Get Ready for Argumentation: A game about how history works

Argumentation (ahr-gyuh-men-teyshun) Noun. A gathering of historians, so named because of the contentious nature of their debates. 

How does history work? This question has fascinated thinkers since the earliest days of civilization, and exerts a powerful unseen influence on our politics, spirituality, and self-image. Concepts about the nature, purpose, and direction of history shape seemingly random collections of names, dates, and events into tools that help us to understand the world around us; and sometimes even to destroy it.

Argumentation is a tool in the form of a storytelling card game that allows players to examine various theories of history. It is GM-less, for three to six players, requires no preparation, and take two to four hours. Players take on the role of underpaid instructors at a poorly funded liberal arts college, drinking burnt coffee in the faculty lounge and arguing about the nature of history between classes. They pose a series of great historical questions to one another, some counterfactual, others more abstract, which are answered using a selection of framing cards representing theories about the nature and function of the historical process. These include historical materialism, classical realism, dialectic idealism, Whig historiography, great man theory, paradigm shift, the fourth turning, negative conquest theory, and many others. Game play functions on a mixture of original rules, apples-to-apples mechanics, and inspiration drawn from Alex Roberts’ For The Queen.

As part of the open and collaborative nature of this project, the author (me) has left eight cards unfilled at launch with the intention of allowing you the backers to submit suggestions for framing and question cards. If their suggestion is used, you will receive credit on the card. Additionally, the current rough version of the game will be made available electronically for free so that you can download it, critique it, and offer constructive comments (suggestions from professional historians will be particularly appreciated). All input offered in good faith will be received in good faith.