The Reacting Consortium News and Announcements

Call for Game Submissions!

David Harris — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 18:40:04 GMT

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

New & Updated Games - January 2026

David Harris — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 16:51:39 GMT

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.

RCB and REB Call For Members!

David Harris — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 14:45:30 GMT

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.

Call for Game Reviewers

Maddie Provo — Fri, 26 Sep 2025 21:19:44 GMT

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

Call For Submissions!

David Harris — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 14:48:38 GMT

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.

Microgame Online Workshop

David Harris — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 14:50:46 GMT

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!

New Release: The DNA Hypothesis

David Harris — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 15:56:14 GMT

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!

Fresh Files: New Releases and Updates

Maddie Provo — Mon, 16 Jun 2025 03:38:31 GMT

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!

Reacting Consortium Board Call for Alumni Rep Applications

Maddie Provo — Thu, 10 Oct 2024 04:32:45 GMT

SCall for Applications to Join the Reacting Consortium Board as an Alumni Rep

The Reacting Consortium Board is calling for applications to fill an Alumni Representative position. To qualify, applicants must have played a Reacting game as an undergraduate. New Board members will be selected at the March 2025 meeting of the Board.

The Responsibilities of Reacting Consortium Board Members Include:

Be a member of the Reacting to the Past Consortium
Regularly attend and participate in all board and assigned committee meetings
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 Reacting staff to achieve organizational goals
Donate to the Consortium at a level comfortable to the individual Board Member

This year, the Reacting Consortium Board is particularly interested in candidates with the following interests:

Diversity, equity and inclusion programming
Fundraising for academic and other non-profit work
Connecting Reacting to educational spaces outside of academia such as secondary education and museums.

The Reacting Consortium benefits immensely from a Board membership with a 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. We particularly welcome secondary education instructors. We encourage applicants to describe how they would contribute to and foster the Board’s diversity.

Members should plan to attend the Annual Institute at Barnard College (planned yearly for early June) for board meetings as well as to participate in quarterly conference calls for the entire Board and smaller electronic committee meetings that will vary each year. Members-elect are welcome to observe the board meetings during the Annual Institute before their term begins in July.

Required Application Materials Due by December 1st, 2024:

A 1-2 page letter describing your credentials (keeping in mind the list above) and reason for interest in joining the Board.
A brief 1-2 page CV.

Please submit application materials and any questions to the Chair of the Governance & Nominations Committee, Ethan Besser Fredrick, at Efredricke@gmail.com.

See also our call for general board applications.

Reacting Consortium Board Call for Nominations

Maddie Provo — Thu, 10 Oct 2024 04:31:30 GMT

The Reacting Consortium Board is calling for applications to recruit individuals to fill up to three positions on the Board. New Board members will be selected at the March 2025 meeting of the Board.

The Responsibilities of Reacting Consortium Board Members Include:

Be a member of the Reacting to the Past Consortium

Regularly attend and participate in all board and assigned committee meetings

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 Reacting staff to achieve organizational goals

Donate to the Consortium at a level comfortable to the individual Board Member

This year, the Reacting Consortium Board is particularly interested in candidates with the following skill sets:

Creating and executing initiatives to add to the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at academic institutions.

Grant writing, development, and other methods of fundraising for academic and non-profit organizations.

Creating and executing public history and/or digital humanities projects including exhibitions and programming in museums and other public-facing settings.

Required Application Materials Due by December 1st, 2024:

A 1-2 page letter describing your credentials (keeping in mind the list above) and reason for interest in joining the Board.

A brief 1-2 page CV.

Please submit application materials and any questions to the Chair of the Governance & Nominations Committee, Ethan Besser Fredrick, at Efredricke@gmail.com.

Short and Microgame Update: Back to School Releases!

Mon, 05 Aug 2024 23:33:37 GMT

New from Reacting, 3 brand-new short and microgames have arrived just in time for the Fall 2024 semester! We're excited to announce these new additions to the Reacting library which can fit easily into a variety of classes!

SHORT GAMES:

Challenging Authority: Reformation Politics and Society, 1521-25

Challenging Authority examines how the Reformation moved from theological disputes to broad political and social change in the Holy Roman Empire in the early 1520s.

This game is designed to take students into three significant phases of the tumultuous first years of the Protestant Reformation: Martin Luther’s appearance before Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms in 1521, the three years of continuing reforms and challenges to secular rulers’ authority, and the tumultuous Peasants’ Revolt of 1524-25. In the course of the game students discover that challenges to authority, once underway, may take paths that no one anticipated and which shape history and society profoundly.

The Condition of England, 1841

Students learn about various competing ideologies of the early industrial revolution (in England) such as paternalism, Utilitarianism, free-trade/laissez-faire capitalism, and various radical reform movements (early socialism, feminism, etc.). Set in a London debating society, students will debate policy solutions to various intractable problems of the early industrial era.

The Condition of England examines the various competing ideologies of early industrial Britain such as paternalism, Utilitarianism, free trade/laissez faire capitalism (as represented by the Anti-Corn Law League), and early socialism and radicalism (as represented by a congeries of ex-Chartists, early feminists, and other radical reformers). Set in a London debating society, students will debate policy solutions to thorny problems such as treatment of the poor (the Poor Laws), whether agricultural protectionism or free trade should be the dominant economic policy (the Corn Laws), and whether there ought to be additional factory laws or whether the economic laws of supply and demand should be allowed to take their course. Other issues such as democratization of society, the role of women, temperance, and education, penal, and colonial reform are also addressed in the game. The possibilities and hindrances to effective coalition building among the various single-cause factions is also a key emphasis in the game.

MICROGAME:

Executive Order 9066: Japanese-Americans After Pearl Harbor

Executive Order 9066 simulates the fierce debates within the Roosevelt administration, in the immediate aftermath of Pearl Harbor, whether to order the evacuation and internment of all people of Japanese heritage, including U.S. citizens.

Much of the story behind Executive Order 9066 is not well known. To be sure, most Americans, most influential journalists, and most of their political leaders strongly favored the mass evacuation and internment of all Japanese and Japanese-Americans. But there were strong dissents that arose from a fundamental respect for constitutional rights and opposition to American racism. Many of these dissenters were in Roosevelt’s Department of Justice, but there were also a few among the political leadership, most of whom would pay for their principles by sacrificing their careers. Will the game's Roosevelt follow history or change it?

For more information about microgames be sure to read our previous blog post: https://reactingconsortium.org/Blog/13373113

FEEDBACK FORM:

If you have recently used one of our new short games please fill out our feedback form. These responses will provide valuable information to game authors and the Reacting Consortium.

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2024 Brilliancy Prize and Dana Johnson Gorlin Fellowship Awards

Fri, 14 Jun 2024 17:19:04 GMT

We are proud to announce the recipients of this year's Reacting awards and fellowships! These were first announced at this year's Annual Institute. Submissions for these awards open at the beginning of each year, read on to learn more about this year's winners!

Brilliancy Prize - Anne Caillaud, David Eick, and Janel Pettes Guikema

The 2023 Brilliancy Prize was awarded to historians Anne Caillaud, David Eick, and Janel Pettes Guikema of Grand Valley State University for their outstanding collaboration on a variety of materials aimed at expanding Reacting to the Past to other foreign language faculty. Not only have they collaborated on translations of several games, including The Enlightenment in Crisis: Diderot's Encyclopedié in a Parisian Salon and Modernism vs. Traditionalism: Art in Paris 1888-1889, they’ve authored scholarly articles and presented their work at the The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages and Modern Language Association. Moreover, they’ve created student- and faculty-facing guides for anyone interested in using Reacting to the past for language proficiency. In the words of their nominator, “they marked the way forward using rigorous and clear pedagogical principles, and supplied colleagues with the materials to make the journey.”

