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We Brought Our Election Simulation Game To Chicago... And Learned The Chicago Way

from the russians-in-a-dimly-lit-shipping-container dept

Mon, Oct 29th 2018 9:33am — Mike Masnick

You may recall that, back in June, I wrote about a bizarre situation in which an election simulation game, that I helped co-design, called "Machine Learning President," somehow had some of the rules sheets leaked to Rebekah Mercer, from which they were leaked once again to Jane Mayer at the New Yorker, who wrote up an article there, not knowing the provenance of the game. This caused many, many people to assume that the Mercers had somehow made up this game to "relive" the success of the 2016 election. This resulted in a ton of angry headlines and tweets -- including the host of NPR's comedic news-based "game show" Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, Peter Sagal, who alerted his friend, Cards Against Humanity designer, Max Temkin, who tweeted angrily about the game.

The next day, when I wrote up my post explaining what the game really was about -- we had a lot of people reach out to ask if they, too, could play the game. Unfortunately, it's a ton of work to put on, and the crew who designed the game -- lead by Berit Anderson and Brett Horvath from Scout.ai and Guardians.ai, who initially conceived of the game, along with Randy Lubin (who is our partner in our CIA game project), and science fiction writer, Eliot Peper -- are all super busy. However, by far the most aggressive in getting us to play the game were Max Temkin and Peter Sagal.

It finally happened two weeks ago in Chicago, and Charlie Hall at Polygon has a brilliant write-up about how the game went:

Inside a warehouse on Chicago’s North Side, within the thin strip of industrial property between Bucktown and Lincoln Park, Sen. Elizabeth Warren is pandering to a small group of powerful evangelicals. Just a few feet away, near a bowl brimming with 20-sided dice, Vice President Mike Pence is honing his next batch of TV and radio ads. Meanwhile, within a dimly lit shipping container, Russian oligarchs are desperately trying to funnel money to Sen. Kamala Harris through Black Lives Matter.

No, it’s not the fever dream of some political wonk stranded here along the nation’s third coast. It’s a 40-person live-action role-play of the 2020 presidential election. Formally, it’s called a “scenario planning game.” In motion, it’s a vehicle for some of the most engaging political theater that I’ve ever seen.

This was really only the second time we've run the full game (there have been a few playtests of part of the game). The first time was back in San Francisco in February and then this time in Chicago. The San Francisco game was incredible, but the crew that Max and Peter brought out to play in Chicago took it to the next level in terms of truly inhabiting their roles... and learning from the experience:

For Sagal, who every week tells jokes about political figures set against the backdrop of real NPR News stories, Machine Learning President was an educational experience.

“I make my living reading the news,” Sagal said. “All that shit is real, but it’s not important. The important shit we never find out about, and I honestly think this game illustrates that.

“Look at it this way: All of the candidates tonight got to make speeches, and these speeches were important. [...] But what was also interesting was that there was no attempt on anybody’s part to use those speeches to convince anybody of anything. That all happened during the 15-minute rounds. The speech was just about signaling. The speech was not making the deal or convincing anybody to do anything. It was just about delivering on something and positioning yourself to confirm a deal you’ve already made. There was no persuasive aspect to any of the things that any of us said, because the persuading had already been done. Or, as in our case with the Evangelicals, not done.

“What the game teaches you,” Sagal continued, “is that the shit that we get to see, as citizens who watch the speeches and get the emails [...] is nonsense and not important. The stuff that’s really important is happening behind the scenes.”

That may be the best endorsement we've seen of the game yet -- and the article only barely touches on some of the crazy alliances, use of technology, dealmaking, events, and backstabbing that played out over the course of a truly frantic evening. As the article notes, a big part of the point of the game is to get people to better understand how politics and tech and money intersect, and we heard from multiple people who played in Chicago saying they couldn't stop thinking about it after playing (we also had a few veterans of actual political campaigns note that it hit a little too close to home). Chicago has a reputation in politics, and I will say that the folks who showed up to play demonstrated that quite effectively.

Either way, we're still hoping to set up additional events for the game, even though it's quite a bit of work to run, and all of us are pretty swamped with other stuff. However, since people keep asking for it, we're trying to figure out ways to run it perhaps a bit more often.

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Filed Under: chicago, election, election game, elections, games, machine learning president, max temkin, peter sagal, politics, scenario planning, simulation

44 Comments

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Joe from Chicago. -- How do you know that? 'Cause , 29 Oct 2018 @ 9:46am

Maybe you can simulate a "win" over Populism, but not IRL.

