Road to Office: the presidential election game made by an 11-year-old

Play as the President through 23 real elections, from FDR in 1936 to Trump in 2024. Make the real decisions in the order they happened, then sweat out Election Night as the map calls states one by one. Free, no sign-up, works on your phone.

Play Road to Office →

23 elections
670+ real decisions
91 years of history
4 difficulties

Meet the developer: Ethan, age 11

America turned 250 this year. Can you name every presidential election it has ever held? Ethan can. All 60 of them, from Washington in 1788 to 2024.

Ethan is 11, and his dream is to be a White House historian one day. He built his first video game, Road to Office, using Claude, Canva and his encyclopedic knowledge of past elections.

Like most 11-year-olds, the only thing Ethan loves more than presidential history is video games. So he built one: you play as the President through 23 real elections, from FDR to Trump, make the real decisions in the order they happened, then sweat out Election Night as the map calls the states one by one.

Play it free at road2office.com.

Play Road to Office →

How it started

This summer my son Ethan asked if he could build a game about the presidents. I figured we’d get a weekend out of it. He built 23 elections.

Every term is researched: the real decisions, the real dates, the real electoral map for that year. On Election Night the game compares your result with what actually happened. Beat history, match it, or watch history win.

His one design rule: not every “yes” is the right answer. Click the first button every time and you’ll win on Easy. Try that on Impossible and you lose. — Benny Ricciardi

Road to Office decision screen: the May 1, 1960 U-2 incident, with Momentum and Party Unity meters, from the game made by Ethan, age 11 — Every decision is a real event, in order.

Road to Office Election Night map for 1960 calling states one at a time, from the game made by Ethan, age 11 — Election Night calls the states one at a time.

Road to Office You vs. History results panel comparing the player’s 1960 result with the real one, from the game made by Ethan, age 11 — You vs. History: how your result compares with the real one.

History is settled. The next election isn’t.

For grown-ups: Road to Office covers 1936 to 2024. For what the markets are pricing on the next races, start here:

Trading on prediction markets is for adults 18+.

For teachers

Road to Office is free, has no accounts and no ads, and saves progress only on the player’s own device. Each election is a self-contained lesson: the term’s real decisions, the real electoral map for that census, and a You vs. History comparison at the end. Questions or classroom ideas: predictionmarketspicks@gmail.com

Road to Office — frequently asked

Is Road to Office free?

Yes. It's free to play in any browser, with no sign-up, no accounts and no ads.

Who made Road to Office?

Ethan, age 11, who loves presidential history. His dad, Benny Ricciardi, founded PredictionMarketsPicks.

Which elections are in the game?

23 of them, from FDR's first re-election in 1936 through 2024. Some are full terms as the sitting President; others are campaigns where you play the challenger.

Is it historically accurate?

Every decision is a real event, in the order it happened, and each Election Night uses that year's real electoral-vote map. The results screen shows the real electoral and popular vote next to yours.

Does the game collect data from players?

No accounts, no cookies and no ads. The site counts visits anonymously, and your progress is saved only on your own device.