Dana Johnson Gorlin Fellowship - Ahuva Liberles

The Dana Johnson Gorlin Fellowship committee is thrilled to present this year’s award to Ahuva Liberles. As Director of the history teacher training program and member of the Jewish History faculty at Tel Aviv University, Dr. Liberles has expanded the reach of Reacting to the Past through her translations, her adaptation to critical questions in Israeli and Jewish history and culture, and her collaborative, international teaching. She has integrated Reacting into both interdisciplinary work at the University of Tel Aviv, and teaching at the University of Vienna. The committee was particularly impressed with Dr. Liberles’ use of Reacting in ethnically and religiously diverse classrooms to grapple with contemporary social issues in Israel, and on her use of Reacting pedagogy as a way of teaching Jewish history in a global context. In addition, she is making important contributions to Reacting by using it with diverse groups including both future secondary school teachers and senior citizens. Facilitating active engagement with histories and methods that foster engaged citizenship in the Middle East, her work also builds global ties among Reacting faculty, enabling our community to engage in the difficult conversations we need to be having.

Call for Award Nominations!

Fri, 16 Feb 2024 20:34:22 GMT

Submissions are now open for this year's Reacting awards! Read on to learn more about these fantastic initiatives and how you can apply for them or nominate a deserving colleague.

Brilliancy Prize

The Brilliancy Prize seeks to recognize and publicize extraordinary creativity within the Reacting enterprise. Instituted in 2019, it’s presented to a particularly ingenious or creative idea or pedagogical practice that advances Reacting games, and comes with a $1,000 award, presented each year at the Annual Institute at Barnard College. We would like to present the award at the Summer Institute at Barnard (June 6-9).

You can read more about the Brilliancy Prize and learn about past winners here, and if you want to apply, please send a letter of nomination (for yourself or someone else!) of no more than a three pages detailed description of the innovation being nominated and a rationale for why it is deserving of the award, along with any supporting materials, to current chair of the Brilliancy Prize Award Committee, Mary Jane Treacy at maryjane.treacy@simmons.edu by 3/31/2024.

Dana Gorlin Johnson Fellowship

The Dana Gorlin Johnson Fellowship is named in memory of Dana Johnson Gorlin, the founding administrator of the Reacting to the Past program. Without her work from 2002–while still an undergraduate student at Barnard–until 2014, the Reacting Consortium would not exist. You can read more about Dana here, as well as learn about past winners.

This fellowship is awarded to a deserving faculty member, especially from a community college or public university, who best exemplifies Dana’s exceptional qualities of character and mind and who gives high promise of advancing Reacting. To apply or nominate someone for this award, please submit a two-page statement outlining the applicant's/nominee's previous experience with Reacting to the Past, as well as their potential for advancing the program, to Lucy Barnhouse at lbarnhouse@astate.edu by 3/31/2024.

Decisions will be made in late March and announced in April so award winners have time to plan to attend the Annual Institute on June 6-9!

Fresh Files - Fall 2023

Wed, 08 Nov 2023 17:02:14 GMT

A fresh crop of Reacting game materials have arrived just in time for finals!

We'll update this page as we get new files, check back later to stay up to date on the latest games and materials from the Reacting community.

Updated Games:

Rage Against the Machine: Technology, Rebellion, and the Industrial Revolution

Updated Gamebook, Role Sheets, Instructor's Manual, and Handouts.

The Jumonville Incident

Updated Gamebook, Role Sheets, Instructor's Manual, and Handouts.

Chicago, 1968

New Nametags for Roles

Kansas, 1999: Evolution or Creationism

Updated GB, IM, RS. Includes new link fixes, bribe mechanic, and focus on phonics.

Climate Change in Copenhagen

Powerpoints for introduction to issues and debriefing.

Community-Sourced Materials:

London 1854: Cesspits, Cholera, and Conflict over the Broad Street Pump London 1854: Cesspits, Cholera, and Conflict over the Broad Street Pump

Reformatted roles for improved classroom play.

Art In Paris: The Femme Pack

Includes roles that emphasize female artists and their ideas.

The Trial of Anne Hutchinson: Immigrant Pack

Includes indeterminate immigrant roles to expand discussion and fit larger classes.

Call for REB Members: Nominations Are Now Open for the Reacting Editorial Board

Sun, 15 Oct 2023 21:09:57 GMT

The REB invites nominations and applications for positions on the Reacting Editorial Board.

The Reacting Editorial Board has three primary tasks:

· Working with authors, RC staff and UNC Press to move games from idea to published game.

· Establishing standards and expectations for traditional Reacting games (‘long-games’) and short games.

· Ensuring that Reacting to the Past games offer the best possible experience for students, faculty and staff.

REB members serve three-year renewable terms. Responsibilities include:

· Quarterly meetings (by zoom in spring, fall and winter, in person or zoom at the Annual Institute).

· Reviewing 2-4 game proposals per year (and reading review summaries of other game proposals).

· Participate in E-mail discussion at various times throughout the year.

· Other tasks as emerge during the year (represent the REB at a regional conference or the GDC, serve on temporary task forces, etc.)

To apply (or to nominate someone), please send a CV (short version is fine) and a letter of interest including your experience with Reacting to Kelly McFall at mcfallk@newmanu.edu. Experience with writing a Reacting game can be helpful in serving on the REB. But it is NOT required.

We will consider all applicants carefully. But we are especially interested in receiving applications from community members with experience in copywrite/permissions questions.

The Deadline for applications is 15 December. We’ll review the applications at our January meeting and notify applicants shortly after that meeting.

Fall 2023 Publishing Update

Tue, 03 Oct 2023 19:52:56 GMT

In case you missed it, UNC Press has begun publishing three new gamebooks for classroom use! Three newly published games and a are now available to order through the UNC Press website, with another on the way!

Reacting to the Past - UNC Press

These books are available in print and we hope to see them available in e-book format soon! Here's an overview of our newly published games which you can download the Instructor Manuals for today!

Augsburg, 1530
By: Emily Fisher Gray

Wrestling with the Reformation

As a member of the City Council of Augsburg in 1530, you will have to balance the competing demands of the citizens and the Emperor, while considering the implications of various Reformed positions for the city’s military defense, economic growth, and spiritual purity. Should you adopt the Augsburg Confession, a statement of principles presented during the 1530 Augsburg Reichstag by Martin Luther’s colleagues from Wittenberg? Or join the four “Tetrapolitan” cities that offered an alternate vision of reform influenced by Ulrich Zwingli? Or perhaps you should you support the Confutatio Pontificia, the strong rebuttal to the Augsburg Confession written by representatives of the Pope in Rome and endorsed by the Emperor? Decisions about religious practices in Augsburg could provoke a riot from reform-minded citizens or cause Emperor Charles V to make good on his promise to invade the city and revoke its independent charter. In this volatile environment, Augsburg needs allies, but alliances are dependent on the type of reform Augsburg chooses. As does Augsburg’s ability to feed its poor, protect its rapid proto-capitalist economic growth, and deal with the problem of Anabaptists infiltrating the community. The salvation of souls and Augsburg’s very survival are at stake.

View Augsburg, 1530

The Prado Museum's Expansion: The Diverse Art of Latin America
By: Bridget Franco

Murals, politics, race, Cubism, street art – and more! Join curators, art dealers, artists and patrons for a night of Latin American Art at the Prado Museum.

With an eye to diversifying its predominantly national Spanish-centered collection, the Prado Museum decides to curate a new gallery of Latin American paintings from the twentieth and early twenty-first century. What makes the art of Latin America unique? Which artists are considered representative of Latin American Art? What is the place of Latin American Art in the global art world today? To help answer these questions, the Prado Museum administration has set into motion a series of negotiation sessions to determine which paintings will be chosen for the new gallery. Artists and art dealers from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Uruguay have arrived in Madrid to advocate for their paintings' stylistic and historical importance. The Prado game provides a diachronic introduction to the diverse styles and movements (Cubism, Constructivism, Surrealism, Expressionism, Mexican Muralism, Indigenismo, Abstract Expressionism, Hyperrealism, Chicano Art, Street Art, and Naïf Art) that have influenced our understanding of Latin America art from the early 1900s to the new millennium. Taking on the roles of museum curators, docents, marketing directors, Patrons of the Arts, private art collectors, artists, and art dealers, players will learn how to identify the formal elements of Latin American painting and immerse themselves in the complex dynamics of the international art world.

View The Prado Museum Expansion: The Diverse Art of Latin America

The Crisis of Catiline
By: Bret Mulligan

It is the year when Marcus Tullius Cicero and Gaius Antonius Hybrida are consuls. Will the Republic live to see another?

