The Political Machine 2012

The Political Machine 2012 is a government simulation game from Stardock and the third game in The Political Machine series, in which the player leads a campaign to elect the President of the United States.^[1] 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.^[2]^[3]

Presidential candidates

It is not possible to run as a third-party or independent candidate.

The game received "mixed" reviews according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.^[5]

^ Frum, Larry (September 27, 2012). "Computer game lets you run a presidential campaign". Archived from the original on December 14, 2024. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
^ Wilde, Tyler (April 2, 2012). "The Political Machine 2012 announced: join the US presidential election this summer". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
^ Callaham, John (April 3, 2012). "Stardock to release The Political Machine 2012 this summer". Neowin. Archived from the original on September 9, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
^ George Washington was an independent, but the game only allows for a two-party system
^ ^a ^b "The Political Machine 2012 for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
^ Todd, Brett (August 3, 2012). "The Political Machine 2012 Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on January 22, 2015. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
^ Johnson, Leif (August 9, 2012). "The Political Machine 2012 Review". IGN. Archived from the original on June 9, 2019. Retrieved July 25, 2016.