---
game: assegai
name: Assegai — Spear of the Ancestors
file: assegai_v10.html
subject: Social Studies
grades: 4-9
languages: en, bem, nya, ton, loz
score-format: campaign
content-version: 1.0.0
source-file: assegai_v10.html
source-hash: af9cfb1d8fd30e29
---

# Assegai — Spear of the Ancestors · Curriculum Map

Turn-based tactics across African history. Learners command historical armies through
nine campaigns spanning 2500 BCE to 1994 CE, and answer history quizzes between battles.
Correct quiz answers heal the Induna (leader unit), tying historical knowledge directly
to gameplay success.

## Learning Objectives

- Recall key facts about nine African kingdoms, wars and liberation movements from
  Ancient Nubia (2500 BCE) to South Africa's first democratic election (1994).
- Sequence major eras of African history: ancient kingdoms, pre-colonial states,
  resistance wars, colonial struggle and independence movements.
- Explain the causes and outcomes of landmark events: the rise of the Zulu kingdom,
  Isandlwana, the Chimurenga, Zambian independence, the Battle of Adwa and the end of
  apartheid.
- Connect Zambian independence (1964) to the wider African liberation story.
- Apply strategic thinking: unit roles, terrain advantage, resource (upgrade) planning.

## Curriculum Alignment

| Game content | Zambian learning area | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Campaigns 1-2 (Kush, Great Zimbabwe) | Social Studies — ancient & pre-colonial African civilisations | [VERIFY: CDC syllabus topic codes] |
| Campaigns 3-5 (Shaka, Isandlwana, Chimurenga) | Social Studies / History — resistance to colonisation | [VERIFY: CDC syllabus topic codes] |
| Campaign 6 (Zambia's Independence) | Social Studies — the road to Zambian independence, Kaunda & UNIP | Directly matches upper-primary Zambian history topics |
| Campaigns 7-9 (Mali, Adwa, Apartheid) | Social Studies — African empires, sovereignty & human rights | [VERIFY: CDC syllabus topic codes] |
| Tactics gameplay | Critical thinking — planning, cause & effect | Cross-cutting skill |

## Unit Map

| Unit | Title | Focus | Content | Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campaign 1 | The Kingdom of Kush | Ancient Nubia: Kerma & Meroë, iron smelting and trade, 2500 BCE-350 CE | 4 battle sections (Pyramids of Meroë, Mountain of Barkal, Iron Smelters, Royal Palace) with narrated era facts; boss: Roman Prefect | 8-question quiz pool (2 per section); section facts recap |
| Campaign 2 | The Great Zimbabwe Kingdom | Stone-city statecraft and trade, 1100-1450 CE | 4 sections (Outer Walls, Valley Ruins, Conical Tower, King's Court); boss: Rival King | 12-question quiz pool (3 per section) |
| Campaign 3 | Shaka's Revolution — The Zulu Rise | Military innovation and nation-building in KwaZulu, 1816-1828 | 4 sections (Natal Grasslands, Thukela River, Mgungundlovu, Royal Kraal); boss: Rival Induna | 12-question quiz pool |
| Campaign 4 | Anglo-Zulu War — Isandlwana | African victory over a colonial army, 1879 | 4 sections (Rorke's Drift Approach, Isandlwana Hill, British Camp, Commander's Post); boss: British Commander | 12-question quiz pool |
| Campaign 5 | The Chimurenga — Nehanda's Spirit | Zimbabwean uprisings and liberation war, 1896-1980 | 4 sections (Mashonaland Uprising, Bush Country, Operation ZIPRA, Ian Smith's Citadel); boss: Rhodesian Commander | 12-question quiz pool |
| Campaign 6 | Zambia's Independence — Kaunda's Vision | Copperbelt strikes, UNIP and the birth of Zambia, 1964 | 4 sections (Copperbelt Strikes, UNIP Campaign, Federation Collapse, Colonial Governor) | 12-question quiz pool |
| Campaign 7 | Mali Empire — Mansa Musa's Golden Throne | West Africa's golden age: law, learning and trade, 1235-1337 CE | 4 sections (Kouroukan Fouga, Timbuktu's Libraries, Trans-Saharan Routes, Mansa's Throne Room); boss: Sosso Warlord | 12-question quiz pool |
| Campaign 8 | Battle of Adwa — Ethiopia Stands Undefeated | Ethiopian sovereignty and the defeat of Italy, 1896 | 4 sections (Tigray Highlands, Italy's Night March, Mountain Encirclement, Emperor's Final Stand); boss: General Baratieri | 12-question quiz pool |
| Campaign 9 | Mandela's Long Walk — Defeating Apartheid | Defiance, imprisonment and democracy in South Africa, 1948-1994 | 4 sections (Defiance Campaign 1952, Sharpeville & Rivonia, Robben Island, Freedom's Dawn — 1994); boss: Apartheid Minister | 12-question quiz pool |