Rome, 63 BC: a tumultuous year of urban and rural unrest, economic instability, sensational trials, and electoral misconduct. You are a Roman senator. Can you save the Republic…and yourself? At the center of the crisis stands Lucius Sergius Catilina or Catiline, a charismatic (and scandal-plagued) nobleman. Last year Catiline lost an election for the consulship, the highest office in Rome, to Marcus Tullius Cicero, a brilliant orator, canny politician, and “new man” (novus homo) — the first member of his family to reach the pinnacle of Roman politics. Now that Catiline has failed to be elected consul for a third time, rumors swirl that he and his followers plot assassinations and arson in Rome, while raising an army in the north. Are the rumors true — is Catiline conspiring to lead a revolution? Or have Catiline’s enemies conspired to thwart desperately needed social and economic reforms by slandering Catiline and his followers?

View Crisis of Catiline

Watergate, 1973-1974
By: John Parrish

"But if there be no accountability, another President will feel free to do as he chooses. The next time there may be no watchman in the night.” -House Judiciary Committee member James Mann, 1974

In Watergate, 1973-74, students experience the unfolding of America’s most dramatic constitutional crisis of the 20th century: the investigation of the Watergate burglary and its subsequent cover-up. Beginning in July 1973, as the point where the scandal’s main facts had finally been made public, students will portray members of Congress, the news media, and the Nixon Administration as they struggle to cope with the emerging crisis. The key to resolving the crisis are the president’s secret White House tapes – Nixon invoked questions of high constitutional principle to withhold access to the tapes from the special prosecutor and Congress – but many of his critics suspected he was merely trying to conceal evidence of his guilt. With the world’s most powerful person barricading himself within the walls of the White House and threatening to take the constitutional order itself hostage to ensure his political survival, how could well-intentioned leaders pursue truth and justice without risking collateral damage to the nation’s foundational principles and institutions? Watergate gives students the chance to understand the importance of evidence and disciplined verification in resolving conflicts of belief and value, and to wrestle with the often-frustrating complexity of using such processes to decide, under conditions of profound uncertainty, some of the most consequential questions of a nation’s political life.

View Watergate, 1973

*To help facilitate this transition, we are leaving the GUR versions of these games on the Reacting Consortium library until the end of the semester. Please plan accordingly!

In Case You Missed It: Event Recordings on Accessibility, Inclusion, and Safety Are Now Available!

Mon, 02 Oct 2023 13:48:57 GMT

Over the past two months, the Reacting Consortium has had the privilege of hosting two remarkable virtual events that introduced innovative practices aimed at enhancing the accessibility and safety features of our games!

Jamie Lerner-Brecher's presentation on Universal Design and Allen White's presentation on adding Safety Tools have served as valuable resources in our ongoing efforts to make Reacting games as inclusive as possible.

Although these presentations were originally delivered live via Zoom, we are excited to announce that edited recordings are now available for purchase, with an exclusive discount offered to Reacting Consortium members!

By making these recordings available, we aim to promote continuous learning and improvement within the Reacting Consortium community. We are committed to supporting the development of games that are not only engaging but also foster inclusivity and safety.

To access these recordings and explore our library of past events and tutorials, please visit our Event Recordings page. We look forward to continuing this journey towards creating more accessible and secure gaming experiences for all! If you have any suggestions for how we can make Reacting more inclusive please contact us at reacting@barnard.edu we would love to hear from you!

Call for Applications for the Reacting Consortium Board

Maddie Provo — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 22:22:34 GMT

The Reacting Consortium Board is calling for Applications to recruit individuals to fill up to four positions on the Board. New Board members will be selected at the March 2024 meeting of the Board.

Responsibilities of Reacting Consortium Board Members include:

Be a member of the Reacting to the Past Consortium
Regularly attend and participate in all board and assigned committee meetings
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 Reacting staff to achieve organizational goals
Donate to the Consortium at a level comfortable to the individual Board Member

This year, the Reacting Consortium Board is particularly interested in candidates with the following skill sets:

Creating and executing initiatives to add to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at academic institutions.
Grant writing, development, and other methods of fundraising for academic and non-profit organizations.
Creating and executing public history and/or digital humanities projects including exhibitions and programming in museums and other public-facing settings.

The Reacting Consortium benefits immensely from a Board membership with a 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. We particularly welcome secondary education instructors . We encourage applicants to describe how they would contribute to and foster the Board’s diversity.

Required Application Materials due by December 15th, 2023:

A 1-2 page letter describing your credentials (keeping in mind the list above) and reason for interest in joining the Board.
A brief 1-2 page CV.

Please submit application materials and any questions to the Chair of the Governance & Nominations Committee, Ethan Besser Fredrick, at Efredricke@gmail.com.

High School Initiative Update: Working Group, Shared Drive, Monthly Meetings, and More!

Mon, 21 Aug 2023 19:24:20 GMT

We are excited to report on the progress of the RTTP High School Initiative! In June, during the RTTP Annual Institute in New York, over thirty institute attendees convened to discuss actionable steps for integrating the RTTP pedagogy into the high school curriculum while maintaining the integrity of the games. Click here for the full meeting notes.

One step we took was to set up a shared google folder. We will use this folder as a "sandbox" of sorts where we will "play" with various iterations of teacher-generated resources. Our aim is to facilitate the adaptation and use of RTTP games and the associated pedagogies, while creating a collaborative community. Interested instructors can complete this form to request access to the shared folder.

Another step that we are taking now is to invite all interested teachers to a monthly Zoom during which we will be able to make important connections and discuss pertinent issues. The first zoom meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 14th at 7 pm EST. With the exception of December when we will meet on the first Thursday (December 7), subsequent meetings will be on the second Thursday of the month at 7 pm EST.

You can register in advance for the first meeting on September 14th using this link.

We are also pleased to announce that Grand Valley State University is working on a grant to host a high school specific RTTP conference in Fall 2024 on their campus in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We will keep you posted as we learn more about this conference. In the meantime, the RTTP Consortium would like to offer some online programming similar to the Winter Conference targeted at high school teachers. They would run a game or two but would need experienced HS instructors to facilitate. We will discuss this proposal during our monthly Zoom meeting and on the RTTP High School Discord channel.

A huge thank you to everyone in the community who has offered support for the RTTP High School Initiative! We look forward to growing this community!

New Resources for Instructors and Game Authors: Tips for Navigating AI and Copyright

Tue, 25 Jul 2023 21:07:12 GMT

With the Fall semester fast approaching it's important to remember that our website hosts a variety of resources for instructors and game authors. Two new resources have been added to help Reacting members adapt to changes in the classroom and publishing.

ADAPTING TO ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Wider adoption of large language models by students has made it difficult for instructors to ensure that their students are doing work and developing skills. In addition to learning how to detect the use of AI by students, this document aims to help instructors incorporate it and restructure assignments to prevent its use.

RTTP Instructor AI Advice
By: Reacting AI Working Group

SECURING PERMISSIONS FOR PUBLISHED GAMES

Game authors will inevitably use copyrighted materials for their games. Whether it's a core text, translation, or illustration it's important to understand copyright and permissions. Jace Weaver, the RTTP Publications Liaison, has developed a tipsheet and has resources to help soon-to-be-published game authors manage permissions in their games.

Copyright and Permissions Tipsheet
By: Jace Weaver

You can learn more about Copyright and Permissions here.

COMING SOON!

We have more resources on the way that we can't wait to release! Stay tuned for materials designed to increase accessibility and promote safe gameplay.

FIND MORE RESOURCES

All of our materials for instructors and game authors can be found on our Resources page.

Fresh Files - Summer 2023

Wed, 28 Jun 2023 21:42:31 GMT

The summer is heating up and our wonderful game authors have been hard at work creating and updating game materials! Here are the latest files that you can use today!

We'll update this page as we get new files, check back later to stay up to date on the latest games and materials from the Reacting community.

New Files:

Game of Sages

New Level 3 Game!

From the authors: This game takes place at the end of the Warring States period in China, at a time when Qin state has already absorbed two of the previously existent seven states, and is threatening the remaining four states of Chu, Qi, Zhao and Yan. The simulation is structured as a debate amongst the four most influential philosophical legacies of the Warring States era: Confucianism, Naturalism, Legalism, and Mohists.

Grandsons of Genghis: The Mongol Kurultai of 1241

New Level 3 Game!

