3 Best Strategy Games That Let You Buy An Election

In the world of political video games​​​​​, you never want to leave anything to chance. Whether part of a faction operating within the confines of a space empire or a leader seeking to guide a banana republic to a golden age of prosperity, you would be wise to use every asset at your disposal to ensure an election goes your way. It is simply a sound strategy, and quite a few games explore this side of government in their own unique, fun ways.

Be it through money, influence, or good old blackmail, these strategy games approach election tricks from different angles, all the while implementing all sorts of benefits and consequences for heading down this route. Let’s highlight a few games that make this concept a central part of their gameplay loop.

Tropico 6

Viva Tropico! Viva El Presidente!

• Are directly asked if you want to rig elections.
• Don’t want to take the risk? Don’t even hold elections.

Under the guidance of El Presidente, Tropico is certain to prosper and reach heights never experienced by any island, be it one in the Caribbean, Asia, or the Mediterranean. Sure, there might be the occasional hiccup, like a mass famine or a financial crisis, but those are merely chapters of struggle that will make the eventual glory all that much sweeter. Frankly, Tropico’s citizens should be grateful that they have such a benevolent, strong, handsome, and humble leader.

Now, really, El Presidente shouldn’t even have to bother staging an election, and such an act would simply result in the unnecessary public humiliation of his political opponents. El Presidente is, after all, the definition of kind. However, if the need arises to go down this route, there really is no reason to leave the decision entirely in the hands of the people. Don’t get it wrong, El Presidente loves and respects all his children, but he also understands that everyone makes mistakes, and they might accidentally vote for somebody else. These things happen; therefore, it is in Tropico’s interest that he authorizes a slight ‘clerical adjustment’ to the ballot boxes, purely as a safety net for the voters’ inevitable errors.

Endless Space 2

The Power Of Dust

• Depending on the type of government, you can influence or just straight-up pick who wins an election
• Depends on the faction, too; let’s go with The Lumeris for this one

Endless Space 2 is an extremely complicated sci-fi 4X strategy game that emphasizes the political and social turmoil that would arise from having an empire that stretches beyond the stars. Now, depending on the empire, government type, and faction, elections play out in different ways. For the sake of this entry, let’s just stick with the Lumeris faction, as they are among the most likely to try to buy an election. Unlike other factions driven by ideologies, Lumeris is entirely business-oriented, with its existence revolving around trade networks and ensuring financial dominance.

The game features seven political parties, all of which have unique ideologies, priorities, and government types. Right at the start, the Lumeris faction is aligned with the Pacifists party, which makes sense because the latter values trade. However, for true dominance, I would recommend aligning with Industrialists, as they are a better fit for your gameplay strategy. If you manage to get Industrialists into government, that will help you boost productivity while reducing costs. You can colonize a planet and build factories way quicker than if any other government is in play (although the Religious party can work well too).

The actual rigging of the election is straightforward (at least, by the standards of Endless Space 2). You use “Dust,” the main currency, to bankroll your chosen faction, allowing you to basically overwhelm any other contenders through sheer overexposure. Now, there is a bit of a catch here, as winning the election and significantly ramping up your wealth generation can drive up inflation, causing future bribes, I mean “elections,” to become more expensive.

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Crusader Kings 3

Make Them See Your Way With Gold Or Threats

• Varies from empire to empire since they have different succession voting systems
• Feudal and Princely electives will be the focus

In Crusader Kings 3, you are always thinking about the future. Succession is the name of the game, and you want to ensure that your power transfers to your heir rather than going to some other vassal that has picked up steam with the populace. For this entry, let’s just focus on Feudal and Princely electives, since those result in the entire territory passing down to a single candidate chosen by a vote, and the votes are done by vassals rather than the full population. In other systems, the land is often divided among your children, so that’s a different matter entirely.

As emperor of the Roman Empire, there are a couple of ways you can manipulate an election to boost the odds that your preferred candidate wins, even if there is never a 100% guarantee that the outcome you want will happen. If you have a section where a powerful elector doesn’t want to vote in your candidate’s favor, you can just target his weaknesses. Basically, send them a gift as a little incentive, and they will eventually see things your way. An argument is far more convincing when presented alongside gold.

Alternatively, blackmail is always an option. If you hate the idea of enriching an elector that actively defies you, spend that money on spies instead, allowing you to learn information that can be used against them. If you have the “Truth is Relative” perk, and the spy finds no real damning secret, you can even use a Fabricated Hook.