Atlas Forum Primaries 2: Thread now closed

[Joe Republic]

A few years ago, I ran a game in which members of the forum simulated a campaign for the presidential nominations of the two major parties.  It was a success, although I kind of burned out a little towards the end and decided against continuing the game into the general election.

However, times have changed, and I'm now pleased to announce that I will be running another installment of the Atlas Forum Primaries!

For those who remember the last game, there was way too much focus on the candidates writing speeches and running ad campaigns, and then having their efforts judged solely by yours truly.  As a result the game become overly complicated, which contributed to the burnout that most of us felt.  So instead, I've decided to reform the dynamics drastically so that it'll vaguely resemble a RISK game; while it will still involve a degree of strategy, it'll now involve chance instead of creative skill.

Anyway, I'll explain more later.  For now, please sign up here if you'd like to play.  



The candidates you can choose from are listed below.  Ignore their race, gender and apparent age, as they are not relevant factors in the game.  The only thing that may be important is their home state, so keep that in mind.

If there is a forum poster's name under each profile, then that person has already been claimed.

Andrew Atkins

fezzyfestoon

Bob Bailey

Clay Cooper

Devilman88

Diane Dalton

Eric Emerson

Bacon King

Franklin Finch

Al

Gillespie Goldsmith

benconstine

Helen Hudson

tmthforu94

Isaac Irvine

Jim Jessop

AHDuke99

Kevin Kessler

AndrewCT

Linda Lopez

The Mikado

Martin Montgomery

Nancy Norton

Oliver Osborne

Shilly

Pamela Pickering

Vepres

Quentin Quinn

HappyWarrior

Rick Romano

Alexander Hamilton

Steve Spencer

North Carolina Yankee

Timothy Taylor

Purple State

Ulysses Underwood

Lahbas

Victor Vasquez

Hashemite

Wyatt Williams

Andy Jackson

Xander Xiao

Xahar

Yolanda Young

Zachary Zuckerman

Sewer Socialist

[Joe Republic]

3rd parties plz

Sorry, no.

[Joe Republic]

Cool.  Here's the list so far:

Hashemite
Ben Constine
Tmthforu94
Hannibal
Sewer Socialist
Xahar

Not that we're likely to have this many, but the maximum number of players will be 26, with 13 from each party.

[Joe Republic]

So, kind of like Atlasia without the government part?  

Precisely.  

By the way, Joe, I had dinner at Ben's Chili Bowl tonight (I don't remember them having quite so much Obama stuff around...they really milk that gimmick for all it's worth) and did a scouting run to see if I could find the Gibson, and I did.  I'll organize an expedition up there with some friends sometime, it looks perfect.  (Sure, it's a bit pricey, but I'm usually a one-drink kind of guy at places like that, so it's no problem)

Good job!  I enjoyed a rum cocktail called a 'Cricketer', but I'm sure anything you pick will be good.

Also, there's a (usually) lively jazz bar called Cafe Nema that's only a short distance away on U St; #1332 I believe.  They often have live bands playing.  Might be worth a look.  

[Joe Republic]

It's great to see so much interest. 

Now, check the first post again, as you can now choose which candidate you want to play as.  It's first-come-first-served, so be quick.

[Joe Republic]

Xander Xiao

(lol)

I knew you'd pick him.

oh, you crazy ethnics

[Joe Republic]

Michel Melançon, Democrat-Maine

or does it need to be a real pol?

Sorry, but it needs to be one of the unclaimed pols from the list in the first post.

[Joe Republic]

I'll give some more time to Hashemite and gregusodenus to specify which candidates they want, and anybody else who wants to jump in too.  I'll get the ball rolling tomorrow at some point.

[Joe Republic]

Somebody's an eager beaver! 

I've been working today, but I certainly haven't forgotten.  Give me an hour or so to put the next stage together.

[Joe Republic]

Okay, I think that's enough time for people to sign up.  Although we're going to go ahead and start the next stage, it's not too late for more people to join in and pick one of the available candidates.  However, the later they join, the more they'll be disadvantaged; much like in real life campaigns.

Here's the list of declared candidates as we enter the primary season:

DEMOCRATS

Franklin Finch (WV) - Al
Gillespie Goldsmith (LA) - benconstine
Linda Lopez (NM) - The Mikado
Martin Montgomery (ME) - afleitch
Oliver Osborne (MT) - Shilly
Quentin Quinn (TN) - HappyWarrior
Timothy Taylor (MI) - Purple State
Xander Xiao (CA) - Xahar
Zachary Zuckerman (PA) - Sewer Socialist

REPUBLICANS

Andrew Atkins (NY) - fezzyfestoon
Clay Cooper (NC) - Devilman88
Eric Emerson (NV) - Bacon King
Helen Hudson (AR) - tmthforu94
Jim Jessop (MD) - AHDuke99
Kevin Kessler (MN) - AndrewCT
Pamela Pickering (CO) - Vepres
Rick Romano (OH) - Hamilton
Steve Spencer (SD) - North Carolina Yankee
Victor Vasquez (IL) - Hashemite
Wyatt Williams (NH) - Andy Jackson



So, on to Stage Two.

