Sanders’ Sandwiches Addicting

With the election for the presidency only 8 months away, perpetually-orange GOP candidate Donald Trump has already made a huge impact on popular culture. However, beloved Democratic-Socialist candidate Bernie Sanders is catching up to Trump with the launch of an addictive new iPhone app: Move over Color Switch. Here comes Bernie Sandwiches.

The user plays as Bernie, who is making his way to the White House. However, he must also collect the sandwiches that are in his path, in order to avoid being deterred by hunger. “I can’t become president on an empty stomach. Help me get some sandwiches!!!” says a cartoon Bernie on the title card, which is set to a catchy remix of “Bernie Sandwiches, you’re welcome America.”

In gameplay style similar to Flappy Bird, players must help Bernie eat sandwiches while jumping over orange cones. And, like Flappy Bird, Bernie Sandwiches doesn’t believe in lives; one touch of the orange cones and Bernie is out.

Bernie’s “run” starts out in Iowa, marked by rural touches such as barns, hay bales, and windmills, eventually moving to other states. In the background of Bernie’s adventures are billboards with slogans promoting his campaign, including: “Make College Tuition Free and Debt Free,” “Medicare For All,” “Care for our Veterans,” “Break Up the Big Banks,” “Fight For Racial Justice,” and more. These short billboards effectively promote Bernie’s campaign, and introduces his ideas to those who are not fully familiar with his goals as president.

Bernie Sandwiches has a 4 1/2 star rating on iTunes, with mostly positive reviews. Though a few low ratings hail from players angry at the difficulty of gameplay and lack of a life meter, a majority of the comments express praise, both for the game and for Bernie Sanders.

Junior Isabel Owens feels that Bernie Sandwiches provides her with political motivation. “Bernie Sandwiches gives me the feeling that I am politically active even though I can’t vote,” said Owens. “It makes me feel like I have a personal stake in the outcome of the election because I have worked so hard to help Bernie collect more sandwiches.”

“One thing I’d like to change about the game is that it’s annoying how frequently he dies because the change in music is so jarring,” Owens said. “I wish that when he jumped he could jump a bit longer so I wouldn’t have to time it so perfectly.”

Another drawback of the game, according to Owens, is the frequency of the video advertisements. “It annoys me that there are so many video ads I have to wait through unless I buy the ‘no ad’ version. The videos play like every 3 times he dies, and he dies a lot.”

For Owens, the billboards are a highlight of Bernie Sandwiches. “The signs are a nice touch, because when you’re struggling through this game and you see something like ‘tuition free college’ or ‘fight for women’s rights you just feel so motivated,” she said. However, she adds that the signs and the scenery are often effective distractions from the cones, which, I agree, are difficult enough to avoid on their own.

I do agree that the level of gameplay is slightly too difficult to warrant having only 1 life per game. However, it does increase the difficulty of the game and presents a challenge that makes the game all the more addicting.

Bernie Sandwiches preys on the impatience of its players.

Bernie Sandwiches is a game nearly as exciting as Sanders himself.

I have hope that this will bolster his campaign. After all, we can’t let all those sandwiches go to waste.