From the author: This game brings together the rival members of the Mongol royal family and representatives from across Eurasia to debate the legacy of Genghis Khan, appoint a successor to the Mongol throne, promote interreligious dialogue between Islam, Buddhism and Christianity, and plot where the vast Mongol Empire should expand next.

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

Pope Gregory VII (r. 1073-1085), riding high on reformist spirit, has progressively sought to expand the temporal power of the papacy and to bring the Western Church into stricter obedience to Rome. In the spring of 1075, Gregory issued the papal bull Dictatus papae, boldly claiming that the pope, and only the pope, had the power to depose both bishops and secular rulers—even emperors. When Emperor Henry IV (r.1056-1105) invested his chaplain Theobald with the episcopacy of Milan later that year, Gregory responded by excommunicating five of Henry’s advisors despite imperial investiture being a time-honored tradition. Tempers flared and a series of strongly worded public letters flew between the two men, bringing Western Christendom to a crisis point where it had to decide who held ultimate authority, St. Peter’s representative on Earth or God’s divinely anointed secular ruler of the Holy Roman Empire.

Christine de Pizan and the Querelle des Femmes, 1413

Christine de Pizan and the Querelle des Femmes examines the power, authority, and roles of women in the 1413 French court. Debates over misogyny in literature, legal theory, and political roles demonstrate the centrality of both women and gender to major issues in late medieval France. Two noble factions, the Armagnacs and Burgundians, negotiate the power vacuum left by the extended illness of King Charles VII, while two factions of authors, the Humanists and the Profeminines, publicly debate misogyny in legal theory and literature—Salic Law and the Romance of the Rose. Authors seek patronage from the nobles, while nobles seek the authors’ support—and to use authors’ skills to promote their own positions. The game is set during a peaceful interlude in the Hundred Years War, and an opening phase of the French civil war managed by Queen Isabeau of Bavaria. Meanwhile, Christine de Pizan, an influential author at the French court, engaged in debates about misogyny, morality, and the capabilities of women, and wrote a long defense of women in The Book of the City of Ladies, showing women’s abilities, power. Christine puts women and gender as issues at the center of game debates, and includes important female characters as roles. It has resonances for continuing debates about representations of women in art and political participation.

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

New Microgame!

From the author: Jesuits, Royal Ambassadors, Archbishops, and members of the Crowd have gathered in Rome to decide the fate of the Jesuits. If they are banned, further decisions must be made about what happens to individual Jesuits and the Jesuit schools and property.

Evolution in Kansas, 1999

Updated Role Sheets, Instructor's Manual, and Handouts.

Diet and Killer Diseases

Updated Role Sheets, Instructor's Manual, and Handouts.

Climate Change in Copenhagen

Updated Role Sheets, Instructor's Manual, and Handouts.

Patriots, Loyalists, and Revolution in New York City, 1775-1776

Added Full Game's Role Sheets, Instructor's Manual, and Handouts.

Modernism Versus Traditionalism: Art in Paris, 1888-89

Added Dr. Mary Frances Zawadzki's "Femme Pack" with eight additional roles designed to add more female representation into the game.

Roman Prisoner Dilemma

(Formerly known as Egyptian Prison Game) - Updated files to meet new short game standards - June 2023

Spring 2023 Publishing Update

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 14:06:48 GMT

In case you missed it, this Spring UNC Press published three gamebooks for classroom use. Two newly published games and a second edition of a classic are now available to order through the UNC Press website:

Reacting to the Past - UNC Press

These books are available in print and e-book formats and we are excited to see them in the hands of students and instructors! Here's an overview of our newly published games which you can download the Instructor Manuals for today!

Greenwich Village Second Edition
By: Mary Jane Treacy

A New Century, A New America?

This game takes students to the beginning of the modern era when urbanization, industrialization, and massive waves of immigration were transforming the U.S. way of life. Suffragists are taking to the streets demanding the vote. What, they ask, is women’s place in society? Are they to remain in the home or take an active role in the political life of the nation? Labor has turned to the strike to demand living wages and better conditions; some are even proposing an industrial democracy where workers take charge of industries. Can capitalism foster an economically just society or must it be reformed, or even overturned? Members of these groups converge in Greenwich Village to debate their views with bohemians who seek personal transformations to create the new men and women of the twentieth century. The game asks which social changes are most needed, the ideals they espouse, and the best ways to realize their goals.

View Greenwich Village Second Edition

Monuments and Memory-Making: The Debate Over the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial, 1981-1982
By: Rebecca Livingstone, Kelly McFall, and Abigail Perkiss

How do we remember a lost war?

When the Vietnam War drew to a close, the process of memorializing the conflict resulted in a tug-of-war over the national narrative of the 20+ year struggle. In the wake of devastating loss and in the midst of the continuing and ever-evolving Cold War, conflicting voices emerged in the creation of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Such physical spaces offer insights into how the creators of those spaces constructed the past, how they intended for audiences to do the same, and how those meanings can be challenged. In this game, students will take part in the conversations and controversies that emerged as the nation grappled with how best to memorialize what was at the time the longest conflict in US history. As they engage in the very process of memory-making, they will work to reconcile the varied and often conflicting voices that emerged after the fall of Saigon. How do we create a national memory of the past? How do we move on from a lost war? How do we remember the dead, while honoring the living? How do we reunite a fractured nation? Who speaks to that nation, and who speaks for it? How does public opinion and public consciousness shape our understanding of the past? Whose voices matter?

View Monuments and Memory-Making

Democracy in Crisis: Weimar Germany, 1929-1932
By: Robert Goodrich

What happens when partisan ideology trumps compromise in a polarized Democracy?

At one moment in history all of the great ideologies of the modern West collide as roughly equal and viable contenders: Germany during the so-called Weimar Republic. Liberalism, nationalism, conservatism, social democracy, Christian democracy, communism, fascism, and every variant of these movements contend for power in Germany. Though the constitutional framework boldly enshrines liberal democratic values, the political spectrum is so broad and fully represented that a stable parliamentary majority requires constant compromises – compromises that alienate supporters, opening the door to radical alternatives.

As delegates of the Reichstag, players must contend with street fights, trade union strikes, assassinations, and insurrections, along with intense parliamentary wrangling. The game begins in late 1929, just after the US stock market crash, as the German Reichstag deliberates on the Young Plan (a revision to the reparations plan from the Treaty of Versailles). They address these matters and more as the pressures of economic stress, political gridlock, and foreign demands mount.

View Democracy in Crisis

Call for Award Submissions!

Thu, 09 Mar 2023 21:47:23 GMT

*The original deadline of April 1st has been extended, all nominations are now due by April 15th.

Submissions are now open for this year's Reacting awards! Read on to learn more about these wonderful initiatives and how you can apply for them or nominate a deserving colleague.

Brilliancy Prize

You can read more about the Brilliancy Prize and learn about past winners here, and if you want to apply, please send a letter of nomination (for yourself or someone else!) of no more than a three pages detailed description of the innovation being nominated and a rationale for why it is deserving of the award, along with any supporting materials, to current chair of the Brilliancy Prize Award Committee, Wendy Closterman at Wendy.Closterman@brynathyn.edu by April 15, 2023.

Dana Gorlin Johnson Fellowship

This fellowship is awarded to a deserving faculty member, especially from a community college or public university, who best exemplifies Dana’s exceptional qualities of character and mind and who gives high promise of advancing Reacting. To apply or nominate someone for this award, please submit a two-page statement outlining the applicant's/nominee's previous experience with Reacting to the Past, as well as their potential for advancing the program, to Marina Maccari-Clayton at (mmaccari@utk.edu) by April 15, 2023.

Fresh Files: Spring 2023

Mon, 13 Feb 2023 03:29:03 GMT

There have been a lot of changes to our games in development! We're excited to announce some of the updates to our games and new games and files coming very soon. We'll update this page when new files are added or updated.

New Files:

Roman Prisoner Dilemma

Formerly known as Egyptian Prison game, updated Gamebook and Role Sheets.

Greenwich Village Second Edition

New Role Sheets, Instructor's Manual, and Handouts.

Updated tip sheet to help instructors prepare for the changes made in the second edition.

Democracy in Crisis: Weimar Germany, 1929-32

New Role Sheets, Instructor's Manual, and Handouts.

