Mr. President - or how can I ruin the country

[Umbrella]

This will be a dynasty report for Mr. President, a board game which just came out. I will take on the role of the president in the 21st century, and see how bad I can fail.

GMT Games - Mr. President: The American Presidency, 2001-2020


First off, I have some attributes. I have a military background, and am also a team builder. This means I have an advantage with strategic capabilities, and will have an easier time with building my cabinet.

Speaking of cabinet, my VP is Barry Wallace, with skills in domestic and military. My Chief of Staff is Krista Hallsten, my Secretary of State is Allen Box, and my Secretary of Defense is Rick Campbell. All three of them are pretty good, so I'm happy with the cabinet. I also have an outstanding Homeland Security Chief, which will be useful if there are any terror cells forming in the US.

In Congress, I have a couple of friends, and a couple of enemies. My friends are a little more media savvy, but my enemies are more powerful in congress. This will make passing legislation a chore. I made a campaign promise to pass Social Security legislation, but right now, the #1 priority for the public is expanding the military.

The game starts with three ongoing crises inherited from the previous administration. I ended up with North Korea naval provocations, multiple mass shootings, and Russian hybrid war in Eastern Ukraine. This will linger for a while, and need to be addressed.


Looking around the world, there is a lot of hostility between the Koreas, caused in part by the naval provocations, the Middle East is a mess, we're at war with the Taliban, Russia is taking a very aggressive posture, and the domestic crisis level is on the brink of disaster, mostly due to the mass shootings. The economy is solid, so I shouldn't have to worry about that for a bit.

I think my top priorities right now are to ease the tensions in Pacific/Asia region, pass gun reform legislation, try and calm Russia down, all while trying to keep the Middle East from spiraling out of control. I'm new to the game, so I'm not sure where to start.

[Umbrella]

Because I have the military ability, I immediately improve our cyber warfare capabilities. We were trailing behind Russia and China, and now we are even with them. This is useful, because now I can set two focus regions for national intelligence collection. I choose the Middle East for obvious reasons, and even though I want to start work on the Asia/Pacific region, I ended up choosing Central/South Asia instead. We're fighting a war there, and the intelligence should be useful from that front.

Next, my focus is improving our strategic capabilities. Since we're behind China in space warfare, I try that first, and am successful. My second attempt is to increase cyber warfare since that is super important. Success there as well, and my Secretary of Defense is paying early dividends.

Next is to set my cabinet focus. My top priority is domestic crisis, since that is a problem with the shootings. Second is cabinet effectiveness, since that affects so many different rolls. Relations with congress (RWC), public/press relations, economy, and homeland security round out the priorities. I left homeland security last since my director is so skilled, he can make up for any shortcomings I have.

Next up is the actions. I as president can take an action, my VP can take an action, then each cabinet member, for a total of 5 actions. The actions are divided into presidential, domestic, diplomatic, and military. The President can take any action, the VP any action except presidential, and each cabinet member can take the action for the office they hold. All three cabinet have the advanced skill where they can take an additional action, so I will take a total of eight actions. This should help start my presidential agenda.

[Umbrella]

For my presidential action, I chose corralling the cabinet. This improves cabinet effectiveness, and I might as well start early. Since I have the team builder ability, I have a -DRM for this. In this game, lower rolls are better. I'm successful, and my cabinet effectiveness is starting to improve.

For my VP, I want to start reducing the domestic crisis level. He's also successful, and improves the crisis level, which in turn gives us a boost to our approval ratings.

For chief of staff, I want to improve our RWC. She's successful, and improves our relationship. For her second action, she does some party fundraising, which improves the relationship with our party. This should be helpful down the road.

The Middle East and Africa both are on the verge of a major crisis, so I have my SOS try and do crisis relief on both of those areas. He's unsuccessful in the Middle East, but does reduce the crisis level in Africa.

Finally, our Secretary of Defense. This is my last chance to reduce the crisis level in the Middle East, so I'll use the military to help in a war torn region. This didn't work. For his second action, he'll stay in the middle east and start focusing on some terror groups there. He's able to gather intelligence on one level 2 terror group in the region.

Middle East is still on the verge of a major crisis, but we were able to accomplish some groundwork which I hope will pay off down the road.

[Umbrella]

China gets to act next. We don't have a lot of tension with them, so their relationship trends to Pro-US. Our relation is already really good, so hopefully they don't bother us too much. The first thing they try to do is improve their strategic recon and naval capabilities, but are unsuccessful at both.

Next, they try espionage. They are able to steal some of our war plans, which will hurt us in our war with the Taliban. Then they try and improve their economy, and are successful.

Next, they start cyber attacks. They attempt to discredit us as a trade partner in the Asia/Pacific region, but are unsuccessful. Their relationship with us is no longer pro-US. They spread influence in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, which also increases tension all over the world. They also try and increase influence in Asia/Pacific, but we have enough regional alignment there to thwart their efforts. However, they are successful in increasing influence in South America.

