NEWS AND Announcements 

As you are getting ready to kick off the fall semester, we have a record number of new and updated games to consider! Sprinkled among them are games that have been partially updated/released following the provisional Reacting 3.0 templates. This update to our curriculum promises to keep the work of our authors vibrant and ready to address the challenges of the contemporary classroom. If you have questions about the changes, be sure to check out our announcement blog post from Nick Proctor. The finalized templates should be coming early this fall, so stay tuned for more about the future of Reacting. In the meantime, onto the games! 

NEW GAMES

The Gothic Crisis: Transforming the Roman World, 376-382



Set in the Roman Empire of the late fourth century, The Gothic Crisis asks students to negotiate the terms under which Gothic refugees from beyond the Danube River will be settled within the lands of the Roman Empire. In debating issues such as military obligations and legal status, players will explore the interactions between Romans and barbarians and the diverse ways of envisioning the relationship between barbarian and Roman identity. Meanwhile, players will compete for honors and status within their factions, navigate potential conspiracies, and confront the perpetual possibility of a Gothic rebellion against the Roman Empire.

Negotiating Peace at Westphalia, 1648



In Negotiating Peace at Westphalia, 1648, students take on the identities and victory objectives of European ambassadors to negotiate a resolution to the Thirty Years War. The 1648 peace congress in Westphalia was the first-ever secular peace conference in Europe and, like the war it concluded, it was larger, more complex, and more revolutionary than any that came before. Ambassadors will have to determine whether to end the war by apportioning territories and financial reparations or follow a new option: instituting an Act of Oblivion. They must determine whether to allow religious diversity to become permanent and how to define the “German Liberties” of individual estates in relation to the Holy Roman Empire. They address practical and philosophical disputes and work together to create a set of treaties that resolve the issues in the war and set up a European system where peace is assumed to be the normal relationship between monarchies and territories in Europe. Negotiations can be influenced by battles between armies still active in the field and by marriage alliances among members of Europe’s noble dynasties. Of note, this game is in Reacting 3.0 format! So be sure to check it out if you are curious about the future of Reacting.

Reform or Revolution? Britain in the 1840s



Reform or Revolution? Britain in the 1840s places students in the British House of Commons across six sittings, from Sir Robert Peel's accession to office in autumn 1841 to the Corn Law crisis of 1846. Each student takes the part of a real Member and pursues that Member's aims through Prime Minister's Questions, floor debate, and division, arguing the great questions of the decade: the Corn Laws and the price of bread, the income tax, the workhouse and factory labor, the place of Catholics and Dissenters in a Protestant state, the government of Ireland, and the Chartist demand for a democracy that does not yet exist. The Parliament they enter divides along fault lines that run through the parties rather than between them, since Peel's Conservative majority contains both the Liberal-Conservatives who follow his project of measured reform and the Traditional Conservatives who hold that a party elected to defend the land and the Church has no business reforming either away, while the Whigs split over how far reform should go and the Radicals share benches with Irish Repealers who deny Westminster's right to govern Ireland at all. Because party discipline in these years remained loose and Members crossed the floor on the merits of a measure, students must build coalitions issue by issue, finding allies across the aisle and opponents within their own ranks. Peel's majority of seventy-six means the opposition cannot defeat him, so a government this secure falls only when its own supporters abandon it. The game asks how a governing order reforms itself without tearing itself apart, what a Member owes his party, his constituents, and his own judgment when the three conflict, and how much of a political settlement's survival turns not on the justice of the arguments made but on who can hold a majority together when the votes are called.

Granada, 1492: The Capitulation of Granada and the Year that Forged Spain

In this game, students negotiate the capitulation of the Islamicate Kingdom of Granada to the combined forces of Isabel of Castile and Fernando II of Aragon, while also planning a spectacle to communicate to the people what has transpired. In the simulation, students grapple with the realities of macro-political changes in an age where religious identities, public spectacle, and royal diplomacy collide to produce new and unexpected outcomes. Meanwhile, a wide array of "International Opinion" characters shape the outcomes of the negotiations between the two sides – from Turkish Admirals and Mamluk travelers to Portuguese judges and English heralds, many voices will be heard at the fall of Granada.

