Overview

1960: The Making of the President is a two-player card-driven game simulating the 1960 US presidential election between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. Players compete to win a majority of electoral votes by gaining State Support across the electoral map. Using a hand of campaign cards, players trigger historical events or spend Campaign Points on operations like campaigning in states, advertising in regions, and positioning on issues. The game culminates in a televised debates turn and an Election Day turn where endorsements and undecided voters determine the final tally.

Components

• 1 Game Board (electoral map of the US with 4 advertising regions)
• 1 Debate Board
• 50 State Seals
• 3 Issue tiles (Defense, Economy, Civil Rights)
• 2 Candidate tokens
• 12 Momentum markers
• 2 Turn Track & Phase Track markers
• 170 Cubes (85 blue Kennedy, 85 red Nixon)
• 15 Endorsement markers
• 97 Campaign cards
• 2 Candidate cards
• 2 Prevention Event markers
• 16 Endorsement cards
• 1 Political Capital bag
• Campaign Manual

Setup

1. Place the board and Debate Board. Each player takes their candidate’s cubes, candidate token, and candidate card.
2. Seed the Political Capital bag with the starting cubes per the rules.
3. Place State Seals on each state. Place Issue tiles on the board.
4. Place candidate tokens at starting positions. Place Momentum and Endorsement markers nearby.
5. Shuffle campaign cards and deal starting hands per the setup rules.
6. Place Turn and Phase markers on their starting positions.

Turn Structure

The game is played over 9 turns. Turns 1-5 and 7-8 are standard campaign turns. Turn 6 is the Debates. Turn 9 is Election Day.

Standard Campaign Turn (Turns 1-5, 7-8):

1. Initiative Phase — Draw cubes from the Political Capital bag to determine initiative.
2. Activity Phases — Players alternate playing cards (5 cards each). Each card is played as an Event, for Campaign Points, or as a Candidate Card.
3. Momentum Phase — Momentum Decay, Issue Shift, Momentum Awards & Endorsements, Issue Support Decay.
4. Campaign Strategy Phase — Campaign Strategy decisions, then Rest.

The Debates (Turn 6):

1. Determine Initiative
2. Campaign Strategy
3. Set The Stage
4. Debate! — Players compete over issues; winning issues earns momentum and support.
5. After the Debates

Election Day (Turn 9):

1. Deposit Bonus Cubes (based on media support)
2. Determine Initiative
3. Campaign Strategy
4. Election Day Events
5. Endorsements and Undecided Voters
6. Final Tally — count electoral votes

Actions

Playing a Card as an Event

Play a card to trigger its Event text. Events can affect State Support, Media Support, Issue Support, Momentum, and more. Some events are Persistent (remain in effect).

Playing a Card for Campaign Points (CP)

Spend CP on one of three operations:

B1. Campaigning in States: Place State Support cubes in states. Must make a Support Check when placing in states carried by or occupied by the opponent.

B2. Advertising in Regions: Place Media Support cubes in one of four regional advertising boxes (West, Midwest, South, East). Media support facilitates campaigning on a regional level.

B3. Positioning on Issues: Place Issue Support cubes on Issue tiles (Defense, Economy, Civil Rights). Helps gain Momentum and Endorsements.

Playing a Candidate Card

Each player has a unique Candidate card with special abilities. Played during an Activity Phase.

Support Checks

When placing support in opponent-held states, draw cubes from the Political Capital bag. Success depends on the composition of cubes drawn.

Triggering & Preempting Events

When playing an opponent-associated card for CP, the opponent may trigger its Event. Players can spend Momentum markers to preempt (prevent) Events.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Winning: The player with the majority of electoral votes (270+) on Election Day wins.

Electoral Votes: Awarded per state based on the player who has State Support cubes in that state at game’s end.

Endorsements: In the final tally, endorsement markers in a region can flip states — each endorsement affects undecided or weakly-held states.

Tiebreakers: If tied on electoral votes:

1. Player who won the most states
2. Player with the most total state support

Unpledged Electors: Some states have special rules for unpledged electors.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Momentum: Earned through Issue positioning and Momentum Phase. Can be spent to trigger favorable opponent Events or preempt your own negative Events. Maximum momentum is tracked on the board.
• Support Exclusivity: Only one player may have support cubes in any given state, region, or issue at a time. Placing support first eliminates opponent cubes.
• Prevention Event Markers: Mark Events that have been preempted so they cannot trigger again.
• Persistent Events: Some Events remain in play for the rest of the game once triggered.
• Initiative: Determined by bag draws. The trailing player in cubes drawn gets initiative (plays first that turn).
• Rest: Players may “rest” by holding cubes in their Rest Zone for future use.
• Debate Mechanics: The Debates are a special mini-game where players compete over issues using card play and cube draws.

Player Reference

Turn Sequence (Standard):

1. Initiative Phase (bag draw)
2. Activity Phases (alternate card plays, 5 each)
3. Momentum Phase (decay, shift, awards, endorsements, issue decay)
4. Campaign Strategy Phase

Card Play Options: | Option | Effect | |—|—| | Event | Trigger the card’s historical event | | Campaign Points → States | Place State Support cubes | | Campaign Points → Advertising | Place Media Support cubes | | Campaign Points → Issues | Place Issue Support cubes | | Candidate Card | Use your candidate’s special ability |

Key Numbers:

• 9 turns total (6 = Debates, 9 = Election Day)
• 5 cards per player per turn
• 270 electoral votes needed to win
• 4 advertising regions (West, Midwest, South, East)
• 3 issues (Defense, Economy, Civil Rights)