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Short Games

Short Games require 2-4 sessions. “Sessions” are understood to include any necessary in-class prep time and debriefing. For example, if a game requires preparatory organizing time aside from usual class lecture, 1-2 full class sessions for the game itself, and a follow-on debriefing, it is a short game. Please contact Bill Offutt for more information about Short Games.

Microgames can be found on the microgames page


ALIEN AND SEDITION

Freedom and Censorship: The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798-1800

Can a country riven by political party divisions remain a republic dedicated to rule of law? Can media be held to account for biased reports, untruths, or personal attacks on the elected leaders of a republic? What limits--if any--should exist on freedom of speech and of the press? These questions might seem directly ripped from the headlines of 2025, but they also confronted the young United States of the 1790s. In this game, students will assume the role of political leaders of the early republic in their attempts to address the security crisis caused by the French Revolution; grappling with the necessity and/or constitutionality of the eponymous Alien and Sedition Acts.

13-35 Students 18th Century North America


ARE ATOMS REAL?

Are Atoms Real? 1860 Conference of Chemistry at Karlsruhe

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 


CHALLENGING AUTHORITY

Challenging Authority: Reformation Politics and Society, 1521-25

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

Cholera! at the Pump: Contagionism, Miasma Theory and Sanitation, London 1854

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


CIGARETTE CENTURY

Cigarette Century: Tobacco and Lung Cancer, 1964-1965

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



CONCLAVE 1492

Conclave 1492: The Election of a Renaissance Pope

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


THE CONDITION OF ENGLAND

The Condition of England, 1841

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 MARY STUART

The Fate of Mary Stuart

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



JOHN BROWN

The Fate of John Brown, 1859

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


THE JUMONVILLE INCIDENT

Washington at Fort Necessity

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



NORTH KOREAN HUNGER GAMES

The North Korean Hunger Games: Famine, Rogue Regimes, and the Ethics of Aid. 1995-1998

It is late 1998, and a wide range of government representatives and aid organizations have gathered to discuss the future of assistance to North Korea in Musgrove, Georgia. While no one can deny North Korea’s need, students will debate the severity of the famine, the type and amount of aid that will be most successful, the proper response and role of non-government organizations (NGOs) in North Korea, and the terms under which North Korea will even qualify for international assistance. Alongside these difficult issues, students  will also need to juggle the political baggage and history these East Asian countries bring to their arguments.

16-23 Students 20th Century Asia


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