Overview

Landslide is a political board game by Parker Brothers (1971) simulating a U.S. presidential election using the Electoral College system. Players roll dice to move around the board, acquiring states through auctions by bidding vote cards. The player who accumulates the most electoral votes wins the presidency. The game reflects the 1970 census electoral apportionment.

Components

• 1 game board (circular track with various spaces)
• State cards (representing all 50 states + Washington D.C. with electoral votes)
• Vote cards (values ranging from 250,000 to 5,000,000 votes)
• Politics cards
• 1 die
• Player pawns

Setup

1. Place the game board centrally.
2. Shuffle state cards and place them in a face-down pile.
3. Shuffle politics cards and place them separately.
4. Each player starts on their “Home State” space with 5 vote cards.
5. Choose starting player by die roll.

Turn Structure

On your turn:

1. Roll the die and move your pawn clockwise around the board.
2. Resolve the space you land on (State, Politics, Home State, or special).
3. Continue until all 51 state/DC cards have been won.

Actions

Landing on Spaces

• State Space: The top state card is revealed privately to the landing player (showing the state name and electoral votes). An auction begins – all players bid secretly with vote cards. Highest bidder wins the state. The bid amount (vote cards) goes to the player who landed on the State space.
• Politics Space: Draw a Politics card. Effects include stealing a state from another player, stopping a game action, stealing vote cards, or gambling (pit one of your states against an opponent’s state of equal or lesser electoral value; both roll dice, highest wins both states).
• Home State: Passing your Home State earns 1 vote card. Landing exactly on it earns 2 vote cards.

Auctions

• All players may bid on revealed states.
• Bids are made with vote cards (representing popular vote currency).
• Highest total vote value wins the state.
• The bid goes to the player who triggered the auction (landed on the State space).

Scoring / Victory Conditions

• The game ends when all 51 state/DC cards have been won.
• Each state is worth its electoral votes (reflecting the 1970 census apportionment).
• The player with the most electoral votes wins.
• A majority of electoral votes is NOT required – simply the most among players.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Tied bids: Resolved by re-bidding or by the rules specified on the space.
• Politics card effects: Can dramatically shift the game (state theft, gambling challenges).
• Vote card economy: Vote cards circulate between players through auctions and effects, creating a dynamic economy.
• Gambling challenge: Both players roll dice; higher roll wins both contested states.
• Electoral accuracy: The game correctly represents the 1970 census electoral college apportionment for each state.

Player Reference

Turn Summary:

1. Roll die, move pawn
2. Resolve space (auction, politics, or home state)
3. Next player’s turn

Space Types:

Space	Effect
State	Auction for a state’s electoral votes
Politics	Draw a Politics card (special action)
Home State	Gain vote cards (1 passing, 2 landing)

Win Condition: Most electoral votes when all states are distributed.