Monuments and Memory-Making: The Debate over the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial 1981-82

New Role Sheets, Instructor's Manual, and Handouts.

Ashoka: Becoming the Dharma King

Revised Files.

Ending the Troubles: Religion, Nationalism, and the Search for Peace and Democracy in Northern Ireland, 1997-98

Advanced to Level 4 with updated files!

Coming Soon:

Bacon's Rebellion

Moving to Level 4.

Grandsons of Genghis: The Mongol Kurultai of 1241

Moving to Level 3, will be published on Reacting Consortium Website.

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

Moving to Level 3, will be published on Reacting Consortium Website.

1349: Plague Comes to Norwich

Moving to Level 3, updated files.

RTTP In High Schools: New Grant Will Help High School Instructors Incorporate Reacting

Mon, 30 Jan 2023 18:59:41 GMT

Faculty at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, have recently been awarded a grant that will help facilitate the use of RTTP at the High school level! Over the coming months, their consultant, Chris Jones, will gather and curate available teacher-created materials. When possible, we will make these materials available via the RTTP Consortium website High School page.

Christopher Jones is a veteran teacher certified in English Education, History, and French. He recently retired from Grand Rapids Public Museum High School where he taught ELA as part of a fully integrated ELA, SS, Science Grade 10 Core Team. He holds an M Ed in Educational Technology. He has presented papers at local, state, and national conferences on topics ranging from the practical integration of new technologies to how to organize and stage collaborative projects. He has training in game-based, place-based, and competency-based learning.

Mr. Jones and Dr. Anne Caillaud, Professor of French Language and Literature at GVSU, plan to facilitate a roundtable discussion at the RTTP Annual Institute at Barnard College June 8-11, 2023.

If you are a high school instructor and have created resources to help adapt Reacting to the Past games into a high school curriculum we would love to hear from you! Use this form to send your resources and tell us about how Reacting has been helpful in your classes.

2023 Summer GDC Registration Announcement

Mon, 23 Jan 2023 20:13:46 GMT

Join us for the first West Coast Game Development Conference. The annual event will be held from July 13-15 in Corvallis, Oregon, on the campus of Oregon State University. The GDC conference provides engaging opportunities to discuss, collaborate, and gain insight as we create and teach using innovative pedagogy. All ranks of experienced Reacting instructors (from one game experience to 100) are invited. I am looking forward to sharing with you in the coming weeks information on our keynote speaker, game nights, and events planned to make this GDC a memorable experience.

The registration website will go live in a few weeks, but the GDC Board wanted to give clarity on the registration cost for the conference.

Registration	Consortium Member	Non-Member
Prior to March 31, 2023	$375	$425
Prior to April 30, 2023	$400	$450
Prior to July 13, 2023	$425	$475

You can join the Reacting Consortium to have deeper engagement in a supportive community that engages students with imagination, inquiry, and engagement.

If you have an idea for a game playtest for a full-length or multiple-day game, panel, proposed game, or presentation, there is still time to apply. We have received a robust early response for game playtests.

I am happy to talk with you about attending this Summer’s GDC in Oregon.

Steve Shay
2023 GDC Conference Coordinator
steve.shay@oregonstate.edu

GDC 2023 Now Taking Submissions

Fri, 06 Jan 2023 21:08:46 GMT

Submissions for this year's Game Development Conference (GDC 2023) are now open! If you have a game that you're interested in having a game play tested or a working proposal that needs feedback, consider using the form below to apply:

SUBMIT YOUR PROPOSAL

If you're interested in learning more about where the GDC will be held and to stay up to date as more information gets announced follow our GDC event page!

Small But Mighty: Announcing Reacting Short and Microgames!

Fri, 16 Dec 2022 21:51:55 GMT

Dear Reactors,

Reacting has found a way forward for its Short Games (defined as requiring 2-4 class sessions inclusive of prep time and debriefing) and Microgames (requiring only a single class session for all such activities). The Reacting Consortium Board recently approved the recommendations of the Reacting Short Games/Microgames (SG/Ms) Working Group*, which you can read in full here. There is now a lot of work to be done to make this vision a reality, but here are three things you need to know right now:

None of the SG/Ms currently listed on the Reacting website are going away in the near future. We know many of you have plans for these materials in the next two semesters, so we are keeping that content in place until we have conversations with the individual authors (see below).
Authors of new SG/Ms should use the new Frameworks to guide their development. Those Frameworks can be found in the Game Author Resources page of the website under Templates, and can also be downloaded using these links (Short Games / Microgames) We are working now to build the intake processes for new SG/Ms. Our vision is that there will be separate systems for Small Games vs. Microgames, but both will be scholarly peer review systems so SG/Ms can count for CV credit. We also hope to eventually have more robust templates to guide development, similar to those that currently exist for Flagship Reacting. Look for more information in the first half of 2023.
Authors of current SG/Ms should look for outreach from us in the immediate future. We would love to have all of the SG/Ms currently on the website converted over to the new format, but we understand that this will require significant intellectual labor on the part of their authors. We will contact every currently hosted SG/M author individually in the next 30 days about converting their games to the new frameworks. Conversion will put the games through the intake processes mentioned in the bullet above once we establish them. Games whose author elects not to convert them will be annotated as such on the website and will likely be taken down at the end of 2023 (or earlier if desired by the author). We will explore potential ways to archive non-converted games for historical reference. Time permitting, we will also reach out to SG/M authors listed on the BLORG who do not have content on the website yet.

We know there will be additional questions and concerns about this effort as it moves forward. Please feel free to ask them in the Reacting Faculty Lounge or reach out to us individually as you desire. Let’s make great games together!

Ray Kimball, ray@42ed.games

Reacting Microgame Coordinator

Bill Offutt, woffutt@pace.edu

Chair, REB Short Games Subcommittee

*In addition to the two of us, Scout Blum, Nick Proctor, Maddie Provo, and Jon Truitt all served on the Working Group. We are incredibly grateful for their hard work and candor in the group!

GDR-MicrogameFramework-Dec2022.pdf

GDR-ShortGameFramework-Dec2022.pdf

GDR-SGMWorkingGroupReport-Dec2022.pdf

Call for Reacting Board Nominations

Maddie Provo — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 21:42:57 GMT

The Reacting Consortium Board is seeking nominations for three open positions and one student position on the Board beginning on July 1, 2023 and extending through June 30, 2026. All positions are for three-year terms.

For the three open positions, we are seeking individuals who satisfy one or more of the following important criteria:

· Contributes to the racial, ethnic and cultural diversity of the Reacting Consortium Board;

· Experience with issues of diversity, inclusion, and equity in gameplay;

· Contributes to the institutional diversity of the Reaction Consortium Board, i.e. community college affiliation, public university affiliation, etc;

· Experience with development and fund-raising;

· Experience with game design, role playing, or game-based learning outside of Reacting.

For the one student position, we are seeking an individual with experience playing RTTP games and a strong interest in promoting the goals of Reacting as a pedagogical experience. We are especially interested in individuals who represent communities of color, members of the LGBTQ community, and increase our gender balance of women to men.

Nominations (including contact information) should be sent to the Chair of the Nominations Committee, John Lucaites (lucaites@iu.edu), by March 6, 2023.

Fall 2022 Web Update

Sun, 16 Oct 2022 23:13:55 GMT

There’s been a lot of changes to our website over the past few months, with more on the way!

It's an exciting time for Reacting, and our website has changed a lot. This summer and fall we have focused our efforts on updating the website to make it more accessible and to reflect some of the cosmetic changes made by UNC Press. But that's not all!

Here are some of the key updates and changes to our website:

Covers for Games Under Review

Thanks to the tremendous efforts made by Maddie Provo, we have been able to create covers for our developing games based on the new covers that UNC created for our published games. Not only do these covers look nice, but we also hope that they will increase the popularity of our developing games and give them more character at a glance.

Browse Games by Subject

We firmly believe in expanding the reach of our games so that our games can be used to enrich the learning of students anywhere. One way we've reaffirmed this commitment is by scouring our game pages to find games that overlap with other disciplines and fields of study (here's a hint, it's all of them). You can now easily search for games that feature Art, Politics, Religion, Journalism, and discussions on Race, Gender, and Sexuality. These can all be found on our new Games by Subject Page. These categories, along with our STEM and French Language game pages, have made it easier than ever to find the perfect game to suit your needs, even outside of the traditional history class.

