Would You Survive the Bubonic Plague?
Europe in the Middle Ages
ENTER
Can Your Village Survive the Black Death?
The year is 1348, and the deadliest disease in history has arrived in Europe- the Bubonic Plague. As the leader of a medieval village, your choices will determine whether your people survive, suffer, or vanish entirely. Will you close the gates to outsiders? Pay for risky cures? Halt trade and farming? In this interactive simulation, you'll begin by choosing one of eight unique village profiles, each with its own starting strengths and weaknesses. As the plague spreads, you'll face 10 high-stakes scenarios that test your judgement, strategy, and leadership. Every decision will cost or gain you valuable Health and Wealth points. If at any point your health or wealth benefits drop to zero, your village has perished! Make sure to make decisions that will benefit both your wealth and health! In the end, your combined score will reveal your village's fate. Make your choices wisely-the survival of your village depends on it!
Choose Your Medieval Village Profile:
Black Hollow
Harveston
Rivercross
Goldspire
Sea Haven
Greenfield
Abbeywell
Stonewatch
REMEMBER:
You need to keep both your HEALTH and your WEALTH above ZERO!
Some decisions will bring in more money (Wealth) to your village, but might cause your village to be more susceptible to the plague (causing you to lose Health). Other decisions will help protect your village from the plague (increasing your Health), but may cost you business opportunities (causing you to lose Wealth). You will need to make choices that are a smart balance of the two!
Let's Get Started!
Go Back
Play
A shipment of goods arrives at your village, but some of the merchants are sick. What do you do?
Accept the trade; you need those trading goods!
Turn them away. Spreading the plague to your village is not worth it!
Quarantine the goods for 40 days. Your villagers will be mad for having to wait, but it's better than getting sick!
Accept the goods...
The merchants bring many trade goods to your village. Unfortunately, it causes many people in your village to get sick as a result.
+2 Wealth
-3 Health
NEXT
Turn the merchants away...
Your villagers are upset that they do not have access to the trade goods, but they remain healthy...for now.
-1 Wealth
+2 Health
NEXT
Quarantine the Goods...
While you did risk some exposure to the plague, your village remained healthy. However, traders chose to trade with other villages since your goods were all in quarantine.
+1 Health
0 Wealth
NEXT
A nearby village is hit with the plague. What do you do?
Send help. They helped you out last year against invaders. Helping them would strengthen your alliance.
Close the borders to them. They are your allies, but you must protect your own village.
Invite the survivors to stay in your village. They survived the plague, so they must be favored by God. They may be helpful in your village.
Send help...
The people that you send over end up getting infected with the plague as well. Trade between the villages comes to a halt.
-1 Health
-1 Wealth
NEXT
Close the Borders...
While the neighboring village is unhappy with your decision, you made the tough call to keep your villagers safe.
+2 Health
0 Wealth
NEXT
Invite the Survivors to Your Town...
The survivors' belongings include some stow-away rats, and since the disease can be passed through fleas found on rats, your village is soon hit with the plague.
-3 Health
-1 Wealth
NEXT
Field workers are sick and crops are starting to wither and rot. How do you handle the situation?
Raise pay to encourage help from other villagers.
Leave the fields unattended.
Hire desperate travellers that are willing to work for food.
Raise Pay to Encourage Help...
With the additional help you are able to salvage your crops, ensuring that your village has enough to last them through the winter...if they can stay healthy.
+3 Health
-2 Wealth
NEXT
Leave the Fields Unattended...
Oh no...your villagers were relying on those crops to help them survive the winter! Without them, famine is sure to be a problem once the weather turns cold.
-3 Health
-1 Wealth
NEXT
Hire Desperate Travelers Willing to Work for Food...
You took a risk allowing strangers that might be carriers of the plague into your village. But the risk allowed you to save your crop, meaning that your villagers won't starve come winter.
-1 Health
+2Wealth
NEXT
A popular market day approaches. Historically, this has brought in a lot of money for your village. Do you hold the event?
Have the event. You can't miss out on such valuable income for your village.
Cancel the event. People are scared and strangers should not be trusted in such dangerous times.
Have the Event...
Despite the plague, the event is a huge hit. People bring all sorts of goods and spices to trade. Unfortunately, they unknowingly bring the Black Death, causing your village to be hit hard by the plague.
-3 Health
+3 Wealth
NEXT
Cancel the Event...
Many disappointed merchants leave empty-handed. However, this minimizes the spread of the plague throughout your village.
+3 Health
-2 Wealth
NEXT
People in your town are beginning to question the church. The priests can't stop the plague and some church leaders have even fled. What do you do as the village leader?