This is where things start to get fun.  The premise of this stage is that you all need to canvass, campaign and generally pander to your fellow forumites to endorse your candidacy.

Basically, each and every person who is a member of this forum (and has at least 50 posts to their name, just to be safe), will be given five (5) 'endorsement points', which they can give to whichever candidate(s) they choose.

For example, one forum member could choose to give all five points to Candidate A, while another member might choose to give three points to Candidate B (who happens to be a Democrat) and two points to Candidate C (who is a Republican).

Don't worry if nobody is generous enough to endorse you.  The game will admittedly be more difficult for you, but it won't be game over before you've even begun.

You might want to write a SHORT character bio and a general overview of your candidate's issue positions.  This will help the forum members choose who to endorse, but whatever you write will have no impact on the rest of the game.  Please keep it to a single paragraph, and preferably no more than five sentences.

You have 24 hours (or so) to read and digest these instructions, and then the endorsements will officially begin in a separate (and yet to be created) thread.  No endorsements will be accepted until the new thread has been created.

So get out there and start canvassing your forum buddies!!

[Joe Republic]

Excellent work, guys.  That's the kind of thing I'm looking for.  

(Just to reiterate for the others, the quality of your bio is only to attract support from your fellow forumites.  It has no bearing on the rest of the game.)

[Joe Republic]

I'll join as a Republican and take Steve Spencer of South Dakota.

No problem.  Now hurry up and prepare yourself for the endorsement round, which officially begins in a few short hours. 

[Joe Republic]

Dianne Dalton!

Welcome!  Again, you'd better hurry up and get yourself prepared. 

[Joe Republic]

I'm starting to feel like I didn't say enough. 

I think it's okay, but you can amend your submission if you really want to.  (If you do, please make a new post; don't edit the previous one.)

[Joe Republic]

You may have mentioned this, but can candidates vote in the endorsements round?

Yep.  The new thread will explain everything.

[Joe Republic]

The endorsement thread is now open!

You have three days before we begin the Iowa caucuses, so try and get as many endorsements as you can to help you.

I cannot emphasize enough how helpful these endorsement points will be to your success, so get campaigning!


N.B.  Don't worry if you haven't written a character profile yet - just post it here and I'll add it to the other thread.  It's not essential to have one anyway.

[Joe Republic]

Oh yeah, Joe, could you give my candidate a better looking picture. Ya know, one that doesn't incinerate my eyes

Sorry, the pictures are unchangeable.  And anyway, Pamela is a beautiful, beautiful... um... woman.

[Joe Republic]

Oh yeah, Joe, could you give my candidate a better looking picture. Ya know, one that doesn't incinerate my eyes

Sorry, the pictures are unchangeable.  And anyway, Pamela is a beautiful, beautiful... um... woman.

Out of curiosity, where did you get those pictures from anyway?

Mine is a member of the Ohio state house.

They all are, with the exception of Xander Xiao, who is from the Washington state house.

[Joe Republic]

Ok another question. Which primary order are you doing, and how many days are you intending to have between each primary?

I'm still putting the primary schedule together, but we'll start with the obvious ones, i.e. Iowa then New Hampshire.  I will publish the full schedule before we start Iowa.

I reckon three days between each primary is reasonable, but I'll probably allow extensions in special circumstances.

[Joe Republic]

When will the Iowa caucus occur?
Also, will the results be made up, or will Atlas users determine the winner?

It'll begin tomorrow.  The process will be explained at that point, but the only involvement Atlas users (other than the candidates) will have is already underway in the endorsements thread. 

[Joe Republic]

Okay so I got called up last-minute to a conference in Las Vegas this weekend, so I'm not sure how much spare time I'll have to get things going.  Don't worry though, just hold on for a few more days.  Sorry! 

[Joe Republic]

(more information to be added tonight).

Please reconsider that.  I know you're certainly not the first, but I did ask people to keep their bios to one paragraph and five sentences.  The post in the endorsement thread in which I copy-and-paste them has a 10,000 character limit.  I've had to be creative to circumvent that, but it's a pain in the ass to do.

[Joe Republic]

This thread is now closed.

The Democratic primaries will continue here.

The Republican primaries will continue here.

If you still want to (belatedly) join in as a new candidate, please say so in the relevant party thread.  If you want to add or update your character bio, you can send me a PM.