Aristotle's Governments: A game about different systems of government

In this game, students play the role of the 6 different types of government that Aristotle describes in "Politics": monarchy, tyranny, aristocracy, oligarchy, polity and democracy. Students will make binding decisions as rulers or live with the consequences as peasants! The class can then compare the speed, quality and equity of the types of decisions made by these different types.

Enough for a quick and easy game with minimal supplies needed, this lesson contains a few alternate versions for either repeated games or to accommodate different types of classes. The "regime change" version allows peasants to overthrow oppressive governments, while the "non-simultaneous" version allows the entire class to experience all the government types.

If you're interested in more fun games that show students how political processes work, check out the following:

- Tragedy of the commons: Why does individual self-interest clash with what's best for the community?
- The benefits of interest groups: Why do interest groups form and stay active?
- The platform game: Why do centrist parties typically win elections in America?
- Down with the machine: Why did political machines keep power for so long?

I've also designed a few games for first day activities, leadership training or to be used as critical thinking exercises:

- Stranded: Can you select the right items and take the best actions to survive on a hostile tropical island?
- Building Communication: A specialized team uses the popular brand of interlocking building bricks to create the tallest, most creative or fastest structure.
- Toxic Waste: Can your team imagine a way to transport a "deadly" substance before the other teams?

I've got all this at my store: Gov Games and Lesson Plans

***Attached files are all pdfs***