I have no idea why that happens it doesn't for me, if it's in the historical election, then they are supposed to be, as that uses the AI action system. What gamemode is it happening in?

I have no idea why that's happening, thanks for letting me know, I'll get it fixed for this week's update (saturday/sunday)

Yeah, this is a known issue i am actively fixing for this week's update (saturday/sunday)

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll get some of these improved in the next weekly update

Not really accurate tbh. In the 2000 United States presidential election, Florida was basically a tie, George W. Bush only won by 537 votes over Al Gore, nowhere near a 20 point lead.

Tennessee used to be a swing state around 1988-2004, and Ohio used to be a swing state but has leaned more Republican recently.

For the game I’m balancing realism with gameplay, so not every state is always in play or it wouldn’t be very fun. 👍

Thanks so much for letting me know, as I can only play it for shorter periods of time, and I'm glad it was good enough to be played for that many hours

You can DM me privately on my discord server that I just setup https://discord.gg/K6XxW4tAa

Please go ahead

Thats the update uploaded, with it finally fixed, plus some other minor issues I came across. let me know if you find anything else 

So, it turns out this is a much deeper bug than i thought, and no matter what i try seems to make some bug or another. It's getting late where I am, so i might try one more attempt later, but more than likely, i'll get it out tommorrow. Glad you liked the update!

Should i patch that or leave it as an easter egg?

Yeah, sorry about that, I was so focused on the AI, that I forgot to fix them. I'll do an emergency patch today

I am just ironing out some bugs, hoping to release tomorrow or Friday depending on how much I can get done tommorow.

Thanks for commenting, I have begun work on doing all three as of yesterday, and made significant progress.

Is it on week 30? I have just played through and that's when it got stuck for me for some reason. I'll look through the code and try patch it in the next update (Thursday/Friday)

it will be fixed in the next update (thursday/friday)

Thanks for the suggestion, people seem to be divided on what one they would rather, so I might make it an option either way, and you can pick what you would rather do?

So, I just watched DruuWuu's video of my game (probably where most of you are coming from), and it the first time I've been able to watch someone else actually play the game. I'm trying to read as many of the comments as possible, and I'll try and update around Thursday/Friday.

What I'm wondering is if I should add in an AI like pax historia, where you could just say, e.g. (go to California and campaign there) and the AI would do so? 

My second question is how I should implement it, as I could do any of the following:

• Add in an option where you input a API key, and then you can pay as you go (probably easiest for me, but there would probably be some privacy concerns)
• Try find a free unlimited AI model, and implement that free for everyone to use, but it wouldn't be as powerful as the first option.
• Or, implement a local AI, that runs on the player's phone/tablet/computer. The downside for that is it would make the game much harder to run, especially on tablet/phone. And updating to that may take longer as I don't have a very good idea of how to.

Please let me know in the comments what you think.

(Also if you could leave some reviews of my game as I am stuck with a 3star rating from one guy with no explanation)

Thanks for the feedback, I have thought about neighbouring nations, but obviously that would be a massive task considering the US alone is 25,000 lines of HTML, so I've been wondering what countries would people want, so I don't mess it up and waste time on something people don't want.

Thanks for the feedback, it really helps. I'll try and get through as many of these issues as i can for the saturday update. Thabks for noticing the font too i hate it when games have the basic boring fonts so i wanted to find a nice one.

This update focuses on gameplay improvements, stronger AI, and lots of bug fixes. Campaigns should now feel more dynamic, challenging, and realistic.

🎤 Rally Minigame Now Matters

Campaign rallies now directly affect state polling.

If you perform well in the rally minigame, the crowd response will translate into a real polling boost in that state. A great rally can now visibly shift the race.

🎮 Minigames Improved

All campaign minigames have been redesigned to be more strategic.

Your choices now show demographic impacts like:

• Urban

• Rural

• Suburban

• Youth

• Seniors

No answer is perfect — energising one group might cost you support with another.

🗳 More Realistic Electoral Map

The electoral vote projection system now works more like real TV election coverage.

• Early in the campaign, only very safe states are projected.

• Battleground states stay uncalled until later.

• Projections expand week by week as the race develops.

This means campaigns start with far fewer guaranteed electoral votes, making the race more suspenseful.

🤖 Stronger AI Opponents

The AI campaign has been improved across the board.

