RoundRoute is a geography adventure game designed for middle school students. Step into the role of a colonial-era trader, traveling between towns, buying and selling goods while building a real understanding of the colonies and the world beyond.
The game grew from a simple observation: in 2006, Americans' geographic knowledge was lacking. Two-thirds of young American adults couldn't find Iraq on a map, and after Hurricane Katrina, a third of Americans couldn't locate Louisiana. RoundRoute was built to close that gap — not with flashcards, but with experience.
Inspired by the way Pokémon makes hundreds of creatures memorable, RoundRoute applies the same principle to geography. Every town you visit, every route you take, and every good you trade teaches you where places are and why they matter. It's situated learning: you don't just study geography, you live it.
Aligned with National Geographic Standards for Geography and Michigan's integrated Geography and History content standards, RoundRoute is built for the 7th and 8th grade curriculum. It bridges traditional classroom delivery with hands-on experience — because people learn more successfully by doing.
Round Route is available here because I happened across the old .swf file on a backup hard drive. AI then allowed for the translation and hosting of a file that I had considered unreadable for almost 15 years. It’s a bit of a broken mess. This version isn’t even as complete as the student project that was submitted in 2009. But it’s neat that I still had it, and even more neat that I could get it running. Enjoy!