In the mid-1960s, Mabel Addis, a hardworking elementary school teacher from a quaint New York village, embarked on an innovative partnership with IBM that laid the foundation for its historic role in the video game industry.
His creation, known as the Sumerian Game, emerged as one of the first educational video games, ingeniously weaving economic principles into gameplay. This pioneering game put students in the role of a ruler of the ancient Mesopotamian city-state of Lagash, circa 3500 B.C. The game’s progressive levels guided players through agricultural development, economic expansion, and diplomacy between city-states, all under the watchful guidance of Urbaba, the game’s character.
This initiative not only marked Addis as the first woman to design a video game, but also set a new benchmark for educational and narrative-rich gaming experiences. Her innovative approach to teaching complex subjects through interactive storytelling laid the foundation for the future of educational gaming.
