Best Strategy Games That Let You Buy An Election

Political video games often require careful planning and strategy. Whether you’re managing a group within a large space empire or trying to build a thriving nation, it’s smart to use all available resources to win elections. Many games explore this aspect of leadership in engaging and creative ways.

These strategy games explore the world of political maneuvering – using tactics like funding, persuasion, or even coercion – and show how those actions can have both positive and negative effects. Here are a few examples where these strategies are key to how the game works.

I didn’t want to just list a ton of games that all felt the same, so we kept this list pretty focused. I’d rather show you different ways developers tackle these ideas. And honestly, even though these three are top-notch, there are so many other great games out there that do similar things really well!

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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.

With El Presidente in charge, Tropico is destined for great success, surpassing any other island nation in the Caribbean, Asia, or the Mediterranean. While there may be challenges along the way – like economic downturns or food shortages – these difficulties will only make future triumphs more rewarding. The people of Tropico should simply be thankful to have such a kind, powerful, and admirable leader.

The President shouldn’t even need to hold an election, as it would just embarrass his opponents. He’s known for his kindness, and believes the people should decide, but recognizes they sometimes make mistakes and might accidentally vote for someone else. To protect Tropico and ensure the correct outcome, he’s simply authorizing a small adjustment to the voting process – a safety net for voters who might slip up.

Tampering with an election deeply damages public trust, lowers your support, and doesn’t even guarantee victory, making future elections much more difficult. To avoid a second election altogether, you could declare martial law, ostensibly for the benefit of the people.

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 a complex sci-fi strategy game where you build and manage a galactic empire, focusing on the political and social challenges that come with it. Elections are a key part of the game, but how they work depends on your empire’s type and faction. Let’s look at the Lumeris faction as an example – they’re known for trying to buy elections. Unlike factions motivated by beliefs, Lumeris is all about business, focusing on trade and becoming financially powerful.

Okay, so this game has seven different political parties, and they all play really differently. When you first start, you’re automatically cool with the Pacifists, which makes sense since they’re all about trading. But honestly, if you want to really take over, I’d suggest going with the Industrialists. They just fit my playstyle better. If you get them in power, your planets start pumping out resources way faster and cheaper. You can colonize and build factories so much quicker with them running things, though the Religious party isn’t bad either.

It’s surprisingly simple to manipulate the election in Endless Space 2. You spend ‘Dust,’ the game’s currency, to heavily fund your preferred faction, effectively drowning out the competition. However, there’s a trade-off: winning the election and rapidly increasing your income can lead to inflation, making future elections – or, let’s be honest, bribes – more costly.

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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, planning for the future is key, especially when it comes to who will inherit your power. You want to make sure your heir, and not a rival, takes control when you’re gone. Let’s focus on feudal and princely titles, because these are decided by a vote among your vassals – the powerful nobles who support you. The candidate with the most votes inherits everything. This is different from other systems where your land is split between your children.

Okay, so as a huge fan of Roman history, I’ve been thinking about how emperors could influence elections. It wasn’t a sure thing, but they definitely had ways to tip the scales! If a powerful elector was leaning against your chosen candidate, you could… let’s say, encourage them to reconsider. A nice gift, a little something to show your appreciation, could go a long way. Honestly, people are a lot more open to your arguments when you’re also offering them gold! It’s just human nature, I guess, even back then.

If you’d rather not pay off someone who opposes you, you can always try to gather compromising information about them using spies. This allows you to leverage that information against them. And if you have the “Truth is Relative” perk, you can even create false information to use if your spy doesn’t find anything real.

2026-05-21 22:06