Their next action to make my life difficult is to veto the UN sanctions on North Korea. With tensions high already in that area, this is a problem. Their final action is to create an oil partnership with South America, which gives them even more influence there. Chinese influence in South America is now officially a problem that needs to be addressed.

[Umbrella]

I can now do any 3 actions. First thing is to address the crisis level in the Middle East. I'm successful, and pull away from the verge of a major crisis. My second concern is the amount of Chinese influence in South America. However, I can't attempt to remove influence because our regional alignment isn't high enough, so I choose to try and improve alignment instead. My SOS does a great job, and the alignment is now trending pro-US.

For my final action, I'm torn between reducing the tensions in Russia, and continuing to improve our cabinet. I think I still have time before Russia will act, so I try and corral the cabinet again. This time, I am unsuccessful.

[Umbrella]

Now comes events. The first one to hit is a domestic crisis. This puts tension on our cabinet, and then I roll, and get a domestic terror event. Uh oh. Luckily, we don't have any terror groups in the US, so an attack doesn't happen, but domestic crisis goes up by 1, now on the brink of major crisis, and a level 1 terror group is formed in the US. Two more tensions are added to the cabinet, and now this is also an issue.

We continue on, and now have to draw 2 crisis cards. The first one is Social Security Insolvency Debate. A social security bill is introduced by the other party, and is now the public's #1 priority. This is really bad for me, as my campaign promise was Social Security. I'm not sure how legislation works yet, but I know if the opposition party gets their legislation passed instead, that is bad news for me. My RWC is high enough to prevent any other actions for this card.

The second card is Congress Clashes over Renewable Energy Policy. Congress doesn't like my policy, and I now have a new political enemy in congress. The public is fickle, and Energy Independence is now their #1 priority. As a result, I lose a little public approval.

I still have to draw a third chit to see if more events happen. I end up having to draw another 2 crisis cards. The first one for this chit is We Are the World. Unfortunately, since Russia has an aggressive posture right now, they are not interested in working with us to feeding starving kids in Africa, and the regional crisis level there goes up, once again on the brink of a major crisis.

The final card is a drought in California, and the subsequent food price increase because of the agricultural problem. This increases the domestic crisis level, and we are now at the point where a major crisis will occur. Damn! I'll get to that in a minute. In addition, the tension level of our cabinet goes up (we now have 4), and the US economy is trending downward. I decide to spend 3 of my action points (AP's) to try and mitigate this, since I know more pain is coming with the major crisis. It turned out to be a smart decision, and no further effects occurred. This is a cascading event, and could reappear down the road with further implications. I'll need to make sure domestic crisis stays low, which I want to do anyways.

For the major crisis, my lingering domestic issues goes up by one, which causes some +DRM for domestic issues, as well as can be an auto lose condition if it gets too high. Luckily, domestic issues are my #1 cabinet focus, so I get a -DRM for the upcoming roll, which will cancel out the+DRM I just got. My event is that the response to the drought causes issues with congress. My RWC drops, as does my public approval. Not too terrible.

At this point, we are about 45 days into my term. The state of the world isn't great. South America has a ton of Chinese influence. There's a terror group in the US we need to deal with. Africa is on the brink of a major crisis. The Middle East is a mess. I still need to keep on eye on the situation in Korea. And we still have a very aggressive Russia to deal with. On the domestic front, we have some very popular legislation from the opposite party going through congress, my cabinet tensions are a major problem, we have more enemies than friends in congress, the economy is trending in the wrong direction, I've got a couple of lingering domestic issues, and my public approval sits at 38%. Not a lot of good news on the board right now.

Next up will be actions of other countries, both friendly and not. We'll see what happens.

[Umbrella]

I drew the "A" chit. The first action is to check the world economy, and rolled improving. China's economy went up a level because of this. Next, the EU is checked. I rolled Low Interest Loans, which reduces the crisis level in Eurozone, but it was already at 0, so no effect.

Our first ally, NATO, gets to act now. Allies relationship level can be Very Close, Close, or Estranged, and this determines how many joint actions can be performed. We are very close with NATO, so we can perform 2 joint actions. Our first action is to request UN humanitarian aid for Africa. Unfortunately, this was unsuccessful. For the second action, I attempted to de-escalate the conflict between them and Russia. If Russia and NATO go to war, it is an auto-loss. We were successful there, and the conflict track is at the lowest level. In addition, we removed a tension each from NATO and Russia.

Allies then act on their own accord. There are DRM's based on various conditions around the world, mostly relating to tensions and wars. They chose to train, to increase their military strength. Their relative strength to Russia is now equal.

