{Crew Review} The Presidential Game

If you’re a regular reader of my blog then you know that we are a board game loving family. Recently the Schoolhouse Review Crew had the opportunity to play and review The Presidential Game.  I wasn’t too sure about such a political sounding game but since we love board games, I checked out The Presidential Game and read the FAQ and decided that I needed to beg to be allowed to review this game!

 

About the Game: 

The game is listed as “for 2+” players, specifically it is a game for two teams: Republicans and Democrats. There is no limit listed for how large a team can be but you must have at least 1 player for each team.  Players determine how much time, in number of weeks, until the election.  We found that 15 weeks would take us around 1 hour to play.

In this game players “fundraise” or “campaign” to secure voters.  Electoral votes are tallied at the end of each player’s turn.  The winner is the player/team who secures 270 (or more) electoral votes at the end of the election.

There are two ways to keep score: with the included score pad (you provide pencil or pen) or with the Electoral WebMap Calculator.  We did try using the score pad for one game but we all decided we really preferred the WebMap Calculator and will continue to use that unless we do not have internet access.

To learn more about The Presidential Game visit the FAQ.

Something Neat About the Game:

We are a trivia loving family, especially my husband.  The first time we played the game my husband noticed that the “Politic Cards” were based on real events during real events from real historic campaigns.  This added a fun element for us because each time someone drew a “Politic Card” Honeybear would tell us about the actual event.

Thoughts from Turtlegirl (11th grade studying Government/Civics):

I loved playing the game, both with everyone in my family and one-on-one. Both ways are fun. If you’re playing with a group, it’s livelier and there’s more discussion. (You may also have several arguments as to which states you should campaign in: “I want to make this side all blue!” “But we need to go for the states with more electoral votes!”) If you’re playing one-on-one, there’s more strategy and less discussion. Playing one-on-one is better if you want to learn more about the strategy of presidential campaigning, but if you just want to have some fun it’s better to do it with a group. Either way, it’s a great game and I look forward to playing it more with my family and friends.

My Thoughts:

I am not a fan of politics. I get myself too worked up and I raise my blood pressure and I just don’t like who I am how or how I feel so I wasn’t too sure about a board game that focuses on elections!  But this game doesn’t focus on politics. It doesn’t name names, nor offer support for any candidate. This game is not tied to a specific election year and can be used just for fun or during an election season to teach students about the process. I would have loved this game last year when we were experiencing a Presidential election but we’ve enjoyed it for the strategy and planning fun.

The Details:

• The Product:  The Presidential Game
• Price: $35.00
• Age Recommendation: 11+
• Number of Players: 2+ (2 people can play or any number of people divided into two teams: Republican or Democrat.

Visit the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog to read what others have to say about The Presidential Game.

All information is correct and accurate as of the date of this review.

You can read my other Schoolhouse Review Crew Reviews by clicking here.