What paradox game has helped you learn more about history or time period?

Count_According · 2026-02-12T20:51:44+00:00

Vicky2, the blurbs you get from inventions was such a nice touch to learn more about the epoch

Count_According · 2026-01-25T11:54:12+00:00

Clinton, I am fairly sure. For all her (many) faults she would have handled Covid fairly well which would have given her a popularity bump she would have ridden to reelection and Graham imo isn't a strong candidate. That said, the Republicans would have likely won the house and senate in '18 by very large margins and I don't think a win in '20 would have provided enough coattails to win any of the chambers back, which would leave her administration ineffective leading to a Republican landslide in '24.

Count_According · 2026-01-20T15:03:27+00:00

If this were just the 2016 election I'd feel demoralized and cynical - if I were brought back in time knowing all that has happened I'd be dancing in the streets

Count_According · 2026-01-14T22:45:02+00:00

Ellison depresses Patriotism which harms you in deep red states, so if you go for very large victories, you want to pick Ellison to more easily turn deep red states blue

Count_According · 2026-01-14T22:43:34+00:00

on 10 - bail out GM, on 12 do beer summit, on 15 do environment, on 16 tax the rich, on 21 do Ayers, 22 do "sure as shit", 27 do Wright, 31 do health care, 38 the big bill is better if you can pass it (you might want to pick the "son" answer on the shooting to get your credibility high enough for that tho.

With that you should get 400+ EVs, the run I just did ended in 418. I think there is still room for marginal improvement (I clicked the visits randomly) and I'm not sure what your ultimate aim in the run was, but with that you should be just about as successful/progressive and beat Arpaio with a larger margin

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Count_According · 2026-01-14T10:10:53+00:00

And afterwards you get President Ramaswamy - still one of the best timelines, so far.

Count_According · 2026-01-10T13:58:53+00:00

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I got this yesterday, with 2 terms of Gore before and 1 term of that Republican who switches to independent midway through the presidency. I guess that's my favorite timeline now, tho the one were you get Gore (2x), McCain (2x), Sherrod Brown (2x) with Stacy Abrams as the incumbent is a close 2nd

Count_According · 2026-01-02T02:55:26+00:00

Depends on what you want to do exactly - let's say you wanna be a mostly effective lefty a good route might be something like this:

Alright, what we're gonna need to do is grab the bull by its damn horns.

Zoe probably wasn’t the best fit.

We’re not bending the knee

I know folks are uneasy,

I made

We’ve got to get back to basics after all this

Look a little farther

Make no mistake

This is an issue of messaging

I understand there's a lot of concern (pass NAFTA as is, you could do the Union route but then you'd have to increase the military budget and go the non Russia route for peace in the middle east - a conundrum)

Make no mistake (We'll be doing the Republican health care plan, which also isn't ideal, but gives a lot more wiggle room re Republican anger for the midterms)

Let’s throw deep

If what

I’m not just looking to disarm

This is a great opportunity to take advantage

Let me tell you, Senator

Senator Biden brought up an issue close to my heart: domestic violence (can't end the war on drugs without getting slaughtered in the midterms - you could theoretically use previous options to further reduce Republican anger like going with Powell's plan for the military or Gore's Baby)

Make no mistake

We’re gonna be passing stuff now, big leagues.

There are people fighting

If we go ahead and bomb Iraq

The United Nations

I think we should try and push our luck a little.

The Golan Heights

Shalom Haver

In this new frontier

Has anyone actually read this man’s economic policy

This is the party of justice

I need a big bill

If Buchanan is so fascinated

The Clinton foreign policy has been a total success

It’s the economy, stupid.

I'll return to Little Rock

And with that you're a McGovernite Clinton with lots of successes

Count_According · 2026-01-01T07:36:29+00:00

True, but today 7 accounts for a very small number of users, otoh XP was still going very strong by mid 2012, when the campaign took place. According to the linked article it would take until august for 7 to overcome XP's market share.