ROK (South Korea) is the next to act. We're very close with them as well. With the naval maneuvers in the region, tensions are very high, so my first joint action is to remove 2 tension markers from them, which always succeeds. My second is to de-escalate the conflict with North Korea (DPRK). Once again, it was successful, moving them back to their starting position (2) on the track, and removing more tension. They still have a tension chit as they do their unilateral action, which will tend to push them more aggressive. They end up with a +3 DRM, and I roll high, so I know this will not be good even before I look up the result. They decide to do a cyber attack on North Korea.

This is a separate event, and I do a random roll to determine their target. They go after the military and government infrastructure. It was a major success, which reduces DPRK's military strength. ROK is now +1 over DPRK. Not only that, but it was executed flawlessly, so the world was unaware of the action.

Next is Iran. They decide to disrupt oil to the West. Good thing the world economy increased, because now it is going the opposite direction for both us and the EU.


Finally we check unstable states in Central and South America. There is one unstable state in each region, but the rolls say there is no change to either of them.

My allies did a good job. The economy improved, which offset Iran's actions. We were able to reduce tensions in the two areas I was really concerned with. Africa is still a problem though.

[Umbrella]

The next step is cabinet focus. Unfortunately for us, with all the domestic problems we have, the lowest four cabinet focuses (foci?) have a tension chit on them, so I can't roll for them. I can only roll for our top two focuses, cabinet effectiveness, and domestic crisis. They both succeed. The results are I get 3 more AP's, and my domestic crisis level goes down, now at 0. I need to get these tensions chits off before the next time this step happens.

Media relations drops by 1. This happens throughout the game. I guess as you go on, you have to keep fostering your relationship with the media, or it goes south.

Now we get to perform 2 domestic actions. My first action, as mentioned earlier, is to remove tension from my cabinet. Since I have the team builder ability, I can remove 2 markers. For my second action, I give some serious thought to trying and improve my relation with the media, but I really need to start focusing on the terror group in the US, so I choose that instead. We are successful, and the terror group goes into the Gathering Info box.

We've got a lot of problems on the domestic front, so I choose to spend 2 AP's to take an additional action. I perform the Presidential Presence action, which is basically going on a media tour. Not only is it unsuccessful, but it actually hurts my public approval rating. What a waste!

The final step is the legislation phase. Congress is unable to pass my opponent's Social Security bill at this time. Next is the congressional maneuvering and drama roll. This is a mixed bag. I improve my RWC by 1, but I also get a new opponent in Congress. I now have 4 of them, and need to figure out how to mitigate that.

We now can attempt to introduce new bills. We can only do 1, and since control of congress is split, I roll to determine if my party or the opponent's get to introduce. I get the lucky roll, and choose to introduce Energy Independence, as it is the public's #1 priority right now.

Looking at my friend's and opponents, their media rating is slightly higher, so my public approval drops slightly as they make the rounds on the morning news shows. And because there are more radicals than moderates, cooperation decreases, which will make it harder to get bills passed.

[Umbrella]

Next up, I draw a chit, and it's a regional summit. The region chosen is South America, and the type of summit is Global Issues. We pass the regional alignment check which gives us a -1 DRM. Since this area is heavily under Chinese influence, I decide to spend 2 AP's to help influence the roll. It pays off, as the result is to decrease the regional crisis. It's now at 0.

[Umbrella]

The next step on the game track is our Focused National Intelligence. We have 2 markers, one each in the Middle East and Central/South Asia. First comes the Middle East. We get a great roll, and immediately move one of the level 2 terror groups to the targeting box. In addition, we share some of our intel with the UN about the civil war in the region. Unfortunately, this has no effect.

In Central/South Asia, we get the same exact roll, so a level 2 terror group goes to targeting. In addition, since we are at war with the Taliban in this region, I focus on that and our military strength goes up 2 in that war.

[Young Drachma]

ooh i don't know this game

[Umbrella]

Next, I can take 4 diplomatic or military actions. I use a presidential action to give a speech at the UN to try and improve regional alignment in South America. Unfortunately, I fail. I use my SOS to try and improve the alignment next. He barely succeeds, and we get the alignment level up to 6. With the alignment level at 6, and crisis level at 0, I can now attempt to remove Chinese influence in South America. Unfortunately, I fail the roll. For my last attempt, I want to reduce the crisis level in Africa. This is successful, and now the level is at 2. I didn't do any military actions, so I spend 2 AP's to do a raid in the Middle East on a level 2 terror group. It was successful, but there were casualties. The terror group is now level 1, and scatters, so they are back in the gathering box, and my public approval drops due to the casualties.

This concludes my first 3 months in office.

[Umbrella]

Next up is to draw a crisis chit. The result is to draw 2 event cards. The first card is Misunderstanding and Neglect Hurt Ally Relationship. That doesn't sound good. I get a tension for Australia, and a tension for my cabinet. I choose to spend 2 AP's to end the event instead of having more problems occur.

