The Second Act of Western Civilization…
After the fall of the Roman Empire… the
age of the Ancients ceased to exist. The
Middle East fell into the hands of warring
Muslim tribes and violent, merciless hordes
from the Steppes of Central Asia
threatened what was left of Civilization in
the Old World.
Out of the ashes of Empire across Europe
rose a new central power; the power of the
Church & Pope, the leader of Western
Christianity. For years, successive popes
tried to stabilize and unite Europe under
their power. Their preferred method of
control was to enlist their favorites to
defeat their pagan enemies and gain new land. In exchange for military service, these favorites became Lords
over their conquered lands. They ruled and owned not just the lands but the peasants that came with the
lands and thereby gained their wealth, power and prestige.
These lords, being born of violence and greed, knew nothing else and spent hundreds of years sweeping
across the continent gathering more and more land unto themselves until Europe was a patchwork of small
kingdoms. The peasants farmed the land and did all of the labor necessary to keep the Lords living well. In
exchange, the Lords trained their male family members and strongest peasants to become fighters to protect
their kingdoms and the Knights of Europe came into being. From these kingdoms, over a thousand years, the
still vague beginnings of what we know as the modern states of Europe began to emerge… France, Germany,
Austria, England.
During those centuries the people continued to live the Feudal way of life and people were bound to the
masters they served; the peasants to the Lords and Knights, the Lords to their Kings and Kings to the Catholic
Church. It wasn’t until after the Crusades (1400-1500’s) and the opening of Europe to the world outside that
people began to challenge the Church. Without the pope to rule them, kings and queens became the sole
rulers of Europe. They constantly fought amongst themselves for the tiny continent. They invested in
technologies to out-compete their fellow rulers until Europe was bursting at the seams. The Europeans then
set sail to discover new continents and conquer what they could of the ancient lands of Asia.
The monarchs (kings and queens) of Europe became the rulers of the world with no one to challenge their
supremacy except each other. This “Great Game” between the monarchs, as it was called, lasted until the
dawn of the 20th century when the weapons invented outshone the cruelty of their masters and landed
everyone in the depths of not one, but two World Wars that took up half a century. When the dust cleared,
the bodies were buried and the buildings no longer stood, monarchies were toppled and weakened and a new
Civilization with the creed of “All men are created equal with the right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of
Happiness” took center stage.
This is the game of feudalism. The very beginning of the modern era we call our own. These long ago Lords
and warriors began a game for power, property and prestige that established the social stratification we just
saw in its modern form in the Victorian Age.
Feudalism: The Game
Objective: Be the strongest King in the land… before the end of the period 
Primary Players:
Pope – The most powerful man in Europe. The position of Pope is the direct representative of
God on earth since the passing of Jesus Christ. HE cannot be challenged as everything he says or
does is directly sanctioned by The Lord God Almighty. As the absolutely, most powerful, wealthy
and feared man (a person’s immortal soul is on the line if you try to cross him) on the continent the
pope seeks to further his control by taking back the fragments of what used to be The Holy Roman
Empire and uniting those pagan tribes under his hand. Before any player can do anything they
must first ask for your blessing and offer you 1 Land Token in exchange.
You may kiss the ring…
Level 1 Favorite – A wealthy landowning Christian loyal to the Pope. You are a strong leader
over the territories you now control, but soon the Pope will offer you the chance to rise up and
conquer your neighbors and become even more wealthy and powerful than you dared to dream.
With his Holy permission and payment of 1 Land token, you will be supported in your massacre and
conquest of the pagan enemies that surround you. Your only goal is to become more powerful with
every battle and to pass your winnings down through your family so your children’s children will
know how great of a man you were. Once you have conquered an enemy, all of his possessions
become yours and with 5 land tokens you become a Lord.
