Educational Potential
The 80 Days is an interactive choose-your-adventure game placed in around 1872. Its narrative is based on the Jules Verne’s book, “Around the World in Eighty Days”. The player holds the role of Passepartout, the valet to Phileas Fogg, and the main goal of the game is to circumnavigate the globe, with Phileas Fogg, in less than 80 days. Players also have to manage time and resources (money and items) properly to keep progressing around the world at a steady pace.

During the game, players create their own route around the world, starting from London and visiting any of a 170 cities en route. Possible means of transportation can be airship, submarine, mechanical camel, steam-train and more. In each location, there are individual, personal stories to engage with, that draw on historical events and cultural details and players have to "converse" with in-game people (to learn more about different locations), read all textual information and then make their choices which might cause negative consequences or delays on the trip. The game also offers the option to show journeys of other players as they happen.

Overall, this game blends strategy, resource management and adventure and since it is fully non-linear and player choice-driven, no two playthroughs are the same.

The game is quite straightforward to play and gives lots of hints at various moments. However, players have to be fluent speakers of English, due to the game’s language level, thus the game could help non-native English speaking students to improve their linguistic skills. Playing a text-based game as 80 Days can be considered a form of reading. It can also encourage the player to explore and read more about a certain country/city/monument or cultural event or even read the Jules Verne’s novel itself.

Learning Object / Suggested activities with students
This game could be used as a fun bonus activity in a Geography class because it offers the opportunity to visit many cities all over the world, navigate and look them up on the game map and get to know some related cultural and historical information. Teachers could assign students with mini-projects asking them to find and present more info on specific societal, cultural or historical assets/events mentioned in the game.

It could also be used a fun bonus activity in English language class aiming to enhance language comprehension. Teachers could ask students to write down unknown words or phrases and look them up in a dictionary. In such a case, teachers could play the role of facilitator during the game.

The game could also be used as a fun bonus activity in a Literature class, soon after students have read the novel “Around the World in Eighty Days”. The game story itself, as it unfolds, is an interactive book that can be read and then students could be assigned to write an essay about (one of) their journey(s), describing their feelings during the journey, explaining their strategy, choices, what they think they did wrong, providing hints for better performance, etc. To this aim students should be advised in advance to keep notes during their journey.

Skills and competences acquired
The game enhances critical thinking, strategic thinking, resource management skills and enriches knowledge of English, reading and writing skills.