On Monday, Sept. 9, Amador’s AP World classes gathered on the JV baseball field to participate in the annual Trade Game. The game simulates the Indian Ocean trade network, a topic that AP World students recently learned about.
“For the game, each class represents a different geographic region, and they have goods produced in that region. We’ve organized it so that some goods there will be more of, and some goods there will be less of,” said AP World teacher Delise Anderson.
The teams’ goal is to sell two distinct products. Striving to make their goods as appealing as possible, they try to attract other groups to trade with. Additionally, with their own lists of goods to buy, members must travel to different regions to find their needed goods.
“It was really fun. We got to spray paint rocks and make a bunch of milk units to sell,” said Rehan Farooqi (‘27).
In the center of the field, AP World teachers and upperclassmen volunteers served as the central hub for trading. Subsequently, the “merchants” in the team would go to the center, and try to obtain technology or risk-or-reward cards. While trading for needed items, the group also worked to sell all of their products.
“I really enjoyed interacting with my classmates and traveling around looking for items that me and my teammates needed. I think this is a really nice simulation since it was really interactive and free and I wish it lasted longer than just four periods,” said Andre Chan (‘27).
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To get through to each region, merchants have to go to the temple first and solve a question before entering.
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The game was composed of heavily decorated tents, all spread out across the JV baseball field.
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Groups decorated their booths with homemade art and posters. Many also dressed in appropriate outfits in order to make the simulation more lifelike.
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With the goal of accumulating wealth in mind, students had lots of fun simulating the Indian Ocean trade network. With different regions for each class period, the diverse cultures around the game also brought many people together.
“I think the purpose of this simulation was not only to allow us to understand the trade network better, but also to bring our different cultures together. Many regions dressed up and decorated their booths with many things, and I found it interesting and immersive to experience,” said Chan.