Reacting in High School

Last week we featured a blog post highlighting how Reacting to the Past has been used in a high school setting with promising results. The Reacting Consortium Board has been looking for ways to make our games more accessible in the high school classroom and support teachers in making our games suitable for their students. In July we created a discord server dedicated to helping high school instructors which will operate in a similar way to the Facebook Reacting Faculty Lounge.

There is also a dedicated Reacting in High Schools page that is still under construction. We'll be sure to let you know when it goes live and has been updated with official materials, recommendations, and more information on our plans to bring more high school instructors into the fold.

Inclusion

The Reacting Consortium has always been dedicated to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion and we want our website to better reflect that. In the very near future we plan to publish our Inclusion page that will include resources for promoting inclusive roleplaying, information about the programs we've created to promote inclusion, and an official statement on our commitment to accessibility and inclusion.

Updated Contact Information

Many of our board members and staff's roles have changed! Please be sure to check our updated Contact Us page for the most up to date contact information.

File Formatting and Submission Guidelines

On to the nitty gritty. In order to keep our resources uniform we have implemented new guidelines for submitting files.

The new file submission protocol can be found here!

As always, any updates to games, tools for instructors, and community resources for games are enthusiastically welcomed and can be added to the website. Please submit any new files using our new streamlined file submission form.

“Start Here” Page for New Members

While reacting has become second nature to a lot of us, we are constantly welcoming new, first-time reactors to our community. To help new members we have created a “Start Here” page. This includes information about our pedagogy, guides on how to run and adapt games, and a “Reacting Dictionary” to make browsing and using our games more accessible.

Fresh Files Alert - Spring/Summer 2022

Maddie Provo — Mon, 08 Aug 2022 02:35:42 GMT

Our Game Authors and Editorial Board and always working hard. We want to highlight some of the new Reacting Games Under Review recently added to our library, as well as updated materials.

Art in Paris

Now includes French translated role sheets, instructor guide, and student handout - August 2022

Ashoka
New Game - August 2022

Bacon's Rebellion
New Gamebook - September 2022

Congressional AIDS Hearings
New Files March 2022

Egyptian Prison
Updated Gamebook - November 2022

Election of 1912
Updated Gamebook, Instructor's Manual, and Role Sheets - September 2022

Eyeball to Eyeball
New Files June 2022; Soon moving to Central Michigan Press

Liberia
New Game - June 2022

Prado
Updated Gamebook and Instructor Manual - September 2022

Radical Reconstruction
New Files July 2022
Notes on the Updates from the Game Author: After an excellent run at the conference in Boulder, I've made a bunch of changes to the Radical Reconstruction in Louisiana game. There is a new document and some of the game mechanics are different. There are also some new roles, which means the game can now have 36 players. They include:

J. Stella Martin, escaped slavery, became an abolitionist, advocated for John Brown, and has now returned to Louisiana.

Ludger Bouguille, a Black Creole who is the secretary for a fraternal order, is trying to keep his small school afloat. He is also friends with Henry Rey, the Spiritualist.

Charles St. Albin Sauvinet is another Black Creole who recently became the Director of the New Orleans branch of the Freedmen's Bank. (This role can act as a sort of "banker" so that players do not lose their Prestige tokens).

Stephen Walter Rogers became literate despite his enslavement and secretly taught others to read and write. By the time the game begins, he is a Baptist preacher, which provides Rev. Dove with some competition. He is also a pacifist, which will amplify this position in the endgame.

And in case you missed it...here's the most recent from Fall/Winter 2021 (also found in this announcement):

NEW GAMES FALL/ WINTER 2021

Japanese Exclusion in California, 1906-1915

Ending the Troubles: Religion, Nationalism, and the Search for Peace and Democracy in Northern Ireland, 1997-98

UPDATED FILES

Russian Literary Journals, Dostoevsky, and Tolstoy in St. Petersburg, 1877
Updated February 2022

1349: Plague Comes to Norwich
Updated January 2022

Bacon's Rebellion, 1676-1677: Race, Class, and Frontier Conflict in Colonial Virginia
Updated October 2021

The Crisis of Catiline: Rome, 63 BCE
Updated August 2021

Watergate
Updated August 2022

The revised documents include the alternative of a 6 game session full version of the game or a 3 game session abridged version of the game, which is one of the recommendations that came out of the Winter Conference playtest. There are separate Zip files of the role sheets for use with the full version and abridged version of the game, respectively.
Other revisions include: revised historical context essay, core documents/contemporary texts, and handouts sections; expanded GM instructions for the Senate Watergate Committee report, the Saturday Night Massacre (including a new subplot for Kissinger), the White House’s decision to release tape summaries and transcripts, Supreme Court oral arguments, and the Senate trial; and a scorecard to assist the GM in keeping track of the game’s various moving parts.

COMMUNITY-CREATED MATERIALS
Expanded and Modified Materials from the Community

French Game Resources Added new resources for instructors and students

Restoring the World, 1945: Security and Empire at Yalta New Expanded Files - March 2022 - this includes name tents, additional roles, etc.

Red Clay Added pre-game reading quiz by Lucy C. Barnhouse

Announcement: Reacting Leadership Transitions

Maddie Provo — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 09:14:34 GMT

Reacting Leadership Transitions
An Announcement from the Reacting Consortium Board

It is an important moment of change for the Reacting Consortium and its community.

Mark Carnes will step away from his role as founding Executive Director of the Reacting Consortium on July 1^st, 2022. Nick Proctor, founding Chair of the Reacting Editorial Board (REB) and an early member of the Reacting Consortium Board, will become the new Executive Director of Reacting. Kelly McFall, a member of both the Reacting Consortium Board and Reacting Editorial Board, has been selected as the Interim Chair of the Reacting Editorial Board with oversight of the development and review of games for publication.

Mark Carnes

Founder; Outgoing Executive Director

Nick Proctor

Incoming Executive Director

Kelly McFall

Incoming Chair of REB

The Reacting community owes a great debt to Mark and in fact wouldn’t exist but for his original vision for a new way to teach history in his Barnard classroom. From that moment of collaboration with his students about a new way to engage with classic texts in 1996, Mark went on to be a prolific author of Reacting games, grant-writer, fundraiser, recruiter, game-master, and encourager-in-chief to newcomers with fresh ideas about new topics and directions for Reacting. After this first experiment with a game set in Ming China, he went on to develop games about the Trial of Anne Hutchinson, the French Revolution, and India in 1945, making use of a FIPSE grant to enlist co-authors with disciplinary expertise in these areas. In 2001, he hosted the first Reacting workshop, inviting 40 colleagues from around the country. Having always served as Executive Director pro bono, Mark looks forward to being able to devote more time to writing and revising games and supporting others in the game development process.

Under Nick Proctor’s direction, the Reacting Editorial Board (REB) became a formal body that defined a “Reacting game,” established criteria for guiding its development, and set up a system of peer review to determine when games were ready for publication. As he steps into the role of Executive Director, Nick’s vision for the future focuses on continued expansion of the flagship library; deepening our relationship with high schools; figuring out the balance between in-person conferences and online programming going forward; and improving fiscal stability by growing existing income streams as well as increasing their number. As he notes, “We should also capitalize on the expertise that we have built with online programming. In addition to broadening the geographical and institutional scope of attendees, these can offer good opportunities to field test new games."

Kelly McFall’s goals for the REB include management of the process of soliciting, reviewing, and moving toward publication efficiently and effectively; continuing to grow our pool of game authors and game projects; working with the Game Development Conference to pilot and experiment with different structures and mechanisms; serving as an ambassador for Reacting and an effective liaison for game authors; and completing and executing a system for review of existing games that are moving into second editions.

The Reacting Consortium is deeply grateful to Mark Carnes for all of his years of creative and inspired leadership. We are glad that he will remain an active member of this community and look forward to supporting Nick and Kelly as they step into their new roles.

To read a tribute to Mark Carnes, check our blog.

Publisher Transition: New ISBNs for Published Books

Maddie Provo — Thu, 07 Apr 2022 17:00:08 GMT

We want to keep you updated throughout our transition to our new publishers, UNC-Press (read more about that here and here).