Battling Partisanship: Progressive Democracy and the Drive for a Non-Partisan Unicameral Legislature in Nebraska, 1934



Politicians, lawyers, academics, union members, farmers, ranchers, and journalists (men and women, people of diverse ethnicity; descendants of post-Civil War settlers and more recent immigrants) gather to debate the constitutional amendment placed on the state ballot in 1934 by a citizen initiative led by the progressive Senator George W. Norris. The amendment would replace the Nebraska House and Senate with a non-partisan, one house legislature. This microgame recreates a debate in Omaha in which students will play Progressives, Conservatives, and Indeterminates (with members of both major parties on all sides) to debate the value of tradition and the necessity of political parties for the organization of the legislature. Could American democracy evolve or was it locked into traditions formed 150 years earlier? Could a smaller one house legislature provide more responsible representation for citizens than the complex two-house system? Did the legislature have to be organized by political parties that had used legislative rules for years to block reform? Or could it function more effectively by liberating representatives from party labels, national agendas, and party discipline so that they could concentrate on voicing the concerns of their constituents and negotiate across party lines? The debate transitions into a final vote on the amendment and a chance to discuss its consequences. More broadly, in the postmortem students could be asked to apply the arguments of the 1934 Progressives in Nebraska to the current U.S. Congress in order to consider how partisanship affects the legislative branch. Is it valuable to have the House and Senate serve as a check on each other’s actions? Do strong party caucuses help or hinder legislation? A second avenue would be to turn discussion to recent efforts by some states to stymie or slow walk laws passed by voters through the Initiative process. Does the United States really want to maintain the direct input of citizens in the democracy?

When Have Women Paid Taxes? The Roman Matrons' Protest of 42 BCE

It is 42 BCE in Rome. You are one of the 1,400 wealthiest women in Rome, most members of prominent families, influential but still legally unable to vote or fully control your own property. You have spent your entire life enduring multiple civil wars and urban violence in which the men of your family fought for power. Now the current leaders of Rome are demanding that women pay taxes to fund their civil war, which for many of you directly targets your husbands and sons and brothers.

Nearly all these women do not want to pay taxes. However, the conflict comes in debating the method of resolution: whether this problem can only be solved by pleading with the wives and daughters of the new rulers of Rome to influence their loved ones, whether women should instead vote to unify together as a group and publicly advocate for policy changes, or whether they should simply resort to violence and assassination of those who oppose them. It is thus a game of how, rather than why, change can be pursued. It also addresses a larger question of what rights women do and don’t have, echoing the original source text of Hortensia’s actual speech: If women cannot vote or serve in public office, why should they have the responsibilities of citizenship but not the rights? How or whether should one resist an increasingly autocratic regime? How much do you risk one’s personal safety for the greater good?

UPDATED GAMES

Enlightenment in Crisis: Diderot's Encyclopédie in a Parisan Salon

• All role sheets updated. 

Defining a Nation: India on the Eve of Independence, 1945

• Game materials updated to provisional 3.0 templates, including pre and post game microgame workshops. 

Reclaiming Bayreuth: The Battle for the Soul of Wagner

• Added in instructions for practice round game sessions.
• Included new score cards.
• Shortened primary source documents and included italics for better use in game.
• Fixed name cards.
• Corrected leitmotifs in role sheets.

1349: The Plague Comes to Norwich

• Gamebook updated to provisional 3.0 template. 

Memory Reconsidered: San Francisco Pioneer Monument During the Culture Wars, 1991-1996

• Class sessions reorganized into Episodes, with order of activities rearranged.
• Individual victory objectives significantly revised.
• Added newspaper editor roles.
• Added new characters: Thomas Chinn, Andy and Michael Galvan.
• Added juries/committees to resolve certain side quests.
• Added more specific guidelines for writing assignments.

The school year is wrapping up, and we're getting ready for our annual Summer Institute and GDC! As you are preparing to enjoy your summer vacation and thinking about what games you might use in your classes next year, we hope you will consider these new and updated Reacting titles.

