There will never be a new world order until women are a part of it.
-Alice Paul

The U.S. suffrage movement is well remembered for what it did for women in the states. In Votes for Women, you can be part of this epic moment in history! Play the game, and maybe learn a thing or two while you’re at it. Let’s check it out.

What Is It?

Asymmetric Card-Driven Game – Each side (suffragist vs opposition) has a unique deck of cards tailored to their goal – getting the 19th amendment ratified or rejected. Each deck has early, middle, and late era cards to signify the flow of historic events.

Area Control – Players are trying to populate each state with their colored cubes – to represent the political power of their side. Early on, players can earn state cards for bonus benefits when they have enough cubes in certain states. Later, once the 19th amendment has been sent to Congress, 4 cubes of a single side will place a ✔️ on a state (ratified), or an ❌ (rejected). 36 ✔️s or 13 ❌s will win the game.

Dice Rolling – Some cards have players roll dice to see how many cubes they can place or remove, or if they can do certain other actions. Players can always use buttons they have earned to re-roll dice. Players will also roll to take a campaigning action – to place cubes in the region(s) their campaigner(s) are in, or to take a lobbying action – to add or remove markers from Congress get the 19th amendment sent to Congress, or to prevent it from getting their. Finally, if after 6 rounds neither side has won the game, players will also roll dice in the final voting period, to determine the 19th amendment’s fate in each undecided state.

Who Is It For?

  • 1 to 4 Players – There are a few different play styles to accommodate different counts, but I personally found the game best at 2 or solo
  • Ages 14 and Up – The game requires a solid grasp of strategy, and understanding the balance of the asymmetric decks, which may be harder for younger players. It could be a great tool though for students learning about this time in history
  • Fans of history / political themed games
  • Fans of area control who like strategy, and don’t mind a few dice rolls

Variants

Solo – Play as the suffragist against the opposition-bot (oppobot). I thought the upkeep was really smooth and oppobot turns were fairly quick and simple. I prefer the suffragist side of play, so I enjoyed the solo game and thought it offered a nice solitaire experience.

Cooperative/Team Play – You can have 2 people on a team on either side and face another player/team, or just play as 2 suffragists against the oppobot. I thought this variation was just okay; you might pick it if you really want someone to strategize alongside. But mostly, I found it a little clunky to have 2 people using the same deck and just playing less cards each per turn. I think it works better as a solo or 2 player game.

PROS

  • Components – Really nice wooden pieces across the board (also comes with spares!). Board itself is simple but it’s laid out perfectly so you can see where all the different regions/states are so you know where to place your cubes during play
  • The decks definitely feel balanced, and provides for an interesting tug-of-war in the game
  • Smooth gameplay; turns move quickly
  • While there are dice rolls, it is rare that a bad dice roll means you can’t do anything; usually you can still do something so your turn isn’t wasted
  • Great flavor text on the cards plus the game includes historical documents, making it a great educational tool!

CONS

  • While the board layout is good, some states (you know who you are) are small, so having a bunch of cubes on them can be a little fiddly
  • I thought it felt kind of weird to play as the opposition. Like…I kind of didn’t want to win if I was the opposition, which was a weird feeling to have when approaching the game
    • Similarly, I thought the opposition side was not as interesting to play as

Final Thoughts

I don’t always love this style of game, but I was intrigued by the theme because it’s one that is so important. And I really enjoyed it! I thought the gameplay was solid, and it was interesting to play both sides, though I am definitely partial to playing on the suffrage side, because the victory feels so satisfying. I think the game definitely benefits from multiple plays, and both sides need to understand each others’ decks in order to do well. There can be a nice back and forth in the game because of how the cards come out, which I also think is interesting.

Also, something I found fun was, if you get to the final voting phase, all undecided states come down to dice rolls for ratification/rejection of the 19th Amendment. While it comes down to luck, which can be frustrating, it’s also a little exciting because it’s almost like you’re really waiting on the vote for that state to be announced.

Ultimately, if you like a head to head game, or a solo game against a bot deck, and you are interested in learning the ins and outs of your deck to succeed, this might be for you!

Additional Information:
My Final Rating – 7/10

Designer – Tory Brown
Artists – Brigette Indelicato, Marc Rodrigue (II)
Publisher – Fort Circle Games
MSRP – $75.00
Website

*I was provided a copy of this game to do this review*

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