Election years can be nerve wracking as our country prepares to transition to new leadership, but they also present an excellent opportunity to teach our kids about how the process works.
These are becoming increasingly more important lessons for parents to teach because schools have started to reduce their focus on civics and social studies.
The Presidential Game is a board game that brilliantly illustrates the game-like strategy that plays out as presidential hopefuls hit the campaign trail in and try to win the election. The game board is a map of the United States and players take turns fundraising and campaigning in the various states in an attempt to lock up the appropriate number of electoral votes. The genius behind the game is that it forces smart players to put significant effort into the so-called “battleground states” without directly labeling them as such.
A typical turn will play out as follows. First players will choose to either fundraise or campaign. If they choose to fundraise then they will choose one of the larger states like California, Texas, and New York and roll dice to determine how many of their influence chips they will place there. If they choose to campaign they will then be asked to choose three states and will roll three six sided dice. They will then place a number of influence chips equal to one of their die rolls on each state. The next player will repeat that choice, but can also campaign in states where their opponents have already built influence because each chip they WOULD place there will instead remove one of their opponent’s. This continues until a predetermined number of turns has been completed.
The back and forth battle between candidates may not match the political reality that we live in (none of the states have any political predisposition on the game board), but that actually helps to illustrated the process better.
We will be receiving a copy of this one soon and will post a detailed review in the coming months. So keep your eye on Engaged Family Gaming for more information!
