to do what I can to remove Chinese Influence.

Gene: To help with Rick’s shorthand, China significantly underperformed, but still had a solid “China Acts” segment in terms of expanding their influence in the world. Of course, Posture 2 helps a lot. Where Rick got lucky is they failed all three of their attempts to improve their Strategic Capabilities. And their Cyber Attacks both failed! That’s very fortunate (I’m doubting the veracity of Rick’s die rolls – just a little ? ) If they’d made one or two of the Strategic Capabilities attempts, that could have put him in a bad place – trailing China in Cyber. And their Espionage wasn’t amazing – although they did steal some military tech that improved their ground forces. Their economy is chugging along at 5 (Improving). They got SEVEN Actions – which can create a LOT of problems.  But both Cyber  attacks failed, and Rick was probably feeling pretty good at that point. But then China adds THREE influence markers around the world, and WHAT? They skirmish with the US Navy. Having them fail those three key actions (Strat Capabilities, Cyber Attacks, and Espionage) definitely helped Rick when there was military conflict, as they were weaker than they should probably have been. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed, although as a result of the skirmish US/China relations are now as low as they can possibly go. That’s both a problem and an opportunity for later in the turn.

Any 3 Actions

Presidential Trip to Central America: dr=4. Central America Align to 5 Pro-US. dr=8, Public Approval +1 to 50%.

Presidential Trip to South America: dr=3, South America Align to 5 Pro-US. dr=5, Public Approval +2 to 54%.

Presidential Trip to Africa: dr=9, fail. Dr=2, Public Approval +1 to 56%, gain 1 UN Goodwill.

Presidential Trips into regions with low Stability and/or wars give a lot of bang for the buck; you get a chance to improve alignment without a negative DRM for China or Russia Influence, plus a good chance of Public Approval, and maybe even UN Goodwill. They are far less appealing without the second roll, so they tend to occur early in the game, and disappear as you improve Stabilities and win wars.

Gene: I think this is the only rules error I found in Rick’s game, and it was a recent addition (that I made because Rick abused the rule so much!). The rules now only allow ONE Presidential Trip per Action segment. But Rick made the error in good faith, and as with most solitaire games I play, we’ll just go with it and fix it the next time we play.

Draw Chit (Draw 2 Crisis Cards+)

70/Congress approves Humanitarian Aid

Central America, East Europe Crises both -1 to 1.

149/Terror groups merge

Level 2 and Level 1 Terror in C/S Asia replaced with a Level 3 Terror group. Card to Reshuffle.

Draw Chit (Draw 2 Crisis Cards+)

157/Summit with Canadian PM

Dr=2. Canada to Very Close, Homeland Security +1 to 5.

91/Floods ravage Nicaragua

Central America Crises +1 to 2, place 1 Unstable State in Central America. US spends 1 UN Goodwill. Dr=5, mod to 3 (-2 UN). Remove Unstable State. Central America Alignment to 6.

Draw Chit (Draw 2 Crisis Cards+)

95/Corruption brings down Brazil government

South America Crises +1 to 2. AP -2 to 12. Dr=5, mod to 3. South America Crises -1 to 1. South America Alignment to 6.

102/Street battles in Caracas

South America Crises +1 to 2. Dr=2, mod to 1 (Sec State). Gain 1 UN Goodwill. Central America and South America Alignments both 6 Pro-US.

End of 1^st half of Activation Phase 1.

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Next Time: Rick’s Playthrough of Activation Phase 2