NEW GAMES

Oklahoma Revolution: Radicalism vs. Racism

In the early 20th century, three things were true about Oklahoma: it had the highest American Indian population in the nation; it was the most socialist state in the country; and (after 1917) it had the highest Ku Klux Klan membership per capita. In the 1920s, the so-called second Klan was a major force throughout the United States, and it was much more catholic in its hatred than its Reconstruction predecessor. In the 46th state, things came to a head in 1922 when socialists elected their candidate for governor, determined to break the Klan’s hold on the state. Will they succeed, or will the racists triumph? This game is additionally being featured at the 2026 Summer Institute! So if it peaks your curiosity, make sure to sign up. 

Seeking Justice: Colombia, 2012

For over five decades, Colombia was torn apart by conflict between the government and the FARC, leaving hundreds of thousands dead and millions displaced. Seeking Justice puts students at the heart of the 2012–2016 peace negotiations, where diplomats, international mediators, and civil society members must navigate the delicate balance between justice and reconciliation.

As negotiators, students will engage in confidential talks, weighing demands for land reform, disarmament, and political participation while facing pressure from both the public and international actors. Meanwhile, members of the public forum—victims, activists, and former combatants—will debate the future of their country, influencing the peace process through advocacy, polling, and direct testimony.

This simulation challenges students to grapple with real-world dilemmas of transitional justice: How do you end a civil war without granting impunity? What compromises are necessary for lasting peace? And what happens when the people must vote on a treaty shaped behind closed doors?

With roles ranging from high-level diplomats to impassioned citizens, Seeking Justice immerses students in the complexities of peacebuilding. Will they broker a deal that leads to a stable future, or will history repeat itself?

A Crisis of Faith: Byzantine Iconoclasm and the Search for Holiness in the Medieval World

It's 787, and the Byzantine Empire is tearing itself apart over images. Empress Irene has called a council in Nicaea to settle the question once and for all: are religious icons sacred objects worthy of veneration, or dangerous idols that must be destroyed? Students play bishops, monks, courtiers, and foreign diplomats, each armed with their own reading of scripture and their own political agenda. They'll debate whether art can depict God, whether icons can be holy, and who has the authority to decide — all while jockeying for power on issues from papal primacy to imperial succession. The game asks what happens when theology becomes politics, and politics becomes theology.

Japan's Strategic Dilemma, 1945: Surrender and Survival 

Should Japan surrender under the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, requiring fundamental changes to its government and perhaps more, or insist on other arrangements to end the war? The game is set in August 1945. Japan has seen its cities fire-bombed for a year, and Hiroshima has just been incinerated by an atomic bomb. Players take the roles of top army, navy and civilian leaders to decide on a reply to the Allies' "Potsdam Declaration." Should they accept, even if it results in the end of their institutions and fundamental change in Japan? Or should they demand compromise, or even fight on?

UPDATED GAMES

Europe on the Brink, 1914: The July Crisis

• Role sheets, supplemental documents, and handouts all revised to integrate new documents into the game. 

Food or Famine: The Debate Over Genetically Modified Crops in Southern Africa

• New debrief PowerPoint added. 

The REB invites game authors to submit games they believe are ready to advance from L2-L3 or L3-L4 to the REB for reviews.

If you are submitting a game for advancement to L3, you should first be sure the game materials comply with the templates available at https://reactingconsortium.org/game-author-resources#Standard AND have at least 28 roles. The REB expects any games to meet both expectations before it agrees to review the game.

If you are submitting for advancement to L3, please submit the game materials AND a short (250-500 word) overview of the game. This should orient reviewers/REB members to the game before they do a formal review.

If you are submitting a game to L4, please submit the game materials, a short (250-500 word) overview of the game AND a letter:

· Describing the ways in which the game has changed since it went to L3 and how these changes have responded to REB feedback or playtests

· You best estimate as to how often the game has been played (at conferences, by other faculty at other schools, and so on).

· If possible, the names of possible external (outside the Reacting Community) subject experts who we can call upon to review the disciplinary content of the game (that is—for a game that is historical, the historical background section, the historical interpretations embedded in the game mechanics, the biographical material in the role sheets, etc.) You do not need to contact these people—we just would like places to start from.

In an attempt to improve our processes, we have established a stand-alone REB e-mail address. So please submit your materials (or ask questions) to the following address:

reactingeditorialdirector@gmail.com

To ensure consideration for this spring cycle, please submit them by March 23rd.

If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me at the address above.

