WILLIAMSBURG — The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation recently announced it had partnered with iCivics to release a new online game.
The game — Investigation Declaration — shows middle- and high-school students how the Declaration of Independence captured the ideas of the Enlightenment and inspired movements toward freedom and democracy across the Atlantic world during the 18th and 19th centuries, the foundation said.
The game takes place in an alternate time and space where an international crime conglomerate has hacked the fictional Bureau of Ideas, corrupting every file related to freedom, democracy and individual rights, according to the foundation. Players take the role of “Agent 6” as they pursue the origins of these files and discover how ideas spread throughout the Atlantic world in the 100 years following the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
As students restore the corrupted files, they discover how the ideas of natural rights, state sovereignty, and the social contract spread from Colonial Williamsburg, Paris, and Philadelphia to Haiti, Liberia and beyond to inspire a wave of declarations of freedom and rights, CWF said.
The game was a collaboration by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and iCivics, and takes notes from classic games such as Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? and includes puzzle and strategy elements of more modern games like Case of the Golden Idol and Return of the Obra Dinn, according to the foundation.
The game’s complexity aims to help students discover how the ideas that influenced and shaped the Declaration of Independence went on to shape global history, it added. This approach to educational game-making earned Investigation Declaration the 2025 GEE! Award in the Formal Games category.
Investigation Declaration, which is being released in the lead-up to the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, merges the game-building expertise of iCivics and the research and education expertise of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, it said. Inspired by historian David Armitage’s 2007 book, “The Declaration of Independence: A Global History,” the team looked at the U.S. Declaration as an event, a document and a genre to be adopted and adapted by people in the years after 1776.
“Colonial Williamsburg is always looking for new ways to bring our unique brand of history education to as many students as possible,” said The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s Senior Vice President of Education, Mia Nagawiecki. “Thanks to our partnership with iCivics, we have extended our reach beyond our physical location and even our significant web presence to reach kids where they are and through a medium that excites them.”
CWF said Investigation Declaration represents an evolution in style for iCivics games, which has led the education gaming industry since its founding in 2009. To meet a new generation of gamers, it uses learn-as-you-play strategies employed by some of the world’s most popular games, such as Fortnite and Roblox, and challenges players to discover game elements as they explore the in-game world, which allows for a multitude of player-based paths through the experience.
“Investigation Declaration moves beyond the norms of classic iCivics gameplay to meet the moment in both gaming and civics instruction,” iCivics CEO Louise Dubé said. “The goal of iCivics has always been to meet young people where they are to teach them the complicated ideas behind our constitutional democracy. If we’re going to carry out that critical mission, we must continue to evolve.”
Teachers who use Investigation Declaration can track their efforts and enter the Civic Star Challenge to win prizes for their students and schools.
The game, which is available for free at icivics.org/games/investigation-declaration, is offered in English and Spanish and includes robust educator support materials designed to inspire deeper learning, engagement, and conversation in classrooms.
