No Turning Back

WNET

About this game

The year is 1960. You are 16-year-old Verna Baker, a fictional African American teen born and raised in the Mississippi Delta. As you move to the city of Greenwood to start high school, a movement for civil rights is gaining momentum. How will you take part in the struggle for freedom and equality? As Verna, you will navigate your new community, make personal connections, and learn how Black community members experienced and responded to the challenges of life under segregation in the Jim Crow. Eventually, you will have the opportunity to join other young people organizing for voting rights and learn firsthand about the important role young people played in bringing about change during the 1960s civil rights movement.

Winner of a Gold Medal from the International Serious Play Awards, “No Turning Back” is part of the acclaimed MISSION US interactive series that immerses young people in the drama of American history. Used by more than four million students to date, multiple research studies show that using Mission US improves historical knowledge and skills, leads to deeper student engagement, and promotes richer classroom discussion.

GAME FEATURES:
• Innovative choice-driven story with over 12 possible endings and badge system
• Includes interactive prologue, 3 playable parts, and epilogue - approx. 2 hours of gameplay, segmented for flexible implementation
• Diverse cast of characters features a range of perspectives on the 1960s civil rights movement
• Canvassing minigames highlight the role that young people played in organizing for change
• Primary source documents, historic photographs, and period music are integrated into game design
• Collection of free classroom support resources available at mission-us.org includes document-based questions, classroom activities, vocabulary builders, standards alignments, writing/discussion prompts, blogs, video commentaries, and more.

ABOUT MISSION US:
• AWARDS include: Games for Change Award for Most Significant Impact, multiple Japan Prize, Parents’ Choice Gold, Common Sense Media ON for Learning, and International Serious Play awards, and Webby and Emmy nominations.
• CRITICAL ACCLAIM: USA Today: “a powerful game that all kids should experience”; Educational Freeware: “one of the most captivating educational games online”; Kotaku: “a slice of livable history that every American should play”; 5 out of 5 stars from Common Sense Media
• GROWING FAN BASE: 4 million registered users across the US and around the world to date, including 130,000 teachers.
• PROVEN IMPACT: Major study by Education Development Center (EDC) found students who used MISSION US significantly outperformed those who studied the same topics using typical materials (textbook and lecture) – showing a 14.9% knowledge gain versus less than 1% for the other group.
• TRUSTED TEAM: Produced by The WNET Group (NY’s flagship PBS station) in partnership with educational game development company Electric Funstuff and the American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, City University of New York