• Opponents run more aggressive campaigns

• Fundraising and attacks are stronger

• Hard difficulty is significantly more challenging

On higher difficulty, your opponent may even take extra campaign actions per turn.

⚖ Difficulty Now Has Bigger Effects

Difficulty settings now impact multiple systems:

Easy

• Weaker AI

• Lower scandal risk

• Stronger minigame bonuses

Hard

• Stronger AI

• More damaging attacks

• More frequent scandals

• Smaller minigame bonuses

Even Normal difficulty should now feel competitive.

🗺 Map Balance Changes

Some states that were flipping too easily have been adjusted, including:

• Florida

• Texas

• Ohio

• Iowa

• South Carolina

• Alaska

These states should now behave more realistically.

📺 Election Night Improvements

Election night now has several upgrades:

• Anchors now call control of Congress during the broadcast

• Close projections may be retracted later if new results come in

• The final results screen now appears more cleanly at the end of the night

📰 News & UI Fixes

The dynamic news system has been rewritten to prevent weird headlines or repeated names.

Other fixes include:

• Tutorial spotlight positioning

• Rally state-selection bug

• Improved intro newspaper variety

• Cleaner map colours

• Various UI adjustments

🔧 Behind the Scenes

The game’s codebase has been reorganised into multiple files to make future updates easier and faster to develop.

More updates are already in progress. Thanks to everyone who has been playing and giving feedback!

Thanks for the feedback, ill increase it in the next update

Playable Link:
https://dackers-studios.itch.io/potus-2024

Youtube gameplay link: https://youtu.be/AAJBMMshrWU?si=fMiqViCjCl8fCYWr

Platform:
Web (HTML5 / Browser)

POTUS has officially transitioned from Alpha into Beta, and this update is the biggest structural improvement the game has had so far.

This patch focuses on realism, transparency, and unpredictability — without making the game feel unfair.

🔧 What’s New in BETA

🗺 Primary Map Overhaul
State colours now scale properly with lead strength. Dominant leads look dominant. Tight races look tight. No more “everything looks the same” opacity bug.

🏛 Contested Conventions Fixed Delegate share, raw lead margins, and endorsements now actually matter. If you enter the convention with a commanding lead, you’ll almost always win. The result screen now explains why you won or lost.

📊 Polling Uncertainty System States now have hidden polling error based on volatility. A +3 lead might actually be -2 on election night. Battlegrounds show margins as +3 ±4, and true toss-ups are flagged properly.

You can run a perfect campaign and still lose Florida. That’s intentional.

📈 Win Probability Meter (Both Phases)
There’s now a Monte Carlo “Chance of Victory” meter during primaries and the general election.

• Primary odds simulate delegate outcomes
• General election runs 300 EV simulations using state volatility

It gives projection breakdowns without cluttering the UI.

🗳 Full Election Night Experience in the Simulator The Quick Election Simulator now launches the real Election Night broadcast screen with live state calls, EV counters, popups, and ticker.

There are now 8 preset electoral climates, including:

• Democratic Wave
• Republican Wave
• 2008-style Surge
• 2016-style Upset
• Economic Crisis
• Volatile Chaos

Each preset changes environment shift, volatility, and turnout.

🤖 Smarter AI & Dynamic Media

• AI archetypes (Populist, Progressive, Moderate, Law & Order)
• Scandal risk system
• Attack ads vary by ideology
• News headlines shift LEFT / NEUTRAL / RIGHT framing

This beta build makes the game feel significantly more alive and less deterministic. Outcomes are earned — but never guaranteed.

POTUS is still free to play, and I’m actively using player feedback for balancing and new systems.

Would love feedback on:

• Poll uncertainty balance
• Convention outcomes
• Election Night pacing
• AI aggression levels

Thanks to everyone who’s been testing so far, this update is largely built from your suggestions.

POTUS — Presidential Election Simulator puts you in the heart of American politics. Build your candidate’s backstory, battle through the primaries, survive the convention, choose your running mate, and fight for 270 electoral votes. Manage funds, momentum, media, and strategy week by week as scandals, debates, and breaking news shape the race. Every decision matters on the road to the White House.
The game is currently in an ALPHA state and if there is enough interest, I will continue to update it.

https://dackers-studios.itch.io/potus-2024