Core 

• Added J.D. Vance 

• Adjusted screens and descriptions and added new issues and based on current events 

• Minor Balance Changes 

• Added brand new parts into custom candidate creator 

• Bug fixes and Quality of Life improvements 

Candidates 

• NEW – Added J.D. Vance  

  • Donald Trump’s recently nominated running mate has joined The Political Machine! 

Screen Updates 

To reflect Joe Biden officially ending his re-election campaign and endorsing his Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination, parts of the game have been updated. 

• Updated title screen to reflect Kamala Harris as the current front runner most likely to take the Democratic nomination. 

• Updated Joe Biden’s candidate descriptions to indicate the recent drop-out in the race and endorsement for Harris. 

Added New Issues 

Events toward the path to the Presidential Election have happened in last couple months alone that have already influenced viewpoints and discussions. 

• Pennsylvania 

  • Added “Trump’s Assassination Attempt” in the top 15 issues in the state 

  • Added “Addressing Political Extremism” in the top 15 issues in the state 

• Georgia 

  • Added “Biden’s Debate Performance” in the top 15 issues in the state 

• New York 

  • Added “Israel-Palestine Peace” in the top 15 issues in the state 

• California 

  • Added “Israel-Palestine Peace” in the top 15 issues in the state 

  • Added “Foreign Social Media Ban” in the top 15 issues in the state 

• Nevada 

  • Added “Foreign Social Media Ban” in the top 15 issues in the state 

Balance Changes 

Even with the War Room limits, Political Capital gain Cards outweighed the use of the HQ branch that generates Political Capital. 

• War Room 

  • War Room cannot be used at max card hand size 

• Cards 

  • Lobbyist 

    • Decreased Political Capital gain from 1 to 0.5 per turn 

  • Lobbying Team 

    • Decreased Political Capital gain from 2 to 1 per turn 

  • Analyst 

    • Changed functionality to only activate Discard and Draw effects when the Owner lands in the state the effect is in 

  • Expert Rebuke 

    • Fixed bug where the played-on opponent’s Political Capital reverts to 0 when the opponent has less than 0 Political Capital 

• Adjusted Ronald Reagan’s stances to be a more competitive candidate 

New Custom Candidate Creator parts 

• Body 

  • Bowtie, Supreme 

• Heads 

  • Bell, Big Cheek, Civil, Egg-shaped, Whacky 

• Ears 

  • Ample 

• Eyebrows 

  • Exquisite, Bean, Concentrated 

• Nose 

  • Addressed, Nostriled, Arrowed, Trident 

• Hair 

  • Combed Side, Scholarly, Honest, Greek, Long 

• Facial Hair 

  • Lion 

• Eyes 

  • Crazy, Wide Open, Old, Exhausted, Looking, Insightful 

• Mouth 

  • Neutral, Open Tongue, Open Smile, Slight Smile, Thick Lipstick, Smirking 

Gameplay adjustments and Quality of Life improvements 

• Added AI vs AI speed mode functionality 

• Added ability to delete HQs 

• Added a map music shuffle every 8 turns 

• Updated Population numbers in every state using 2020 Census data 

• Lessened difficulty levels on Tough, Painful, and Masochistic