Wiki Histories társasjáték

Angol leírás

Wiki Histories are quick little games that engage students in tough problem-solving. Each game is a snapshot of human history, following the same basic rules but adding a unique twist for variety.

Wiki Histories are not at the fun level of the best games you will find on boardgamegeek.com but that would be missing the point. The real strength of these games is that they are great for teaching problem-solving, history and board game design.

Teaching Board Game Design

Many schools in North America teach board game design, but students are rarely given enough constraints, so most of their game creations are too big and take too long to get played. The solution is for teachers to provide a template game that allows plenty of room for creativity within tight constraints. Wiki Histories take 15 minutes to play—short enough to be played in class. As pencil-and-paper games, they are also inexpensive for the budget-conscious classroom.

Most importantly, Wiki Histories offer students a realistic path to publication. After the first books are released, new books will be compiled from submitted designs. Students and their work will be celebrated. That will be inspiring for your students!

Teaching History

Playing games is one way to discover history. The simple mechanics of Wiki Histories do not seriously attempt to simulate history... however, the accompanying maps and mini-essays highlight little bits of history in a way that sticks with students. The mini-essays are written for high-schoolers, but the content can be simplified for younger students.

Teaching Problem-Solving

The #1 purpose of the elementary school math classroom is to get students to problem-solve. Start by splitting your class into two teams and projecting a Wiki History that only has a single map. Get the whole class to play. That’s why the territories have letters. Students can be called upon one at a time to claim a territory or attack a territory by just saying its letter.

An unexpected benefit of these games is that most of the maps come with extra information that students should disregard. Students need to filter information—distinguishing vital stuff from the background fluff.