Presidential Debates

Presidential Debates is the setup switch that decides whether a presidential campaign includes a debate stage. With the switch on, three points in the campaign put the President on a stage against an opponent, a moderator and a member of the public. With the switch off, those same points in the campaign play out as ordinary campaign events instead. The setup screen describes turning the switch off as skipping the debate stage so that regular campaign events fill those months.

A candidate who reaches the presidency through Career Mode gets two debates instead of three, near the end of the election year, regardless of how the toggle was set earlier in the career.

What plays in a debate

With the switch on, what actually happens depends on the era and on the account. In the modern era, with a premium account and a locked campaign manifesto, a debate month runs the full debate minigame described below. In every other era, and for a free account, a debate month instead plays a single debate event, answered like any other campaign event.

The debate minigame

Before the debate begins, the player picks one of six approaches: Aggressive, Contemplative, Hidden Earpiece, Dogwhistle, Thoughtful Tone, or Reach Across the Aisle. Each is described on its card as giving a different subtle advantage, without the game spelling out exactly what it does.

The debate then runs five rounds, shown on a banner as they happen:

• The moderator opens with a question, the President answers, and the moderator pushes back once.
• The opponent attacks, and the President answers and faces a follow-up in the same way.
• The moderator presses on a second topic, and the President gives a single answer.
• A member of the public asks a question, drawn from that debate's watching crowd, and pushes back once.
• Both sides give closing statements.

In every round with a follow-up, the President has the last word. Each answer is capped at a number of characters shown next to the answer box, with more room allowed under the Contemplative approach or with Podium Clock switched on. A draft button can write an answer from the campaign's manifesto and the debate so far, on request. The opponent faced across all three debates of a campaign is the same person throughout.

Scoring

After each round, the watching crowd scores the exchange, and a running scoreboard tracks the result through the debate. At the end, the five round scores are averaged into a final verdict for each viewer, along with commentary, and the closing card shows the outcome. The approach chosen at the start and the President's own party both have some effect on the final scores, alongside the usual influence of a Campaign Manager. The result feeds into the election in the same way as any other campaign event.

Access

Switching the toggle off, or on, is free. Playing the actual debate minigame instead of the event-card version requires a premium account. A free account is also limited to a short trial of the game that ends well before the debates would normally arrive, so the difference rarely comes up in practice. Workshop packs cannot force this switch either way.

The switch is offered on the career builder too, on by default.