FAQs

It was decided that a boxed or pre-packaged game might also stifle the creativity and ability of teachers to develop games themselves, going through the many design steps involved in designing the learning. We ask that site wishing to host John to facilitate the Game, use his specifications to build their own Gameboard structure prior to the Game event.

While the book, World Peace and Other 4th Grade Achievements, published with Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt is now available, John has also written an additional practical manual that is constantly evolving as facilitators and students participate in World Peace Games around the world.

The game is actually far more complex than glimpsed in the TED Talk or in the documentary film. Here’s what the game requires to be facilitated, played, and maintained:

Students who play:

• possess a certain “intellectual stamina” and can wrestle over an extended period of time with tough problems that are without quick or easy resolution
• can interact constructively with others different from themselves (diversity as much as possible)
• can forestall closure and handle the certain frustrations of endless challenges and conflicts as they collaborate to achieve peace
• having said that please don’t be put off, students often rise to the challenge and demonstrate capacities we have never seen before

Teacher / Facilitators who wish to use the game:

• know their particular group of students very well, as the game is entirely based upon relationships
• must be able to foster and watch without interfering, opportunities for initial failures of the students, though they ultimately achieve success
• be able to not know or understand just what the students are doing for a time, but have an intuitive understanding of their intent and discern how best to facilitate that intent
• be able to create appropriate new parameters / rules / procedures as needed to deepen learning suddenly
• be able to cede control of the classroom direction to the students while maintaining teacher-student collaboration, or in other words, to lead without leading

In short, charisma, compassion, connectivity, creativity, patience, and awareness are all necessary in great measure. It has taken me over thirty five years to develop enough skill to facilitate the game. Even now I am quite often in situations where failure is normal and routine, and I am completely in the dark about what to do next. This is normal for me now, but not everyone is interested in adopting the above prerequisites in their teaching or classroom style.

Ideally, to learn how to play the game best is to observe a number of game sessions first. This is where the Foundation Master Class participation comes into play. The World Peace Game is completely different every time. It is immensely complex (deliberately so) with well-over 50 interlocking, local and global problems, and new ones popping up every round of play! The current board takes about 5–6 hours to set up, and normally 3 hours are allotted to simply explain to new students how the game works. The dossier / manuals given are about 20–30 pages long. A secure, undisturbed room space is necessary for the duration of the game which may take 6–12 weeks (in regular school settings) to play depending on many factors involved in that particular game. Master Class/World Peace Games conducted by John are 5-day intensives.

The game’s duration is also not that predictable. A flexible schedule is necessary. The game was designed to optimally accommodate 25–35 players. The structure itself claims almost a quarter of a typical classroom’s space, which may pose a challenge to give over that much space and time to one (albeit, multidisciplinary) project. Any amount of time less would not be sufficient. An extensive, long-term commitment is needed to implement this game successfully. There are nor will there be a shortened or simpler version of the game because the learning outcomes would not be the same.

The easiest way to watch the film is to rent it on Vimeo. Click here.

The best way to see the film is to schedule a screening in your area. The honorarium we ask to show the film is very reasonable ($250 for audiences under 50 people; $500 for audiences over 50 people). The screening honorarium covers one showing of the film.

Purchase a DVD For home/private use, for public library/non-profit use, or for university/educational use.

Download the film for purchase or rental on Vimeo.

Contact Rosalia Films to arrange a screening of World Peace and Other Fourth- Grade Achievements in your community.

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All World Peace Games follow the health and safety protocols of the schools or organisations that host them.