"The stuff that’s really important is happening behind the scenes."

Sheesh. Just now learned that The Rich manipulate the system out of sight? Like with "electronic" voting machines flipping votes? Like GOOGLE manipulating search results to favor Hillary?

Brazil just elected the Latino Trump. But I don't predict how the US "election" will go because are too damn many of those rigged "electronic" systems around... Just keep in mind that Populism got Trump into office and don't be surprised if happens again, even more after the shenanigans of "the left" for last two years.

Now, speaking of hidden manipulation: this'll be censored by Techdirt's mysterious "voting system". Techdirt / Masnick won't even answer whether an Administrator makes a decision on that. Masnick knows LOTS about hidden manipulation...
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Joe from Chicago., 29 Oct 2018 @ 9:47am

Re: Maybe you can simulate a "win" over Populism, but not IRL.
-- The name got chopped. Punch line is "Cause I live here." It's a bit subtle, and it's from The Firesign Theatre.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Oct 2018 @ 9:54am

Re: Maybe you can simulate a "win" over Populism, but not IRL.
The voting system here is not mysterious. People click the flag for your dumb comments. The comments are hidden. The end.

Everyone has figured this out, except you.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Oct 2018 @ 9:55am

"...the shit that we get to see, as citizens who watch the speeches and get the emails [...] is nonsense and not important. The stuff that’s really important is happening behind the scenes.” "

yup, that's the distilled essence of the eternal government/media racket waged against the public.
Don't bother voting next week -- it doesn't change anything in the oligarchy.
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James Burkhardt (profile), 29 Oct 2018 @ 10:07am

Re:
Yeah, that's actually not the point. The point was that a lot of what we see in speeches and debates is not speaking directly to people, but is rather signaling to various other groups.

This doesn't mean your voting choices mean nothing, or not to vote, but rather that this game gives us insight into how to assess candidates better.
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Mike Masnick (profile), 29 Oct 2018 @ 10:10am

Re:
yup, that's the distilled essence of the eternal government/media racket waged against the public. Don't bother voting next week -- it doesn't change anything in the oligarchy.

This may be the dumbest take I've heard in a while. (1) If this were true, then there's no harm in voting either because you can't change anything by not voting either. (2) This kind of cynicism leads to even worse outcomes. Anyone who thinks "they're all bad, so who cares" is not just clueless, but is actively supporting making things worse.
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That One Guy (profile), 29 Oct 2018 @ 10:13am

A good old fashioned self-fulfilling prophecy
If you do vote you at least have a chance to change things, even if other forces are tipping the scales such that it might not succeed.

If you don't vote then you don't even have that much, and the ones that are attempting to rig things in their favor get to win unopposed, with minimal effort on their part.

Better to try and fail than not try at all, or looked at another way, 'Better to make the ones trying to screw you over work for it rather than handing them victory on a silver platter with minimal effort on their part.'
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Gary (profile), 29 Oct 2018 @ 10:18am

Re: Maybe you can simulate a "win" over Populism, but not IRL.
Now, speaking of hidden manipulation: this'll be censored by Techdirt's mysterious "voting system".

You are correct for once! Still lying, but correct on this single point.

Thanks for contributing, and for sharing your copyright.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Oct 2018 @ 10:18am

Watch what they do more than what they say.
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Chip, 29 Oct 2018 @ 10:22am

Re:
I am very "smart"! You can Tell that I am Smart because I use words like "oligarchy" and tell everyone who much I don't Care about Things.

Every Nation eats the Paint chips it Deserves!
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That One Guy (profile), 29 Oct 2018 @ 10:25am

How that's saying go?
'It is difficult to get a person to understand something when their ability to spin wild and unintentionally entertaining conspiracy theories depend on their not understanding it.'
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Oct 2018 @ 10:30am

Re:
Total coincidence, I'm sure, that your message of "don't bother voting" exactly matches what those in power would like.
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Gary (profile), 29 Oct 2018 @ 10:39am

Re:
Don't bother voting next week -- it doesn't change anything in the oligarchy.

Interesting, this is exactly the pitch from the Russian astro-turfers.

Vote, and make a difference or whine about it - the choice is yours.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Oct 2018 @ 10:58am

Re:
If it were constitutional we should enact a law that forbids reporting what political figures say, ban political speeches, prevent any form of public speaking on politicians' part and let their actions speak for them. Limit their speech to a short description of their platform when running, in print, and let the reporters and public fill in the blanks with who has contributed to their campaigns, how they've voted in the past, what their political affiliations are and how they are likely to proceed once in office.