The next event is some radicals from my party push a controversial education bill. I take a hit to public approval, and get another tension on my cabinet, which puts me at 4. I then have to choose whether to support or oppose the bill. My party relations are pretty good, and my public approval is garbage, so I choose to oppose the bill. This knocks my party relations down 2 levels, but my public approval and media relations go up. It is now a bill I oppose, and education reform is now the public's new #1 priority.

I have to draw another crisis chit, and once again need to draw 2 event cards. The first one is Iraqi Leader Friendly to US Slain in Car Bombing; Political and Social Chaos Ensues. Oh dear. A level 2 terror group is now level 3, regional crisis is now level 3 in the Middle East, and regional alignment drops to level 4. The Middle East is now a giant mess for me.
But wait, I still have another card. I draw Camp David Summit. I can choose to either invite congress members, or members from a region. I think the Middle East is a bigger issue than congress right now, so that's what I choose. Unfortunately, I screw it up, and the regional alignment is trending even worse.

To add to the pain, I have to draw one final chit, which results in drawing 3 more cards. I know pain is coming. The first card is a NAFTA event. I can choose to spend AP's on Canada, Mexico, both or neither. I choose to spend 2 on Canada, but not Mexico. As a result, the US economy is no longer trending downward, crisis level in Central America is up to 3, and the public hates it, dropping me down to 28% public approval.

Card # 2 is Partisan Gridlock. All bills shift to the right, which lowers their chance of getting passed, and bipartisan cooperation is now contentious, which is the lowest level, which means no more bills can be introduced during legislative session. I choose to call for more bipartisan congress, which results in a public approval boost, but another hit to my party relationship, which is now becoming a problem. I pass a RWC roll, so my RWC goes up 1, and a get a much needed friend in congress.

For the last of the pain, I'm hoping to survive one more card. It's Extreme Heat and Electrical Grid Failures. Domestic crisis goes up to 1, public approval drops yet again. This is a cascading event, so it doesn't go away.

[Umbrella]

I can finally react with any 3 actions. There are a lot of problems, but I think my primary focus is the Middle East. My first action is to direct intel against terror groups, but both tries fail. My second action is to reduce the crisis level in the Middle East, which also fails. My dice rolls have been brutal lately. For my final action, I try and remove Chinese influence from South America. My third straight failure. The odds of missing on these 4 consecutive rolls are 1.2%. The dice are loaded.

[Umbrella]

Next up, I roll and get Chaos. The conflict level for Saudi Arabia and Iran goes up to 3. Domestic crisis goes up to level 2. Cabinet issues causes my public approval to drop, my cabinet effectiveness loses its improving status, and there's an unflattering leak from my cabinet about me, which causes public approval, media relations, and party relations all to drop. I'm now at the point if I survive to the end of my term, my party hates me so much I wouldn't get the nomination for the next term.

[Umbrella]

Now it's time for my allies to act. I sure hope they are more effective than I am. First up is the UK. I choose to request UN Humanitarian aid in both Central America and Middle East. They are both successful, and reduce the crisis level down to 2 in each region. For their unilateral action, they reduce the crisis level in Eastern Europe down to 0.

Next is Japan. For our joint actions, we gather intel on a level 1 and level 2 terror group in the region. For their unilateral action, they remove the only China influence in the region.

Last up, North Korea gets to act, and this could be messy. They are preparing for war, which increases their military strength (now equal with ROK) and increases the conflict level to 3. They also increase their nuclear capability, which costs me an AP, and increases tensions in the Koreas, Japan, and China.

[Umbrella]

I get three domestic actions, which are sorely needed right now. I do some party fundraising to increase our relations. Because it was so low, it costs me an AP to do this, which drops me to only 5 remaining for the year. I then attempt to reduce domestic crisis level, which is successful, and also gives me a public approval bump. For my final action, I remove a tension counter from my cabinet, which leaves me at 3.

[Umbrella]

Time for another crisis chit draw. This time, I have to check for a cascading event. I haven't had a chance to address any of these yet, so this could be trouble. I draw the mass shooting card again. Since I still don't have gun legislation passed, I lose public approval, and gain another lingering issue. Luckily, my RWC is good, and I pass that roll, which lets me introduce gun legislation. This wasn't too terrible, although I am halfway to the auto-lose condition for lingering domestic crisis.

[Umbrella]

Flag on the play! I missed a step, so I am going back and doing it. During the last ally phase, I should have had a UN action segment. Their first action is to do humanitarian aid in Africa, but they are unsuccessful. Second, they attempt infrastructure aid to Africa. This is successful, and the stability level goes to 5. Their third action is to do One Youth Empowerment in the Middle East. A level 3 terror group drops to level 2. Their final automatic action is to attempt to broker peace for the Syrian Civil War. That is unsuccessful.

