The goal in 1960: The Making of the President is to claim a majority of electoral votes on Election Day. To do so, you must win states worth a larger combined electoral value than your opponent. Electoral votes are won by gaining State Support in individual states.
This support is represented by cubes placed as state support into states. As only one player may have sup- port cubes in a particular state at a time, Support will shift back and forth as the players battle over valuable states. Whichever player manages to have support cubes in a state at the end of the game claims that state's electoral votes.
Players may also supplement their campaign efforts with Media and Issue Support. Media Support is represented by cubes placed as media support into different regional advertising boxes. It facilitates campaigning on a regional level. Issue Support is represented by cubes placed as issue support onto issue tiles. It helps players to gain Momentum and valuable Endorsements capable of tipping states in their favor on Election Day.
All three types of Support are similar in that only a single player may ever have support cubes in the same place at the same time. When a player gains support cubes in a location already occupied by opposing cubes, he first reduces or eliminates his opponent's cubes as needed. Any support cubes left over once all opposing cubes have been removed are added to the board normally.
This same restriction is also true of Endorsements: when a player gains endorsement markers in a region where the op- posing player already has an endorsement marker, the opposing marker must first be eliminated.
Most turns consist of playing cards either as Events or for Campaign Points (CP) that may be spent on campaign operations designed to gain State, Media, or Issue Support. Events can have a wide range of effects that often involve gains or losses of these three types of Support as well.
The objective is to maximize the impact of Events that favor your own candidate while minimizing the impact of those which further your opponent's interests. Momentum serves this goal by enabling players to spend momentum markers in order to trigger favor- able Events on cards played by their opponent. Alternatively, momentum may be used to preempt negative Events on your own cards so your opponent cannot do the same.
Components
- The Board
- Campaign Manual (this booklet)
- 50 State Seals
- 3 Issue tiles
- 2 Candidate tokens
- 12 Momentum markers
- 2 Turn Track & Phase Track markers
- 170 Cubes (85 blue, 85 red)
- 15 Endorsement markers
- 97 Campaign cards
- 2 Candidate cards
- 2 Prevention Event markers
- 16 Endorsement cards
- The Political Capital bag
- The Debate Board
The Board:
Sample Event Card:
Sample Candidate Card:
The Political Capital Bag
Players place cubes into the Political Capital Bag at the end of each turn. These cubes are drawn from the bag as part of several game actions. Often, the cubes determine the success or failure of a particular action.
Support Checks
Cubes are commonly drawn from the bag for Support Checks. A Support Check involves drawing a single cube from the bag in hopes of gaining a particular type of Support (State, Media, or Issue). If the player draws a cube of his own color, he may place it as a support cube in the appropriate location. If it is the opposing player's color, it must be returned to that player's cube supply.
Initiative Checks
The other way cubes are drawn is as an Initiative Check. Initiative Checks are made at the start of each turn to determine which player has the initiative. Usually, the player with initiative decides who acts first that turn.
During the Debates and on Election Day, initiative confers other advantages instead. To resolve an Initiative Check, draw cubes from the bag one at a time until two cubes of the same color have been drawn; the player who had two of their own cubes drawn gains the initiative for that turn. All cubes drawn from the bag during an Initiative Check are returned to the player's supply.
Reseeding The Bag
If the Political Capital Bag becomes depleted of cubes at any point before the Campaign Strategy phase on Elec- tion Day at the end of the game, it should be reseeded with twelve cubes from each player.
Setup
- Place the state seals face-up in their corresponding states.
- Place the appropriate number of state support cubes in each state as indicated by candidate icons; each icon represents one point of starting Support.
- Place the candidate tokens in their home states; Kennedy in Massachusetts, Nixon in California.
- Place the issue tiles on their indicated spaces on the Issues Track.
- Place the Turn Track and Phase Track markers (white cubes) on the first spaces of the Turn and Phase Tracks.