Kelly McFall

It has been a busy few weeks here at Reacting Central with the Winter Conference, the rollout of Reacting 3.0, and the announcement of BLORG 2.0! Our authors have been busy too, and we have FIVE new games that have gone up on the site recently, alongside a host of games that received updated files over the course of the last few months. As you are considering what to run in your classes this spring, we hope you will consider some of the games below! 

NEW GAMES

The Challenge and Inequality of Care

The Challenge and Inequality of Care focuses on informal (unpaid) caregiving in the United States. It challenges players to try to keep their jobs and their health while meeting their caregiving challenges.

Even though the game focuses on unpaid care that people perform in families, it transforms the classroom into a hospital workplace in the United States. Players become employees--mainly in the hospital units that are not patient-facing, e.g., janitorial, food service, legal, and so on.

The Challenge and Inequality of Care provides players opportunities to learn about the interaction between their needs to give and receive care, the demands of paid work, and the main federal public policy around family and medical leave: the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The game pushes players to examine how these factors interact with different worker demographics, familial configurations, and care demands. It encourages players to consider whether and in what ways the status quo is unfair and/or uncaring.

Pachamama v. Production: The Constitutional Conflict over Los Cedros and the Rights of Nature, 2020

Ecuador's Constitutional Court is about to hear a case that will test the limits of its 2008 constitution, which was the first in the world to recognize the rights of nature. The cloud forests of northwestern Ecuador include the biodiverse Los Cedros Protected Forest, a home to endangered species unique to the area. In 2017, Ecuador's Ministry of Environment permitted exploration of copper and gold mining in Los Cedros by the national mining company, ENAMI EP, in partnership with Cornerstone, a Canadian mining company. In response, the local government of Santa Ana de Cotacachi filed a lawsuit arguing that mining would threaten the forests ecosystems and water sources, and therefore the constitutional rights of nature. In this game, you will participate in  a 2020 public hearing held by Ecuador's Constitutional Court, the state's highest interpreter of constitutional law. You will take on roles in one of four factions: Judges, who will weigh arguments and issue a final ruling; Advocates for Pachamama, who argue for an expansive interpretation of the rights of nature; and Advocates for Production, who defend the state's ability to pursue responsible economic development and its interest in protecting investor rights. The Media will report on the proceedings and influence the significance of the final ruling. 

The Price of Solidarity: The Jewish Boycott of Ancona and the Court of Suleiman the Magnificent

This microgame explores the tensions between moral solidarity and economic self-interest in the 1556 Mediterranean world. Following Pope Paul IV's execution of 24 Jewish conversos in Ancona, Jewish merchants from across the Ottoman Empire gather at Sultan Suleiman's court to debate a proposed boycott of the Italian port. Students play either Jewish delegates weighing the costs and benefits of collective action, or Ottoman court officials managing the empire's complex relationship with European powers. The game asks students to grapple with fundamental questions about communal responsibility: When are we obligated to sacrifice our own interests for distant members of our community? How do communities make decisions when members face vastly different consequences from collective action? Can economic pressure serve as a legitimate tool for justice, and at what cost?

Reclaiming Bayreuth: The Battle of the Soul of Wagner



Despite being recognized as one of the most influential composers of his day, Wagner left behind him a fraught legacy that was open to interpretation. This game centers on the ideological and culture clashes that have surrounded Wagner during and after his lifetime. Some of these conflicts are overt and political: revolutionary versus reactionary, cosmopolitan versus nationalist, left-wing versus right-wing. But his legacy also splintered into other unexpected directions: American westerns, early LGBTQ+ advocacy, feminism, and mysticism. As an attendee of the reinauguration of the Bayreuth Festival in 1924, you have a chance to stake a claim for the Meister's influence in the new century by getting your chosen musical drama on the agenda and writing a review. To win is to define how Wagner will be remembered; to lose is to watch an alternative revisionist interpretation take hold.

Uprising In Ethiopia, 1622: Orthodoxy and Catholicism



Uprising in Ethiopia is about the encounter and struggle between Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity and Roman Catholicism beginning in 1622. Students play nuns, monks, and peasantry, representing Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, as well a Jesuit missionaries and members of the Ethiopian ruling classes, representing Roman Catholicism. There is a theological debate about the different doctrines of these two Christian denominations. But this debate takes place within a much larger political and social context, in which Ethiopians are being urged to abandon their most-closely held cultural practices. Many students will be unfamiliar with—and even confused by—the doctrinal issues at stake. Adherence to religion and tradition alongside resistance to change will be more familiar to most students.

