Created by Yoav Duman · Free comparative politics simulations

The Square

Investigate collective action through repeated rounds in a fictional civic square. Compare local discussion, coordination, organization and selective incentives. The scripted participation index is a model to examine, not a probability or real-world prediction.

Possible States edition. Play is free and needs no account. Responses and backups stay on the student’s device. Use the report/export controls to create a readable record, then submit it through your course system. This edition does not use online drafts, class codes, instructor login or automatic submission. Any older hosted-workflow directions in a linked original download do not apply. Open the simulation · Activity overview

Learning goals

Preparation and pacing

Use the original teaching guide to choose rounds and debrief points. Pilot with the class format and time available.

Play the activity once before assigning it. Specify the required route or stopping point in your course system, introduce only the concepts students need at entry, and reserve time to debrief a decision and its consequences.

Read the complete original teaching guide

Assign, debrief and assess

  1. Share the direct activity link and identify the required endpoint.
  2. Ask students to preserve an initial prediction and explain one consequential choice using a specific case detail.
  3. Compare mechanisms and tradeoffs in the debrief. Ask for a rival account, an implication and a limit.
  4. Have students check their exported report and upload it themselves. A completed sequence records tasks; it does not automatically grade the quality of their reasoning.

Student saving and submission

Browser saving belongs to this device and website address. Clearing browsing data, private browsing or changing devices can remove access to it. A downloaded progress backup is for resuming the game. A PDF, text or HTML response report is for reading and assessment. Students may repeat and revise; any history included in the activity’s report should be reviewed in context.

Use fictional roles and permit students to analyze a position without disclosing their own political beliefs. Grade evidence, mechanisms, comparisons and limits.

Teaching downloads

Use the button below to print this guide or save it as a PDF. The complete browser activity has its own save and response-report tools.