- Each player should choose a side and take:
- The cube supply of the appropriate color.
- The appropriate Candidate Card.
- Two momentum markers.
- Seed the Political Capital Bag with twelve cubes from each player.
- Shuffle the Campaign Card deck and place it facedown near the board.
- Shuffle the Endorsement Card deck and place it facedown near the board with the stockpile of Endorsement Markers.
- Set the Debate Board aside for now; it will not be used until Turn 6 - The Debates.
Note: Cube, endorsement marker, and momentum marker totals are not absolute. In the unlikely event that players run short during the game, they should use convenient replacements, such as coins.
Turn Overview
The game consists of nine turns. Each turn represents roughly one week of the campaign. With the exception of Turn 6 (the Debates) and Turn 9 (Election Day), these turns all share the following sequence of play:
- Initiative Phase
- Five Activity Phases
- Momentum Phase
- Campaign Strategy Phase
Throughout the game, the markers on the Turn and Phase Tracks should be advanced to reflect the current turn and phase.
1. Initiative Phase
New Cards: Each player is dealt a new hand of cards. On the first five turns (before the Debates), players are dealt six cards; on the last two turns (after the Debates), players are dealt seven cards. If the deck is depleted, shuffle the discards to form a new deck.
Reminder: After the Debates, players receive seven cards per turn rather than six.
Initiative: An Initiative Check is made to determine who gets to choose the start player for the turn. The player with the initia- tive may select the start player, who will play first during each Activity Phase of this turn.
Tip: While it is generally advantageous to force your opponent to play first, it may sometimes be more valuable to take the first action of the turn. Choose wisely!
2. Activity Phases
There are five Activity Phases per turn. Each phase, both players play and resolve a single card, beginning with the start player. On their turn, players have several options:
- Play a Card as an Event
- Play a Card for Campaign Points
- Play a Candidate Card
Additionally, players always collect the number of rest cubes indicated on their chosen card (if any). These are cubes taken from the player's supply and placed in their Rest Cube Zone on the board. During the Campaign Strategy Phase, these rest cubes are deposited into the Political Capital Bag.
Example: The Turn & Phase Tracks. In this example, it is the third phase of the second turn.
Reminder: Do not forget to take your rest cubes! It is a good idea to get into the habit of taking them as soon as you play a card, before resolving its effects.
A. Play a Card as an Event
When a card is played as an Event, its event text is read and resolved. After resolving the Event, the card is removed from the game. If the Event has an effect which lasts for the remainder of the turn, the card should be kept in front of the affected player as a reminder until the end of the turn, then it may be removed normally.
Persistent Events
Some Events, identified by a special bar just under their card name, have effects that remain in play for the duration of the game. These cards should be placed on the designated spaces on the board, identified by the bar under their card name. Each category has its own designated space on the board.
- Debate Events are resolved during the Debates - Turn 6.
- Election Day Events are resolved on Election Day - Turn 9.
- Prevention Events render certain other Events unplayable.
A marker is provided for each Prevention Event. When a Prevention Event occurs, place its marker in the corresponding box on the board as a reminder that the Event is in effect.
Gaining State Support
When Events allow players to add State Support, they must make Support Checks for states carried or currently occupied by their opponent as described for the Campaigning action (see Increasing State Support, below).
As with Campaigning, players who wish to add multiple State Support to a state where Support Checks are required must first declare how many Support will be added there before drawing the declared number of cubes.
Losing Support
Whenever an Event refers to a player subtracting or losing Support, this effect is always limited to what the player has on board. The opposing player never gains support cubes, even if this means none of the penalty can be applied.
Reminder: Once a card has been played as an Event, it is never placed in the discard pile! Persistent Events are placed on the designated spaces on the board; the rest are removed from the game.
B. Play a Card for Campaign Points
When a card is played for Campaign Points, the player may spend the number of Campaign Points (CP) indicated on the card to perform one of three possible actions:
- B1) Campaigning in States
- B2) Advertising in Regions
- B3) Positioning on Issues
A player may choose only one of these options during a particular Activity Phase. Campaign Points for a single card may not be split between different types of action.
