Mapmaker: The Gerrymandering game that puts the fun in undermining democracy

Mapmaker becomes a complete choose-your-own-adventure in this regard. The rulebook includes a five-page addendum with the history of gerrymandering, updates on efforts to combat the practice today, and a reading/listening list for those who want to learn even more. The Lafairs spoke directly to several of the most prominent experts on the subject when making the game: attorney Ruth Greenwood of the Campaign Legal Center (who testified in front of the Supreme Court) and Duke researchers Jonathan Mattingly and Gregory Herschlag who created the algorithmic standard considered in DC. Mapmaker has to be the first board game to explicitly cite Davis v. Bandemer (the 1986 SCOTUS case that set the precedent for gerrymandering cases to be subject to trial).

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