UPDATED GAMES

Ban the Jesuits: Jesuits and Their Opponents in the 1700s

• Added video about the game.
• Edited some Role Sheets to clarify some Role instructions and motivations.
• Revised IM and RS to be more printer friendly. 
• Added color versions of the RS and the game cards.
• Added Introductory PowerPoint for the game.
• Added Debriefing PowerPoint for the game.

Challenging the Camps: Korematsu v. United States, 1944

• Completed Peer Review and advanced to Level 4, now available to non-members in the Reacting Shop.

Climate Change in Copenhagen, 2009

• Added PowerPoint that provides updates on the fight against climate change as of 2025. 

Europe on the Brink, 1914: The July Crisis

• All factions now have unique mobilization forms. 
• Characters who have victory objectives to secure treaties promising territory now only get credit for achieving that objective if the treaty they sign is with the side that possesses a military advantage at the end of the game.

Executive Order 9066: Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor

• Completed Peer Review and advanced to Level 4, now available to non-members in the Reacting Shop.

Meta Oversight Board: Content Moderation vs. Political Speech on Social Media

• Added unique roles for Oversight Board members. 
• Added detailed follow-up assignments as supplementary material. 
• Made a number of small adjustments to encourage cross-faction collaboration.

Modernism vs. Traditionalism: Art in Paris, 1888-1889

• Updated additional materials to include including Art Dealer Contract, Certificate of Sale, etc. 

Peacemaking, 1919: The Peace Conference at Versailles

• General updates to Gamebook.
• General updates to Role Sheets.
• Added Delegation Briefs in addition to named roles. 
• Added decision menus for all roles. 
• Updated role selection table.

Are you interested in supporting the work of Reacting in an official capacity by joining the Reacting Consortium Board or the Reacting Editorial Board?

The Reacting Consortium (RC)  is in need of members of the community to support our mission. If you are interested in supporting this work, read further to identify how you might be able to help!

Reacting Consortium Board (RCB)	Both	Reacting Editorial Board (REB)
Official governing body of the Reacting Consortium that oversees the nonprofit structure and supports the work of Reacting	Members are dues paying members of the Consortium who desire to support Reacting’s growth	A standing committee of the RCB with editorial independence that guides  games from design to distribution
What are the responsibilities of membership?
Attend the Summer Institute at Barnard in June and participate in the in-person board meeting that follows it Serve on at least one RCB committee and offer to take on special assignments  Stay informed about the organization’s mission, services, policies, and programs  Work with RC staff to achieve organizational goals Donate to the Consortium at a level comfortable to the individual Board Member	Members regularly attend and participate in all board and assigned committee meetings (over Zoom) Participate in email discussion at various times throughout the year.	Work with authors, RC staff and UNC Press to move games from idea to published game by reviewing 2-4 game proposals per year (and reading review summaries of other game proposals). Establish standards and expectations for traditional Reacting games (‘long-games’) and short games to ensure that Reacting to the Past games offer the best possible experience for students, faculty and staff. Other tasks as emerge during the year (represent the REB at a regional conference or the GDC, serve on temporary task forces, etc.)
What are we particularly interested in for future board members?
Experience with grant writing, development, and other methods of fundraising for academic and non-profit organizations.  Experience creating and executing public history and/or digital humanities projects including exhibitions and programming in museums and other public-facing settings. Students who participated in Reacting in their college classes	Membership with diversity of personal identities, educational institutional affiliation, and experience with game design and gameplay. Nominations are not limited to faculty at post-secondary education institutions, and we  particularly welcome secondary education instructors.	Expertise in copywriting/ permissions questions. Experience with writing a Reacting game can be helpful in serving on the REB, but it is NOT required.

Required Application Materials Due by December 1st, 2025:

• A 1-2 page letter describing your credentials (keeping in mind the lists above) and your reasons for interest in joining the Board

• A brief 1-2 page CV or resume

Please submit application materials and any questions to the RCB Chair of the Governance & Nominations Committee, Alexander Rolnick, at arolnick@gmail.com . Please include in the subject line RCB Application or REB Application.