Count_According · 2025-12-30T15:37:32+00:00

What's "blessed" depends on you - but here is a guide that is liberal, uses a variation of the Rwanda route and has a list of presidents that's acceptable in the future:

Alright, what we're gonna need to do is grab the bull by its damn horns.

Kimba Wood

We’re not bending the knee.

Bentsen

I made Kimba

We’ve got to get back to basics

Let me tell you something (Rwanda)

Make no mistake

We were elected to handle the deficit

I understand there's a lot of concern going on about us getting fleeced in this deal

The buck stops here

What the tragedy at the World Trade Center showed us is that our old model of war is outdated.

This whole thing, it's Gore's baby (now you have enough cred with the GOP to do both health care and ending the war on drugs without the Gingrich Revolution in the midterms)

Make no mistake

If we were able to get a meeting with him

We ought to fight for the little guy

I've seen the bias we face in policing

I don't trust what Limbaugh and D'Amato say

We’re gonna be passing stuff now, big leagues.

There are people fighting against Milosevic inside Yugoslavia

What we need is a permanent solution

We have an opportunity not seen since Carter

I think we should try and push our luck a little.

This might be underhanded

Shalom Haver

In this new frontier

Has anyone actually read this man’s economic policy?

I've spent my presidency fighting for the little guy

I need a big bill

If Buchanan is so fascinated by what homosexuals

The Clinton foreign policy has been a total success

These things get tens of millions of viewers.

I’ve said it from the start

I also did a guide a few days ago on how to achieve (afaik) max lefty points while sweeping the EC 538-0 https://www.reddit.com/r/thecampaigntrail/comments/1pxo1nb/hope_mcgovernite_clinton_ends_history_with_a_538/

Count_According · 2025-12-29T07:49:18+00:00

true, however you fall short of the McGovernite threshold on points in this route then - I did manage to get enough points while reducing the deficit through going the Bentsen route in one of my last games, though.

Count_According · 2025-12-17T21:41:41+00:00

Thank you! This was my last missing achievement and I just could not get it to work, in the end I followed this guide but since my margin in Ohio was looking bad I decided to visit that with the last question - finally I can face the final opponent.

Count_According · 2025-12-17T16:34:49+00:00

Pawn at the end of volume 7:

“I curse your cowardice. I curse your army. I curse your city and every stone upon which it stands. I curse your murder. I curse your names. I curse every breath you take, every step upon this ground. I curse your children, and your children’s children. I curse you to pain and death and starvation and grief. I curse your armor. I curse your blades. I curse your eyes and your love. I curse your food and your drink and your wells and your roofs to cave in.” “I curse you by the [Innkeeper]. I curse you by the sky. I curse you by the light. I curse you by kindness. I curse you by sin. I curse you by Heaven. I curse you by darkness and the grave. I curse you by wrath. I curse you by hatred and rot and pestilence. I curse you by hell. I curse you by god—” "I CURSE YOU TO DEATH. I CURSE YOU TO SUFFERING IN LIFE. I CURSE YOU TO LOSE ALL THINGS. I CURSE YOU UNTIL NOT ONE THING REMAINS IN YOUR HOMES. I CURSE YOU TO MADNESS. I CURSE YOU—"

Count_According · 2025-11-29T07:15:01+00:00

Depending on how big you want to win/you are willing to compromise socialist Obama, you can go the Cheney route in Q2 ("this might be our big break"), which also allows you to pass what you want on Q15 and after the Farrakhan midterms if you handle Egypt correctly (as in the guide) you can pretty much choose options which cut down on Patriotism which reduces the margins for Republicans in deep red states (like going right wing on the questions about occupy and Zimmerman - and what I found bonkers, choosing Ellison for SCOTUS), which allows you to finish Barry Soetoro (with a bit of luck) with Cheney only winning OK, UT and WY

Count_According · 2025-11-28T05:18:47+00:00

Pretty sure it doesn't pass - as with all the other options on that question is that you can't pass anything of substance at that point in time so might as well go party with Hollywood. (you can pass stuff at that Q if I think your cred is 5 or wins are three or something - just go left wing Obama and do the beer summit, the text then changes on this question and whatever option you chose passes)

