Facebook Bans Ads For ‘Votes For Women’ Board Game, Community Outraged
Votes For Women is currently running a second print of their area control board game. But they’re having trouble letting everyone know.
Earlier this year, Fort Circle Games started running a Kickstarter campaign for the second printing of their area-control game, Votes For Women. The game itself is very well-regarded. It has earned nominations for Golden Geek Best Wargame, Golden Geek Most Thematic, and Charles S. Roberts Best Early Modern Wargame, all in 2022.
Votes for Women Overview
Votes For Women is an area control game where players are working to garner enough votes to convince the American Congress how to rule on women gaining the right to vote, either for or against.
The game plays out over six turns. During their turns, players bid for different strategy cards that they will use in order to push their agenda. Players will be attempting to gain control and influence over different regions. While doing this, they also balance their resources of campaign materials in order to make sure their side wins.
Certain actions will grant the suffragette player(s) a vote in Congress. If the suffragette side can gain six votes in Congress before the sixth turn, the amendment is passed but still must go to the states to vote. As soon as 36 states vote in favor, the suffragettes win! Otherwise, the opposition side wins at the end of the sixth turn.
Fort Circle Games Struggles With Advertising
Earlier this week, Fort Circle founder Kevin Bertram told BoardGameWire about the issue. He noticed that the Facebook ads for the campaign were all being rejected very quickly after being posted. This has been routinely happening since the new year. According to the automated rejection, the ads are being rejected because they are about “sensitive social issues,” which “could influence how people vote and may impact the outcome of an election or pending legislation.”
Even after multiple review requests, the ads have been denied over and over.
“It is disappointing that a company that has financially benefited in the past from election shenanigans now will not allow advertising for a board game that celebrates a woman’s right to vote. It is beyond disappointing,” Bertram lamented. Adding, “A woman’s right to vote is not a ‘sensitive social issue.’ It is established law and fact. A board game about historical events from over a century ago is unlikely to ‘impact the outcome of an election or pending legislation.’”
Tory Brown, the designer for Votes For Women, added, “The struggle for equal representation and a political voice was at the heart of the suffrage movement. Brown is a long-time activist and political communications strategist for progressive causes.
“If you’re concerned about the outsized role that huge corporations like Meta now play in who gets to be heard, consider joining or supporting an organization like the American Economic Liberties Project, Public Citizen, or the Open Markets Institute. Together, we can end the concentration of political and economic power held by a few self-serving gatekeepers.”
