Would You Survive?

How to play

Choose a family and a time: a farming family near Ur in 1760 BC, near Giza while the Great Pyramid is being built, outside Athens when war with Sparta begins, in the city of Rome the year of the Great Fire, or on the Mayflower in 1620. Each round brings a real situation and three choices. Every choice costs something now, and the roll of the die decides what happens next, so you are weighing risks the way real families did. Watch your food and your health: run out of either and your family does not survive. After every roll, read what really happened.

Teaching with it?

Each game also comes as a printable class kit: drawn pages to project, a two-sided student sheet with a question for every round, a spinner so no dice are needed, and a teacher guide with sample answers and standards. Each one pairs with our two-week teaching pack for the same topic, and all 5 kits come together for $25.

• Ancient Mesopotamia, 1760 BCPrintable class kit, $7Ancient Mesopotamia Teaching Pack, $7
• Ancient Egypt, 2560 BCPrintable class kit, $7Ancient Egypt Teaching Pack, $7
• Ancient Greece, 431 BCPrintable class kit, $7Ancient Greece Teaching Pack, $7
• Ancient Rome, AD 64Printable class kit, $7Ancient Rome Teaching Pack, $7
• Plymouth Colony, 1620Printable class kit, $713 Colonies Teaching Pack, $7

Questions

How do you play?

Choose a family and a time. Each of six rounds brings a real situation from that place and three choices. Pick one, pay its cost, then roll the die to see what happens to your family's food and health. After every roll you read what really happened. Finish with enough food and health to thrive.

Is there a right answer?

No. In every round each choice is the best one for some rolls of the die, so you are weighing risks, as real families did. The end screen shows how often families who made the same choices thrived.

Is the history real?

Yes. Every round is based on real evidence: Hammurabi's rules and clay tablets for Mesopotamia, the Palermo Stone and the pyramid builders' town for Egypt, Thucydides for Greece, Tacitus for Rome, and Bradford and Winslow for Plymouth, with the Wampanoag side of the story.

What grades is it for?

Grades 4 to 7. Each family takes about 10 to 15 minutes.

Can I use it with a class?

Yes. Students can play on their own devices. For a whole-class lesson there is also a printable version of each game with pages to project, a two-sided student sheet with a question for every round, and a teacher guide with sample answers.

Is it really free?

Yes. No sign-up, no ads.