1. Select an Appropriate Computer Simulation

An instructor can run a governance simulation using any number of video-game titles. As long as a program is somewhat realistic, it permits the user to play the role of a community leader, and it involves making reasoned choices to promote the city’s well-being, the game provides the basis for a shared-governance exercise. For the past 11 years, I have run my governance simulations using SimCity 4. ^{Footnote 1} The game design is straightforward in that students understand how the game works after a relatively brief introduction. Nevertheless, the designers carefully created a simulation in which players can delve into the details of a municipal problem and, if they so choose, find creative solutions. Because SimCity 4 was designed to allow players to address a city’s problems in more than one way, it gives students an excellent opportunity to think through policy alternatives and debate the most efficient way to improve the quality of life for the simulated citizenry.

When instructors select a game as the basis for their governance exercise, they will need to play it to learn how it works. I have learned through experience that students often ask basic questions about the mechanics of the game. An instructor need not be a SimCity expert to run the governance simulation in class. Part of the appeal of the exercise is challenging students to visualize policy-oriented solutions to practical problems. This often involves a combination of collective brainstorming and a process of experimentation through trial and error. It is inevitable that students will make mistakes; this impresses on them why governance is so difficult.

It also is helpful to streamline the simulation by giving students a basic “starter city” rather than asking them to begin with a blank slate. Because my starter cities are simple and poorly managed, students can see problems immediately and take quick action to institute policy reforms.

2. Create Simple Rules for Collective Governance

Those who have played games like SimCity know that these programs are extremely sophisticated. In light of the complexity inherent in a good simulation, it is important for the rules of collective governance to be relatively simple. That is, it is difficult to succeed at SimCity when playing the game alone; doing so while negotiating with dozens of other students is an especially daunting task. Accordingly, the rules of governance must be straightforward so that students can quickly turn their attention to improving the city rather than learning about a Byzantine constitution. My simulated constitution is very simple, as follows:

• • One student is designated mayor of the city.

• • All other students play members of the city council.

• • To perform any action, students must secure a majority vote of the class and the mayor’s signature.

• • If the mayor will not consent to a bill, the class can override the veto with a two-thirds vote. ^{Footnote 2}

Except for the unicameral legislature, the rules roughly approximate the political design of the US Constitution. ^{Footnote 3}

A key to running a successful governance simulation is to give students a sense of purpose. Games such as SimCity are so open-ended that students can become confused easily, uncertain as to which of a dozen objectives they want to pursue. To help them focus on a few key issues, students are given a scorecard that lists a relatively small number of objectives that they are responsible for pursuing throughout the simulation. To “win” the game, students score points if they succeed in meeting one or more of their assigned goals. These objectives include, for example, boosting air quality, improving education, reducing crime, and lowering residential taxes.

3. Simulate Partisanship by Assigning Students Conflicting Objectives

One of the more popular and potentially educational aspects of the live SimCity simulation is that students have an opportunity to play the game as a Republican or a Democrat. By selecting a scorecard that closely aligns with their partisan affiliation, students decide if they want to score points primarily by lobbying to improve social services or by lowering taxes (tables 1a and 1b are examples). Students who select a scorecard designated as a “Strong Democrat” can score most of their points by meeting the city’s demand for clean air, reduced crime, improved education, or longer life expectancy. Students who select a scorecard designated as a “Strong Republican” can earn most of their points by lowering residential, commercial, or industrial taxes. Those with scorecards designated as “Centrist Republican” and “Centrist Democrat” earn an equal number of points by attending to both taxes and social services. The scorecards, which I generate in Microsoft Excel, are randomized in that no two students will earn points in exactly the same way (scorecards are available at http://sites.psu.edu/simcity). Because all students who opt to play as a Democrat earn most of their points by enhancing social services, the mix of social issues that each Democrat favors will vary randomly among players. Although all students who opt to play as a “Radical Democrat” are indifferent to higher tax rates, each will earn points by addressing a different mix of social services (e.g., clean air, improved life expectancy, lower crime, and improved education). The randomized objectives, even among students with the same partisan affiliation, create political infighting, particularly for students in the majority party.

