News – SimUnar

April Release—Auto King!

SimUnar Guide Team — Thu, 06 Apr 2023 23:37:34 +0000

Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Today, Dr. Newell and the SimUnar Design Team announced the release of Auto King! It is the latest learning game in the Pyramid Genre game series. The game starts with a junior library assistant walking through a recently uncovered pyramid to help an archaeologist. While walking through the pyramid, the animated assistant tripped and released a trap. Now, gamers are trapped, with the assistant, in a tunnel outside of the ancient king’s chamber. They must reopen the chamber within 15 minutes. This is a dangerous quest! There are ancient books and an ancient scale within the tunnel. Using the items correctly will reopen the chamber. Using the items incorrectly will release another trap and lead to disaster!

Auto King is a single-player, arcade-style game. However, gamers work with an animated learning partner (Kress) during game-play. Learning partners guide learning and provide tips. Game-play is situated in a simulated underground pyramid. The game is recommended for intermediate learners (grades 3-4) that are actively building an understanding of biography and autobiography book characteristics. The game is designed to play on any internet-connected Chromebook, PC, Mac or tablet. Auto King is now ready for play on Library Arcade (libraryarcade.com)!

March Release—Mystery King!

SimUnar Guide Team — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 15:56:47 +0000

Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Today, Dr. Newell and the SimUnar Design Team announced the release of Mystery King! It is the latest learning game in the Pyramid Genre game series. The game starts with an archaeologist celebrating with her team! She just discovered a new chamber! Now, the archaeologist needs to collect the ancient books, within the chamber, to better understand the ancient culture. The librarian already sent one junior assistant to help gather the ancient books in the chamber. Gamers must join the animated assistant (i.e., Ronda). Then, they have 15 minutes to open the tomb and retrieve the books. Be careful! This is a dangerous quest! The ancient king placed a trap in the chamber. Gamers can only remove the mystery books. Removing other genres will release a trap!

Mystery King is a single-player, arcade-style game. However, gamers work with an animated learning partner (Ronda) during game-play. Learning partners guide learning and provide tips. Game-play is situated in a simulated underground pyramid. The game is recommended for intermediate learners (grades 3-4) that are actively building an understanding of mystery book characteristics. The game is designed to play on any internet-connected Chromebook, PC, Mac or tablet. Mystery King is now ready for play on Library Arcade (libraryarcade.com)!

March Release—Fantasy King!

SimUnar Guide Team — Wed, 22 Mar 2023 14:48:17 +0000

Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Today, Dr. Newell and the SimUnar Design Team announced the release of Fantasy King! It is the latest learning game in the Pyramid Genre game series. The game starts with a junior library assistant crawling through underground tunnels to help an archaeologist in big trouble! The archaeologist discovered another chamber within a recently uncovered pyramid. The archaeologist needs to collect the ancient books within the chamber. The librarian already sent one junior assistant to help gather the ancient books. Gamers must join the animated assistant (i.e., Chris). Then, they have 15 minutes to open the tomb and retrieve the books. Be careful! This is a dangerous quest! The ancient king placed a trap in the chamber. Gamers can only remove the fantasy books. Removing other genres will release a trap!

Fantasy King is a single-player, arcade-style game. However, gamers work with an animated learning partner (Chris) during game-play. Learning partners guide learning and provide tips. Game-play is situated in a simulated underground pyramid. The game is recommended for intermediate learners (grades 3-4) that are actively building an understanding of fantasy book characteristics. The game is designed to play on any internet-connected Chromebook, PC, Mac or tablet. Fantasy King is now ready for play on Library Arcade (libraryarcade.com)!

March Release—Humor Box!

SimUnar Guide Team — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 16:20:57 +0000

Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Today, Dr. Newell and the SimUnar Design Team announced the release of Humor Box! It is the latest learning game in the Late Delivery game series. The game starts with a junior library assistant rushing to the library receiving bay. Due to a late library delivery, the junior forensics team does not have enough humor books for the Big Funny Speech Contest! Gamers must join the animated library assistant (i.e., Taylor) in the receiving area. Then, they must search the late delivery to find 7 humor books. Gamers must hurry! The competition starts in 15 minutes, and the coach is rushing to the library!