I can spend an AP to have them do another action, but I think I'm going to save them for disaster mitigation if necessary.

[Umbrella]

Now it's time for WAR! Ugh, what is it good for?

There's only one non-civil war going on right now, and it's ours with the Taliban. There's a pretty complicated formula with DRM's and odds, etc, but after all that, the roll results in both sides losing one power, and the war is still at a stalemate. For the US, they don't actually lose power, but a loss results in a public approval hit for the casualties. The public hates me.

Now we have to check for all the civil wars on the map. In Syria, they make a cease fire, which reduces the crisis level in the Middle East to 1. In Somalia, the fighting intensifies, raising the crisis level to 3. Finally, the cease fire in Eastern Europe (not sure who this is supposed to be) ends, and fighting resumes. The level 1 terror group raises to 2, and the crisis level goes to 1.

[Umbrella]

I can now do 4 diplomatic or military actions. Russia is acting very soon, and I would like to improve my relationship with them, so I decide to hold a summit. My first item on the agenda is to improve relations. They want to increase there influence in Eastern Europe. I don't think that's a good idea, so this goes nowhere. The next item is to improve stability in Central/South Asia. Russia agrees this is in their best interest, and works with us to reduce the crisis level to 1. In addition, this removes a tension counter from Russia. The results of the summit are appreciated by the both the public, and by Russia, as we remove another tension counter from Russia.

My second action is to do crisis relief in Africa. Unsuccessful yet again.


Third action is to de-escalate the conflict between the Koreas. This is very successful, reduce the conflict track down to 2, the alignment in Pacific/Asia is trending pro-US, we reduce tensions in both countries, and the public likes it as well. Is this a comeback?

The last action is to do a raid on the level 2 terror group in Central/South Asia. This was successful, and they drop to level 1 and go into the gathering box.

[Umbrella]

The final step of the second activation phase is to check the state of the economy. We're at level 6, which is the second highest level, so we can perform two economic assistance acts. The first is in Pacific/Asia region, which raises the alignment to 7. This should help with both China and North Korea. I do the same in the Middle East, which removes the anti-US trend. In addition, I get a little public approval, and an AP for the state of the economy.

I've now finished my first 6 months in office. Public approval is at an abysmal 28%. The domestic crisis level is bad, as is the lingering domestic levels. Media relations are below average, congress is in gridlock from a cooperation standpoint, but my relation with congress is pretty good.

In the world, it isn't terrible. Chinese influence in South America is still high enough that they can build a base there, which would be terrible. Africa is at the highest crisis level, but the rest of the world isn't too bad outside of the Middle East.

[DavidCorperial]

Maybe Kosovo?

[Umbrella]

It's Russia's turn to act. While they still have an aggressive posture, I think the summit helped ease tensions, so hopefully this won't be too terrible for us.

Because the tension level is so low, we get to remove the anti-US counter from our relationship. Then they try and improve their strategic capabilities. First attempt is strategic recon/intel gathering, which is successful. Cyber warfare is next, but that is unsuccessful. Finally, they try strategic missiles/defense, which is also unsuccessful.

Next is espionage. They get two attempts, and fail at both of them. Finally my bad die rolls are affecting someone else.

Then they try and improve their economy. We have multilateral sanctions on them, which prevents the economy from improving.

Now they have 6 additional actions to do. The first one is cyber attacks. The first is US Political Cohesion. This is unsuccessful. Second is Eastern Europe Democracies. This is also unsuccessful. Final cyber attack is US Political Cohesion again. This time they are successful, and our RWC drops by 1. Bipartisan cooperation is already at the lowest level, so it doesn't drop further.

Action #2 is to expand influence. They attempt in Eastern Europe, but are unsuccessful.

Action #3 is to attempt to remove sanctions. These talks break down, and sanctions remain.

Action #4 is in the Arctic. They do some deep sea mining, which improves their economy.

Action #5 is to increase their military strength. This is successful, which also results in two tension counters in Russia, NATO, UK, and Canada. Not good.

Action #6, and final action, is to help Iran's nuclear program. This is successful, costing me an AP, and putting a tension counter on Iran, Israel, and the Gulf States. There are now 4 tension counters on the Gulf States, and they still haven't acted yet.

[Umbrella]

Originally Posted by DavidCorperial

Maybe Kosovo?

Sounds good to me. I'll go with that.

[Umbrella]

Now I get any 3 actions, and there are messes all over the board. My top priority is domestic crisis, so that's the first shot. I fail which drop public approval. I need to try this again, which also fails. Third time's the charm right? Nope, my terrible die rolling continues. I am so bad at this game. Calculated odds of failing three times is 6.4%.

