
- BGG rating
- 7.1
Campaign Trail: Advanced Solo Mode
- 1 player
- 90–120 min
- 2021

2019
Rules assistance for Campaign Trail
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 1 player

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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Campaign Trail is a board game released in 2019 for 1–6 players, 115 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Jeff Cornelius, David Cornelius, and Nathan Cornelius and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Hand Management, and Area Movement.
Campaign Trail is a strategy board game in which players pit their campaign skills against one another as they vie for the Presidency of the United States. The confetti is flying, the champagne is flowing, and you have just accepted your party's nomination for President of the United States. Now it's time to hit the Campaign Trail! How will you chart your path to victory? Engage in grass roots campaigning, advertise, sling mud at opponents, fundraise, debate, and so much more! But be sure to avoid revealing those skeletons you have buried in your closet. The candidate who best manages their resources and connects with the public on key issues will win the presidency! Campaign Trail uses card driven actions to implement your strategy. Your goal is to have the most voters for your party in enough states to win a majority of electoral votes. If you have the most voters in a state you are awarded that state's electoral votes (victory points). At the end of the game the player with the most electoral votes wins and is declared the president! On your turn you play a card and take an action from that card. Each card has a choice among 4 of the game's 6 actions. You may (depending on what is on your card): Fundraise - Add money to your war chest to be spent later on advertising campaigns and campaign rallies. Register - Add voters to your registered voter supply so that they can commit to vote for you in the various states. Travel - Move your candidate around the United States to set yourself up for large campaign rallies in key states. Advertise - Create and implement advertising campaigns based on the issues of the day. Each time you advertise you will receive voters in the states that care about the issues you covered. Campaign - Hold local campaign rallies where your candidate is located. Campaigning allows you to gain large numbers of voters in the state(s) you are in and adjacent to. Hold Event - Hold various political events. Some may give votes, some may increase resources, all are helpful. In addition to the base of card driven mechanics and area control, you will have a candidate card which gives you an individual player power. You will also have the opportunity to debate the current issues with your opponent. And finally, through the use of event cards, you can build up an engine to help out with resource production.
Campaign Trail supports 1–6 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Campaign Trail is 115 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Campaign Trail for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Campaign Trail has a complexity rating of 2.8 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Campaign Trail belongs to these categories: Political. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Hand Management, and Area Movement. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Campaign Trail are: Jeff Cornelius, David Cornelius, and Nathan Cornelius. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Campaign Trail as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.