Oh, and do away with the electoral college.
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Bamboo Harvester (profile), 29 Oct 2018 @ 11:11am

Is anyone really unaware of it?
...it's the same at your local levels. Deals are made in "smoky back rooms", all the media gets is spin and hype.

What's next, discovering that a great many court cases ARE decided on golf courses?
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Bamboo Harvester (profile), 29 Oct 2018 @ 11:14am

Re: Re:
Depends on where you live, and which seats you're voting for.

NYC decides all Federal elections for the Democrat, no matter how all the rest of the State votes. Same for LA and Chicago.

At the State and various Local levels, votes in those states may mean something. But at the Federal level, your vote is worthless - those cities will swamp the polls with Democrat votes.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Oct 2018 @ 11:26am

Re: Re: Re:
Funny how you only consider this a problem in one direction.
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James Burkhardt (profile), 29 Oct 2018 @ 11:34am

Re: Re: Re:
But the reasons behind that are not related to the behind the scenes politicking either. And Mike's argument (1) stands true, even if you think voting doesn't matter. But I would add that local changes drive larger federal changes, in many cases.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Oct 2018 @ 11:53am

Cards Against Humanity designer, Max Temkin, who tweeted angrily about the game.

snort
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Oct 2018 @ 12:13pm

Re: Maybe you can simulate a "win" over Populism, but not IRL.
I was one of the readers that flagged your comment. Hope this helps clear up the not so mysterious voting system. What is really mysterious is how you can post that and not expect it to be flagged by the community.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Oct 2018 @ 1:06pm

suggestions for new events.
Come to SaltCon next year in March. Big board game convention with lots of people willing to do large group games.

SaltCon website
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Oct 2018 @ 1:29pm

Re: Re:
I would rather people simply stop lying.

If the intent is to dismantle social security and medicare then be an adult and say so.

If the campaign relies upon voters being misinformed then most likely there is no intent to represent them in the first place.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Oct 2018 @ 1:32pm

Re: Is anyone really unaware of it?
Corruption, its what's for dinner.

It has been this way like forevar ... so why change now - amirite?
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Oct 2018 @ 1:50pm

Re:member when you voted yourself off the island?
Bawk!
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Bamboo Harvester (profile), 29 Oct 2018 @ 1:56pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
Pfft. YOU would be screeching about it if those three cities voted Republican instead.

Either way, they make the votes of the rest of the state useless.
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Bamboo Harvester (profile), 29 Oct 2018 @ 2:01pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
There's a tremendous amount of back room and behind the scenes dealing with Federal and State "funding" to cities.

If NY qualifies for a billion dollar grant to put a hydro dam on the Outtadaway River up in the Adirondacks, you can be sure it'll be siphoned into NYC "projects", leaving nothing to build the dam.
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Stephen T. Stone (profile), 29 Oct 2018 @ 2:03pm

those cities will swamp the polls with Democrat votes

So what? Plenty of cities “swamp the polls” with votes for Republicans.
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Bamboo Harvester (profile), 29 Oct 2018 @ 2:04pm

Re: Re: Is anyone really unaware of it?
It's not all corruption. If you put everything to a public vote, nothing ever gets done - the only people who show up to vote are the naysayers.

We "hire" (elect) people to do a job. Second guessing them should have been done before you voted them in.
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Stephen T. Stone (profile), 29 Oct 2018 @ 2:14pm

I hate the idea of politicians lying and speaking out of both sides of their mouths, yet I would never go so far as to suggest they should be legally barred from speaking in public either before, during, or after their time in office. Your idea would preclude politicians from defending votes on controversial issues where they believe they voted “the right way”—e.g., someone who voted against FOSTA/SESTA could be barred from explaining why they voted against it.

What we need in the United States is better journalism. We need journalists who have no fears in re: holding liars accountable, even if they like/voted for a liar. We need journalists who will ask tough questions of our leaders, press them for answers, refuse to accept lies or deflections as answers, and stop trying to do “view from nowhere” reporting on such lies. What we do not need, however, is a law that shoves a ballgag in a politician’s mouth from the beginning of their first campaign for public office to the end of their life.
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That One Guy (profile), 29 Oct 2018 @ 2:14pm

'Of course this is for me, I'm just using them for PR!'
Your comment has me wondering how many would-be politicians would still be interested in running if, while they were running and while in office, they were hit with a 'Liar Liar'-style curse such that they had to tell the truth about anything related to the job.

