Landslide

About this board game

Landslide is an election-themed bidding game for 2–4 players that plays in about 90 minutes. Players compete for states by treating votes as money, building electoral totals as the game progresses.

In an actual Presidential election, a candidate must receive at least one more than half of the 538 electoral votes to be elected. If no candidate reaches that threshold, the election goes to the House of Representatives. Landslide changes this rule for its multi-candidate format: with as many as four candidates dividing the electoral votes, the winner is the player with the highest total at the end of the game.

The central system is simple to describe but full of direct competition. Players bid for states, using votes as though they were money. Winning a state adds to a player’s electoral position, while every bid also affects how much voting power remains available for future contests.

• Designed for 2–4 players
• Approximately 90 minutes of play
• State bidding with votes used as currency
• Attempts to steal states already bought by another player
• Victory goes to the player with the highest electoral-vote total

Landslide also allows players to challenge control that has already been established. A player may attempt to steal an already “bought” state from another player, adding an extra layer of confrontation to the race for electoral votes.

Released in 1971, Landslide presents a compact model of electoral competition built around bidding, changing control, and the final count. Its distinctive use of votes as money makes every state part of both the election and the marketplace.