Black Death Simulation

In this game, students play as members of a family living in a 14th-century Italian town that will suffer an outbreak of the bubonic plague. It is designed for groups of three to four students. It is a little complex, and therefore is best for more mature students or for those who have some experience with games in the classroom.

Instructional Videos

Find videos on how to play the game, including a video you can play during class to walk you and students through it, and an example of actual play. 

• How To Play
• Classroom Video
• Classroom Video without Questions
• Rolling to help Mordechai and Divine Favor Cards
• Starvation Cards
• Surviving the First Round of Plague and Ghost Cards
• Do other family members catch the plague?
• Surviving the Second Round of Plague
• Actual Play
• All Videos

Game Files

Find all the files needed to play the game here.

*Please note that Dr. Franklin Rausch holds the copyright to these files and while they can be shared (only with attribution), they cannot be used for commercial purposes (Creative Commons Attribution BY-NC).

Testimonial

Several students and Dr. Rausch published an article about the Black Death Simulation, which can be found at Can You Survive the Black Death?: Simulating Pandemic Disease and Its Impact in a College Classroom Game