FOR INSTRUCTORS
Give each student a political problem worth explaining. Every simulation works individually. Choose the concept, check the guide and bring their decisions back into the discussion.
THE PRACTICAL DETAILS FIRST
Times are planning estimates. Add discussion and writing time as needed. Where timing is unmeasured, pilot the activity or assign a clear stopping point.
| Activity | Concepts & format | Pacing & preparation | What students produce | Plan it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Power Circuit | Executives, legislatures & government formation Solo simulation | Three resumable acts · pilot timing pending No specialist knowledge required. Brief explanations introduce each rulebook. | Institutional comparison and research brief | Teaching guide →Compare → |
| The Shared Country | Federalism, authority & territorial diversity Solo simulation | Self-paced solo edition · timing not yet measured No advance reading. Read each government’s priorities and construct plausible positions on your own. | Constitutional choices, government positions and an individual explanation | Teaching guide →Compare → |
| Everyone Says Democracy | Democratic support, concepts & measurement Solo simulation | Self-paced inquiry · timing not yet measured Self-contained introduction. Original research is available for extension. | Research brief, measurement choices and revisions | Teaching guide →Compare → |
| The Overloaded State | State capacity, bureaucracy & implementation Solo simulation | Self-paced inquiry · timing not yet measured Self-contained introduction; no advance reading required. | Capacity diagnosis and reform/evaluation brief | Teaching guide →Compare → |
| Reply Across | Nationalism, federal arrangements & comparative inference Solo simulation | 45–60 min · optional +10 min Best after a basic introduction to nationalism. | Addressed reply with predictions and revisions | Teaching guide →Compare → |
| Manytide | Belonging, public systems & federalism Solo simulation | 45–60 min · optional +10 min No prior theory knowledge needed. A useful opening before a lecture. | Field journal with evidence and revised explanations | Teaching guide →Compare → |
| Name the Problem | Representation, problem definition & political judgment Solo simulation | About 50 min · allow time for reflection Choose the comparative case for this course. Core or Full guidance is available. | Public poster plus separate reasoning/revision report | Teaching guide →Compare → |
| A Door That Says Open | Participation, access & accountability Solo simulation | About 55 min of active work No specialist knowledge required. Read the case records as you go. | Evidence, hypothesis and revision report | Teaching guide →Compare → |
| Greenovia: The Belonging Test | Citizenship, nationalism & recognition Solo simulation | 85–110 min · take-home estimate Self-contained; suitable for a take-home synthesis. Allow time for explanation. | Charter, council decisions and comparative report | Teaching guide →Compare → |
| The Square | Collective action, coordination & selective incentives Solo simulation | 45–55 min · with optional discussion No advance reading. You play one citizen; the other nineteen are programmed. | Forecasts, choices and reasoning record | Teaching guide →Compare → |
| Hold the Headline | Evidence, state performance & causal claims Solo simulation | 45–55 min · planning estimate No advance reading required. All case records are in the activity. | Evidence and revision report | Teaching guide →Compare → |
| Protection, Inc.: The Price of Power | State formation, extraction & institutional continuity Solo simulation | 45–55 min · planning estimate No advance preparation. Work through the offers and continuing records. | Bargaining, institutional comparison and explanation report | Teaching guide →Compare → |
ASSESSMENT & SUBMISSION
Set an endpoint, ask for the activity’s readable report, and use your existing LMS. Students can use Print / Save as PDF where a separate download is not offered. A progress backup is for restoring work, not grading it.
For each criterion: 0 = absent, 1 = partial, 2 = clear and supported. Adapt the weighting to your course; this is guidance, not automatic scoring.
Switching from exploration keeps the current work, but skipped class responses may still need completing. A local report cannot establish authorship or make an activity tamper-proof.
THE WORK YOU TAKE AWAY
A readable report brings together choices, evidence and explanations. Save it, check it, then upload it to your course assignment. A download is not a submission.
Instructors assess the argument. Reports are editable local records, not authenticated receipts or automatically verified grades.
See an illustrative report ↗ (opens in a new tab)Actual report layouts vary by activity.
Share the link, specify an endpoint and tell students what to submit. Each simulation supplies its own brief, evidence and prompts.
Use it before class, during an individual work period or as a take-home assignment. Then compare decisions: where did students diverge, and which rule or piece of evidence explains why?
Completion is participation. Assess how students connect concepts, rules and evidence, address rival accounts and explain revisions. A choice you disagree with can still be well argued.
IF YOU WANT TO BUILD A SEQUENCE
Suggested routes, not experimentally validated sequences. One activity can also stand alone.
State & power
From continuing bargains to implementation and the evidence behind public promises.
Democracy
Move from access to meanings and measurement. Use Name the Problem’s comparative case.
Nation & belonging
Begin with Manytide, introduce nationalism before Reply Across, then use Greenovia for synthesis.
Institutions
Compare authority across territory, then government formation and survival.
Collective action
Compare incentives and coordination, then discuss what the programmed model leaves out.
No student accounts or class dashboard are needed. Students download a report and submit it through your existing LMS. A progress backup restores a session; it is not the readable assignment.
Edit this text, then copy it into your LMS. These edits stay in this tab.
Bargain for a coalition, face a confidence vote and confront the same crisis under three political systems. The votes stay the same. The rules change what they can do. Students produce institutional comparison and research brief.