Auf jeden Fall f

I have played this game for many dozens of hours and basically know all ins and outs! I have also developed a Democracy 3 workshop for upper secondary classrooms and have already taught it several times. Here are some of my takeaways:

- The game is primarily useful at visualizing the interconnectedness and complexity of political dimensions such as sectors like economy and taxes, satisfaction levels of different demographics, budgetary constraints, one's own political ideology, random events like world economy collapsing and so on.
- Democracy 3 is really good at giving feedback for your actions. For any action you want to take, you can see beforehand the projected changes these actions will lead to. You can also trace back results to certain actions you take after the fact.
- In my experience, it's best to have students work in small groups i which they discuss their next actions and decisions as well as keep a log of 1) all of their decisions and actions, 2) the expected outcome and the 3) actual outcome. This allows them to spot trends and - if they run into a problem - trace their actions to find the root of the problem.
- This game requires a lot of time and effort. It cannot be played and completed in a short amount of time - students and teachers have to commit to it for some time!
- Even though this game is a major simplification of real life, it is still rather complex. Beginners to the game and to video games in general will take some time to get used to the interface and to get a grasp of the inner workings and systems of the game.
- Democracy 3 has some limitations and simplifications that I recommend should definitely be discussed in class, including how in the game there is only a two-party system (one party in power, one party in opposition) and how we as the players act as quasi-dictators in the game! In real life, these policies would usually have to be examined and passed by parliament and go through many other hurdles before coming into effect!
- In my opinion, the recommended age for this type of game is AT A VERY MINIMUM 16 years. The older the students, the more likely it is that more of them will understand the underlying complex systems and connections simulated in the game in a "deeper" way and "get more out" of the game.
- This game is well suited for integrating different subjects into an interdisciplinary workshop or project. In my workshops, we played the game in English and discussed several in-game policies with a Geography teacher and History and Politics teacher. We also drew many connections to the city we live in - "We have a problem with X in the game, this is actually a real life problem our city also has to deal with - so what did they do to try and solve the problem? We can try doing the same in the game and see if that same approach helps us too!"
- Almost unanimous student feedback: "I didn't think it [politics] was this complicated!" :) Students also said they think the workshop was interesting and that I should definitely do it with other classes too.

There is a lot more that I could say about the game and how I conducted the workshop. If anyone is interested to hear more, you can contact me at my gmail address: schuch dot andreas (for spam protection I have to ask you to put the email together yourself)

Andreas (FH JOANNEUM)

I would definitely use it in my lectures, especially in lectures where critical thinking on an international level is needed

First of all, this game is for mature people. I wouldn't recommend it for people under 17-18.
It's a very special type of game that has its fans and its haters. People who like it, spend countless hours on it, whereas detractors are usually fed up in 5 minutes. Given the complexity of Democracy 3, this division of opinion will increase if players are asked to play it.