Votes for Women

About this board game

Votes for Women is a card-driven game for 1–4 players that plays in about 75 minutes, covering the American women’s suffrage movement from 1848 to 1920. Across six turns, players work toward the ratification—or rejection—of the proposed Nineteenth Amendment.

In the competitive game, the Suffragist player must first have Congress pass the proposed Amendment, then secure ratification from three-fourths of the states: 36 of the then 48 states. The Opposition player wins by preventing Congress from passing it or by having 13 states reject the Amendment.

Each turn begins with players drawing from their own decks and bidding on strategy cards. The turn then continues through six rounds of card play. Cards can be played for their events or discarded to campaign, organize, or lobby Congress, creating meaningful choices throughout the struggle.

• Competitive play: Pit the Suffragist player against the Opposition player.
• Cooperative play: Work together against the Oppobot.
• Solitaire play: Face the Oppobot alone.

If Congress has proposed the Amendment but neither 36 states have ratified nor 13 states have rejected it, the game proceeds to Final Voting. That closing stage gives Votes for Women a decisive conclusion as players discover whether the campaign succeeds or fails.

With multiple ways to play and a focused card-driven structure, Votes for Women presents a tense political contest built around campaigning, organizing, congressional lobbying, and state ratification.