Founding Fathers

In a new nation surrounded by enemies and debt, you're the president. Can you survive?

In the Fall of 1787, after nearly four months of wrangling, browbeating and arm twisting the Founding Fathers in Philadelphia emerged with a Constitution. Over the next several months it would be ratified by the newly-independent states. They also had a leader, the universally popular George Washington. Now it was time to see if it would all actually work. Could a democratic republic surrounded by enemies, deeply in debt – a new experiment in the world – thrive and survive, or would Benjamin Franklin's dark hint – "A republic, if you can keep it" – prove all too apt.

Drawing inspiration from the classic The Republic of Rome, it departs in many directions. Rather than only war events, there are sixty-nine distinct issues from the Bank of the US to the Bill of Rights, the Whiskey Rebellion to the War of 1812 and even some counterfactuals like ending slavery and suffrage for women. The president chooses his cabinet and negotiates with Congress to resolve issues and cultivate his popularity. But each player maintains several statesmen and decisions must have an eye to the future as every four years brings another election to be contested on the growing map of the United States. Featuring fifty statesman it includes every historical major party candidate for president and vice president. Play tends to be quicker, yet the experience deeper as players delve into the actual thorny issues of the greatest Republic on earth.