One great way you can contribute to the Reacting enterprise is to volunteer as a peer reviewer for a game under review!

We are excited to have two dozen games to evaluate this fall, the vast majority of which are new “level three” games to add to the Consortium website, either as short games or full-length games. Many of these new games are set in the medieval world, or in places outside the United States and Europe.

Please email reactingeditorialdirector@gmail.com if you could volunteer to peer review a game by Dec 1 st . You need not be an expert in the field! If there is a specific game or games you are interested in, please indicate it in your email. Otherwise, we will find you a great game to review.

Reviewers are needed for the following games:

Charles Babbage, Ada Lovelace, and the Dawn of Computing (Britain, mid-1800s)

The Investiture Controversy: Church and State on the Road to Canossa, 1075-77

The Birth of the Public Sphere: Politics, Religion, and England, 1685-1688

Ravensburg 1494: Witch Hunting and the Malleus Maleficarum

The Rage of Achilles: Warrior Masculinities in Bronze Age Greece

The Gothic Crisis: Transforming the Roman World, c.378-382

Stupor Mundi: Frederick II and the High Court of Jerusalem, 1228

Reform or Revolution? Britain in the 1840s

The Austrian Reichsrat, 1911-1914: Nationalism, Privilege, and Democracy

Seeking Justice: Colombia 2012

Oklahoma Revolution: Radicalism versus Racism, 1920s

Religious Debate in Chinese History: The Eve of the Huichang Persecution, 841

Algeria in Flames 1958

Resistance and Rescue in Vichy France, 1940-44

The Brazilian Constituent Assembly, 1987-88

Beware the Ides of March: Rome, 44 BCE

1492: The Year that Forged “Spain” (Granada)

Thank you!

Kelly McFall and Emily Gray

Reacting Editorial Board

We have many opportunities for folks interested in writing games, including a call for submissions of full-length games for review by September 15th, 2025. Read all about it below. 

CALL FOR FULL-LENGTH GAMES
Due September 15 

The Reacting Editorial Board invites game authors to submit games to advance to L3 and L4. Submissions are due by midnight on September 15th, 2025. The REB plans to respond to these submissions by the end of January 2026.

Any game submitted that doesn’t match the Reacting content templates will be returned to the author without further review. We want to make sure all the content areas are complete and ordered appropriately. 

To advance your full-length Reacting game to Level 3

Please submit the following materials to the REB. Emily Gray will be coordinating the submission/review process on behalf of the REB. If you have difficulty submitting materials via this address, please e-mail Emily at the same address to coordinate submission.

• Submit complete gamebook, instructor manual, at least 28 role sheets, and any ancillary materials (handouts, etc).  

• A one-page description of the game and its learning objectives. 

• Include a brief cover letter that:

• • Specifies clearly that you're subitting a full-length game (3+ game sessions, at least 5 total class sessions).
  • Estimates of the number of playtests (we don’t need exact numbers). If applicable, please include contact information for at least one instructor who has play-tested the game outside of your campus.

To advance your full-length game to Level 4

Please submit the following materials to the REB (reactingeditorialdirector@gmail.com). Emily Gray will be coordinating the submission/review process on behalf of the REB. If you have difficulty submitting materials via this address, please e-mail Emily at the same address to coordinate submission. 

• Complete gamebook, instructor manual, at least 28 role sheets, and any ancillary materials (handouts, etc).  

• A one-page description of the game and its learning objectives. This may be copied/pasted from the gamebook or instructor’s guide.

• Include a brief cover letter that specifies whether you are submitting as a short game (2 game sessions) or full-length game:

• •  Includes a short discussion of how the game has changed since it was advanced to L3 as a result of subsequent playtests.
  • Provides a list of playtesters (with contact information) who we might invite to provide feedback.
  • Identifies one or two people who we might ask to provide disciplinary feedback on the game (that is, someone who specializes in the topic who can evaluate the disciplinary content of the game). That person need not be familiar with Reacting, although that might help.

As a reminder:

Level Three indicates the game is suitable for use by experienced Reacting instructors. Games advanced to L3 will be placed on the Reacting Consortium Library (website) and are eligible for major conference play.  Note that L3 games are officially Reacting games, reflecting a continued commitment of time and energy on the part of the Reacting Consortium. Accordingly, authors of L3 games agree to allow the game to be posted on the library and agree not to publish/distribute a game through other channels until they inform Reacting and remove the game from the Library.