Regardless of how these points are spent, the opposing player has the opportunity to trigger the Event as described below. After resolving the action, the card is placed in the discard pile (unless triggered, see below).
Triggering Events
After a card has been played for Campaign Points and resolved, the opposing player may trigger the Event by spending one momentum marker. Doing so causes the Event on the card to be resolved exactly as if the triggering player had just played it from his own hand. After it is resolved, the card is removed from the game just as it would have been had it been played as an Event in the first place.
Note: A player does not receive rest cubes for triggering an Event on an opponent's card! The rest cubes for any card always go to the player who played it, regardless of how it was played.
Tip: Wait for when your opponent plays a card with your candidate icon on it-the event on that card benefits you, and it might be worth spending the momentum marker to trigger it.
Preempting Events
A player may prevent his opponent from triggering an event by spending two momentum markers at the time he plays a card. If the Event is preempted, the op- posing player may not trigger it, and the card is discarded normally. A player may
only preempt Events on his own cards. He may not prevent his opponent from playing a card from his own hand as an Event.
Note: A player announces his preemption of an event at the time the card is played, and before resolving his action. The opposing player need not reveal whether or not he intends to trigger the Event until after this decision has been made.
B1. Campaigning In States
With this action, players increase their State Support by add- ing state support cubes to individual states. At any given time, a player is said to be leading a state if he has any state support cubes there. A player with at least four state support cubes in a state is said to be carrying that state. The primary benefits of these conditions are:
- The player leading each state at the end of the game receives that state's electoral votes. The player with the most electoral votes wins the game.
- A player carrying a state forces his opponent to make Support Checks when attempting to add state support cubes to that state.
Tip : As an added visual indicator, you may want to flip over the state seal in a carried state to show the reverse side. This is not necessary, but it can be helpful as a reminder.
Example: Kennedy is leading in Idaho with two State Support ...while Nixon is carrying Wyoming with four State Support there.
To perform this action, a player spends his card's Campaign Points to increase his State Support in one or more states within the region currently occupied by his candidate token. Campaign Points may also be used to move a player's candidate token to a different region.
Players are not restricted to one or the other option. They may freely divide their Campaign Points as they choose, and may switch back and forth between traveling and adding State Support.
Increasing State Support
Each Campaign Point may usually be spent to add one state support cube to any state in a candidate's current region. Under certain circumstances, however, a player must make a Support Check for each Campaign Point spent to gain cubes. There are two instances that require a Support Check:
- If the opposing player is carrying that state, and/or
- If the opposing player's candidate token is present in that state
However, a player is exempted from such Support Checks in any region where they have Media Support. Therefore, a player with media support cubes in a region does not have to conduct Support Checks.
Players Campaigning in a state where they are required to make Support Checks must first declare how many Campaign Points will be spent there during that Activity Phase. The player then draws the declared number of cubes according to the Support Check process.
Reminder: Only a single player may ever have support cubes in the same place at the same time. If you gain support cubes in a location already occupied by opposing cubes, each cube gained there-instead of being placed in the location-allows you to remove one opposing cube from the location.
Each such removed cube (and the cube "spent" to remove it) is returned to its owners' supply.
If you have any support cubes left over once all the opposing cubes have been removed, those remaining cubes are then added to the location normally.
Moving The Candidate Token
8 Each time a player spends a Campaign Point to in- crease his State Support, his candidate token should be moved to the state in which he is Campaigning. There is no cost associated with this movement, as long as it is within the region currently occupied by a player's candidate.
For movement purposes only, Alaska and Hawaii are considered to be in their own regions; otherwise they are considered to be part of the Western region.
However, if a player wishes to move his candidate token to a different region he must pay travel costs of 1 CP each time he crosses a regional boundary. Note that travel between Western and Eastern regions requires crossing two such boundaries, and travel to or from Alaska or Hawaii can only be done via the Western region.
