Short Games

Are atoms real or just a theoretical idea? This game pits empiricists who accept only what they discover with the five senses against realists who use experiments and logic to infer that atoms must be real. Set during the first international chemistry meeting in Karlsruhe, Germany, students will take on the roles of a veritable who's who of 19th century science. Much of the conflict in the game centers on the proper formulas for water and carbon oxide and the relative weights of carbon and oxygen, with arguments relying on differing interpretations of the experimental data available in 1860.

9-40 Students 19th Century Europe 

Take students into three significant phases of the tumultuous first years of the Protestant Reformation: Martin Luther’s appearance before Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms in 1521, the three years of continuing reforms and challenges to secular rulers’ authority, and the tumultuous Peasants’ Revolt of 1524-25. This game examines how the Reformation moved from theological disputes to broad political and social change in the Holy Roman Empire in the early 1520s

12-39 Students 16th Century Europe

Cholera 1854 takes place on the evening of September 7, 1854 at Vestry Hall in Soho, Greater London. Students play members of a special emergency response committee of the local Board of Governors and Directors of the Poor of St. James Parish, who have convened to respond to the deadly outbreak of Cholera that has claimed the lives of more than 500 parish residents over the preceding eight days. This decision they ultimately reach and the events leading up to it are considered a defining moment in the development of modern approaches to public health, epidemiology and municipal waste management.

12-28 Students 19th Century Europe

How do we know if X causes Y? "The Cigarette Century: Tobacco and Lung Cancer, 1964-1965" explores this question in the context of the congressional debates surrounding tobacco and lung cancer after the publication of the 1964 Surgeon General's Report. Players take on the role of senators, bureacrats, scientists, media representative, and tobacco executives as they seek to interpret the existing body of evidence to inform regulatory policy decisions. The flexible format of the game allows instructors to play the game in statistical and data analysis courses, covering topics including experimental design, data visualization, and measures of risk; as well as well as interdisciplinary and introductory courses exploring topics such as public-facing science, statistical literacy, public policy, and disinformation.

6-29 Students 20th Century North America

Relive one of the most infamous papal elections in the history of the Catholic Church. Students are members of the sacred college of cardinals, princes of the Roman Catholic Church convened in secret to elect the next pope. They must use knowledge of the renaissance church and late-medieval Europe to advance their character's political and religious concerns in pursuit of personal power and (perhaps) the best interests of Christendom.

18-30 Students 15th Century Europe

This game examines the various competing ideologies of early industrial Britain such as paternalism, Utilitarianism, free trade/laissez faire capitalism, and early socialism and feminism. Set in a London debating society, students will debate policy solutions to thorny problems such as treatment of the poor, whether to uphold or repeal the Corn Laws, and whether there ought to be additional factory laws or whether the economic laws of supply and demand should be allowed to take their course in the factories of England's ongoing Industrial Revolution. Other issues such as democratization of society, the role of women, temperance, and education, penal, and colonial reform are all represented in a game that captures the upheaval in British politics during the 19th century.

12-30 Students 19th Century Europe

The fate of the Tudor Dynasty seems to hang in the balance in the aftermath of the Babington Plot's exposure, resulting in the arrest of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots. Students take on the roles of historical figures who attempt to influence the queen to confirm the sentence, pardon Mary, execute her through a different legal process, or maybe even remove her by more unsavory means... Politics, religion, private interests, a fragile relationship with Scotland, war in the Netherlands, and a possible war with Spain are all factors that all come into play over the course of this game.

10-25 Students 16th Century Europe

In 1859, John Brown gathered a small force and attacked the United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia to obtain thousands of weapons, which he planned to distribute to the slaves to free themselves. The plan failed catastrophically, with most of Brown’s force either dead or captured in less than two days. This game is set at a fictitious conference, called to debate whether John Brown should be executed. Most importantly, this game engages students with the nation’s gravest existential crisis, revolving around the place of slavery in America’s future.

10-4o Students 19th Century North America

It is the early 1750s in North America, and constant struggles between the British and French empires draw in colonists, indigenous populations, and other European powers. Now, a new flashpoint has developed for this rivalry: the Ohio Country. Into this volatile situation is thrust a young Colonel in the Virginia Militia, about to make his first mark on history. In this game, students will take on the roles of figures from all factions involved in the subsequent Jumonville Incident. The game focuses on debates around differing interpretations of the incident, along with such questions as: who shot first, what were the intentions of the French, and how responsible were Washington's actions as a commander?

18-25 Students 18th Century North America