Humor Box is a single-player, arcade-style game. However, gamers work with an animated learning partner (Taylor) during game-play. Learning partners guide learning and provide tips. Game-play is situated in a simulated receiving bay. The game is recommended for early learners (grades 1-2) that are actively building an understanding of humor book characteristics. The game is designed to play on any internet-connected Chromebook, PC, Mac or tablet. Humor Box is now ready for play on Library Arcade (libraryarcade.com)!

March Release—Bio Box!

SimUnar Guide Team — Fri, 10 Mar 2023 00:13:38 +0000

Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Today, Dr. Newell and the SimUnar Design Team announced the release of Bio Box! Bio Box is the latest learning game in the Late Delivery game series. The learning game has an arcade-style design. The game starts with a teacher rushing to the library. He organized a museum fieldtrip, and every student must have a biography book for the trip. Due to a late library delivery, seven students do not have books! Gamers must join an animated library assistant (i.e., Kress) in the library receiving bay. Then, they must search the late delivery for 7 biography books. Gamers only have 15 minutes before the fieldtrip starts!

Bio Box is a single-player game; however, gamers work with an animated learning partner (Kress) during game-play. Learning partners guide learning and provide tips. Game-play is situated in a simulated receiving bay. The game is recommended for early learners (grades 1-2) that are actively building an understanding of biography book characteristics. The game is designed to play on any internet-connected Chromebook, PC, Mac or tablet. Bio Box is now ready for play on Library Arcade (libraryarcade.com)!

March Release—Fiction King!

SimUnar Guide Team — Tue, 07 Mar 2023 15:30:35 +0000

Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Today, Dr. Newell and the SimUnar Design Team announced the release of Fiction King! Fiction King is the first learning game in the Pyramid Genre game series. The learning game has an arcade-style design. The game starts with two junior library assistants rushing to help an archaeologist that is in big trouble! An ancient pyramid was recently uncovered in the community. The local archaeologist is collecting ancient books within the pyramid to better understand the ancient people. The librarian sent junior assistants to help gather the ancient books in the underground chamber of the Fiction King. Gamers must join the animated assistants. Then, they have 15 minutes to search the dig site and retrieve the books. Be careful! This is a dangerous quest! The ancient king placed a trap in the chamber. Gamers can only remove the books by placing them in fiction and nonfiction boxes.

Fiction King is a single-player game; however, gamers work with animated learning partners (Ronda and Chris) during game-play. Learning partners guide learning and provide tips. Game-play is situated in a simulated underground pyramid. The game is recommended for intermediate learners (grades 3-4) that are actively building an understanding of fiction and nonfiction book characteristics. The game is designed to play on any internet-connected Chromebook, PC, Mac or tablet. Fiction King is now ready for play on Library Arcade (libraryarcade.com)!

February Release—Genre Haul!

SimUnar Guide Team — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 20:09:46 +0000

Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Today, Dr. Newell and the SimUnar Design Team announced the release of Genre Haul! Genre Haul is the first learning game in the Genre Run game series. The learning game has a role-play storyline and an arcade-style design. It is designed for advanced learners (grades 4-6) that are actively building book genre skills. The game starts with a junior library assistant rushing to help a classroom teacher that is in big trouble! The teacher (Ms. Evans) has a new book delivery arriving in 15 minutes. To make room for the new books, she needs someone to remove the 25 books that are currently on her classroom shelves. Gamers must join the animated library assistant (Kress) in room 105. Then, they must work together to organize the books by genre and return them to the library.