Encourage people to keep the faith and continue paying tithes (taxes to the church).
Support alternative spiritual leaders and local healers.
Publicly question the church's authority.
Encourage people to keep the faith...
While your support for the church does inspire spiritual community, it also encourages church gatherings, causing the plague to continue to spread throughout your village.
-1 Health
+1 Wealth
NEXT
Support Alternative Spiritual Leaders and Local Healers...
While encouraging support to alternative spiritual leaders shows your openness to new ideas, you miss out on income that would be generated by the church.
+1 Health
-2 Wealth
NEXT
Publicly question the church's authority...
Your criticism of the church's authority angers members of the clergy that still hold great influence over the people of your village. Many villagers lose trust in your leadership as a result of the backlash from the clergy.
0 Health
-2 Wealth
NEXT
Bandits are stealing from plague-affected homes. What do you do?
Hire more guards.
Create rumors that the plague continues to spread to hopefully scare the bandits away.
Instruct the villagers to patrol the area.
Hire more guards...
The extra guards ease the nerves and tension of many villagers. However, with the labor shortages, the guards didn't come cheap.
+2 Health
-2 Wealth
NEXT
Create rumors that the plague continues to spread...
This plan definitely backfires! Many people panic and decide to flee the village, which causes bandits to increase their looting. You have no choice but hire guards.
-2 Health
-3 Wealth
NEXT
Instruct villagers to patrol...
Having the villagers patrol saves you some money, but since they patrol in groups, the plague spreads because of their proximity to each other.
-1 Health
0 Wealth
NEXT
A local plague doctor is offering bloodletting as a treatment. He believes removing "bad blood" will help people recover. Some people are hopeful, but others are afraid. What do you do?
Allow individuals to choose and pay if they want.
Ban bloodletting completely.
Pay the doctor to treat the whole town.
Pay the doctor to treat the whole town...
Bloodletting is an ineffective treatment and may harm more than help. The plague doctor also charges a great deal for the procedure.
-2 Health
-2 Wealth
NEXT
Allow individuals to choose and pay on their own...
This plan avoids spending town money, but does not improve anyone's overall health. A few people that were "treated" become even more sick.
-1 Health
+1 Wealth
NEXT
Ban bloodletting all together...
This is a smart choice! Not allowing bloodletting allows the village to heal from the plague and start to get back to normal village life.
+2 Health
+1 Wealth
NEXT
With a noble decree, a local Lord demands that you house the sick from his castle within your village. How do you respond?
You do as he says. He is a Lord and his orders must be followed.
Refuse to follow his orders, even at the risk of insulting him.
Do as the noble says...
The sick continue to bring the plague into your village. However, the Lord rewards you for your loyalty by sending a small pile of gold as your reward.
-2 Health
+4 Wealth
NEXT
Refuse the noble's demands...
The noble is angered and threatens to send his knights in to take over your village. Fortunately for you, most of the knights have also been affected by the plague, so the noble is powerless to carry out his threat. In the meantime, your village continues to recover from the plague.
+3 Health
0 Wealth
NEXT
Graveyards are filling up quickly. What do you do?
Hire people to build a mass burial pit.
Allow the bodies to pile up. That is the problem of the family members of the deceased.
Ask the local churches to help.
Build a mass burial pit...
This option removes large numbers of bodies from public areas quickly, reducing the spread of disease and foul air (which people at the time believed was harmful). This was one of the more effective responses available, but digging a large burial pit takes time, workers, land, and tools. It is a major public project and a financial strain on the town.
+2 Health
-2 Wealth
NEXT
Let the bodies pile up...
Uh oh! Leaving bodies in homes, on the streets, or overflowing in graveyards causes widespread fear, unsanitary conditions, and faster disease spread. It costs you nothing because you are doing nothing, but the long-term cost might be survival itself.
-3 Health
0 Wealth
NEXT
Ask the local churches for help...
This option is a good compromise to help with some the removal. Church officials have some space (and people) that could help,though you still need to pay them for their services.
+1 Health
-1 Wealth
NEXT
After many long years, the Black Death is finally starting to fade and you can start to rebuild your village. How will you shape your village's future?
Try to "go back to normal" by restoring old systems and trying to save money.
Invest in the training of workers and education to build a better future.
Compromise with small changes and rebuild slowly.
Invest in workers and education...
Supporting education and training for new workers is a smart move and one that will push your village out of the Dark Ages and into an era of revitalization and rebirth. Arts, culture, and a sense of joy sweeps over your village. Unfortunately, progress does not come cheap, but it was worth the investment.