[Umbrella]

Time to draw crisis chits, and if any of them are domestic, I am hosed. First chit is to draw 2 cards. The first one is Radicals in Congress Challenge President. RWC drops by one, and my already negatively maxed out cooperation can't get worse. However, for some reason the public sides with me, and energy independence becomes their #1 priority again.

The second card is a party rift develops. Party relations drop to the lowest possible level. I lose all my friends in congress, and as usual, I take a hit to public approval.

I have to draw another chit, and finally catch a break. NSA gets ahead of the fact that a famine is brewing in North Korea. In game terms, that means I get to remove that card from the game.

I still have to draw one more chit. It's another cascading event check. It's the drought in California. Well damn. However, I finally get a good roll, and rain! This card is now removed from the game.

Most of my domestic tracks are at the lowest possible levels, so this is feeling like an auto lose situation is imminent. But I'll plug on in hopes the tide changes.

[Umbrella]

It's ally time. First up is Canada. For my first joint action, I remove both of their tension counters. For the second, we'll try and provide aid to Africa. This is successful, which takes the crisis level to 2.

For their unilateral action, they reduce a level 2 terror group in Central America down to 1.

Next ally is the Gulf States/Saudi Arabia, and this could get dicey. First, they are only a close ally instead of very close, and second, they have 4 tension counters. Since they are close, I only get one joint action, and I'll use it to remove two tension counters.

Their unilateral action is to build air and naval forces. This increases their strength, but also puts them only one step away from war with Iran.

Now Iran is up, and I am fearing that war is getting ready to break out. The increase their nuclear capability. Stability in the region drops to the lowest level, and tensions for everyone in the region go through the roof. Auto lose in that region is now looming large.

[Umbrella]

Finally I get to do a cabinet focus check. I have 3 tension counters, so I can only roll for my top 3 priorities. Priorities 2 and 3 fail, because why not. Priority 1 (Domestic crisis) succeeds, so my domestic crisis level drops down to 1. Much needed.

[Umbrella]

Next step, media relations drop a level.

I can now do two domestic actions. My public approval and media relations are in the toilet, so I'm going on a presidential press tour. I finally pass a roll, and my media approval goes back up.

Next, I've got to improve my party relations. It costs me an AP, leaving me with only 2 for the rest of the year, but it works.

The final step is legislation. First off, since I have no friends in congress, and 4 opponents, all my bills end up moving further away from being passed. Secondly, since there is no cooperation at all, no bills will get passed this turn. And finally, as if I don't have enough issues, I roll terribly again, and now there's corruption. My secretary of defense is involved in a scandal. My party relations drop to the lowest possible level. My public approval is now at the lowest possible level. My RWC also drops a level. I should resign, but I'll soldier on.

My energy independence bill dies in congress. My enemies go on the morning news shows to trash me, but the joke's on them, my public approval can't go any lower.

Back to my scandal. I should have a +6 DRM, but have embarrassingly hit the +3 DRM max for this roll. If you guessed I rolled the worse possible result, you are correct. The investigation into the scandal shows that I was involved with it. I lose an AP, also RWC drops, and public approval would drop if it wasn't at the minimum. The scandal deepens, and I lose my last remaining AP.

Honestly, I don't know how this can get any worse. But I'm sure we'll find out.

[Umbrella]

Time to draw a chit. I have to draw 2 event cards. Iran Detains Oil Tankers in Persian Gulf. Fucking Iran is going to end the world, aren't they? Two more tensions on Iran (which puts them at 5), two tension on Gulf states (also at 5), and one on China (4 for them). I choose to have the UN put multilateral sanctions on Iran. This succeeds, and I get a UN goodwill chit.

The second card is Separatists Destroy Major GASPROM Pipeline. Russia and EU economy is trending downward. Europe and Eastern Europe both have crisis level increase by 1. Russia loses an AP (yea!) and gains 3 tension counters (uh-oh, that puts them at 6). Russia blames Ukraine for this, and invades Crimea. They get two more influence in Eastern Europe, putting them at 3. They get another tension, NATO gets 3 tension counters (putting them at 5), and UK gets 2 (now at 4). Our relation with Russia drops to the lowest level.

[Umbrella]

Next up is our focused national intelligence. We have it in the Middle East, so we move a level 2 terror group to the locating box, and a level 1 to the gathering box. In addition, we share our intel with the UN, in order to end the civil war in Syria. It's not effective, but the cease fire is still in effect.

In Central/South Asia, we move a level 1 terror group to the targeting box. Our intelligence also gives us an advantage in the Taliban war, so our strength increases by 2.

[Umbrella]

I can now do any 4 diplomatic or military actions. I decide to make a presidential trip to Central/South Asia. Of course, it turns into a disaster there, and the regional alignment drops a level. However, the public likes it, and my public approval rises.

Secondly, we really need to de-escalate the Iran/Saudi situation. Everything sucks, and we fail this roll as well.

