“First rule of politics, kiddo: never let the truth get in the way of a good story.”
If you wanna be a real big shot, you need to get involved in politics. The added functionality of politics doesn’t really do much at the start of the game, but once you have too much money to know what to spend it on, that’s where it comes into its own.
If you play the New York map (which is included with Shadow Government) you get a mission right at the start to go seek out your local politician, and get some nice money in return. The other maps don’t give you the introductory missions … or the money.
Since the game starts in June 1920, it’s at the start of the nomination cycle for politicians. Unfortunately, since you need money to nominate a politician, and then to give them campaign donations, the first election cycle will have to be ignored because you won’t have the kind of money required. Because you also have no political influence at this point, you can’t change any laws in January 1921, so that will also have to wait.
Election cycles
Election cycles run every two years (1920/22/24/26/28/30/32) – unless you’re playing on Epic where it seems to be every four (1920/24/28/32) – so once the locals go to the polls in November, you’ll have to wait until 1922 (or 1924) for the next opportunity to get involved. By 1924 you will hopefully have some money to spare to get at least one politician in your pocket.
- June – July: Nomination cycle – nominate your politicians
- August – October: Campaign cycle – go around doing campaign tasks
- November (first week): Election Day – find out if you won or not
Electing your personal political pawn
First you need to find yourself a politician on the map. The incumbent politician, the one who won the last election, can be found in the ward office. There are several wards on the map, and several politicians to bribe back. One political ward corresponds to one police precinct.
A politician requires donations, and the minimum donation you can do at any time is $1000/$1500 (seems to depend on which map you play?), then $2000/$3000, $5000/$7500, $10000/$15000. This is why politics is something you can only really get into if you have plenty of money to spare! Larger donation amounts might cause some legal issues, the candidate to be investigated and so on, which ain’t great for publicity and voters don’t take kindly to it.
First you back a politician (nominations are in June-July) and donate money to them, and when the campaign cycle starts in August, that’s when you get to spend it. Your politician needs to go out campaigning, and campaigning usually costs money, which comes out of their campaign budget – i.e. the money you’ve donated.
From June to the end of October you can donate more money if and when needed.
You can always see who’s ahead in the polls when you visit the ward office, so you know what campaigning actions they’ve already done and what you might want to try next, as well as seeing how much is left in the budget.
You can do campaigning actions every three turns, so remember to check back with your candidate at regular intervals to see if there’s something more you can do to ensure your candidate’s victory. If you’re going to spend all that money on buying a politician, you should make sure you get your money’s worth!
You can also use Favors to have local businesses help put the word about about the local candidate you’re backing to give them a boost.
Fronts can organize a boost as well, but this will count as a campaigning action and lock you out of doing any other campaigning actions, so make sure you only use that after you’ve done the regular campaigning action.
Who can you nominate?
If there is only one option available, you have to nominate a challenger. If there is more than one option, you seem to be able to pick the person who won last time, a.k.a. the incumbent, or a challenger.
If you share the same nationality as a candidate, there are some campaigning options available for free.
There is no political spectrum at play here, the colors don’t represent any political leaning. Blue is for the incumbent candidate, red is for the first challenger, and yellow for the second challenger (if applicable).
Even if you have a list of nine challengers to choose from, the maximum number of politicians running in any ward is three.
Political style
Every politician has their own little “quirks”, things that make them more or less easy to elect – and also how much Influence you gain if/when they win.
You need to figure out what kind of person you think the locals would vote for. Look at the current incumbent and see which one you feel would work best for that ward – and your wallet.
The way they do politics influences the cost to back them, see the Cost modifier column.
| Style | Description in game | Traits favored | Influence modifier | Cost modifier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abrasive | “Not the most reassuring voice. In fact, it’s downright dissonant. It’s best to keep them away from the campaign podium lest they start talking. But once in office, they have a knack for spreading influence.” | Clumsy Quiet Ugly | +10% | +40% |
| Candidate of the People | “It’s hard to tell sometimes if this politician really believes all of their rousing speeches and twinkle-eyed idealism, but the crowds love it. Good fundraising, but a weak incumbent with a target on their back during elections.” | Compassionate Friendly Hardworking Irreverent | -30% | -20% |
| Corrupt | “This politician is willing to do anything to get ahead. Bypassing election laws, dirty tricks, and blatant lies – nothing is beneath this competitor. Easy to elect, but runs the risk of gaffes and legal intervention.” | Confident Immoral Nervous Unkind | +10% | -20% |
| Insider1 | “Face it – no one likes the fat-cat politician. In fact, they’re easy targets. So while they’re expensive to elect, they’re great once elected to increase your influence at City Hall.” | Hardworking Sharpeyed Sociable | +80% | +80% |
| Legalist | “As straight-edge as they come, this politician is extremely effective once in office, but isn’t the most appealing from the outside. Refuses to engage in illegal campaign activities, but very willing to listen to big donors once in power.” | Cautious Religious Upright | -30% | -20% |
| Naive | “It’s not that they don’t see how the world of politics works – No. Wait. It’s exactly that. They just don’t quite have the killer instinct. Makes them easy to ignore and not very influential. But they’re nice and people seem to take to them, so there’s that.” | Compassionate Forgiving Slow | -40% | -20% |
| Orator | “Soaring words that speak to the soul flow from this politician. Everyone feels that they’re being addressed directly. They truly enjoy and excel at getting elected. But once in office, you find that they talk more than they do.” | Attractive Intelligent Talkative | -10% | +50% |
| Public Servant | “This politician is just here to fill a role. No strong opinions one way for another, these run-of-the-mill public servants are easy to mold, but have no huge advantages of their own.” | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Ruthless | “For this politician, winning is everything and there is nothing that they wouldn’t do to win. And then win again. Their drive means that they’re if not respected, then at least feared and that increases their political influence. However, their willingness to try anything makes them a bit tougher for the public to love.” | Aggressive Cruel Intelligent Vindictive | +60% | +60% |
| Wallflower | “When asked what they do for the city, the most honest answer would be that they cash their checks. And not much else. Every political system depends on a bunch of bodies to keep the seats warm. And their vote counts just as much.” | Lazy Loner Mellow | -10% | -10% |
- Can start investigations into competitors. If you’re up against an Insider, they can start an investigation into your candidate. ↩︎
Political influence
Once it’s time for elections (first week of November), you see the results for the entire city, with the politicians in your pocket at the top. Didn’t win? Better luck next time. They won? Congratulations, you’ve gained yourself some political influence! This is going to be useful come January, when you get to use that influence to change the city’s laws in your favor.
How do you get more influence? By winning elections with more candidates. The more politicians you back, the more influence you can gain, but the more it will cost you.
Different wards are worth different amounts of influence (higher population density = more influence).
The only way to gain Influence outside of elections is if you have an Operative captain and send them on a scheme with a successful outcome.
➡️ Laws