Modulo

Mission US

Recommended Ages

5th–8th grades

Mission US is a series of free, interactive role-playing games that put middle and high school students in the shoes of young people living through pivotal events in American history. Developed by public media producers and historians, each episode asks players to make choices that shape their character’s experience, highlighting different perspectives and consequences. Parents and teachers value the strong storytelling, primary source integration, and teacher guides that help unpack complex topics. Because some scenarios include difficult themes like oppression and violence, guidance and discussion are important. As a supplement, Mission US offers a powerful, immersive way to deepen history understanding without extra expense.

Ideal for roughly grades 5–10 who can handle heavier themes and enjoy narrative, choice-based games (similar to visual novels or story RPGs). It’s particularly powerful for secular families committed to teaching an honest, inclusive U.S. history that foregrounds marginalized voices. 

Pros

Parents appreciate that Mission US drops kids directly into the shoes of young people at key moments in U.S. history—enslaved teens, immigrant workers, Indigenous youth—so they feel the emotional stakes rather than just reading dates and names. The episodes are free, story-rich, and supported by teacher guides and primary-source materials, making them a powerful secular tool for talking about race, power, and resistance in an age-appropriate way. 

Cons

Some scenarios are intense and can be upsetting, especially around enslavement, displacement, and violence; adults really need to co-pilot and debrief. The games are text-heavy and assume solid reading comprehension, and the focus is U.S.-centric with limited coverage of global history, so it can’t stand alone as your only social studies spine. 

Because Mission US is free, it does not require ESA or charter funds; some programs simply list it as an approved supplemental resource for U.S. history.

Free public media project

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Mission US
$0.00 USD

Skills

What kids will learn
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History
History
US History
US History
Social Studies
Social Studies

Mission US Mission

Mission US's mission is to immerse young people in pivotal moments of United States history through interactive narrative games so they can better understand how ordinary people experienced extraordinary events. Each free, browser-based "mission" follows a young protagonist living through a specific era—from the American Revolution to the civil rights movement—while players make choices that reveal multiple perspectives and consequences. Developed by public media station WNET with historians and educators, the project aims to deepen historical empathy and critical thinking, not just recall of dates.

Mission US Story

Mission US was developed by The WNET Group, New York's flagship public media organization, as part of its commitment to innovative educational content. The first mission, "For Crown or Colony?," launched in 2010 and placed players in the shoes of a young printer's apprentice in 1770 Boston, just before the Boston Massacre. Its success led WNET to partner with game developers, historians, and classroom teachers to create additional missions covering westward expansion, slavery and resistance, the Great Depression, and more. Over time, the series has won multiple awards, been integrated into PBS LearningMedia, and continues to grow, with new missions like "Spirit of a Nation" expanding the timeline and including Indigenous perspectives.

About Modular Learning

FAQ: Additional Details about Mission US

In a typical session your child steps into the shoes of a printer’s apprentice in pre‑Revolution Boston or a teenager in the Dust Bowl, hears period music and sound effects, reads dialogue, makes decisions, and then reflects on how those choices match real history. 

Mission US is a free series of interactive historical role‑playing games; you create a student account, choose a mission set in a particular era, and play through story chapters making choices that shape your character’s experience, with educator guides for deeper learning. 

Caregivers are encouraged to preview sensitive content, stay nearby during new missions, and facilitate post‑game conversations about historical context, sources, and how the story compares with textbooks. 

Missions are designed mainly for middle‑schoolers; kids need solid reading skills and enough maturity to engage with complex themes like slavery, war, and discrimination. 

Mission US’s interactive historical games immerse players in specific eras, which can be powerful for experiential learners, including autistic and ADHD teens. Some scenarios are emotionally intense, so sensitive or trauma‑exposed students may need adult guidance, debriefing, and permission to stop or skip certain missions.

There is no cost to use Mission US, so there is no refund policy—families can stop using a mission at any time if the content or difficulty doesn’t feel like a fit.

Not a fit for younger children, for students currently processing related trauma, or for families seeking a patriotic-only or strongly sanitized view of U.S. history. It can also be challenging for kids with very low reading levels unless an adult reads alongside.

For broader context and lesson plans, Zinn Education Project, Learning for Justice, and Woke Homeschooling’s Oh Freedom! are commonly paired with Mission US; for global perspectives, National Geographic Education and Curiosity Chronicles help fill gaps.

The Mission US team continues to add missions and update existing ones; recent years have brought new episodes like “No Turning Back” along with accessibility and classroom‑support improvements. 

Play each episode together or in short chunks, with plenty of pauses to ask, “What choice would you make and why?”—keeping a simple reflection journal can turn the game into a robust history and ethics unit.

Contact form

Meet WNET Education Team

Mission US is led by the education and digital media team at The WNET Group, the nonprofit public media organization that also operates New York's PBS stations. This interdisciplinary team collaborates with classroom teachers, academic historians, and game designers to ensure that each mission is both historically sound and engaging for middle- and high-school students. Their background in producing educational television and online resources informs the way they script branching narratives, build classroom supports, and design accessible web experiences. Rather than centering a single individual founder, Mission US reflects WNET's long-standing institutional commitment to using storytelling and media to support equitable history education.