Next I want to remove a Chinese influence in South America. This finally works, and it is down to 2, not enough for a base.

I choose to skip my last action in order to get an AP back. This puts me at 1. This concludes the third activation phase, or 9 months in office.

[Umbrella]

Time to draw chits. The first one is to draw 1 card. It is US Innovation Sparks New Industries and a Wave of Prosperity. This sounds promising. The economy trends to improving, and the public is happy. In addition, my cabinet effectiveness is trending upwards. Also, this means that I passes a landmark Science and Technology bill. This nets me +2 legacy points. Legacy points are your score at the end of the game. I can increase one of my strategic capabilities, so I choose Strategic Missiles/Defense, which puts me ahead of both Russia and China. Public approval keeps going up (up to 30% now, which is one of the DRM levels for many rolls), and I get an additional 4 legacy points. In addition to all that, the military uses this to improve their space warfare capability, which now puts me ahead of both Russia and China. This was a massive help.

Next chit is to draw another card. This one is Cyber Theft of Sensitive Intelligence Threatens National Security. Domestic Crisis goes up to 2, and public approval drops. DNI resigns, which causes my cabinet effectiveness to drop by one. Ouch. This is a cascading event, so I need to keep my cyber capabilities high.

The last chit is to draw a card, which turns out to be a Press Conference Gaffe. I end up making fun of myself over it, which negates the public approval loss.

Not a terrible turn for cards this time.

[Umbrella]

I can now take any 3 actions. My first action is to ask for the resignation of my Secretary of Defense. He's involved in a scandal, and I need him gone. This improves my RWC. However, he trashes me on his way out, dropping my public approval down to the minimum again, losing my last AP, and negating my gain in RWC. I choose John Long as my new Secretary of Defense, and I think he's just as good as the guy I fired.

Second action is to address domestic crisis. It fails. I have to try again for my third action, and it fails too. I need a new die roller.

[Umbrella]

It's the Terror/Chaos phase, and I roll Chaos. The India/China conflict goes up to level 2. Then I have to draw a new cascading event. I get That Amazing DARPA. Oh wow, this is actually a good one! I can improve any strategic capability. I know cyber warfare is still an event in the cascading deck, so I improve that. This chaos segment went about as well as it could have.

[Umbrella]

The last ally phase of the year. Australia is the first to act. For the first action, I remove their two tension counters. We move the level 2 terror group from gathering to locating. For their unilateral action, they hold a summit with China, which removes a tension from China.

Next up is Israel, and with the mess in the Middle East, this could be dangerous. I remove 2 tensions, and then move a level 2 terror group from locating to targeting, and another from gathering to locating.

For their unilateral action, they do a surprise attack on Hamas. I setup the war chart. They currently have a 9:2 advantage in power, plus the element of surprise.

India goes next. Our relationship is only close, so I only get one joint action. I try to de-escalate their conflict with China, but fail. They unilaterally train counter terror groups in Egypt, which reduces a level 2 terror group to level 1.

Finally, the Taliban gets to act. They increase their power in our war by 1.

Then we check unstable states. One of the unstable states in the Middle East becomes a level 1 Rogue State. Ugh, this is not what we need right now.

[Umbrella]

Next is 3 domestic actions. I absolutely have to get my cabinet effectiveness up so I can remove crisis easier. I finally get a good roll, and my effectiveness increases. Next, I try and remove a domestic crisis. Once again, a successful roll, getting us down to 1. Finally, I don't have a lot of options with favorable rolls, so I choose to remove 2 tension counters from my cabinet.

[Umbrella]

Chit time, and I have to draw 2 cards. Card #1 is Supreme Court Rules Extraordinary Rendition Illegal, which frees Guantanamo prisoners. A level 2 terror group in both Middle East and Africa goes to level 3, and a level 1 in Central/South Asia goes to level 2. The public doesn't like this decision. However, the UN does, so I get a UN goodwill chit.

Card #2 is Regional Instability. An unstable state forms in Eastern Europe. A level 2 terror group there goes to level 3. And worst of all, the crisis meter hits Major Crisis. Luckily, this doesn't hit very hard, and all I get is a trending anti-US marker for the alignment.

[Umbrella]

And just like last time, I forgot about the UN phase. First, they do humanitarian aid in Eastern Europe. It is unsuccessful.

Next is infrastructure aid in the Middle East. They are unsuccessful there as well.

Next is One Youth Empowerment in the Middle East. The UN is now 0 for 3.

Finally, they act on the cease fire in Syria. They finally show their worth, and end the civil war in Syria. Regional crisis drops to 0 in the Middle East.

I use one of my UN Goodwill chits to try and reduce Iran's nuclear capability. This is successful, which also removes a tension from Israel, Iran and Gulf States. Russia gains influence for the efforts with the UN.

