OBJECTIVE OF PRESIDENTIAL BID: Be the player with the most votes at the end of the game
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2 or 3, best with 3
MATERIALS: 52 card deck, easy to sketch game board
TYPE OF GAME: Card game
AUDIENCE: Adults
INTRODUCTION OF PRESIDENTIAL BID
Presidential Bid, also known as Mr. President, is an auction game that calls for players to bid for presidential votes. Players bid what they think a district is worth by playing a card from their hand. If they play the highest card, they win the district. The player who wins enough districts will win the region and its votes. The player with the most votes at the end of the game wins the election.
MATERIALS
To play Presidential Bid, you will need a standard 52 card French deck and a game board as pictured below. It is simple enough to quickly sketch out on three different sheets of paper. The spaces within each region must be big enough for a card to fit in.
The numbers within the blue circles represent the number of votes each region is worth.
SET UP
Separate the deck of cards into its four suits. Shuffle all of the clubs together and place them face down as a draw pile. Give one of the remaining suits to each player in the game. In a two player game, place the extra suit aside. In this game, 2’s are low and Aces are high.
The game board is broken into six different regions. Each region is made up of a number of districts totaling thirteen. Districts are labeled with a club suited card, and each region is worth a specific number of votes based on the number of districts it has. As players win districts, they will place their cards on the district spaces to claim them.
THE PLAY
Play begins with the top card of the club draw pile being drawn and displayed. That card represents the district that is now up for bid. Each player chooses a card from their hand and shows it simultaneously. The player who showed the highest card wins the district. They place their card on that district space. If there is a tie, the district remains neutral and the club card is placed upside down on it. In that case, no one wins the district.
Play like this continues for thirteen rounds. Once all of the districts have been bid on, it is time to tally up the votes.
SCORING
If you have won more districts in a region than your opponents, you win the votes for that region. In the event of a tie, the player with the highest card in that region wins the votes. If there is a tie for the highest card, the second highest cards are compared. If the second cards are also the same, the region remains neutral. No one gets those votes.
WINNING
Whoever has the most votes at the end of the game wins. Congratulations on your election.
- TRIPLE SNAKES - February 15, 2021