Note: While both Alaska and Hawaii are nominally part of the Western region, each is enclosed by its own regional boundary that must be crossed when traveling to or from these states. As each of these states may be reached by way of the Western region, travel between the two would require crossing both of these boundaries at a cost of 2 CP.
Example: The Kennedy candidate token is currently located in Illinois, but the Kennedy player wishes to Campaign in New York using a 3-CP card.
He could spend 1 CP in travel costs to cross from the Midwest into the East, and 2 CP in New York. Alternatively, he could spend a single point in New York and spend the remaining 1 CP in any state in the East, or in the Midwest prior to leaving that region. He could even use the third point on additional travel costs and cross into the South, coming to rest in any state in that region.
B2. Advertising In Regions
With this action, players attempt to increase their Media Support by adding media support cubes to regional advertising boxes on the board. Media Support has two primary effects:
When Campaigning in a region where they have media support cubes, players are exempt from the Support Check requirement imposed when placing state support cubes in a state carried by (or occupied by) their opponent.
If either player has more media support cubes on the board than their opponent during the Momentum Phase, they may switch the positions of two adjacent issues on the Issues Track.
To perform this action, a player makes a number of Support Checks equal to the number of Campaign Points provided by his card. When a player draws a cube of his own color, it may be placed into any regional advertising box or used to remove an opposing cube as appropriate.
Reminder: Only a single player may ever have support cubes in the same advertising box at the same time.
The usual "remove opposing cubes first" rules apply when adding media support.
B3. Positioning On Issues
With this action, players increase their Issue Support by adding cubes to issue tiles A player is said to be the leader in an issue if he has any issue support cubes on that tile. There are two primary benefits to leading an issue:
- Many Events benefit the leader in a particular issue.
- The leaders of each issue tile receive rewards of momentum markers and/or endorsement cards.
To perform this action, a player spends his card's Campaign Points to increase his Issue Support in one or more issues, with the first cube in an issue costing 1 CP and each additional cube in the same issue costing a further 2 CP. This increased cost applies only to multiple support cubes bought in a single issue as part of the same action. An additional cube placed on that issue as part of a subsequent action costs only the normal 1 CP.
Reminder: Only a single player may ever have support cubes on the same issue tile at the same time.
The usual "remove opposing cubes first" rules apply when adding issue support.
C) Play A Candidate Card
Instead of playing a card from his hand, a player may choose to play his Candidate Card for 5 CP. This is resolved in exactly the same way as playing any other card for Campaign Points, with one exception:
Candidate Cards are flipped over to their Exhausted side after being played. While flipped to its Exhausted side, a Candidate Card should be treated as out of play in the same manner as a card played as an Event. Candidate Cards may only be returned to their active face by play of specific Events.
Note: Candidate Cards are not considered to be part of a player's hand and are never placed in the discard pile.
3. Momentum Phase
Step 1 - Momentum Decay
At the start of the Momentum Phase, both players must discard half of their momentum markers, rounded down.
Step 2 - Issue Shift
Then, the player with the most media support cubes on the board may switch the positions of two adjacent issue tiles on the Issues Track. If both players have an equal number, neither may do this.
Step 3 - Momentum Awards & Endorsements
After adjusting the Issues Track, players are awarded momentum markers and/or Endorsement Cards for leading each issue based on its current position on the Issues Track:
- Third-place Issue: one momentum marker
- Second-place Issue: one momentum marker or one Endorsement Card
- First-place Issue: one momentum marker and one Endorsement Card
These benefits are awarded in the order indicated above. In other words, the player winning the second-place issue must decide whether they wish to take an Endorsement Card (and, if so, must resolve that card) before the first-place winner resolves their Endorsement Card.
