What program does your party have?
See what voters like, what they are opposed to – and base your agenda on that. You have to say what they want to hear.
The game lasts four rounds, during which we gain support in four Länder. The problem is that winning only one of the Länder will probably not give us a victory in the whole game and we have to distribute our political forces accordingly.
How to convince voters?
The rule here is simple: the more money you spend, the more votes you will have.
Die Macher is a series of clever auctions and precisely measured expenses. Before starting the game, we briefly know the expectations of voters and adjust our political program to them. Of course, nothing is forever and during the game we will change both our program and… public opinion.
After selecting the initial setting, we start the proper game rounds. We secretly determine how much it is worth to us to become the first player. This gives you an advantage in the later phases of the round, but the money will definitely come in handy later. Then we work on the convergence of our program with the public by exchanging active cards.
Then we move on to the distribution of our influence: we control the media, organize rallies of support, and send our key activists to the area. Importantly, we must look at what is happening in all Länder and react to the actions of the opponents. We need to change the strategy if necessary.
Then we make changes: we discover the intentions of our politicians in the “Shadow Cabinet” and the players controlling the media influence public opinion. Then we check the results of the support polls. The polls are sponsored, so we’ll be bidding for them.
At the end of the round, we convert the accumulated support into votes. Moreover, in one of the Länder there are elections, that is, “harvest time”. We check whether any of the parties won the number of votes sufficient to govern independently, and if not, whether it will be possible to form a coalition. The election result translates into final victory points. It remains to collect money and get ready for the next round.
For demanding strategists, the game offers an extended variant. An additional round is played in it, and elections are held not in four, but in as many as seven Länder.
What do the polls say?
You won’t gain much after publishing this poll. However, it is important that others will lose.
The release of Die Macher takes us back to the past. Although the game does not specify the year in which it is played, the graphics are reminiscent of the 90s of the last century. Wooden elements are simple cylinders and cuboids. The boards are a collection of tracks to track your progress and places to keep cards. The graphics on the cards are quite simple and not very detailed. And yet – it all complements nicely to create a coherent and expressive setting.
It is a bit rough, but thanks to that the elements are clearly visible and the icons are legible, so we are able to quickly assess the situation on the other side of the table.
The in-game notes are worse spent – we get them in the form of a tear-off block. During the game we deal with money a lot and often, which can cause the banknotes to wear out quickly. I advise you to replace them with a more permanent replacement, or write down how much money you have left.
In my opinion, if the game was transferred to the present day, it could look much better. The boards (and thus the box) are unnecessarily large – the trading lines could be joined and the cards could be moved to the table. For ease of setting up, the wooden markers for ratings, votes and electorate could be slightly different in shape.
Counting votes
You won’t do much with money now. However, you can show your best side and convince them.
Die Macher is definitely a heavy caliber of the game, although the assumptions are quite simple – we will play the game intuitively after the first round. Much attention should be paid to the order in which the moves are performed – for example, bidding to start in a round, media checks and polls are different.
The whole difficulty of the game is revealed in the number and importance of the decisions made. Each played card and placed marker tilts the scales of victory. Even if we are in a strong position at the start of the round, things can change during the round, especially with more players.
The game works well for three players, although it is easy to stagnate when the games have too similar programs. Also waist polls negated when not all the parts are present in the game. If you play four, or even better five, we will experience the game to the fullest. It will take us about three to four hours to play this “game in full”.
Interestingly, as for a political game, Die Macher practically does not play over the table – sometimes we can help or harm someone indirectly, but each decision must be properly calculated so that we can gain the most from it.
I regret a bit that Die Macher is only a refreshment of the old edition, and the gameplay has not been transferred to the present day. The game begs for an add-on that would introduce the influence of social media or hackers into the struggle for power. I would see room for political tricks here: making scandals public, playing on the public mood and promoting populists.
The manual answers all questions by giving examples, and in addition, each player receives a help card with the sequence of phases. This means that we will learn the game quickly enough to play. However, only after a few full batches will we be able to accurately assess the profitability of a potential move, and calculate how many thousands of Euros must be spent to achieve the effect, but not miss it.
Elections
You see It paid off. Now you have a moment to rest. See you in four years.
Die Machera ‘s strongest point is the interaction between the players. Our rivals’ games have an impact not only on our reaction, but also on our long-distance strategy. We need to determine how fierce we are and when we should let go – to play back in the next election. Only good planning will ensure our success. As a result, we observe changes in the state of the game with concern.
Die Macher is like a precise machine – we can calculate the effects of our actions and translate carefully made decisions into points. Only one uncertainty remains: the rest of the players who, like us, play political watchmakers.
