Read the Map

Students compare the electoral maps their games produced and hunt for patterns — regional voting blocs, home-state advantage, and the handful of states that actually decide an outcome. A concrete, low-stakes on-ramp to electoral geography.

Learning Objectives

• Read an electoral-college map and identify which states carry the most weight.
• Recognize regional patterns in how states vote together.
• Explain the concept of a ‘swing state’ using evidence from their own games.

How to Run It

1. Students play two or three rounds and take a screenshot of each final map.
2. For each map, students list: the states won, the total electoral votes, and any state where they see a ‘home-state’ bonus for their candidate.
3. Students compare maps with a partner and circle states that flipped between their games — these are their ‘swing states.’
4. As a class, build a list of the states that flipped most often. Discuss why those, and not others.

Discussion Questions

• Which states are worth the most electoral votes? Why those?
• Why might the same state vote differently depending on who is at the top of the ticket?
• If you could only campaign in five states, which would you pick, and why?