Just Vote!
This is a frustrating board game meant to expose the reality of voter suppression across the United States. The object of the game is for players to vote. Voting entails getting to the end of the board and having their voter identification card (as well as any cards they have picked up during the game) and state voter requirements line up.
How to Play
To begin the game, players pick up a voter card (they have a person symbol on the back of it), and the voter card has voter information on it. They also choose a die that they must use the entire game. The dice vary in numbers; to demonstrate the different circumstances that people are prior to the polls that impact their ability to get there. The different die will bring different challenges for the players. There are two piles of cards in the middle. Players pick a card according to the blue or red pile when they land on a blue or red spot. One of the piles has questions pulled from the 1967 Alabama Voter Questionaire. This was used to discriminate against a particular demographic of voters who were less educated or literate and therefore was classist and racist due to America’s history. The directions on these cards direct players to ask another player a question on the card, and if they answer incorrectly, then give them the punishment at the bottom of the card. This can cause players to get upset with each other instead of focusing on the true problem, which is the game setup (the fact that their votes are purposefully being suppressed). The other pile of cards has various issues voters can run into while getting to or at the polls, cards that can be used for identification and registration, and voting methods. Once a player gets to the end of the board, they will pick up a state card. If their voter card has characteristics that line up with the state voting requirements, then they can vote. If not, they need to return to the start.
How the game was made.
To create the board, I first designed it in Adobe Illustrator. I then separated it into three separate layers, which would turn out to be the red coloring, blue coloring, and then black outline. I then laser cut each of these onto three separate pieces of wood. With these three wood blocks, I did a layered woodblock print. The images on the cards were also created in Illustrator, laser cut into tiny pieces of wood, and then printed by hand onto the backs of each card I created. I created the die in the 3D modeling software Blender and then 3D printed each of them.