Using AI to Create Games: The Russian Revolution-Decision Point Simulation

The Experiment

As anyone familiar with the Russian Revolution knows, it is ridiculously complex. Yet, it is one of the most consequential events of the 20th century. I wanted to find a way to immerse my students in the tension of 1917. I used Claude to help me develop an activity to replace my traditional lecture.

This is the prompt: “For my World History class (with 12 to 22 students per section, diverse majors, mostly freshmen) in a small classroom, I am looking to ditch my lecture on the Russian Revolution in favor of a more engaging activity. Suggestions?”

Claude’s suggestions tend to revolve around structured debates, textual analysis, and other print-based activities. It immediately suggested a structured debate or “Parliament,” a Decision-Point Simulation, a Newspaper Front Page assignment, a Trial of the Revolution, and a Jigsaw with Primary sources.

The Decision Point Simulation immediately appealed. We all try to teach our students about the role of contingency—the idea that nothing in history is predetermined, and that minor changes might radically alter the course of history.

What Happened

I had each cadet work with a partner. In two of my classes, I had one group of three. The rules were simple: decisions could be made only with information available at the time, and they would have 5 minutes to read the prompt and vote on a response. I posted one question I wanted them to keep in mind throughout the activity: “Was the Bolshevik Revolution inevitable, or was it won and lost at specific moments?”

Claude helped me create the four decision points, which contained the date, person, and a brief description of the event, with a question:

1. February 1917. Commander of the Petrograd military garrison. Do you order your soldiers to fire on the crowds?

   • Yes: A lawful order is a lawful order, and discipline depends on compliance.
   • No: An order your troops won’t follow is worse than no order at all.

2. March 1917. Leader of the new Provisional Government. Do you keep Russia in World War I, or seek a separate peace with Germany?

   • Stay In: Honor Allied commitments; show the new government can be trusted.
   • Negotiate Peace: End the suffering; consolidate the revolution at home first.

3. July 1917. Alexander Kerensky, head of the Provisional Government. The July Days just collapsed. Do you arrest the Bolshevik leadership and ban the party?

   • Yes: Eliminate them while you have the chance; the evidence justifies it.
   • No: Show restraint and trust the democratic process; repression could backfire.

4. October 1917. Lenin addressing the Bolshevik Central Committee. Do you proceed with the armed uprising, or wait for broader support?

   • Act Now: The window is open; delay will close it.
   • Wait: Build a broader base first; a failed coup will destroy the movement.

I was genuinely surprised when the majority of my students responded “No” to the first question. Teaching at a military college, I expected the answer to be an uncompromising “follow orders” type of response. I asked each group to justify their response, and nearly unanimously, they started parsing the order in which Nicholas II ordered the commander to “suppress from tomorrow all disorders on the streets of the capital.” My students stated it was not necessary to shoot protestors to suppress disorder.

The one question where students had difficulty not applying hindsight was Decision Point #3, where they nearly unanimously voted to arrest the Bolshevik leaders and suppress the party. This led to a great discussion about the necessity of allowing odious ideas in a democratic society and the relationship between civil liberties and national security. This brought the dilemmas of the 1917 revolution into 2026.

The Limits

• I have small classes this semester. This would be difficult to scale up to a larger classroom.
• I needed to do a better job of defining what I meant by hindsight.

Where I’m Taking This Next

• This type of simulation could be used for any number of complicated events, so I plan to use a similar methodology in future lectures.
• I might adjust the decision points to provide slightly more balance to the different factions of the Russian Revolution.