President Elect is a political simulation game, the first version of which was released in 1981. It allows players to run electoral campaigns in any U.S. presidential election from 1960 to 1988. Players can either choose a real candidate or create a custom candidate; candidates can represent the Democratic Party, the Republican Party or an undefined third party. The game also gives the option of editing conditions, such as economic growth and levels of peace.
President Elect contains examples of:
- The Ace: John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan are very formidable candidates in any election and can make a stunning comeback when starting off with a big polling deficit.
- Affably Evil: Some candidates may represent unpleasant political positions whilst also scoring highly on the personal magnetism attribute.
- Butt-Monkey: If a candidate is not good under pressure, they are prone to making gaffes during the debates, resulting in laughter and bafflement from the audience.
- Dark Horse Victory: Any third-party candidate winning must count as this. In general it can only occur if the conditions are edited beforehand and/or the two major party candidates are unpopular.
- Election Day Episode: Perhaps has the most extensive and detailed election night section of any video game. Results come in slowly (if the player wishes them to do so) and states are 'projected' in the style of the real-life television networks.
- Moreover, as has happened in real life, the computer can occasionally call a close state incorrectly. Oftentimes this doesn't matter, but it is sometimes the "tipping point" state, so you can be declared the winner (or loser) and then find that the opposite has happened when the final result is shown. Al Gore can probably sympathize with how this feels...
- The Ghost: Vice-presidential candidates are not only not seen, but not even named. The only reference to them comes in the form of what their home state happens to be, which can provide a crucial advantage in cliffhanging elections.
- Jerkass: Players can, in theory, devote 100% of their time during the debates to attacking their opponents.
- Landslide Election: If played historically, then 1964, 1972 and 1984 almost always result in this (as they did in real-life). 1980 is often a landslide too, but Jimmy Carter can occasionally keep it close. Even the elections of 1960, 1968 and 1976 (all of which were close in in reality) can result in landslides.