Pagan Enemy - You know trouble is on the horizon when you hear news the Christian leader
known as the Pope has begun flexing his muscles. You’ve heard that he is not only sending armies
your way but he is guaranteeing those armies possession of everything you own and even if they
should die in their attempts to defeat you, they are being given free passes to Heaven. How can you
stand against that?? If, when they come, and they will come, they take you, your best bet is to kneel
humbly before them, accept their faith, their Christianity, and volunteer to be their lowly servant or
else sacrifice your life. Once conquered you become a peasant
Level 2 Favorite - Lord – As a Lord you have more power, property and prestige than you
had when you were just a favorite. Now you have land and peasants. But, there are other Lords out
there; they will want what you have rightfully fought for. They will want to rule over you as King.
Your only hope is to defeat them before they defeat you. Win 12 land tokens and 3 Knights and you
become King. You earn Knights by trading in 2 Land tokens to make a Peasant a Knight. But don’t
trade too many because if you go below 5 Land tokens you lose your title. You also have women in
your household you can sell to form alliances with other Lords if you feel it will increase your
chances of success.
Secondary Players:
Women and Children – Unfortunately for you, this cruel and violent world is ruled by men.
You have no choice in any matter. Your opinion counts for nothing and it is generally accepted the
more you are beaten the better behaved you will be. Every lord appreciates a well-behaved family.
As sisters and daughters your only purpose in life is to be used by your father to gain political
leverage. Your father will use you to make alliances. He will marry you off whenever he decides, to
whoever he decides. Once your body has become a woman’s body you are valuable property to be
used like money. In your new home, your best behavior is demanded to insure that you were worth
the cost and that you do not jeopardize the alliance. Your main objective is to bear sons and woe to
the woman who fails in this regard. As a wife you play absolutely no public role, to be seen and not
heard. But many women learn that the wife of a King lives well as a Queen so do what little you can
to influence your husband to play well.
Peasants – Talk about an unlucky lot in life. You have the shortest life span, mostly because very
rarely does one of you make it past the disease and malnutrition of infancy and childhood. If you did
survive long enough to walk and lift, you immediately take on the role of laborer. And not just any
laborer, but a laborer owned by a Lord. You are merely the “farming tool” that comes with the
property. Your best hope in life is that a kind Lord takes possession of you and believes in feeding
and housing you. Some Lords don’t even think you’re worth that much, there are always more
peasants so why waste the resources. If you are an uncommonly hard worker and strong, you may
get lucky and be lifted from the sad squalor that is your life to become a Knight. As a knight you will
be in charge of a small piece of land and you will become the Weapon for your Lord as opposed to
the Laborer.
Rules of the Game:
Battles
- Favorites and Lords will challenge enemies to play ROCK PAPER SCISSORS best 2 out of 3
- Every time a Lord makes a challenge he must ask for permission from the Pope and give 1 Land
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Token in exchange for blessing. If a Lord does not have a Land Token it becomes debt to be
paid later
If the Favorite or Lord loses then he owes the winner 1 Land token and he must move on to
another enemy for another battle. If he doesn’t have any Land Tokens then he goes into debt
until it can be repaid after a future battle
If the Favorite or Lord wins then he takes possession of the losers properties
Knights
- A Favorite or Lord can increase their chances of winning by trading in 2 land tokens to make a
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peasant a knight.
Knights can take over for a Lord if he loses the first round of the battle. The Lord can use as
many Knights as he has in his possession until he either wins the battle or runs out of Knights
Alliances
- A lord can form an alliance by marrying his daughter or sister to another Lord.
- If an alliance is made then Lords can play together using their knights to challenge an enemy to
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battle. All of the players can compete until the battle is won or they run out of Knights.
Alliances can be broken if a player decides it’s in his best interest to drop the alliance and
conquer the former friend
~~ The Winner is declared when a King is crowned and undefeated ~~
End of Game Reflection
Assignment:
1.) Read the article about your role from the Middle Ages
2.) Write a diary entry about your experience as whatever you were for the game
3.) Include at least 3 facts about your life from the reading
4.) Include how it felt to be you in regards to your position in medieval society
(power, property, prestige)
Dear Diary,
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