Die Macher

Overview

Die Macher is a political strategy game where players lead one of five German political parties (CDU/CSU, FDP, Greens, SPD, Die Linke) through four federal state elections. Players adjust party programs to match popular opinion, organize rallies, control the media, deploy shadow cabinet politicians, and bid on polls to influence election outcomes. Victory points come from election results, media presence, party base size, and leftover money.

Components

4 federal state boards (form one game board)
1 media/party base board
1 party program board
1 popular opinion board
1 poll board
1 marker board
56 party program cards (7 topics, each with approving/disapproving)
42 popular opinion cards (7 topics, each with approving/disapproving)
40 shadow cabinet politician cards (8 per party)
15 donation cards (3 per party)
10 poll cards
16 federal state cards
5 party markers, 4 double markers, 2 ballot box markers
45 tracking markers (9 per party, five marked “50”)
25 media markers (5 per party, octagonal)
100 party rally cubes (20 per party)
Playing money (150 bills: 1,000/2,000/5,000/10,000/20,000 Euro)
1 scoring pad
10 player aids (English/German)

Setup

Remove components not used in the 4-election game: 1 ballot box marker, 3 politician cards per player (without the 4-game icon), 1 media marker per player.
Assemble the 4 federal state boards. Place all other boards and money nearby.
Shuffle federal state cards into “large” and “small” piles. Draw 2 from each, shuffle those 4, and place one on each state board. Place the ballot box marker on the smallest state (fewest VP).
Place one approving and one disapproving popular opinion for each of 7 topics on the popular opinion board display. Shuffle remaining popular opinions; draw 4 per state and place face-down, then reveal cards progressively (all 4 in smallest state, 3 in second, 2 in third, 1 in fourth). No duplicate topics allowed per state.
Shuffle poll cards; place face-down on poll board.
Shuffle party program cards; deal a display face-up based on player count.
Each player chooses a party, takes 5 politician cards, 3 donation cards, 9 tracking markers, 4 media markers, and 20 rally cubes.
Place tracking markers: one on “0” votes in each state, one on “0” trend in each state, one on “10” party base.
Each player receives 30,000 Euro.
Party program draft: Deal 7 party program cards to each player. Draft 4 cards (pick 1, pass left, repeat 3 times). From 7 total cards, select 5 different topics as your party program (face-up). Keep 1 card in hand, discard the rest.
Starting deployment: Each player secretly chooses a block on the scoring sheet to assign start bonuses (rallies, trend, media, votes) to specific states.

Turn Structure

Each of the 4 game rounds has 9 phases in 3 segments:

Preparations

Determine Start Player: All players secretly bid money. Highest bidder pays and becomes start player. Ties resolved by open re-bidding.
Changes to Party Programs: In player order, each player may take cards (1 from draw pile + 1 from display, or refresh display + take 1), then swap up to 2 party program cards. Discard down to 1 hand card.

Deployment

Secure Media Influence: In turn order, players may buy media markers (5,000 Euro each) one at a time, placed on empty media spots in any state (max 5 per state). Continue until all pass consecutively.
Organize Party Rallies: Each player buys rallies in any states. Cost per state: 1 rally = 1,000; 2 = 2,000; 3 = 3,000; 4 = 5,000; 5 = 7,000; 6 = 10,000; 7 = 15,000; 8 = 20,000. Max 8 rally spots per party per state.
Send Shadow Cabinet: Each player places up to 1 politician face-down per state. Politicians are single-use (removed from game after resolving).

Changes

Actions of the Shadow Cabinet: Starting with the election state, reveal politicians, pay costs, and execute actions. Five politician types with costs: Backbencher (3,000), Vice-Chancellor (5,000), Spokesperson (5,000), Secretary (8,000), Parliamentary Leader (15,000). Each has a main action and secondary actions.
Media Influence: Players with the most media markers in a state (no ties) may swap one popular opinion card with one from the display. Double-marked opinions cannot be swapped.
Auctioning off Polls: For each state, auction the top poll card. Winner may publish it (adjust trends per card) or keep it secret (raise party base by 3).
Evaluation of Votes & Federal State Election:
- a) Relocate Votes: Transform rallies into votes using formula: (Party rallies + Trend) x Matching topics = Votes. Matching = +1 per matching popular opinion, -1 per opposite, doubled if double marker present. Minimum multiplier is 1. In the election state, all rallies must be transformed.
- b) Determine Election Effects: Score VP per votes (varies by state size). Determine winner (50+ votes needed). Single winner: 12 VP bonus. Multiple parties at 50+: 10 VP each. Coalition (2 parties reaching 50+ combined): 7 VP each. No coalition possible: strongest gets 5 VP. Winners and media-influencing players move media markers to media presence board.
- c) Pay Money: 1,000 Euro per VP scored + 1,000 per party base point + optional donation (10K/20K/30K but costs 1/2/3 party base points; rejecting gains 1/3/5 base points). Skipped in round 4.
- d) Prepare Next Round: Remove the election state board. Reveal one more popular opinion per remaining state. Refresh party program display.

Actions

Shadow Cabinet Politicians

Actions marked with a special icon may only be performed once per state per round across all players.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Victory points come from:

Election VP: Based on votes in each state (varies by state size; need 5+ votes to score).
Election winner bonus: 5-12 VP depending on how the election is won.
Media presence: VP from media markers placed on media presence spots (10+ VP each, scored at game end).
Party base: 1 VP per point on party base scale (scored at game end).
Leftover money: 1st place = 6 VP, 2nd place = 3 VP (ties share full amount).

The player with the most total VP after 4 elections wins.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

Party program rules: Must have exactly 5 different topics. Cannot have both approving and disapproving of the same topic.
Popular opinion duplicates: When revealing popular opinions, if a duplicate topic appears in a state, discard it and draw a replacement.
Double markers: Only 1 per state at a time. Protects the popular opinion from media influence. Doubles the matching/opposing value during vote calculation.
Coalition rules: Only 2-party coalitions allowed. Coalition partner chosen based on most matching party program topics. Coalition must total 50+ votes.
Overbidding penalty: If caught bidding more money than you have, pay all money to bank and lose 10 party base points.
Vote formula minimum: If (rallies + trend) or matching topics would be 0 or negative, treat as +1.
Money is secret: Players may hide their money (bills have neutral backs).
7-election variant: Extended game over 5 rounds with 7 elections total. Rounds 4 and 5 each have 2 elections. Uses additional components (extra ballot box marker, all 8 politicians, extra media marker).

Player Reference

Phase	Action
1. Determine Start Player	Secret bid; highest pays
2. Change Party Programs	Draft from display/draw pile; swap up to 2
3. Secure Media Influence	Buy markers at 5,000 each
4. Organize Party Rallies	Buy 1-8 per state (1K-20K)
5. Send Shadow Cabinet	Place 1 politician per state (face-down)
6. Shadow Cabinet Actions	Reveal, pay, execute
7. Media Influence	Majority holder swaps 1 popular opinion
8. Auction Polls	Bid on poll cards per state
9. Evaluate Votes & Election	Transform rallies; score election

Vote Formula	(Rallies + Trend) x Matching Topics = Votes
Starting Money	30,000 Euro
Rally Cost	1-8 rallies: 1K/2K/3K/5K/7K/10K/15K/20K
Media Marker Cost	5,000 Euro
Max Rallies per State	8
Max Media per State	5
Election Winner (sole)	12 VP bonus
Coalition Partners	7 VP each