Spot the Tactic

Using the game’s campaign-strategy cards as a starting list, students find real-world examples of each persuasion tactic in historical or current campaigns, then debate which tactics are fair and which cross a line. A direct bridge from gameplay to media literacy.

Learning Objectives

• Identify common political persuasion and campaign tactics.
• Find and describe a real-world example of a tactic.
• Form and defend a judgment about the ethics of a campaign tactic.

How to Run It

1. As a class, list the strategy types students have seen in the game (positive ads, attack ads, media blitzes, opposition research, dirty tricks, and so on).
2. In pairs, students choose three tactics and find one real historical or current example of each — a campaign ad, a debate moment, a news story.
3. Pairs rate each tactic on a simple scale: fair game, questionable, or over the line — and write one sentence defending each rating.
4. Class discussion: where do students draw the line, and does everyone draw it in the same place?

Discussion Questions

• Which tactics are just ‘campaigning,’ and which feel like manipulation? Who decides?
• Does a tactic being effective make it acceptable?
• How can a voter protect themselves against the tactics that cross the line?