Gaming the System

Alexander H Cohen is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York. He is an avid board and video gamer, and regularly uses active learning in his classroom. His research interests include the effect of weather on political outcomes, institutional assessment, pedagogy, and zombies. His most recent book was entitled Living with Zombies.John Alden is a social studies teacher in the Williamsburg Community School District in Iowa. He teaches 9th and 12th graders, covering the topics of geography and government. He earned his master’s degree in social studies education from the University of Iowa, where he also met his coauthors.Jonathan J. Ring is a lecturer in the Department of Political Science and a Global Security Fellow in the Baker Center for Public Policy at the University of Tennessee.

• 1. Introduction 2. Signing the Social Contract: A Game About the State of Nature 3. A More Perfect Union: A Game About the Constitutional Convention 4. Hard-Won Equality: A Game About Social Movements 5. Nomination Scrimmage: A Game About Primary/Caucus Strategy 6. Written by Committee: A Game About Lawmaking 7. A Best-Case Scenario: A Game About the Supreme Court 8. Agency and Oversight: A Game About Bureaucratic Politics 9. The Tragedy of the Lagoon: A Game About Resource Management 10. The People Have Spoken: A Game About Interest Groups and Messaging 11. Game Goulash

"This is the classroom game book political science has been waiting for. In Gaming the System, authors Alex H Cohen, John Alden, and Jonathan J. Ring neatly package a breath of subfield exercises that test concepts, challenge students, and support active learning. This book gives time back to teachers hunting through learning activity haystacks, with every game easy to setup and distribute, and further tailorable to meet specific course objectives. Even better, each game has been rigorously playtested to assure educators that these games work. I wish I had this book years ago—a must-have for active learning classrooms."Lt Col James "Pigeon" Fielder, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Political Science at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Manchester Games Studies Network research associate, and professional wargame design instructor"The book Gaming the System: Nine Games to Teach American Government through Active Learning provides a plethora of useful games and simulations for the effective teaching of American government that will engage students and allow them to discuss the activity of their classmates and themselves in a way that will create much richer and more productive classroom discussions and analysis."Victor Asal, Professor of Political Science, SUNY Albany