Motivations for presenting/proposing/supporting a bill, goal with regards to actions towards other bills/laws, any potential conflicts of interests, that sort of thing.

I'm guessing if they couldn't lie the number of people interested in the position would be but a fraction of the current amount, and of those that still went with it I've no doubt it would certainly make things a lot more 'interesting'.
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Stephen T. Stone (profile), 29 Oct 2018 @ 2:15pm

Careful with that name; you probably don’t want SDCC coming after you.
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CyberKender, 29 Oct 2018 @ 2:42pm

Re: Re:
"Not voting isn't a protest. It's surrender."
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Oct 2018 @ 2:47pm

Re:
Good then we will have more evidence to show that the usage is generic enough to negate whatever protection the SDCC thinks they are owed.
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Mike Masnick (profile), 29 Oct 2018 @ 3:12pm

Re: Maybe you can simulate a "win" over Populism, but not IRL.
Hey, how long has it been since you promised to leave the site forever if I answered your question... which I did?

Oh, right. Looks like 37 days. And yet you're still here. Every day. https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20180922/11374040692/this-week-techdirt-history-september-16th-22n d.shtml#c14 Funny that.
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guy, 29 Oct 2018 @ 3:19pm

Re: Re: Re: Is anyone really unaware of it?
The reason we regularly hold new elections is so we can fire them if we are displeased with their performance. If they want to keep their jobs they need to convince us they're doing them properly.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Oct 2018 @ 3:28pm

Re: 'Of course this is for me, I'm just using them for PR!'
So the grifters go elsewhere thus opening up positions to those who are actually interested in serving the public rather than themselves. Not bad.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Oct 2018 @ 3:34pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
What a sad little deflection you've attempted.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Oct 2018 @ 3:39pm

Re: Re: Re: Is anyone really unaware of it?
Call it what you want, idk.
Corruption by any other name would stink just as bad.

"We "hire" (elect) people to do a job. Second guessing them should have been done before you voted them in."

We did not hire them and we can not fire them, even when they blatantly refuse to do their jobs.

Prior to voting, there is plenty of hot air full of bluster and bullshit, none of which can be believed because these goons lie out their ass - but the voting public is supposed to "second guess" the candidates ... I assume this means using your clairvoyant super powers to figure out if they align with your desires of your government. What are you smoking?
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That One Guy (profile), 29 Oct 2018 @ 3:39pm

Yes but see it doesn't count because you were supposed to dedicate an entire gorram article rebutting them, as the comment section doesn't count because they said it didn't.

(I wish I was being sarcastic rather than repeating what I understand their excuse for refusing to honor their promise is.)
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Mike Masnick (profile), 29 Oct 2018 @ 3:47pm

Re:
Yes but see it doesn't count because you were supposed to dedicate an entire gorram article rebutting them, as the comment section doesn't count because they said it didn't.

Ha! Now reading over his response, I see that. And, actually, that was my initial read as well, but even that's not accurate. He's saying he'll never darken "the site" but then qualifying that "the site" does NOT include "the comments" because he considers "the comments" separate from "the site" and under his bastardized, ridiculous, nonsensical understanding of the law, we have no control over our own comments, and thus it is not part of the site we can control, and thus he's not promising to leave the comments.

And thus he'll continue doing exactly what he's been doing all along. Under his own definitions, he's only saying he'll never write for the site, which, you know, is already a done deal.

This is truly galaxy brain moronic trolling.
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That One Guy (profile), 29 Oct 2018 @ 4:13pm

Re: Re:
... That's almost impressive(for all the wrong reasons). I thought their excuse was already face-palm-concussion levels of absurd, but if your reading of it is correct even that was giving their excuse far too much credit than it deserved in that they 'promised' to never do something they were never going to be able to do when you met their 'challenge'.
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CrushU (profile), 30 Oct 2018 @ 1:18pm

Re: suggestions for new events.
DragonCon also has a pretty robust Political LARP scene, as well.
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nasch (profile), 30 Oct 2018 @ 10:31pm

Re: Re: Re:
What you call swamping the polls others might call citizens exercising their right to vote.
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nasch (profile), 30 Oct 2018 @ 10:34pm

Re: Re:
This would also advantage incumbents even more than they are already, since someone with no political office or history would be left with almost no message. Voters would be comparing the written platform statements, and comparing the voting history of the incumbent against... nothing.
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