Here is a spreadsheet with all our published titles and their new ISBN numbers. Details are also copied below. You can preorder these titles NOW, and they will be available in July!

Title	Authors	Paperback ISBN	Ebook ISBN
Building the Italian Renaissance Brunelleschi's Dome and the Florence Cathedral	Paula Kay Lazrus	978-1-4696-5339-6	978-1-4696-5340-2
Changing the Game Title IX, Gender, and College Athletics	Kelly McFall, Abigail Perkiss	978-1-4696-7066-9
Charles Darwin, the Copley Medal, and the Rise of Naturalism, 1862-1864	Marsha Driscoll, Elizabeth E. Dunn, Dann Siems, B. Kamran Swanson	978-1-4696-7077-5
Chicago, 1968 Policy and Protest at the Democratic National Convention	Nicolas W. Proctor	978-1-4696-7070-6
The Collapse of Apartheid and the Dawn of Democracy in South Africa, 1993	John C. Eby, Fred Morton	978-1-4696-3316-9	978-1-4696-3317-6
Confucianism and the Succession Crisis of the Wanli Emperor, 1587	Daniel K. Gardner, Mark C. Carnes	978-1-4696-7080-5
Constantine and the Council of Nicaea Defining Orthodoxy and Heresy in Christianity, 325 CE	David E. Henderson, Frank Kirkpatrick	978-1-4696-3141-7	978-1-4696-3142-4
The Constitutional Convention of 1787 Constructing the American Republic	John Patrick Coby	978-1-4696-7088-1
Defining a Nation India on the Eve of Independence, 1945	Ainslie T. Embree, Mark C. Carnes	978-1-4696-7079-9
Environmental Science and International Politics Acid Rain in Europe, 1979-1989, and Climate Change in Copenhagen, 2009	David E. Henderson, Susan K. Henderson	978-1-4696-4029-7	978-1-4696-4030-3
Europe on the Brink, 1914 The July Crisis	John E. Moser	978-1-4696-5986-2
Food Fight Challenging the USDA Food Pyramid, 1991	Susan K. Henderson, David E. Henderson	978-1-4696-6174-2
Forest Diplomacy Cultures in Conflict on the Pennsylvania Frontier, 175	Nicolas W. Proctor	978-1-4696-7073-7
Greenwich Village, 1913 Suffrage, Labor, and the New Woman	Mary Jane Treacy	978-1-4696-7069-0
Henry VIII and the Reformation Parliament	John Patrick Coby	978-1-4696-4755-5	978-1-4696-4756-2
Japan, 1941 Between Pan-Asianism and the West	John E. Moser	978-1-4696-7065-2
Kentucky, 1861 Loyalty, State, and Nation	Nicolas W. Proctor, Margaret Storey	978-1-4696-7071-3
Mexico in Revolution, 1912-1920	Jonathan Truitt, Stephany Slaughter	978-1-4696-7072-0
Modernism versus Traditionalism Art in Paris, 1888-1889	Gretchen K. McKay, Nicolas W. Proctor, Michael A. Marlais	978-1-4696-4126-3	978-1-4696-4127-0
The Needs of Others Human Rights, International Organizations, and Intervention in Rwanda, 1994	Kelly McFall	978-1-4696-7068-3
Patriots, Loyalists, and Revolution in New York City, 1775-1776	Bill Offutt	978-1-4696-7067-6
Red Clay, 1835 Cherokee Removal and the Meaning of Sovereignty	Jace Weaver, Laura Adams Weaver	978-1-4696-7064-5
The Remaking of the Medieval World, 1204 The Fourth Crusade	John J. Giebfried, Kyle C. Lincoln	978-1-4696-6411-8	978-1-4696-6412-5
Restoring the World, 1945 Security and Empire at Yalta	Nicolas W. Proctor, John E. Moser	978-1-4696-5984-8	978-1-4696-5985-5
Rousseau, Burke, and Revolution in France, 1791	Jennifer J. Popiel, Mark C. Carnes	978-1-4696-7074-4
Stages of Power Marlowe and Shakespeare, 1592	Eric S. Mallin, Paul V. Sullivan	978-1-4696-3144-8	978-1-4696-3145-5
The Threshold of Democracy Athens in 403 B.C.E.	Josiah Ober, Naomi J. Norman, Mark C. Carnes	978-1-4696-7075-1
The Trial of Anne Hutchinson: Liberty, Law, and Intolerance in Puritan New England	Michael P. Winship, Mark C. Carnes	978-1-4696-7078-2
The Trial of Galileo Aristotelianism, the "New Cosmology," and the Catholic Church, 1616-1633	Michael S. Pettersen, Frederick Purnell, Jr., Mark C. Carnes	978-1-4696-7081-2

BONUS: note the uniform, lower price point for paperbacks ($30), and the availability of e-books for a portion of the games, as well.

Fresh Files Alert - Fall 2021-Winter 2022

Maddie Provo — Mon, 07 Feb 2022 19:35:25 GMT

Our Game Authors and Editorial Board and always working hard. We want to highlight some of the new Reacting Games Under Review recently added to our library, as well as updated materials.

NEW GAMES

Japanese Exclusion in California, 1906-1915

Ending the Troubles: Religion, Nationalism, and the Search for Peace and Democracy in Northern Ireland, 1997-98

UPDATED FILES

Russian Literary Journals, Dostoevsky, and Tolstoy in St. Petersburg, 1877 (Updated February 2022)

1349: Plague Comes to Norwich (Updated January 2022)

Bacon's Rebellion, 1676-1677: Race, Class, and Frontier Conflict in Colonial Virginia (Updated October 2021)

The Crisis of Catiline: Rome, 63 BCE (Updated August 2021)

Expanded and Modified Materials from the Community

Restoring the World, 1945: Security and Empire at Yalta (March 2022 - this includes name tents, additional roles, etc)

We'll continue to update this list, and then start a new one for the spring.

Reacting Consortium Partners with UNC Press for all Reacting Games

Maddie Provo — Wed, 15 Dec 2021 19:01:10 GMT

Major Press Release: 12/15/2021

*Reacting Consortium and UNCP to partner in publishing all Reacting games.

The Reacting Consortium, Inc. is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with the University of North Carolina Press to publish all Reacting to the Past games. Beginning in the summer and fall of 2022, UNCP will publish the thirty games currently published by W. W. Norton and the Reacting Consortium Press. UNCP will also publish, as regular imprints of the press, all future Reacting to the Past games. This will consolidate Reacting offerings and make it easier for instructors to find and use Reacting materials. It will also facilitate and simplify the process for developing and publishing Reacting games.

“The Consortium has long sought to bring all of its games under the broad umbrella of an outstanding university press,” declared Mark Carnes, Executive Director of the Reacting Consortium. “While we’re excited by this opportunity to expand and rationalize the Reacting pedagogy, we appreciate W. W. Norton, whose fine team did so much to promote and refine Reacting to the Past during its formative years.” The Reacting Consortium will continue to partner with W. W. Norton on the Flashpoints series of short games.

“This agreement was the culmination of countless hours of work by the Executive Committee of the Reacting Board, chaired sequentially by Anthony Crider (physicist, Elon University) and Gretchen Galbraith (Dean of Arts and Sciences, SUNY Potsdam), and including Publishing Director Jace Weaver (historian, University of Georgia) and Nick Proctor, chair of the Reacting Editorial Board (historian, Simpson College), along with Dr. Jenn Worth, Administrative Director, and Maddie Provo, Membership Director, of the Reacting Consortium staff,” Carnes added.

The Reacting Consortium, Inc., a not-for-profit 501 (c) 3 corporation, governs the Reacting to the Past pedagogy, in which students play complex games, set in the past, their roles informed by important texts. The Reacting pedagogy is used by over 500 colleges and universities in the United States—and also by several dozen universities elsewhere.

For further information: Mark Carnes mcarnes@barnard.edu
Jenn Worth jworth@barnard.edu
Gretchen Galbraith galbragr@potsdam.edu

Seeking Board Nominations

Maddie Provo — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 14:04:10 GMT

The Reacting Consortium Board is seeking nominations for open positions on the Board beginning on July 1, 2022 and extending until June 30, 2025.

