The Sumerian Game

Between 1962 and 1965, some classes of students in New York were involved in an innovative research project. The goal was to create a new teaching method without teachers, using powerful computers, automatic systems such as slide projectors, and the playback of recorded audio lessons.

At the conclusion of the lesson, a 300-baud modem connected a powerful mainframe, costing tens of millions of dollars at the time, to a teletype under the students' control. The teletype printed long texts on continuous paper rolls, forcing the students to make difficult decisions on how to manage scarce resources to feed the population and plant crops for the next season.

It was the Sumerian Game, the ancestor of all strategy, management, and city simulation games.



The Sumerian Game, which was lost for 60 years, has been rebuilt and is now playable. Manage your grain, store it to withstand harsh seasons and natural disasters, grow your population, and expand your settlements. Find the best balance between people and food, or between arable land and cultivated fields.

You have ten years to expand your city and save it from extinction. If the population drops to zero, the lesson is over.

Call the teacher.