Should be updated now

It is still there, I'll update the link and see if that works

some text and dialogue/questions are AI generated, as it would take forever to type them out

if you use the one in the game description, that should work

Hey everyone!

We have some massive news regarding the Desktop version of POTUS Election Sim. We’ve been working hard behind the scenes, and we are excited to share a huge progress update on what happens after you win the election.

Here is a breakdown of what you can expect in the upcoming Desktop build:

Start Your Term: The First 100 Days

Winning the election is no longer the end of the road. Once you claim victory, a new button will appear allowing you to officially begin your presidential term.

Your performance will be heavily dictated by the real results of your election:

The Legislative Branch Matters: You will enter office with the exact Senate and House majorities (or minorities) that you won during your campaign. Passing bills will require strategic maneuvering, especially if you lack a majority, forcing you to draft bi-partisan legislation.

Global & Domestic Relations: You will start with baseline relations across several key factions, including NATO, China, Democratic lawmakers, and Republican lawmakers. Your choices will shift these balances constantly.

Appoint Your Cabinet: Your first order of business is choosing your cabinet members, but choose wisely, as they must be approved by the Senate.

Dynamic Events & Crises: Once your cabinet is set, you will navigate through the various phases of your first 100 days. We don't want to spoil the surprises, but you will face distinct events and crises along the way. With over 1,000+ different ways your 100 days can play out, no two presidencies will feel the same.

The Electoral Map Reacts: After key events, you'll be shown a map of the United States illustrating how different states react to your actions. Remember: every choice has consequences.

Avoid Impeachment: If your leadership is truly horrendous, it is entirely possible to face impeachment. (Though honestly, we’d be genuinely amazed if someone actually manages to get impeached on their first try!)

Address to Congress: Around Day 50, you will deliver an Address to a Joint Session of Congress. This will be a defining moment that shapes the trajectory of your early presidency.

The Final Grade & AI Summary

Once you successfully navigate to Day 100, you will receive a comprehensive Presidential Report. This includes:

 * Your approval rating timeline since taking office.

 * A summary of major events and passed bills.

 * A feed of simulated social media comments reacting to your term.

 * A custom summary generated by the in-game local AI.

Finally, you will be given a traditional academic grade (A through F). Getting an "A" is no walk in the park, during internal testing, we struggled to get above a "B" ourselves, so the challenge is real!

Looking Ahead

This "First 100 Days" system is a major experiment for us, and the local AI system. If it works well and the community enjoys it, we plan to expand this feature so you can play through your entire 4-year term and eventually run for re-election.

What about the Web Version?

We want to reassure players that we have not abandoned the web-based version of the game. We will continue to provide bug fixes and minor updates to the web version. However, due to performance and scope, major new features like this term expansion will remain exclusive to the Desktop build moving forward.

Thank you all so much for your continued support as we build out the ultimate political simulator! Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

- Dackers Studios

If you are using the AI mode, you have to ask the assistant for suggestions of what action to do, or just tell it what you want to do. If this isn't the AI mode let me know, glad you like the game.

Thanks for joining the discord, here is what I would do: 

your first move should probably be the Spin Room Session or Crisis Response to limit the immediate effect. don't try to fight back while you're already hurt. Once you've stabilized, use Rapid Response to counter-punch, since it's lower risk than full Opposition Research and built for exactly that situation. Then rebuild your favorability with a Policy Address or Coalition Building action. The biggest mistake is going straight for Opposition Research when your numbers are already down, because the backfire risk gets much worse in that state.

(Note: the current AI may not let you do those stuff even if you ask for it, will be patched tomorrow)

yep, aware of this and already fixed for next update. your result in this will be even more key in the upcoming desktop version, where you govern for 100 days.

documentation up (link in description), and discord link updated

I am currently working on the desktop version, so I haven't advertised it yet, the discord will get early access, and have you tried pasting the link into the web browser? I'll update it to a new one

Hello, thanks for playing and glad you like it. I hadn' thought about adding that, so I'll make some documentation, then also make the AI give you other suggestions. Because I have been focusing on the desktop version, i haven't had time to update the web one.

Ok, I'll do that for the next update

Yeah, I'm working on using the AI to ask questions rather than pre-written ones, occasionally if you have a certain more extreme political view that maybe the main party figures don't agree with, then they could try get other candidates to drop out and rally behind the second closets just to stop you. But if this happens too often I could decrease the frequency 

it has just been released, it is playable, but I'm working as fast as I can to get rid of the major bugs.

This may be an issue with the current version, I'll look into it to see what it says.

If you are using the AI mode then you have to scroll down to see the chat box in which you tell it what to do.

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.