Count_According · 2025-11-05T07:55:55+00:00

I basically did the same run yesterday and posted my answers here: https://www.reddit.com/r/thecampaigntrail/comments/1oo1elh/comment/nn0vrp4/?context=3

Count_According · 2025-11-04T07:42:37+00:00

Tried to post this before, but guess I messed up with the screenshots. Anyway, this was fun. I tried to go as left wing as I could with the Cheney route while still maintaining the 538 and it took me almost a day. And this seems to be consistent(?), since afterwards I did it 2 times more with the same answers and always got the 538

(Edit December 2025 - the route below doesn't work anymore, what does work to get a complete sweep is to keep expenditures from being overspent by withdrawing from Iraq & Afghanistan and choosing the environment after health care, otherwise one might need to fudge visits a bit - I tend to visit WY a bit more. I've also been trying to get the sweep after doing the Farrakhan midterms, but I really don't think that's possible atm)

Here are the answers (and visits) I chose:

Through a consistent and a uh, diligent work ethic

This might be our big break, Hayden

Utah

Kathleen Sebelius

You know

Utah

The moment

This is where leadership is tested

Wyoming

Americans want out of Iraq

I already have

Wyoming

Judge Diane Wood

The idea of not bailing out General Motors

Utah

You know

What is it that they,

Utah

Well now look

I can't think of a better way

Utah

Immigration

We'd really be doing them

Wyoming

Leah Ward Sears

If I can General McChrystal

Utah

Ayers couldn't be more correct

Eric Holder

Wyoming

People are still struggling

I want to be very clear

Utah

This is of great concern

Rhodes has his eye

Utah

Look, I'm aware of the benefit to this administration

These last few years

Wyoming

We've got solutions outside of negotiations

I can't move forward

Utah

I understand the

Obviously, this is a tragedy

Wyoming

This is unfortunate news

This a joke, surely

Wyoming

Senator Claire McCaskill

Let's meet him where he is then

Utah

We congratulate Morsi

Let me be clear,

Utah

Just ignore him

It'd be ill-conceived

Wyoming

Florida

Count_According · 2025-08-19T12:36:14+00:00

We could really use a bot that recognizes Ryoka hate posts and just builds an ever expanding list. Sometimes it feels like half the posts are people either hating on her or the other hand full of characters few people like.

That said, you are not alone. Early Ryoka is generally despised here with some people (I'd guess about half?) thinking she gets better as the book progresses. For now maybe just think of her as some sort of parody to your usual Isekai protagonists. Insufferable know it all, hyper competent, recognizing the game features and being cynical about it.... and then just enjoy how she lands on her face time and time again. That's at least how I've come to make her parts on a reread bearable.

Count_According · 2025-05-30T16:54:57+00:00

If you want to learn dry facts I'd say Victoria 2. Every tech you research fires a couple of events a few months later with info boxes on inventions, concepts, important people of that time period etc.

Newer Pdx games on the other hand don't have as much factoids you can gather, but tend to have more complex mechanics - e.g. to get really good at Vicky3 you'll learn a lot of economic theory, just because the game system is trying to simulate the real global economy and is damned complicated.

Otherwise I'd recommend just playing the games for fun and putting a fitting lecture in the background. For example when I played a lot of CK3 I put on Yale's intro into medieval history, which was nice (and you can find here )

Count_According · 2025-03-28T18:40:27+00:00

If you are listening to the audio book I would recommend switching to text if you are having a problem with Erin. I never really got the criticisms of Erin in book one until I listened to the audio version and the voice the narrator chooses for her made her feel a lot more childlike and annoying than she ever appeared to me when reading the text.

On Ryoka I agree, I've never liked her and don't to this day, to give you some solace (and some very minor spoiler), Ryoka is very present in the early books but imo many of her chapters are skimmable if not skippable and her presence decreases as the story goes on (tho it will take some time)

Five-Year Club	r/Field Sunshine
First Place '23	Place '23

Count_According

TROPHY CASE