The Political Machine is a strategy game in which players
take on the role of campaign manager for a US
Presidential candidate. They must put all their political
knowledge to the test as they campaign around the country
in an effort to win enough voters to their cause to win on election
day.

The game makes heavy use of real world demographic information to
provide a realistic playing field, and models contemporary issues such as the War on Terror, the economy, the policy in Iraq, and many more (issues can be updated via PoliticalMachine.com to keep them up to date).

Players take out political ads, build campaign headquarters, make speeches, go on cable TV shows such as "The O'Maley Scenario" and "HardHitter" to answer the tough questions, and even must deal with spin doctors, scandal mongers, smear merchants, and more.

Players can create their own candidates from scratch or make use of historical candidates from Bill Clinton to Abraham Lincoln. The race ends on election day (in the game) when the polls close and the votes counted to see who will become President of the United States.

The Political Machine is both a single-player game (against the computer) as well as a multiplayer game. Its main goal is to be fun but its accurate modeling of US politics and census data also make it an excellent educational tool. Its inside references and humor should also delight the political junkie inside everyone.

While the underlying statistics used are real, ultimately, The Political Machine is a game. So "fun" takes precedence over detail. For example, candidates do create advertisements based on issues, but the interface is kept very simple. Candidates can raise money in states but we don't get bogged down into campaign finance laws. Candidates start competing right away; there aren't Presidential primaries to deal with first.

Therefore, The Political Machine tries to maintain the spirit as a reasonably accurate facsimile of American Presidential politics without getting bogged down in minutia. This title, while a must-have for political junkies, also targets more casual players.