+5 Health
-2 Wealth
NEXT
Go back to the way things were before...
While the old systems do bring you some money, it doesn't quite go as you had hoped. Too much has changed for people to be able to simply go back to systems and rules that existed before the plague. Many people in your village are left wondering if maybe there are better ways of doing things.
-2 Health
+1 Wealth
NEXT
Compromise with small changes and slowly rebuild...
You recognize that change is inevitable, but you also realize that fast changes can be risky too. By playing it safe, you are allowing your villagers to stay grounded in the life that they know, while encouraging them to look into the future instead of the past.
+1 Health
0 Wealth
NEXT
The Black Death killed millions of people in Europe, but it also brought about big changes. With fewer workers, peasants could demand better pay and working conditions. Some people began to question the power of the church, especially since prayers and traditions did not stop the disease. Towns and cities changed as well, and people started thinking in new ways about science, medicine, and learning. Over time, these changes helped bring about a "rebirth" of ideas and classical culture known as the Renaissance. This was a time when art, inventions, and education began to grow across Europe.
Did your village survive?
Did your village survive the Bubonic Plague?
Add your HEALTH and WEALTH points together.
Total Score: 0-7
Total Score: 13+
Total Score: 8-12
Result: DIED
Result: thrived
Result: survived
Your village did not survive the plague! Illness and hardship overwhelmed your people.
Your village stayed strong and healthy! you protected your people and ensured their future.
Your village made it through with losses, but there is hope for rebuilding!
Play Again
Black Hollow:
A crowded town with bustling markets, but close quarters make disease spread easier. Start with 3 Health and 7 Wealth points.
Harveston:
A farming hamlet with fertile land, but fewer defenses and limited medical knowledge. Start with 6 Health and 4 Wealth points.
Rivercross:
A town on a busy river trade route, but vulnerable to infection from travelers. Start with 5 Health and 5 Wealth points.
Goldspire:
A prosperous trade hub with a lot of wealth, but high risk of plague from many visitors. Start with 6 Health and 4 Wealth points.
Sea Haven:
A busy coastal port with active trade, but exposed to incoming ships carrying illness. Start with 4 Health and 6 Wealth points.
Greenfield:
A small, remote village with fewer visitors, but limited resources and trade. Start with 7 Health and 3 Wealth points.
Stonewatch:
A mountain fortress town, well-defended with fewer visitors, but tough living conditions. Start with 5 Health and 5 Wealth points.
Abbeywell:
An isolated monastery focused on healing and prayer, with strong health but little wealth. Start with 8 Health and 2 Wealth points.
Would You Survive the Bubonic Plague?
Heather Chadwick
Created on September 25, 2025
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Transcript
Would You Survive the Bubonic Plague?
Europe in the Middle Ages
ENTER
Can Your Village Survive the Black Death?
The year is 1348, and the deadliest disease in history has arrived in Europe- the Bubonic Plague. As the leader of a medieval village, your choices will determine whether your people survive, suffer, or vanish entirely. Will you close the gates to outsiders? Pay for risky cures? Halt trade and farming? In this interactive simulation, you'll begin by choosing one of eight unique village profiles, each with its own starting strengths and weaknesses. As the plague spreads, you'll face 10 high-stakes scenarios that test your judgement, strategy, and leadership. Every decision will cost or gain you valuable Health and Wealth points. If at any point your health or wealth benefits drop to zero, your village has perished! Make sure to make decisions that will benefit both your wealth and health! In the end, your combined score will reveal your village's fate. Make your choices wisely-the survival of your village depends on it!
Choose Your Medieval Village Profile:
Black Hollow
Harveston
Rivercross
Goldspire
Sea Haven
Greenfield
Abbeywell
Stonewatch
REMEMBER:
You need to keep both your HEALTH and your WEALTH above ZERO!
Some decisions will bring in more money (Wealth) to your village, but might cause your village to be more susceptible to the plague (causing you to lose Health). Other decisions will help protect your village from the plague (increasing your Health), but may cost you business opportunities (causing you to lose Wealth). You will need to make choices that are a smart balance of the two!
Let's Get Started!
Go Back
Play
A shipment of goods arrives at your village, but some of the merchants are sick. What do you do?
Accept the trade; you need those trading goods!
Turn them away. Spreading the plague to your village is not worth it!
Quarantine the goods for 40 days. Your villagers will be mad for having to wait, but it's better than getting sick!
Accept the goods...
The merchants bring many trade goods to your village. Unfortunately, it causes many people in your village to get sick as a result.