Level Four indicates that the game is ready to enter the publication process. it will remain on the Reacting Consortium Library (website) as an L4 game until published by UNC Press. At this point, the game book will be removed from the Library. Authors of L4 games agree not to publish/distribute the game through other channels until they inform Reacting and remove the game from the Library.

CALL FOR SHORT GAMES
Due September 15 for levels 3 and 4
Rolling submissions for earlier development stages

The directions for submitting a level 3 or level 4 short game are the same as above (for submitting a full-length game), but please:

• Note that you are submitting a Short Game (no more than 2 game sessions plus an intro and a debrief session, so maximum 4 sessions total).
• Include Short Games Coordinators Bill Offutt and the REB on your submission. 
• Be sure that your short games conform to the templates published on the Short Games and Microgames Game Author Resources section of the Reacting website.

If submitting a game at an earlier stage, you can submit directly to Bill Offutt (woffutt@pace.edu) only, and submit your game files whenever you feel ready. 

CALL FOR MICROGAMES
Rolling submissions 

Microgames can be submitted for consideration at any time by emailing them to Ray Kimball, Reacting Microgame Coordinator. Microgames should be playable in a single 60-75 minute session - inclusive of prep, play, and debrief - and should conform to the templates published on the Short Games and Microgames Game Author Resources section of the Reacting website.

Join us on Tuesday, July 29th at 1 pm Eastern for an online microgame workshop featuring The Meta Oversight Board: Content Moderation vs. Political Speech on Social Media and Revolting Nuns: Rebellion at Sainte-Croix, 590. You can choose one microgame, and each workshop includes a full play-through of the microgame, as well as set-up, debrief, and a Q&A session to help you understand how best to run the microgame in your own classroom. 

MICROGAME OPTIONS

META OVERSIGHT BOARD
The Meta Oversight Board: Content Moderation vs. Political Speech on Social Media immerses students in the challenges of balancing digital free speech with public safety and human rights. Players take on roles as members of Meta’s Oversight Board or one of five factions advocating different values around platforms’ role in society. Using real-world cases of banned social media posts, students debate how political and cultural contexts complicate a single understanding of content moderation online. Players must weigh political expression against safety, clash over what counts as “newsworthy,” and pitch policy solutions—from age-gating and protest shields to transparency archives. 

The game consists of two distinct scenarios, one focused on controversial speech by politicians in Cambodia and Pakistan, and the other on controversial speech by protestors in Colombia and Iran. Instructors can choose to use either of these scenarios independently, or use both together. In the workshop on July 29th, we will play through both scenarios. 

OR

REVOLTING NUNS
Revolting Nuns: Rebellion at Sainte-Croix, 590 examines an exciting historical moment: from 589-590, a group of forty nuns at the Abbey of Sainte-Croix in Poitiers, France rebelled against their abbess for months. They hired troops, kidnapped their abbess, stole the abbey's relic, and refused to disband until soldiers defeated them. This game places rival factions of Sainte-Croix's nuns in the tribunal that followed the rebellion. Bishops hear from the abbess and the rebels to determine who was at fault, why, and what penalties should be imposed. The game examines powerful and active roles for early medieval women as they wrestled with questions about who should lead a prominent monastery.

Sign up on our events page! 

Looking for a new STEM game? Check out our latest Short Game release, The DNA Hypothesis by Chad Curtis with Jules Perna! From the game description:

The DNA Hypothesis opens at a 1944 scientific conference at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York where eminent biochemists and geneticists are to share the latest developments in the nascent field of molecular biology. Of critical interest are the claims of Oswald Avery who claims to have identified the active component of the "transforming principle," as DNA the genetic material that can change one strain of bacteria into another. But not all are in agreement; protein is the much likelier candidate as it has a complex structure that give it the required specificity. Students will try to answer the questions, What is the genetic carrier of information? What evidence is there for or against the proposed hypotheses of the molecular basis of heredity? And what criteria could be used to establish a candidate molecule as the carrier of genetic information?

