What is The Unbroken Treaty?
The Unbroken Treaty is a multilingual language and history role-playing game. It is an interdisciplinary simulation at its best: players are immersed into a highly complex multicultural setting of the mid-19th century in Texas. Depending on their character, they can explore the time period as a fictitious or historical character "auf Deutsch" (in German), or "en español" (in Spanish) - and, hopefully, soon enough also "nʉmʉ nahniaka̱" (in Comanche). The resources we jointly develop in this project will be open source, and can be adapted to your educational setting in cooperation with our platform. All materials will be made available for members of the platform over this website.
About the game
In 1846, the interests of a band of Comanches and a German colonial project collided in the Texas Hill Country - and came to an unthinkable solution. We designed “The Unbroken Treaty” for students of language, history and culture who want to learn in a unique way about this complex chapter of Texan history. Players take on a historic role who speaks a language they are studying. They play by the rules of a local economy, while learning about Comanche culture, European migration, and interethnic conflict. In character, they deal with a series of events, and try to persuade others to follow their solution to the problems at hand.
We plan to offer game sessions across programs and universities. To create a mindful gaming environment, instructors should prepare and be involved (in character or as GMs). This website will offer the materials necessary for preparation and implementation.
About us
We are a team of three - and open for more: The original idea was designed by Adams LaBorde and David Huenlich in 2015. Devon Donohue-Bergeler implemented a version of the simulation in a course at UTSA, and joined us to improve the materials as a language teaching expert. Over the years, we have continuously reached out to experts on German and Comanche culture, Texan history, and game design (e. g. the RTTP consortium). Our long-term goal is to form a platform of pedagogues and students who expand their understanding of history while playing and improve The Unbroken Treaty in German, Comanche, Spanish and English. You are welcome to collaborate!
