1960: The Making of the President Board Game

[Theoretical]

I picked this game up last weekend, and I've had 3 opportunities to play it. It is a 2-player Card-Driven strategy game built around the Nixon and Kennedy campaigns in the 1960 Election. Within the game, the actual events of the campaign, such as the Cook County returns in JFK's favor, Nixon's knee injury, and anti-Catholic sentiment against JFK, drive the campaign. Players compete for support in all 50 states, vie for control of the media, work to dominate the issues of the day, receive regional endorsements, and compete in the debates.

At first, it takes about 2-2.5 hours to play, but after awhile it looks like it becomes a 90 minute game.

Here's the BoardGameGeek entry for this game. Link

It is well-produced and painstakingly researched.

[turmeric]

I wonder if anyone has heard of the game Mr. President. It had cards that were for the cabinet members. It didn't have the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, being made before that office was created. The cards were red and blue and had donkeys and elephants on the bacs. I don't remember how it was played but there was a "presidential rummy" you could play and the four of us in our family played it. I wonder if my mom still has it, it would be worth some money except that my dad, who was blind, marked the cards in Braille, leaving little punches on them. I'd still like to have it.

[Theoretical]

Mr. President (1965)

Mr. President (1967)

Here are two possibilities.

[Ivan]

Originally Posted by Theoretical

I picked this game up last weekend, and I've had 3 opportunities to play it. It is a 2-player Card-Driven strategy game built around the Nixon and Kennedy campaigns in the 1960 Election. Within the game, the actual events of the campaign, such as the Cook County returns in JFK's favor, Nixon's knee injury, and anti-Catholic sentiment against JFK, drive the campaign. Players compete for support in all 50 states, vie for control of the media, work to dominate the issues of the day, receive regional endorsements, and compete in the debates.

At first, it takes about 2-2.5 hours to play, but after awhile it looks like it becomes a 90 minute game.

Here's the BoardGameGeek entry for this game. Link

It is well-produced and painstakingly researched.

Does Nixon win?

[Theoretical]

Originally Posted by Ivan

Does Nixon win?

Actually, all 3 times I've played, Nixon has won. He is definitely on the offensive, and Kennedy has to be on the defensive from the outset. It seems that Nixon has the easier road to victory, and more ways to get there than Kennedy does.

[Ivan]

Originally Posted by Theoretical

Actually, all 3 times I've played, Nixon has won. He is definitely on the offensive, and Kennedy has to be on the defensive from the outset. It seems that Nixon has the easier road to victory, and more ways to get there than Kennedy does.

Is mayor Daley part of the game? I would think he would befrom how you describe the game. Sounds like a very interesting game.

I wonder what the history of our country would have been if Nixon had been elected in 1960? Would Nixon gotten involved in Vietnam the same way Kennedy or at all? Would Johnson have ever become President?

What kind of world would we have now? Better? Worse? About the same?

[Theoretical]

Yes, Mayor Daley can be a factor if the card representing his electoral shenanigans is played and activated by Kennedy. It's a very interesting game in that the events of history do guide the game, but only if you are able to make them happen (for good ones) and to block them if they are bad.