Campaign Trail is a strategy board game in which players pit their campaign skills against one another as they vie for the Presidency of the United States.
The confetti is flying, the champagne is flowing, and you have just accepted your party's nomination for President of the United States. Now it's time to hit the Campaign Trail! How will you chart your path to victory? Engage in grass roots campaigning, advertise, sling mud at opponents, fundraise, debate, and so much more! But be sure to avoid revealing those skeletons you have buried in your closet. The candidate who best manages their resources and connects with the public on key issues will win the presidency!
Campaign Trail uses card driven actions to implement your strategy. Your goal is to have the most voters for your party in enough states to win a majority of electoral votes. If you have the most voters in a state you are awarded that state's electoral votes (victory points). At the end of the game the player with the most electoral votes wins and is declared the president!
On your turn you play a card and take an action from that card. Each card has a choice among 4 of the game's 6 actions. You may (depending on what is on your card):
- Fundraise - Add money to your war chest to be spent later on advertising campaigns and campaign rallies.
- Register - Add voters to your registered voter supply so that they can commit to vote for you in the various states.
- Travel - Move your candidate around the United States to set yourself up for large campaign rallies in key states.
- Advertise - Create and implement advertising campaigns based on the issues of the day. Each time you advertise you will receive voters in the states that care about the issues you covered.
- Campaign - Hold local campaign rallies where your candidate is located. Campaigning allows you to gain large numbers of voters in the state(s) you are in and adjacent to.
- Hold Event - Hold various political events. Some may give votes, some may increase resources, all are helpful.
In addition to the base of card driven mechanics and area control, you will have a candidate card which gives you an individual player power. You will also have the opportunity to debate the current issues with your opponent. And finally, through the use of event cards, you can build up an engine to help out with resource production.
