Experience some of the battles that shaped our modern history through tabletop gaming!
Using Memoir ’44, a tabletop game published by Days of Wonder and designed by Richard Borg, students will simulate (together with peers or parents) sixteen real engagements from World War 2 and then discuss those battles (including the history and outcomes) in biweekly webinars.
Students will learn:
- How tabletop games can be used to model real life situations and what we can learn from those models.
- About American involvement in the war and combat in Europe from D-Day in June 1944 to the end of the year.
- The realities of the D-Day invasions for both the Allied invaders and the German defenders.
- The French Resistance in combat against German forces.
- The campaign in Europe to recapture territory that had been held by Germany since 1941 and the German resistance and counters to that effort.
The class will supplement hands-on learning with videos and readings about the featured battles and about World War 2 in the European theater. Students will need to play assigned scenarios with peers or family between webinars. Webinars will include discussion of the outcomes of simulated games and what those outcomes and moments in gameplay can tell us about the battles themselves (and the larger war in Europe).
This is 6-session workshop for learners of all ages. Webinars are 50 minutes long. Recordings are available for students who must miss a session.
Required Materials:
Participants will need to own or acquire a copy of the Memoir ’44 core game. No expansions are required.
Alternatively, it is also possible to play the game online for free at Board Game Arena.