Recommended for classes of 8-32 students, this game is notable for having each student write and argue from a unique source. With a low amount of reading up front and low chaos/demand on the instructor, this game is a perfect first reacting game for both newbie and experienced STEM reactors to use in class. Check it out before heading to GDC this week! 

Feeling inspired by the Summer Institute? Looking for new games to include in your classes this fall? Our game authors have been hard at work this spring, and we have a veritable cornucopia of releases and updates for you.

New Releases

Hands Off Africa! Pan-Africanism, Decolonization, and the All African People's Conference, 1958

Alexander Rolnick and Eric Covey bring us a game that asks students to confront the tough issues African states faced amid efforts at Decolonization in the mid-20th century. Should the nation-state remain the paramount political unit? If the colonizers refuse to cede power, what strategies and tactics should Africans use to win their independence? Is violence ever justified? Delegates at the 1958 Conference in Accra had to answer all of these questions and more. 

The Schilling Revolt: Popular Unrest and Religious Change in Augsburg, 1524

Emily Gray’s latest publication is a microgame set during the era of the German Peasants’ War in Augsburg, Germany. Students take on the roles of members of the Augsburg City Council as they are confronted with an angry mob demanding religious, social and economic reform. Members of the council must find a way to either placate or intimidate the mob if they want to leave the City Hall unharmed. This game can be used as a stand-alone game or as a precursor to Augsburg 1530. From Dave Harris: Having used it with my own students in that latter role, it was a lot of fun to give them an early introduction to their character and allow them to carry an advantage forward to the main Augsburg 1530 game if they accomplished their character’s secret objective.

The Oversight Board: Content Moderation vs. Political Speech on Social Media

Michael Bossetta and John Giebfried bring us an interdisciplinary microgame set in the present day, where students take on the role of members of the Meta Oversight Board, deciding what speech to allow on the digital commons. The game has two distinct scenarios:, one focused on controversial speech by politicians in Cambodia and Pakistan, the other on posts by protestors in Colombia and Iran. Instructors can use either of these scenarios separately or together, in a game that asks urgent global questions around freedom of speech, the fight for rights, and the future of democracy itself.

Congress of Vienna: The Congress of Vienna and the Shape of Europe, 1814-1815

Terry Breese and Phillip Garland bring us a full-length game set during the pivotal months of late 1814 and early 1815, during which European politicians and diplomats sought to restore a continent after over two decades of war and revolution. Students take on the roles of representatives of European powers, great and small, salonnieres, advocates, and artists. Players engage in debates over what a post-Napoleonic Europe should look like, discussing themes of legitimacy, nationalism, and the balance of power all in a effort to forge a lasting peace. 

Updates

Politics, Religion, and the Birth of the Public Sphere: England, 1685-1688

Joseph Sramek has released a third major revision of his modular masterpiece, based on feedback and collaboration with members of the Reacting community. The biggest revision yet, this version of the game includes 30 new characters! The new character list allows for expanded representation of women, more outsider voices, and more cultural and literary figures. This overhaul promises a game that is fresh, with more expansive possibilities than ever. Even if you have used it before, check this updated game out again this fall!

Updates from the Institute

The following games featured at the 2025 Summer Institute all received updates in the lead-up to the event! If you played them at the Summer Institute and want to check them out for use in your own classroom, or are curious about what your colleagues got up to in New York, check out any of the following games:

Ashoka
Ashoka: Becoming the Dharma King
by J. Noel Hubler

Radical Reconstruction
Radical Reconstruction in New Orleans, 1868-1876
by Nicholas Proctor

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

Cholera 1854
Cholera! At the Pump: Contagionism, Miasma Theory, and Sanitation, London 1854
by Chad Curtis and Nicholas Proctor

Conclave 1492
Conclave 1492: The Election of a Renaissance Pope 
by William Keene Thompson

Finally, we have two level 2 games that were both played at the Summer Institute this year. Pages are up for them if you want to learn more about them, but files are not available yet. We do anticipate having them available soon though, so keep your eyes open for the formal announcement!

Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic, 1931-1939
by Ethan Besser Fredrick

Sati in India 1829
A ”Virtuous Woman”? The Abolition of Sati in India 1829
by Judy Walden

A big thank you to all the game authors who worked so hard to update and publish their games, and happy Reacting to all!