Endorsements
When a player draws an Endorsement Card, they immediately place one endorsement marker into the region indicated on the card. Endorsement markers are placed into the marked spots in the regional advertising boxes and follow the same rule as with sup- port cubes: if the opposing player already has one or more endorsement markers in the same region, the player must remove one of these markers instead of placing one.
Step 4 - Issue Support Decay
At the end of the Momentum Phase, one issue support cube is removed from each issue tile that has any.
Reminder: Issues are shifted and momentum decays before new momentum markers are awarded; Issue Support decays after.
4. Campaign Strategy Phase
Step 1 - Campaign Strategy
Both players play one or two cards from their hand facedown to their Campaign Strategy Card Stack on the board:
- On the first five turns (before the Debates), players must place exactly one card.
- On the last two turns (after the Debates), players must place exactly two cards.
If either player has any cards remaining in their hand after they have done so, those extra cards must immediately be discarded.
Tip: During the first five turns, you are setting Campaign Strategy cards aside for the Debates. These cards should have high Campaign Point values and should feature your own candidate's icon.
After the Debates, you are setting cards aside for Election Day. These cards should have state abbreviations for states in which you are looking to pick up extra help.
Note: The four Gathering Momentum cards may not be played as Campaign Strategy cards! Players must make sure to retain a valid Campaign Strategy card in their hand until the Campaign Strategy Phase.
Step 2 - Rest
Both players deposit their rest cubes (cubes in their Rest Cube Zone) into the Political Capital Bag.
The Debates - Turn 6
On the sixth turn, the normal sequence of play is not followed. Instead, the process described below is used to resolve the De- bates, after which the normal sequence of play resumes with the seventh turn on the board. There are several steps to the Debates:
- Determine Initiative
- Campaign Strategy
- Set the Stage
- Debate!
- After the Debates
1. Determine Initiative
An Initiative Check is made to determine who has the initiative for the duration of the Debates. The player with the initiative wins any ties that occur on an issue.
Reminder: Remember during the Debates to apply all effects of any Debate Event cards that are in the Persistent Events Card Stack on the board. Those cards can have a significant effect on the outcome of the Debates.
2. Campaign Strategy
Both players retrieve the five cards from their own Campaign Strategy Card Stack.
3. Set The Stage
Place the Debate Board between the two players. Remove all three issue tiles from the Issues Track and place them into the corresponding spots on the Debate Board-the first place issue goes onto the spot labeled "First Place Issue" and so on.
Note: Retain any issue support cubes on the issue tiles while moving them.
4. Debate
Each player selects one of his cards, and then each reveals the cards simultaneously. Each of these cards is then placed face- up next to the issue indicated by its debate icon. It is placed on the side of the Debate Board corresponding to the player whose candidate icon is shown on the card.
If a card shows icons for both candidates, the player may place it to either side. In the event that both players play such cards, the player with the initiative may decide who will place their card first.
This process is repeated until two cards have been played to the same side of an issue. At this point, that issue has been won by the player having the higher Campaign Point total played to their side of that issue. If both players have the same total, the player with the initiative wins that issue. In the event that two issues are won simultaneously, they are resolved in ascending order, with the issue in lowest original from the Issues Track being resolved first.
Winning An Issue
The moment an issue is won, that issue tile is immediately returned to the lowest unoccupied position on the Issues Track. Any cards played to either side of it are moved to the discard pile.In addition, the player who won that issue is awarded a bonus of state support cubes that are immediately placed in one or more states of their choice:
- First issue awarded: 2 state support cubes
- Second issue awarded: 3 state support cubes
- Last issue awarded: 4 state support cubes
No Support Checks are required for these cubes, even in states carried or currently occupied by the opposing player.
Once an issue has been won, no further cards may be played to that issue. If a player plays a card associated with an issue which has already been won, that card is instead discarded.
Note: Again, make sure to retain any issue support cubes on the issue tiles while returning them to the Issues Track.
