Students will research the four historical immigrant groups that settled in North Dakota, including Native Americans, by exploring artifacts, stories, and visual media to understand their experiences and needs for the game design.

Students will synthesize their research into a collaborative problem statement that addresses the essential question of what it was like to settle North Dakota in the 1800s, resulting in each team defining their role and challenges specific to their immigrant group by creating a detailed model of their settlement experience.

Students will collaboratively brainstorm a variety of creative ideas for game mechanics and components that represent the diverse challenges and experiences of settling North Dakota, drawing inspiration from historical and cultural contexts, before selecting and developing the most promising concepts for prototype creation.

Students will collaborate in teams to construct their own physical prototype of the Settlers of ND game, incorporating historical elements and receiving daily feedback for iterative improvements.

Students will validate their game design by playing it with classmates, collect feedback, then present their refined game model, showcasing how it reflects the historical experiences of settlers in North Dakota to other teams.