Allowing students to play as a Republican or a Democrat is useful for various reasons. First, students genuinely enjoy playing a role in a simulation that corresponds to their personal political beliefs because the debates, which correspond to their personal views, seem less abstract. Second, players quickly divide into teams and vote as a block to pursue their shared goals. This dynamic adds an important element of realism to the legislative process. Third, because most students earn points primarily through enhancing social services or lowering taxes, the partisan factions are prompted to negotiate complex compromises, thereby reconciling potentially conflicting objectives. For example, partisans on both sides often realize that by enlarging the city and leveraging economies of scale, legislators can enhance social services without raising taxes. If the game is played correctly, both Republicans and Democrats can earn points and improve the well-being of the city.

Some municipal simulations such as SimCity 4 allow players to “pass” legislation simply by clicking a menu option. Enacting legislation typically provides a modest improvement in one of the city’s social demands. For example, the “free clinic program” improves overall life expectancy. However, almost all legislation places additional burdens on the city budget. In addition to keeping taxes low and providing the city with basic social services, scorecards allow students to earn points by “passing laws” favored by their constituents. Conversely, students lose points if legislation that is opposed by their constituents is enacted.

To generate realistic legislative coalitions, I learned to create scorecards in which Republicans favored some laws and Democrats favored others (see tables 2a and 2b). Because the GOP typically favors the same set of laws, Republican students have an incentive to work with their teammates to craft a legislative agenda.

Table 2a

Giving Partisans Similar Legislative Interests

It is important to maintain political balance in the simulation lest the minority party becomes isolated while the majority caucus writes and passes legislation at will. So that all students remain actively involved in the simulation, I always select a student from the minority caucus to play the mayor, thereby creating a divided government. When they realize that the leader of the minority party can veto bills passed by the majority, students enter into serious negotiations between the opposing factions. Creating a divided government not only makes the simulation more interesting, it also provides useful insight into the difficulty of governing when the two political branches fundamentally disagree about government priorities.

4. Create Modest Incentives for “Winning” the Game

I have learned through experience that offering students a small amount of extra credit motivates participants to take the simulation seriously. The extra credit, which typically is 1% to 2% of their final course grade, is calculated based on the number of objectives each student meets by the end of the game. Giving students a small, almost symbolic stake in the outcome of the simulation compels most students to become actively involved in the discussion about municipal policy. This token extra credit creates an urgency to the deliberations that makes the simulation far more realistic. Providing the opportunity to earn extra credit does not guarantee that any of the students will succeed in meeting the objectives listed on their scorecard. After running the simulation more than a dozen times, I have observed that slightly more than half of my classes are unable to amicably solve the municipality’s problems without driving the city into financial ruin. Because I deduct points from all of the participants if the simulated city is plagued by debt, there are many occasions in which none of the participants earn extra credit. Nonetheless, the prospect of earning a small amount of extra credit seems to enhance the experience whether or not the students are, in the end, successful in meeting their goal.

5. Help Students Make Connections between the Simulation and the Real World

To transform a giant game of SimCity into a genuine learning experience, it is important to encourage students to reflect on how the game mirrors governance in real life. I have found that although many undergraduates immediately understand the purpose of the exercise, some get lost in the game. They become so focused on driving up their score that they lose sight of the big picture. To reinforce the lessons of the governance simulation, I sometimes require students to write brief papers about the simulation, reflecting on how the exercise was both similar to and different from politics in the real world. ^{Footnote 4} Moreover, if I run the simulation early in the semester, I can refer back to the game when discussing real-world examples of politics later in the course. For example, students quickly learn to “play hardball” when negotiating with the opposition over legislation. Often, the student playing the mayor will threaten to veto objectively sound proposals to force additional concessions from political opponents. These all-too-common standoffs provide instructors with an excellent opportunity to discuss both congressional budget negotiations and the perils inherent in divided government. Although every simulation is different, students inevitably will grapple with problems that are strikingly similar to those confronted by elected officials in the real world. By referring back to the game later in the semester, instructors can make abstract concepts such as pork, log rolling, budget deficits, cost-benefit analysis, and even the Laffer Curve seem real to students.