Ending The Debates
This process is repeated until all three issue have been won, o r ,or until both players have played all five of their cards, whichever occurs first. At this point, any issues that have not yet been won are resolved in ascending order. The issue in lowest original position from the Issues Track is resolved first. Each issue is won by the player with the higher Campaign Point total played to their side of that issue. If both players have the same total, the player with the initiative wins that issue.
5. After The Debates
At the end of the Debates, all Campaign Strategy cards for both players, whether played or unplayed, are discarded and the normal sequence of play resumes with the seventh turn.
Debate Events
Remember during the Debates to apply all effects of any Debate Event cards that are in the Persistent Events Card Stack ontheboard. Afterthe Debates are over, those cards may be discarded.
Election Day - Turn 9
On the ninth turn, the normal sequence of play is not followed. Instead, the process described below is used to resolve Election Day and determine the winner of the game:
- Deposit Bonus Cubes
- Determine Initiative
- Campaign Strategy
- Election Day Events
- Endorsements and Undecided Voters
- Final Tally
1. Deposit Bonus Cubes
Each player adds a number of cubes from his cube supply to the Political Capital Bag equal to the number of media support cubes he has on the board, then removes all his media support cubes and issue support cubes from the board and deposits those into the bag as well. Also, each player exchanges any remaining momentum markers at this time. He places two cubes into the bag from his cube supply for each momentum marker exchanged.
2. Determine Initiative
An Initiative Check is made to determine who has the initiative for the duration of Election Day.
3. Campaign Strategy
Both players retrieve the four cards from their respective Campaign Strategy Card Stacks and reveal them. For each of these cards, the player gains three Support Checks in the state indicated on that card. The player with the initiative resolves his cards first.
Note: If the Political Capital Bag runs out of cubes at this point, it is not refilled.
4. Election Day Events
Any Election Day Events played during the game are retrieved from the designated space on the board and resolved. The player with the initiative chooses the order in which these Events are resolved.
5. Endorsements And Undecided Voters
At this point, any state that currently contains no state support cubes for either player will tip toward one player or the other. If either player has an endorsement marker in that state's region, that player wins the state and may place a state support cube there. If neither player has an endorsement marker in that region, it goes to the player indicated by that state's edge (blue edge indicates Kennedy, red edge indicates Nixon), and that player may place a state support cube there.
6. Final Tally
Players should now claim the state seal for every state where they have state support cubes. At this point, players may total up their electoral votes (displayed on the backs of the state seals) and determine the winner.
Note: There are a total of 537 electoral votes available, which means any player who takes at least 269 of them has won the game!
Tip: One easy way to simplify the math of totaling up your electoral votes is by grouping your collected state seals into sets adding up to 50 votes each.
Unpledged Electors
If the Unpledged Electors Event is in play, it is possible that one or more states that Kennedy is leading but not carrying will not be awarded to either player. This makes it possible for a player to win with fewer than 269 electoral votes, obviously, and it also introduces the possibility of a tie.
In the extremely unlikely event of a tie in electoral votes due to the Un- pledged Electors Event, the decision
goes to the House of Representatives, with the winner being the player who won the largest number of states. Should players somehow manage to achieve a tie in this as well, the winner is the player with the largest total number of state support cubes across all states.
Optional Rules
Vice President Cards
During Setup, each player removes their Vice President Card from the Campaign Card deck, placing it to one side with their Candidate Card.
On any turn, instead of playing a card from their hand normally, a player may instead choose to discard any card which features only his own candidate icon (i.e., not their opponent's) and play his Vice President Card as if from his hand. If a player does not have such a card in hand to discard, he may not play his Vice President Card.
Note: Kennedy's VP is Lyndon Johnson; Nixon's VP is Henry Cabot Lodge.
Restricted Positioning
When spending Campaign Points on Issue Support, a player may not add Support to the issue corresponding to the debate icon featured on their card (if any). This restriction applies only to the Positioning on Issues action, and does not affect Issue Support granted by Events.
Continue Reading