The first priority is for someone in a position to provide philanthropic support or experience in fundraising of the kind that RTTP needs to sustain itself and to grow. The second priority is for a Senior Administrator at the level of Dean or above (i.e., Provost, President, etc.) who will be situated to provide the Board with guidance on how to encourage and develop institutional support for Reacting to the Past. The third priority is for someone with experience in technological design who can contribute to the development of innovative pedagogical approaches to online workshops, virtual events, etc. Candidates with a variety of diverse backgrounds and experiences are especially encouraged.

Nominations (including contact information) should be sent to the Chair of the Nominations Committee, John Lucaites (lucaites@iu.edu), by December 1, 2021.

2021 GDC Call for Proposals

Maddie Provo — Thu, 15 Apr 2021 19:00:18 GMT

REACTING GAME DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE CALL FOR PROPOSALS

The Reacting to the Past Game Development Conference Executive Committee (a.k.a. “The Junta”) is pleased to issue a Call for Proposals for the 2021 GDC (held July 1-18) in two areas:

Level 2 Games to be playtested, and
Pitches for new games needing feedback and discussion by experienced Reacting instructors, gamers, and designers

The GDC is geared toward the development and enrichment of Reacting through an innovative program of cross-pollination and fruitful inquiry, and is appropriate for those with previous RTTP experience. For priority consideration, download the appropriate Google form below, complete it, and email it to rttpgdc@gmail.com by April 17, 2021.

MORE FROM KYLE LINCOLN
Notum sit omnibus tam presentibus quam futuris...
The Reacting to the Past Game Development Conference Executive Committee for the Benefit of the Consortium and the People (a.k.a. “The Junta”) is pleased to issue a “Call for Proposals” for the 2021 (unfortunately still synchronous and online) GDC. In accordance with the customs of our ancestors, we ask for proposals for L2 Games to be playtested and for “pitches” for new games that need group feedback and discussion. There is a modest amount of paperwork, which the GDCECBCP uses to inventory and vet the games proposed for playtesting. This year, we are able to offer fewer slots than in the traditional years, but our hope is that we can return to GDC customs fully next year. The “pitches” consist of short presentations from practitioners developing games that might benefit from the fertile ideas ecology of the GDC, where game ideas can be enhanced by the cross-usage of extant elements, addition of kinds of source questions, mechanical innovations, and the general insights of the experienced Reacting designer.

“The Junta” also offers a number of workshops, these year to be led by some of RttP’s luminaries, visionaries, and deplorables, for both the benefit and corruption of Reacting as an enterprise. The GDC is always geared toward the development and enrichment of Reacting through an innovative program of cross-pollination and fruitful inquiry, but is usually limited to those with previous experience in the pedagogy as a whole.

2020 GDC & Summer of Reacting

Maddie Provo — Wed, 09 Dec 2020 08:39:32 GMT

Let's take a quick look back at our summer 2020 events.

SUMMER OF REACTING
NOTES FROM JENN WORTH
After so many of us were sent to work from home in March, we knew we had to figure out what to do in lieu of the Annual Institute--it was supposed to be the 20th, and a big celebration, at that. But, in true RTTP fashion: we planned our best, and then watched life unfold in front of us, heedless of our wishes.

So we did what Reactors do: we kept our Victory Objectives in mind, hustled, and came up with Plans B, C, D, and more! What we ended up with were eleven games offered over three months, both synchronously and asynchronously, for nearly 200 registrants: similar to what we’d aim for at an Institute. In addition to the games, we also offered training sessions on various software platforms for distance learning, Q& A panels with experienced faculty and students, and additional programs on emotional intelligence, adjusting game mechanisms, and specifics on how to adapt some of our most popular games.

We are incredibly grateful to all of our GMs, panelists, board members, and especially Board Chair Tony Crider, for the work they put in making this summer a learning experience worthy of the Reacting name.

GAME DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE
NOTES FROM KELLY McFALL
As with everything in 2020, this year’s Game Development Conference was different. A virtual GDC turned out to be simultaneously different and the same.

Instead of gathering at Cabrini, we met via zoom each Thursday of July. We still managed to playtest three terrific games: Japanese Exclusion in California, 1906-20, Grandsons of Genghis: The Mongol Qurultai of 1246, and Egypt’s Liberal Experiment, 1925-27. We also held several ‘pitch sessions’ where game designers talked about their ideas and received feedback.

Playing on zoom was simultaneously challenging and enlightening. Emma Eck, a student intern at Newman, played stage manager behind the scenes, moving people into and out of breakout rooms, managing polls and allowing designers to concentrate on learning from game play. Not only did we learn about the games we were playtesting, but we learned more about how games work in an online world. And, as usual, Mark Carnes again celebrated someone else’s victory.

Sparked by the decision to go virtual, Jeff Fortney and Amy Curry took on the task of leading a task force to identify best practices for designing games for the on-line environment. That task force made a preliminary report at an online session in August and continues to work.

The transition to virtual was challenging and rewarding at the same time. But we hope that next year we’ll return in our traditional conference format. Covid allowing, we hope to see many of you at Cabrini in July of 2021.

2020 Game Development Highlights

Maddie Provo — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 18:03:29 GMT

In an unrelenting year, the Reacting Editorial Board and Game Development Conference continue their unbelievable work. We're excited to share game development highlights:

NEW FULL LENGTH GAMES
WITH W.W. NORTON
Chicago, 1968: Policy and Protest at the Democratic National Convention
Japan, 1941: Between Pan-Asianism and the West

WITH REACTING CONSORTIUM PRESS
Europe on the Brink, 1914: The July Crisis
Restoring the World, 1945: Security and Empire at Yalta

FLASHPOINTS SERIES
WITH W. W. NORTON
Paterson, 1913: A Labor Strike in the Progressive Era
Raising the Eleventh Pillar: The Ratification Debate of 1788

OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE GAME
WITH REACTING CONSORTIUM PRESS
Food Fight: Challenging the USDA Food Pyramid, 1991

LEVEL 3 GAMES
While the final changes are still being made to two of the games most recently approved for the Reacting Consortium Library, Mark Thompson's Physician-Assisted Suicide: Autonomy, Ethics, Morality, and the End of Life is available for members to download.

The Reacting Consortium News and Announcements

Call for Game Submissions!

New & Updated Games - January 2026

RCB and REB Call For Members!

Call for Game Reviewers

Call For Submissions!

CALL FOR FULL-LENGTH GAMESDue September 15

Microgame Online Workshop

New Release: The DNA Hypothesis

Fresh Files: New Releases and Updates

Reacting Consortium Board Call for Alumni Rep Applications

Reacting Consortium Board Call for Nominations

Short and Microgame Update: Back to School Releases!

2024 Brilliancy Prize and Dana Johnson Gorlin Fellowship Awards

Dana Johnson Gorlin Fellowship - Ahuva Liberles

Call for Award Nominations!

Fresh Files - Fall 2023

Call for REB Members: Nominations Are Now Open for the Reacting Editorial Board

Fall 2023 Publishing Update

In Case You Missed It: Event Recordings on Accessibility, Inclusion, and Safety Are Now Available!

Call for Applications for the Reacting Consortium Board

High School Initiative Update: Working Group, Shared Drive, Monthly Meetings, and More!

New Resources for Instructors and Game Authors: Tips for Navigating AI and Copyright

Fresh Files - Summer 2023

Spring 2023 Publishing Update

Call for Award Submissions!

Fresh Files: Spring 2023

RTTP In High Schools: New Grant Will Help High School Instructors Incorporate Reacting

2023 Summer GDC Registration Announcement

GDC 2023 Now Taking Submissions

Small But Mighty: Announcing Reacting Short and Microgames!

Call for Reacting Board Nominations

Fall 2022 Web Update

Fresh Files Alert - Spring/Summer 2022

NEW GAMES FALL/ WINTER 2021

Announcement: Reacting Leadership Transitions

Reacting Leadership TransitionsAn Announcement from the Reacting Consortium Board

Publisher Transition: New ISBNs for Published Books

Fresh Files Alert - Fall 2021-Winter 2022

Reacting Consortium Partners with UNC Press for all Reacting Games

Seeking Board Nominations

2021 GDC Call for Proposals

2020 GDC & Summer of Reacting

2020 Game Development Highlights

CALL FOR FULL-LENGTH GAMES
Due September 15

Reacting Leadership Transitions
An Announcement from the Reacting Consortium Board