Founding Fathers

Cast votes, play state delegates and claim tokens while the US Constitution gets written article by article.

Designers: Jason Matthews, Christian Leonhard
Published by: Jolly Roger Games

Founding Fathers puts you in the 1787 convention writing the US Constitution, from the team behind 1960: The Making of the President. You are delegates, and the goal is to leave the room with the most renown. Each round an article of the constitution comes up for debate, as a Federalist, Anti-Federalist, Big State or Small State issue. You hold three delegate cards representing your states, each with a special ability, and you play them to use a power, to vote for or against the issue, or to claim a token in one of four issue types. Then the issue passes or flips to its opposite. A 2010 game for three to five, around ninety minutes.

The 1787 Constitutional Convention as a gameDelegate cards with special abilitiesIssues that pass or flip to their opposite

Who it's for

You like political card games with a clear historical hook, and the voting mechanic suits your group.

Not for you if…

You want a light party game or a strong narrative. The theme is political and the scoring is mechanical.

Vibe's take

A vote-trading chess match. Each article is a small fight over which way it flips, and your card choice reveals more than you think.