When last we left our intrepid President, he had spent most of his previous actions to set up what he believes and hopes will be “max odds on both upcoming wars.” And he may well have accomplished that – we’ll see. But the thing about Mr. President is that there always seems to be a new threat axis coming at you – and it can happen quickly. We’re starting the 2nd quarter of Rick’s presidency this time, with the 2nd Activation Phase of the turn, and the first half of the Activation Phase is weighted heavily toward the game opponents’ actions and Rick’s reactions. So we’ll see if or how much Rick’s threat analysis has to change and adapt by the end of the Activation Phase. – GB

TURN 1, Activation Phase 2

Draw Chit (Draw 2 Crisis Cards+)

Central America Stability +1 to 5. Place 1 China Influence in Central America. Card to Reshuffle.

GB: The Chinese (whose auto-victory conditions are based on how many Chinese Influence markers they can amass in the world’s regions) expand their influence. In game terms, this helps Rick a bit, as it makes Central America more Stable. And Stability is “gold” in this game. But if China hits their “auto-win” Influence target, it’s not going to matter how Stable Rick’s world is or how well he’s doing in those two wars he’s prepped for- he’ll lose the game. So here’s another threat to consider….

+1 Action on GS. GS to Very Close. GSSA/Iran Conflict +1 to 3. +1 tensions on GS, Iran, Israel. Card to “2” deck.

Rick: An important strategy in Mr President is to solve problems before they blow up in your face. Many Cascading cards have a criteria that, if met causes the card to be discarded without further adverse effects. Arms Sales requires GS/Iran Conflict of 1, so I’ll need to De-Escalate next time I get some Diplomatic actions.

Draw Chit (Draw 2 Crisis Cards+)

Central America and South America Crises both -1 to 1. Card to Reshuffle.

+1 tensions on NATO, cabinet. AP -2 to 6. Card to Reshuffle.

GB: This card, which I always seem to draw multiple times during a game from the Reshuffle pile, is the bane of every “I keep all my Ally relationships in great shape” President. The Tensions aren’t really a big problem, although the one on the Cabinet will bite a little and the Tension on the Ally will make them potentially more aggressive during their next activation. Rather, it’s Rick having to spend two precious APs (he’s down to 6 total now) to avert a relationship decrease that hurts here. Note that this is just one of many reasons you always want to keep some APs, because there are quite a few other cards like this one and game situations that punish the player who doesn’t keep some APs in reserve at all times.

Draw Chit (Draw 2 Crisis Cards+)

Asia/Pacific Crises +1 to 1. Level 2 Terror in Asia/Pacific increases to Level 3. Place an Unstable State in Asia/Pacific.

GB: Here’s a rather unexpected potential threat. There’s now a Lvl 3 Terror Group in Asia/Pacific (two increases from becoming a Rogue State). At the very least, this will require some Ally actions to deal with this increased threat.

South American Crises +1 to 2. AP -1 to 5.

GB: South American Regional Crises are rising. And this is another ding to Rick’s AP reservoir. He’s not even halfway through the year and down to 5 APs already. That’s worrisome. Note that you can increase your AP level, but it comes at the expense of Actions that you give up to do it. Definitely something Rick is going to have to keep an eye on.

Any 3 Actions, Core Support check

3xPresidential Trip to CS Asia: dr=3, 6, 9. CS Asia Alignment to 4 Pro-US. Dr=10, 10, 10. No benefits.

Core Support = 0, no change.

Rick: I’m still working on improving the various regional alignments, so that I can remove Chinese and Russia Influence. My efforts in Central South Asia clearly did not impress the UN or the American public!

GB: Rick accidentally broke the rules here, as there’s only one Presidential Trip allowed per Activation Segment. But we’ll let this slide, as the game seems to have sufficiently punished him already.

Terror or Chaos! (dr=10, so Chaos)

China/India Conflict +1 to 2.

Draw a card from the “2” deck

The Taliban Rogue State increases to Level 2. Add 1 Level 1 Terror to Central America, East Europe. Card to “3” deck.

GB: Ugh! What a lousy card to get at the end of the Activation Phase. It did indeed bring some unwanted Chaos to the game.

Of course, Rick will have the action/reaction advantage in the 2nd half of the Activation Phase, and he’s played tremendously well thus far, so these 7 cards and his not-very-successful reaction herein are not the death knell for his Presidency. Rick is an experienced player – probably the most experienced one on the planet at this point. But this is the Hard scenario, and it showed some teeth during this Activation Phase. As “The Evil Game Designer™”, I should point out that it could have been worse. 🙂 This was definitely not the toughest mix of event cards that Rick could have drawn. And drawing the NGO card was really helpful where another “really bad” Event card could have put Rick on the ropes. As it is, though, that last card – 54 – was just brutal. Not only did it increase the size of the Taliban (one of Rick’s war targets), which will likely change the combat odds when the fight starts in the near future, but now there is a card in the Cascading 3 pile that increases Rogue States on the map every time it is drawn. This is a card that can easily contribute to you losing the game due to having a Lvl 4 Rogue State on the map at the end of a turn. But Rick still has about 7-8 months of time before year’s end, and he is not one of those shrinking violet Presidential types who caves when times get tough. So my money’s on him! Join us next time to see how “Rick’s Empire Strikes Back!”

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Previous Articles in this Series:

“Cat-Herder-in-Chief”: Playing the Mr. President 2017 Hard Scenario (Part 1)

“Cat-Herder-in-Chief”: Playing the Mr. President 2017 Hard Scenario (Part 2)