Parents' Guide to

Law Craft

By Marc Lesser, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 12+

Legislative sim in the iCivics series lacks engagement.

Game Mac , Windows 2010
Law Craft Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

  • Law Craft Game: Screenshot #1
  • Law Craft Game: Screenshot #2
  • Law Craft Game: Screenshot #3

Community Reviews

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age 10+

Based on 1 parent review

C.Lopez
C.Lopez Adult
November 24, 2014
age 10+

Law Craft- real feel how and why a law happens.

I have used Law Craft with my 5th Grade class as part of our unit on Forming a New Government. The game play not only allows students to be in control and make many decision that are currently relevant, but it puts into practice many underlying issues that are part of law making. Values and how they motivate group decision making in Congress are well represented along with the way they sort into he 2 current major parties. The game play offers hands on experience that is rare in history and government learning. I do recommend talking about the process of a law before hand and a follow up discussion afterwards to give depth to their learn experience.
See all 1 parent review

What’s It About?

LAW CRAFT attempts an experiential journey through the legislative process in the United States. Players choose a House of Congress, a political party they'll represent, and a \"personal value\" (such as \"liberty”) that guides their actions (and determines voters' support of a given bill). Players become a representative who fields letters from constituents requesting help to end war, fight homelessness, save the environment, or invest to research deadly disease, for example. Representatives then craft a bill, garnering the support of both citizens and peers to get the majority vote needed to move it forward. The objective is to get bills passed, ideally without having to override the president's veto.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (1 ):
Kids say: Not yet rated

Contrary to its purpose, Law Craft is about as dull as people think the legislative process really is. For iCivics -- producer of other quality, free sims such as Argument Wars -- it's a weak link. If the purpose of the game is to breathe life into the nuance and complexity of lawmaking, a ripe context for building a strategy game, then its major flaw is in under-designing the mechanics. Compared with dynamic, information-rich game grids and dashboards with which players have lots of consequential choices, such as in other serious sims like Stop Disasters, this one feels more like a dressed-up matching game or quiz, where the only real riddle is solved by checking and unchecking boxes until a bill has enough support to pass. As it is, the game illustrates that most bills are a popularity contest (not in a good way) and that lawmakers can skip the care and attention necessary for creating powerful legislation and move right on to pandering to constituents and colleagues.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Parents and children should take some time to review an actual bill that's of interest. How does the real thing differ from what they see in the game?

  • Talk about the real importance of politics and not just politics-as-usual. How might organized parties of citizens be good for our ability to govern?

  • Play another sim, like Civilization Revolution, as a fun way to learn together about how other nations have governed historically.

Game Details

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