1960: The Making of a President
1960: The Making of a President is a two-player game from Z-Man Games covering the election campaign between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy through all of its historic twists and turns. Far from a throwaway card game, it boasts a near two-hour play time, complex rules and an amazing attention to historical detail. 1960 is one of the most ambitious attempts to create a dynamic two-player since War of the Ring. Throughout the nine game turns, support for each candidate ebbs and flows based on events and campaign focus. A representation of the famously televised debate during turn six throws brand new changes at each candidate and may swing state support in either direction. Both players must jockey for support throughout the country, aiming for the majority of electors in their bid to become the 35th President of the United States.
But first, let’s talk about the two-player game: is there a more controversial thing in all of gaming? It ranks right up there with “Diceless Role-Playing Game” and “Steve Jackson.” Some people beg for two-player variants to every game ever written and others rally against them as if their very existence will bring down a plague of meeple locusts, followed, of course, by the rain of meeple frogs. Usually relegated to cheap card games, few significant two-player games exist in the modern gaming world. Was the creation of a historically accurate game about a tumultuous time in American politics a gamble? Certainly. A success? Absolutely.
The board set-up is an accurate representation of the country’s leanings in mid-1960. The Southern Dixiecrats and New England begin solidly behind Kennedy while the Midwest and Western states throw their support to Nixon. Support in each state, region and issue fluctuates between the candidates. When one gains support where the other is strong, the opponent’s cubes are removed. This constant pendulum-style give-and-take makes the fight for traditional battleground states (Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and California) dynamic. Players spend each turn gaining political capital by playing cards. These cards each represent an event that occurred during the actual 1960 campaign. The cards may be played in two ways: as Events, each shaping the campaign positively or negatively; or as Campaign Points, which give the candidate the opportunity to increase support in the states, the issues or through the media. Fear not, though – if Nixon truly needs Dwight D. Eisenhower’s support, there is a way. Players may spend Momentum Markers to enact Events they deem vital to their successful campaign. Successful campaigning on the three major issues – Defense, Civil Rights and the Economy – allow players to gain these discs that are faithful recreations of each candidate’s campaign buttons. They are just another great touch of history mixed with a quality mechanic.
Another interesting mechanic used in 1960 is the Support Check. At the start of the game, a bag is seeded with cubes from each player. As cards are played, each candidate earns Rest Cubes that will go into the bag at the end of each turn. The more complicated or high-powered cards the candidate plays, the less rest he gets. Support checks are used to allow a candidate to gain political favor in areas his opponent has already carried. The less rest you have, the harder these checks become.
In the end, however, only one man may win the Presidency. Turn nine is Election Day where all results are tallied. Cards deposited earlier in a Campaign Strategy deck allow each player one last grab for those important states. Certain Election Day events, such as rogue electors throwing their support behind Adlai Stevenson rather than Kennedy, take place. After votes are tallied and – for those of you who still don’t understand the Electoral College – electoral votes are counted. Will history repeat itself and give us a young, charismatic Senator as President, or will a jowly Statesman take the reigns twelve years early?
1960: The Making of a President is a must play. I would like to see this game attempted with multiple candidates in a primary-style campaign, but it would soon lose its charm as the historically accurate game that it is. I can’t wait to wade into the cesspool that was (is?) American politics again.