FOR INSTRUCTORS
Give students an international relations puzzle to investigate. Use their decisions and evidence to start the class discussion.
Share an activity link and specify what to submit through your course website. Students play without an account. Student privacy & classroom use →
| Activity | Concepts & format | Pacing & preparation | What students produce | Plan it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flags & Ferries | Classical realism, neorealism & the security dilemma Solo decision simulation | 65–75 min No prior theory knowledge required. An optional table-first evidence view makes the numbers easier to read. | A Class PDF with the decision chronicle, two model comparisons, four written responses, and first and current check results | Teaching companion →Compare → |
| The Statement | Naming and shaming, noncompliance & causal inference Solo or pairs · research simulation | 35–45 min · optional +10–15 min No specialist legal knowledge required. Teach after sovereignty and international norms or let the case introduce the issue. | A Class PDF with six written checkpoints, the evidence trail, first and revised claims, and four concept checks | Teaching companion →Compare → |
| After You | Conditional cooperation, domestic politics & climate diplomacy Solo research simulation | 40–50 min Introduce climate cooperation or begin with the opening evidence. The reading guide pairs the scenario with published research. | A Class PDF with advice, three forecasts, selected records, a causal explanation, and a research transfer | Teaching companion →Compare → |
| The Next Move | Prisoner’s Dilemma, tit-for-tat, neoliberal institutionalism & neorealism Solo strategy simulation | 60–75 min No advance reading or game theory required. Payoff grids and treaty excerpts are built in. | A class report with a replay log, both draft decisions, a theory explanation, cabinet advice, a treaty analysis, and a rescue radio check | Teaching companion →Compare → |
| The World We Make | Constructivism, the Cold War & the landmine ban Solo historical investigation | 60–90 min · 5 episodes Historical evidence is included. The sources and evidence limits are available before play. | A Class PDF with 12 explanations, the evidence-based prediction revisit, and the decisions and records behind them | Teaching companion →Compare → |
| The Cities Are Moving | Realism, three liberal approaches & constructivism Solo exam-prep investigation | 205 min · 3 sittings Basic course knowledge is helpful. Theory reminders and case evidence are built in. Plan about 60 minutes for Part A, 75 for Part B, and 70 for Part C across exam-prep week. | A single Class PDF with both parts of the investigation, the first exam rehearsal answer, and its evidence-based revision | Teaching companion →Compare → |
| The Tunnel Opens in Six Months | Commitment problems & the timing of force Solo cabinet simulation | 50–60 min The game includes the case, dispatches, and vocabulary. No advance reading is required. | A cabinet report with two gate trials, both alert decisions, and five written responses | Teaching companion →Compare → |
| Four Days on the Ridge | Risk, framing & ceasefire verification Solo crisis simulation | 60–75 min Briefings, probability tools, maps, and source excerpts are in the game. No advance reading is required. | A cabinet report with decisions, calculations, document comparisons, and nine written responses | Teaching companion →Compare → |
| Who Gets to Put Pride on the Field? | Institutional authority & causal evidence Solo evidence investigation | About 90 min The game includes the source cards, match context, and vocabulary. No advance reading is required. | A case report with source selections, a travel check, a fact-check, and a Qatar comparison | Teaching companion →Compare → |
ASSESSMENT & SUBMISSION
Set an endpoint and tell students which report or response record to upload to your course website. Use the activity’s own grading guide when available.
Give each criterion 0 points if absent, 1 if partial and 2 if clear and supported. Adjust the weighting to fit the activity.
A progress backup restores a session. The readable report shows the work you’re asking students to explain or defend.
THE WORK YOU TAKE AWAY
A readable report brings together choices, evidence and explanations. Save it, check it and upload it through the course system.
Instructors assess the argument using the record students submit. Report formats vary by activity.
See an illustrative report ↗ (opens in a new tab)Fictional example. See the activity’s own report for its assignment requirements.
Use a simulation before class, in an individual work period or as a take-home assignment. Each case supplies a brief, evidence and prompts.
Ask where students’ decisions diverged, how they interpreted the same evidence and what changed their minds.
Use the teaching companion to decide which parts to assign, whether to add a debrief and which file or record to collect.
Pair activities around a course question, or assign any case on its own.
Security and power
Lead a small coastal state, then ask how another government interprets the same defensive move.
International cooperation
A stronger climate pledge changes one government’s position. Investigate what it might change inside another country.
Ideas and norms
Start with the way rivals read a threat. Then explore how expectations and international norms can change political choices.
Evidence and inquiry
Detainees are released after a public condemnation. Read the dated records and test what the sequence can establish.
Add your Canvas or course submission instructions to the assignment draft. Students upload the readable work themselves. Free use & embedding →
Edit this text, then copy it into Canvas or your course website. These edits stay in this tab.
Detainees are freed after a public condemnation. Governments, families, and diplomats tell different stories. Predict what the record would show under your explanation, inspect the evidence, and defend or revise your claim. Students produce a class pdf with six written checkpoints, the evidence trail, first and revised claims, and four concept checks.