Step Into History: New Online Game Lets Players Uncover the Roots of American Democracy

Plymouth, Massachusetts (November 4, 2025) – Plimoth Patuxet Museums, in collaboration with FableVision Studios, has launched You Are The Historian: Investigating the Mayflower Compact —a new, interactive online experience that invites players of all ages to step into the role of a historian. Through immersive storytelling and problem-solving challenges, participants will uncover how the 1620 Mayflower Compact laid the foundation for democratic principles that would shape America. The free game is now available at plimoth.org/yath.

Building on the success of You Are The Historian: Investigating the First Thanksgiving, this newest installment in Plimoth Patuxet’s interactive series continues the Museums’ commitment to making 17th-century American history engaging and accessible for learners everywhere. Developed in collaboration with FableVision Studios, You Are The Historian: Investing the Mayflower Compact invites middle school students to explore how a brief agreement drafted aboard the Mayflower in 1620 established self-government and democratic ideals in America—more than a century before the American Revolution.

Through an imaginative time-travel narrative, students and players assume the role of an employee at a futuristic travel agency, tasked with repairing a disrupted historical tour of the Mayflower’s voyage. As they investigate the Compact’s creation and its signers, students complete six interactive mini-games that reveal the “Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How” of this pivotal document. Blending historical accuracy with creative storytelling, the game encourages players to think critically about how cooperation, compromise, and civic responsibility have shaped both early colonial society and modern democracy.

Experienced designers from FableVision Studios worked closely with Plimoth Patuxet educators and historians to develop the game’s design, narrative, and learning objectives. Together, they created an experience that integrates research-based history education with interactive storytelling and playful learning. The result is an accessible, curriculum-aligned tool that empowers students and teachers to explore one of America’s earliest examples of cooperative governance in a dynamic, digital format.

“At Plimoth Patuxet, we’re always looking for new ways to connect learners to the people, ideas, and experiences that shaped early America,” said Tom Begley, Executive Director, Plimoth Patuxet Museums. “You Are The Historian: Investigating the Mayflower Compact brings an important document to life in ways that are interactive, relatable, and fun—showing students and players that history isn’t just something to read about, it is also something to explore, question, and apply to everyday life.”

“We’re proud to collaborate with Plimoth Patuxet again to create another innovative learning experience,” added Sarah Ditkoff, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, FableVision Studios. “By blending storytelling, art, and game-based learning, we’re helping students discover how the Mayflower Compact’s themes of compromise, cooperation, and governance continue to resonate in our democracy today.”

You Are the Historian: Investing the Mayflower Compact is available now at plimoth.org/yath, offering free access for teachers, students, and lifelong learners everywhere. The interactive game may be used independently or as part of a classroom curriculum to inspire meaningful engagement with early American history and the enduring ideas that shaped American democracy.