Hard Play

Above is the breakdown and debrief of a Silk Road Game that we played as part of the Renaissance Unit for Grade 8 Social Studies. This game, which lasted 2.5 classes, was a fantastic example of Hard Play as it challenged students in ways that forced them to consider important aspects of the real Silk Road. Students were tasked with gathering a variety of goods and knowledges from other regions, limited to those that could realistically be reached. This led students to take perspectives of people travelling along the Silk Road. The game was the introduction to the unit of the Silk Road and allowed them to embody and understand the main goods and challenges before exploring the historical context.

Not only did this game engage students in an active way, but it brought many students who had previously been uninterested in the Renaissance back into the fold. For example, one student who refused to do the previous project ended up winning the game and became far more engaged in all lessons afterwards. Part of the success of the game was that it was easy to understand but challenging to win. It took skills of bartering, logic, and an understanding of values of good and knowledges. Furthermore, there were elements of luck in that players received wild cards such as the Black Plague and Bandits, which could derail their progress. Student thereby learned how fragile and dangerous the Silk Road could be and saw how some nations could have taken advantage of such circumstances. 

It was interesting to see how Hard Play connected to Competency 8 (and, in part, Competency 6), specifically the sub sections of: "Sparks students’ interest in and curiosity about the subject, the knowledge and skills, practices, tools and techniques, methods and procedures involved, as well as with the history of the subject and the issues, accomplishments, key figures, schools of thought and debates that have marked its development", "Plans teaching and learning situations that spark students’ enthusiasm for learning activities and are likely to relate to their areas of interest", and "Fosters collaborative work, discussions, participation and mutual help among the students". When the game ended and students debriefed and learned about the real Silk Road, they were engaged and motivated to make connections between the history and their gaming experience. Furthermore, this game allowed the classroom to operate smoothly as all students were engaged during the game and focussed after the game. It was an excellent classroom management game and brought all students, from the most disinterested to the most rambunctious, into direct contact with important historical moments. 

This game has inspired me to create more roleplaying games for other units. While I ran out of time during my 6-weeks, I am currently planning a Mexica empire expansion game which involves multiple types of dice, resource trade, warfare, and a "final level" wherein Spanish colonizers invade the game. I am hoping this game helps bring into context the complexity of Indigenous city-state relations in Mexico during the 1500s and the effects of Spanish contact on those relations. It will also include aspect of tribute payment and conflicting power dynamics which, while perhaps creating minor conflicts in class, will make clear the fragile nature of power in Central Mexico. 

While I also gamified simpler content within both the Renaissance and Mexica units, this game was the only true example of Hard Play that I was able to implement this year. I plan to make at least one Hard Play game for each unit I teach in my career.