The Sumerian Game

The Sumerian Game is an early computer game played by teletype and video projector. While mostly forgotten by history it did inspire the game Hamurabi which became hugely popular in the late 60s and early 70s. The game is designed for fourth grade students.

In the game the player rules as three successive rulers of the Sumerian city-state of Lagash. During the reign of each ruler the player must make decisions, mostly of an economic nature to sustain the population. Visuals such as graphs and charts help the players understand the economic concepts. The video projector would show slide shows which were combined with tape audio. The tape audio would contain simulated discussion of the king's cabinet and news bulletins, which served as intermezzos to the economic reports which were all in printed format. All player actions were typed in on the teletype. A court adviser gives advice on actions and makes sure actions are executed.

The script of the game was revised multiple times until funding ran out in 1967.