This week the major obstacles to be overcome were a variety of not very bright insects, and a golem. There was really no choice but to confront the insects (we tried ‘sneaking past’ them twice before it worked), but we finessed the golem by not attacking it. It actually helped us by attracting the attention of some of the insects, so we could deal with the others more easily. Perhaps because of this tactic the game play ended early and successfully. But again, I am not sure what the take-away was supposed to be. My character has now become so powerful that it can often dispose of a team enemy whenever its turn comes around. So I learned this week is that doing homework, and making my character more powerful, is good for the team. And yes, it feels good when other people cheer your character on. I am still not convinced that the experience of this particular game offers very much for classroom teaching strategies, but I will now look for ways give students positive feedback from peers on doing their homework.
Another excellent discussion followed, providing many resources on existing teaching games. I had thought myself fairly knowledgeable about role playing games for teaching history — but I heard about a lot of new material. The most interesting option, which I instantly recommended to colleagues and actually went away and played, shows the real world consequences of the Texas Supreme Court abortion clinic decisions of 2014. See: playchoicetexas.com.
