Reflective Essay

After everyone’s individual fate is determined in the game, all players will prepare a 3-4 page explanation of the degree to which they achieved their objectives. Many, for example, are charged with protecting your families, property, and lives. The results determined by the dice rolls will likely alter the outcome for some players. This is an important point within the game: war changes things. A player who seemingly had won it all, can lose everything in the blink of an eye. You may be sitting pretty on the brink of war, but once you are engulfed by it, all bets are off.

A few issues-such as addressing slavery- may have gotten bypassed during the game. This may frustrate some players, but remember that there might be an intentional political reason for this. Why do you think these issues were bypassed? If your character tried to bring up these issues (or others) and was unsuccessful, what are the reasons for that failure?

So, you should first summarize what your goals in the game were. What issues did your character want to discuss? What strategies did you use in the game? How successful were you in achieving your goals? Why were you successful? In what areas did your character meet with failure? What were the causes of these failures? What difficulties did your character face? How did your character interact with, and react to the major issues discussed in the game? Overall, write a summary of what happened in the game for your character and how your character responded. Remember, sometimes the best players do not win the game. Your grade is not impacted by whether or not you won the game. For example, if your character faced opposition and difficulty, write about it. If you did win, why? If you did not, what problems and difficulties stood in your way? I am more interested in hearing what major issues your character faced and how your character confronted those issues.

Furthermore, I would like you to write your reaction to what this game tells us about the revolutionary crisis. How has your historical understanding of the revolution changed? What major issues did the game deal with? Why do you think these issues were so volatile? Basically, what did you learn about the revolutionary period from this game? How did this game improve your understanding of the issues (or did it)? Lastly, I would like a conclusion paragraph that talks about your personal take on the game. What worked, and what didn’t.