can you vote in 1870 game

Charlotte

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28-02-2025

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Can You Vote in 1870? A Look at Suffrage in the Game and History

The board game 1870: The Dawn of the Railways focuses on economic competition and railway construction in late 19th-century Europe. But can you, the player, participate in the political process reflected in the game's historical setting? The short answer is: indirectly, through your actions, but not directly through a voting mechanic.

This article explores the mechanics of voting in 1870, the historical context of suffrage in the 1870s, and how the game reflects—or doesn't reflect—the limitations of the political landscape.

Voting in 1870: The Game

1870, the board game, doesn't feature a direct voting system. There are no ballot boxes or elections where players cast votes. Your influence on the political climate comes from your economic successes.

• Economic Power = Political Influence: In the game, building railways, managing resources, and accumulating wealth allows you to indirectly impact the game's trajectory. Your actions contribute to the overall economic strength of your chosen nation. A stronger economy often translates into greater political power historically, though this is not explicitly modeled in 1870.

• Company Control: Your actions within the game influence the direction of your railway company. The strategic decisions you make can be seen as a form of internal "voting" on the best course of action for your business.

Voting in 1870: The Historical Context

Understanding the historical limitations of suffrage in the 1870s is crucial to appreciate why 1870 (the game) doesn't include a voting mechanic.

• Limited Suffrage: In most European countries in 1870, the right to vote was severely restricted. Suffrage was typically limited to property-owning men, excluding women, the poor, and often non-landowners. This exclusion of a vast portion of the population is an important element of the historical reality the game attempts to represent.

• Varying Suffrage Laws: The specifics of suffrage differed widely across European nations. Some countries had broader suffrage than others, but the universal right to vote was still decades away. The game, encompassing various European countries, appropriately avoids a simplified representation of a voting system that didn't exist uniformly across its setting.

• Indirect Representation: Even those who could vote often had limited influence. The power of landowners and wealthy elites heavily influenced political decisions. This is perhaps better reflected in the game's economic and strategic choices than a simplistic voting mechanism would allow.

How the Game Reflects the Historical Reality

1870 (the game) captures the spirit of the era in its focus on economic power. It doesn't explicitly model the complexities of 19th-century politics—including the limited suffrage—but it accurately reflects the power imbalances inherent in that system. The game's emphasis on strategic economic decisions subtly portrays how those in control of resources held the real power, regardless of direct voting rights.

Conclusion

While you cannot directly vote in 1870: The Dawn of the Railways, the game reflects the reality of limited suffrage in the historical context. Your influence stems from economic power, mirroring the real-world situation where wealth and land ownership often equated to political influence during that period. The game's design choice to omit direct voting is a deliberate reflection of the historical limitations of suffrage in 1870.