## Content Inventory

- **9 campaigns × 4 battle sections = 36 battles**, each with a narrated historical fact.
- **104 history quiz questions** (4 options + explanation each): 8 in Campaign 1,
  12 in each of Campaigns 2-9. One quiz is drawn at random on each section clear.
- **6 player unit types**: Induna (leader), Impi, Ingcosane (archer), Inyanga (healer),
  Isigodi (shock trooper, unlockable), Izinyanga (stun-mage, unlockable) + 6 enemy types
  in four tiers (light / medium / heavy / boss).
- **10 upgrades** (Bull Horn, Iron Tip, Ox-hide, Ancestors, Fast Scout, Herbalism,
  War Paint, War Drums, Isigodi Vanguard, Izinyanga Circle).
- **5 terrain tilemaps** with high-ground defensive mechanics.
- Extra modes: Skirmish vs AI (single wave), AI campaign generation, P2P multiplayer
  (experimental — do not plan lessons around it).

## Assessment & Analytics

- Events emitted: `quiz_attempt`, `quiz_correct`, `quiz_wrong`, `level_complete`,
  `puzzle_start`, `puzzle_complete`, `puzzle_fail`, `campaign_complete`,
  `game_open`, `session_start`. Subject reported: **Social Studies**.
- Score format: `campaign` (campaign progress is the headline score).
- Teacher dashboard: watch quiz accuracy per learner (history recall) separately from
  campaign progress (strategic skill). A learner can be strong at tactics and weak on
  recall — the quiz events isolate the history knowledge signal.

## AI & Accessibility Features

- **Ask Gogo history tutor** — in-game chat with a "Zambian grandmother and history
  teacher" persona; hints never leak quiz answers.
- **AI campaign generation** — Gogo generates a new themed campaign from a teacher/learner
  prompt with adaptive difficulty (`getRecommendedDifficulty` on rolling accuracy).
- **Skirmish vs AI** for quick single-battle practice.
- Full UI translation: English, Bemba, Nyanja, Tonga, Lozi (fail-to-English).

## Lesson Planning Notes

- One campaign is one comfortable lesson unit: ~10 minutes of battles per section plus
  quiz and discussion. Plan 1-2 sections per 40-minute period, or a full campaign per
  double period.
- Open each lesson with the campaign's era banner and location on a wall map; close by
  reading the section facts aloud and re-asking two quiz questions verbally.
- Campaign 6 (Zambia's Independence) is the natural anchor for Zambian history topics —
  consider teaching it first even though it is sixth in the list; campaigns are
  independent.
- Differentiation: weaker readers pair up for quiz reading; stronger learners take the
  boss sections and explain their tactics to the class. Local-language UI supports
  learners still building English literacy.
- Offline note: all campaign and quiz content is bundled — no internet required. AI
  features need the Gogo bridge (teacher device with WebGPU).

## Change Log

| Date | Game Version | Change | Curriculum Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-11 | assegai_v10.html | Full bug audit (v10.43.0): quiz/content corrections — corrupted Mfecane quiz option repaired (question was unanswerable), Mbuya Nehanda's age corrected 84→82 years, Zambia flag quiz explanation corrected (green field with red/black/orange stripes); gameplay repairs — Skirmish vs AI mode actually reachable (title panel previously covered the whole battle) and isolated as practice (never grants campaign stars/unlocks/leaderboard entries), save/resume integrity for skirmish + AI-generated campaigns (stale AI-campaign indices no longer break resume), player spawns slide off water tiles, War Drums powers the first turn, shop upgrades no longer boost ENEMY units, campaign progress is student-namespaced on shared devices | Campaign/section/quiz counts unchanged (9/36/104); two history facts corrected — regenerate lesson plans citing Nehanda's age or the Zambia flag question |
| 2026-08-09 | assegai_v10.html | Resume-state hardening: empty-save safety on unit-id bootstrap, multiplayer-turn normalization for resumed single-device sessions, and guarded enemy-phase auto-resume to prevent post-load turn soft-locks | No content/unit change; improves classroom continuity when resuming saved campaigns after interruptions |
| 2026-08-05 | (no game change) | Hash restamped: source-hash now computed over LF-normalized game HTML so stamps match on Windows and Linux/CI alike (v10.27.1 fix) | None - game content unchanged, documents remain valid |
| 2026-08-05 | assegai_v10.html | Initial curriculum map authored (platform standard adoption, v10.25.0) | Baseline — 9 campaigns, 36 sections, 104 quiz questions documented |
