Founding Fathers is a game of
the early American republic. Play
begins with George Washington as
president and John Adams as vice
president. Also present are
Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry,
Thomas Jefferson, Alexander
Hamilton, James Madison and Aaron
Burr. Each player controls several
such statesmen, and those who will
appear later, up through the
arrival of Abraham Lincoln.
Together the players try to solve
the issues faced by the young
republic its wars, debt, financial
panics, the growth of the Union,
north-south division, and more.
Every four years the most popular
politicians from each party square
off to see who becomes the next
president.
Founding Fathers: Civil War &
the Gilded Age is an expansion
kit that continues the fun up to
the outbreak of World War I.
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Ludographies
Presidential Election Games
Tue Apr 26 20:47:14 UTC 2022
Games about specific US elections, in chronological order
Election year:
1800
1824
1828
1860
1912
1960
2004
2008
2012
1788
1800
Reign of Witches
Amabel Holland; Hollandspiele-2020; 2; 20
A card-driven game (CDG) with a small number of cards. Players
represent John Adams or Alexander Hamilton, who contend for the
leadership of their party. Both can lose the game, however, to the
nonplayer Thomas Jefferson.
1824
Corrupt Bargain: The 1824 Presidential Election
Alex Berry; Decision Games-2022; 2-4; 60-90
Players represent one of John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay,
William Crawford or Andrew Jackson. Includes rules for resolving the
election in the House of Representatives.
Thus players balance campaigning for the popular vote with
seeking political influence.
Seems essentially a CDG, but instead of dealing cards, using the
mechanism from
Vinci.
Avowedly not a simulation as there is little to differentiate candidates
except for their initial power centers. There doesn't appear to be a great
deal of big picture strategy, though plenty of take-that.
Mounted board and 200 cards, including 80 events.
1828
Revolution of 1828
Stefan Feld; Pegasus Spiele-2019; 2; 30-60
Players take turns drafting election tiles, trying to win in at least
three of five categories. Very abstract with little detail from the
real election.
1860
Divided Republic
Alex Bagosy; Numbskull Games-2012; 2-4; 180
Players represent a campaign manager for Abraham Lincoln, John Bell,
Stephen Douglas or John Breckinridge.
This is a card-driven (CDG) affair.
Represented are
dirty tricks, platform speeches, manipulation of key
historical events, interference by President Buchanan,
and radical riots. If South Carolina
explodes into open rebellion and secedes, the game ends and
everyone loses. Otherwise, anyone can win.
1912
Bull Moose
Patrick Stevens; Numbskull Games-2015; 3-5; 90
Players act as one of five campaign managers in the 1912 US election.
Candidates include Theodore Roosevelt, Eugene Debs, William Taft,
Woodrow Wilson and Eugene Chaffin (Prohibitionist).
This is a card-driven (CDG) affair in which players compete state by
state. Winning the election is loosely based on the popular vote and
not on how the electoral college actually functions.
1960
1960: The Making of the President
Christian Leonhard & Jason Matthews; GMT Games-2007; 2; 90-120
Players act as campaign managers in this replay of the Kennedy-Nixon
election. The map shows a control box for each of the fifty states which
are grouped into four regions. Cubes
indicate control. Also available for control are
media for the four regions as well as three global issues.
A CDG, players alternate playing cards, choosing either
event or the operations points which permits adding cubes.
Each player is limited by a candidate pawn which dictates
where operations may occur. Movements within a region are
easy, but changing to another region more costly. When a
player attempts to affect a state that the opponent controls,
placement is not direct. Instead, the cubes randomly come out
of a bag (which is added to each turn), the player hoping that
those of their color appear.
[Review]
2004
Race for the White House
R.S. Baker; Talicor-2004; 2-4; 90
This is a roll-and-move affair that doesn't really have much connection
to the 2004 election, except to employ the 2004 electoral vote numbers.
2008
Campaign Manager 2008
Christian Leonhard & Jason Matthews; Z-Man Games-2009; 2; 30-45
This CDG is about the Obama-McCain contest for twenty swing states.
Each player creates their own deck that represents advice to their candidate.
Accounts for key constituencies and issues.
To win a state, a player must get the support of the state's
voters in the issue which has more support of the people.
Some cards require players to go "negative," which may backfire
to benefit the opponent.
2012
Swing States 2012
Alan Emrich, Wes Erni & Ben Madison; Victory Point Games-2012; 1; 40
Solitaire game simulating the Obama-Romney election.
Decide fund-raising, expenditures, where to campaign, where to advertise,
when and where to send the nominees and vital surrogates, how much
time they should spend fund-raising, preparing for debates, conducting
opposition research, and dealing with scandals that appear out of nowhere.
1788
A More Perfect Union: The Struggle to Ratify the Constitution
John Lapham; web-published-2012; 2; 120
Not a presidential election, yet still a national one. This CDG is
the battle between the federalists and anti-federalists to ratify
the constitution. The federalists win if nine states ratify. The
anti-federalists win if five states refuse to ratify. Uses hand
management and strategic planning.
Created:
Fri May 28 23:34:09 UTC 2021