Genre Haul is a single-player game; however, gamers work with an animated learning partner (Kress) during game-play. Learning partners guide learning and provide tips. Game-play is situated in a simulated classroom context. The game is recommended for advanced learners (grades 4-6) that are actively building an understanding of book genre characteristics (i.e., science fiction, realistic fiction, historical fiction, biography and autobiography characteristics). The game is designed to play on any internet-connected Chromebook, PC, Mac or tablet. Genre Haul is now ready for play on Library Arcade (libraryarcade.com)!

January Release—Mystery Box!

SimUnar Guide Team — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 15:37:31 +0000

Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Today, Dr. Newell and the SimUnar Design Team announced the release of Mystery Box! Mystery Box is the second learning game in the Late Delivery game series. The learning game has a role-play storyline and an arcade-style design. It is designed for young learners (grades 1-2) building book genre skills. The game starts with a teacher (Mr. Hill) in big library trouble! He created a mystery reading fieldtrip for his class, and every student must have a mystery book for the fieldtrip. Due to a late book delivery, seven students do not have books for the fieldtrip! Mr. Hill is rushing to the library. Gamers have 15 minutes to search the late delivery and find 7 mystery books.

Mystery Box is a single-player game; however, gamers work with an animated learning partner (Mark) during game-play. Learning partners guide learning, read materials and provide tips. Game-play is situated in a simulated library context. The game is recommended for early learners (grades 1-2) that are actively building a foundational-level understanding of book genre concepts and skills. The game is designed to play on any internet-connected Chromebook, PC, Mac or tablet. Mystery Box is now ready for play on Library Arcade (libraryarcade.com)!

January Release—Fantasy Box!

SimUnar Guide Team — Thu, 12 Jan 2023 16:59:15 +0000

Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Today, Dr. Newell and the Library Arcade Design Team announced the release of Fantasy Box! Fantasy Box is a library learning game that blends a role-play storyline, arcade-style design and foundational-level book genre skills into a fun educational experience for young learners (grades 1 &2). The game starts with a teacher (Ms. West) in big library trouble! She created a fantasy reading project, and every student must have a fantasy book to complete the project. Due to the late delivery, seven students do not have fantasy books! Ms. West is rushing to the library. Gamers have 15 minutes to search the late delivery and find 7 fantasy books.

Fantasy Box is a one-player game; however, gamers work with an animated learning partner (Taylor) during game-play. Learning partners guide learning, read materials and provide tips. Game-play is situated in a simulated library context. The game is recommended for early learners (grades 1-2) that are actively building a foundational-level understanding of book genre concepts and skills. The game is designed to play on any internet-connected Chromebook, PC, Mac or tablet. Fantasy Box is part of the Late Delivery game series. Fantasy Box is now ready for play on Library Arcade (libraryarcade.com)!

Introducing Library Arcade—the world’s first game-based learning platform for school libraries

SimUnar Guide Team — Fri, 06 Jan 2023 15:16:27 +0000

Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Today, SimUnar Technologies announced that the Library Arcade platform has moved out of the R&D (research and development) phase and into the highly anticipated early access phase. Now, Library Arcade will be available for use in select school libraries across the United States. Library Arcade publishes learning games that help librarians teach foundational, intermediate and advanced information literacy skills. Within the platform, learners complete arcade, puzzle and role-playing games that assist them in developing skills across core areas of information literacy. Library Arcade has an inclusive, innovative and exceptional design team that consist of librarians, teachers, researchers, instructional designers, animation specialists, game designers and programmers. The team publishes original learning games to the platform each month. “This is a powerful tool for librarians,” said Dr. Terrance Newell, Library Arcade cofounder and executive editor. “We have assembled an innovative design team, built a transformative platform, and continue to work closely with practicing school librarians to create impactful learning games.”

Library Arcade entered its early access phase in January 2023. SimUnar Technologies is currently recruiting a small number of member libraries, across the United States, to use the alpha version of Library Arcade during early access. All games are accessed from the cloud-based Library Arcade platform. Library Arcade games will work on any internet-connected Chromebook, PC, Mac or tablet. All games can be used onsite, remotely or in hybrid educational settings. School libraries interested in being considered for Early Access should visit www. LibraryArcade.com.