[Umbrella]

It's war progress time again. We have two wars currently going on. First, let's do Israel vs Hamas. Israel wins handily, and the war ends. My public approval goes up a little, and Israel gains more strength.

For our war, we roll, and move from stalemate to winning, while reducing the Taliban strength by 1.

The civil war in Eastern Europe calls for a cease fire. But the war in Somalia intensifies, raising the crisis level to 3 and causing a refugee crisis. This raises the crisis level in Europe to 2.

[Umbrella]

I now can do any 4 diplomatic and/or military actions. The first is to de-escalate the conflict between Iran and Gulf States. This is successful, and reduces it down to 3. We have a little breathing room here.

Second is to reduce the crisis level in Eastern Europe. My SOS does a great job, and reduces it down to 1.

Third is intel in the Middle East against terror groups. The level 3 terror group is now in the targeting box, and the level 2 terror group goes from gathering to locating.

As much as I want to get an AP, I'm going to raid the level 3 terror group in the Middle East instead. It's an unmitigated disaster with many casualties. I lose a legacy point, my public approval doesn't drop because it is still at its lowest level, and the public is crying out to fire my Secretary of Defense. I can't take the hit with everyone, so he's fired. I get a new guy, who isn't as good. I should have taken the AP instead.

[Umbrella]

For the State of Economy, I send aid to both Eastern Europe, and Central/South Asia, removing the anti-US counters from both. In addition, I get an AP and a little public approval for this.

[Umbrella]

The next step is the final activation stage of year 1. I draw a chit, and get the Russia acts chit. Russia starts by making a cyber attack. The first target is the US economy. This attack fails. The second attack is also the US economy, and it also fails. My efforts to increase our cyber warfare are paying off.

Next, they attempt to increase influence in the Middle East. This also fails. I roll to see if I have to draw another chit, and I do. I now have to draw two cards. The first one is Instability/Civil War/Rogue State. All of these are bad, so here goes. Civil War breaks out in Central America, and the crisis level there goes to 2.

Now we've reached the end of turn/year 1. First stage is cleanup. A lot of this is board cleanup, but relations with Russia and China both trend anti-US. I can now change my legislative priorities. I put gun legislation #1, energy independence #2, and expanded military #3.

Next is the consequences stage. The regions are checked by stability. Here's how they played out:

Europe - A level 2 terror group is added.
Eastern Europe - Two level 1 terror groups are added.
Central America - Two level 1 terror groups are added.
Middle East - A level 1 terror group is added. The level 3 terror group becomes a level 1 Rogue state. An unstable state is added to the region. Crisis level goes to 3.
Central/South Asia - Two level 1 terror groups are added. Crisis level at major crisis. Will resolve in a bit.
South America - Two level 1 terror groups are added.
Africa - A level 2 terror group is added, and the level 3 terror group becomes a level 4.
Asia/Pacific - A level 1 terror group is added.

I now have to resolve the major crisis in Central/South Asia. A level 1 terror group goes to level 2, and Chinese influence is added.

Next, one of the Rogue States in the Middle East goes to level 2. I'm probably going to have to go to war against them. We also lose our improving economy marker due to the war against the Taliban. The civil wars in Central America and Somalia cause the crisis level to increase, and in Africa's case, this now causes a major crisis. A level 2 terror group goes to level 3, and another unstable state is added. Africa is officially a mess.

Now it's time to resolve the military footprints. We'll start with the 2 in the middle east. The first one causes a major crisis. The result is bad. Our relationship with Israel drops to close, Russia gets more influence (now up to 3), and stability is already at the lowest level. The second footprint adds a trending anti-US marker.

We have 3 footprints in Central/South Asia. First one drops regional stability down to 4. Second one has no effect! Third one drops public approval.

Not all of the news is bad though. In South America, the stability goes up a level. And in Eastern Europe, the unstable state counter is removed.

At home, my RWC drops to the lowest level, and I have to draw yet another opponent.

I have to check the state of my presidency at this point. My RWC is at the lowest possible value, my public approval is at the lowest possible value. Economy and Homeland Security aren't bad. Relation with Media is below average. And I have three Rogue States and two regions with low regional alignment. This gives me a score 14, which is less than the 16 needed to continue the game. This means I lose automatically.

Lessons learned from this. I needed to pay more attention to regional stability. The rogue states added at the end of the turn dropped me below the auto-loss score. But on the other hand, all the time I spent in the world hurt me at home, resulting in the plummeting RWC and public approval. I also think I had a bit of bad luck with the rolls, but my play was still not good.

[CleBrownsfan]

Awesome read!! I have Mr. President set up and I am in year two of my campaign. It's such a back-and-forth game - tensions are always high! Hope to see you try again...

[Young Drachma]

I don't know this game, this seems fun! Thanks for profiling