+2 Wealth
-3 Health
NEXT
Turn the merchants away...
Your villagers are upset that they do not have access to the trade goods, but they remain healthy...for now.
-1 Wealth
+2 Health
NEXT
Quarantine the Goods...
While you did risk some exposure to the plague, your village remained healthy. However, traders chose to trade with other villages since your goods were all in quarantine.
+1 Health
0 Wealth
NEXT
A nearby village is hit with the plague. What do you do?
Send help. They helped you out last year against invaders. Helping them would strengthen your alliance.
Close the borders to them. They are your allies, but you must protect your own village.
Invite the survivors to stay in your village. They survived the plague, so they must be favored by God. They may be helpful in your village.
Send help...
The people that you send over end up getting infected with the plague as well. Trade between the villages comes to a halt.
-1 Health
-1 Wealth
NEXT
Close the Borders...
While the neighboring village is unhappy with your decision, you made the tough call to keep your villagers safe.
+2 Health
0 Wealth
NEXT
Invite the Survivors to Your Town...
The survivors' belongings include some stow-away rats, and since the disease can be passed through fleas found on rats, your village is soon hit with the plague.
-3 Health
-1 Wealth
NEXT
Field workers are sick and crops are starting to wither and rot. How do you handle the situation?
Raise pay to encourage help from other villagers.
Leave the fields unattended.
Hire desperate travellers that are willing to work for food.
Raise Pay to Encourage Help...
With the additional help you are able to salvage your crops, ensuring that your village has enough to last them through the winter...if they can stay healthy.
+3 Health
-2 Wealth
NEXT
Leave the Fields Unattended...
Oh no...your villagers were relying on those crops to help them survive the winter! Without them, famine is sure to be a problem once the weather turns cold.
-3 Health
-1 Wealth
NEXT
Hire Desperate Travelers Willing to Work for Food...
You took a risk allowing strangers that might be carriers of the plague into your village. But the risk allowed you to save your crop, meaning that your villagers won't starve come winter.
-1 Health
+2Wealth
NEXT
A popular market day approaches. Historically, this has brought in a lot of money for your village. Do you hold the event?
Have the event. You can't miss out on such valuable income for your village.
Cancel the event. People are scared and strangers should not be trusted in such dangerous times.
Have the Event...
Despite the plague, the event is a huge hit. People bring all sorts of goods and spices to trade. Unfortunately, they unknowingly bring the Black Death, causing your village to be hit hard by the plague.
-3 Health
+3 Wealth
NEXT
Cancel the Event...
Many disappointed merchants leave empty-handed. However, this minimizes the spread of the plague throughout your village.
+3 Health
-2 Wealth
NEXT
People in your town are beginning to question the church. The priests can't stop the plague and some church leaders have even fled. What do you do as the village leader?
Encourage people to keep the faith and continue paying tithes (taxes to the church).
Support alternative spiritual leaders and local healers.
Publicly question the church's authority.
Encourage people to keep the faith...
While your support for the church does inspire spiritual community, it also encourages church gatherings, causing the plague to continue to spread throughout your village.
-1 Health
+1 Wealth
NEXT
Support Alternative Spiritual Leaders and Local Healers...
While encouraging support to alternative spiritual leaders shows your openness to new ideas, you miss out on income that would be generated by the church.
+1 Health
-2 Wealth
NEXT
Publicly question the church's authority...
Your criticism of the church's authority angers members of the clergy that still hold great influence over the people of your village. Many villagers lose trust in your leadership as a result of the backlash from the clergy.
0 Health
-2 Wealth
NEXT
Bandits are stealing from plague-affected homes. What do you do?
Hire more guards.
Create rumors that the plague continues to spread to hopefully scare the bandits away.
Instruct the villagers to patrol the area.
Hire more guards...
The extra guards ease the nerves and tension of many villagers. However, with the labor shortages, the guards didn't come cheap.
+2 Health
-2 Wealth
NEXT
Create rumors that the plague continues to spread...
This plan definitely backfires! Many people panic and decide to flee the village, which causes bandits to increase their looting. You have no choice but hire guards.
-2 Health
-3 Wealth
NEXT
Instruct villagers to patrol...
Having the villagers patrol saves you some money, but since they patrol in groups, the plague spreads because of their proximity to each other.
-1 Health
0 Wealth
NEXT
A local plague doctor is offering bloodletting as a treatment. He believes removing "bad blood" will help people recover. Some people are hopeful, but others are afraid. What do you do?
Allow individuals to choose and pay if they want.
Ban bloodletting completely.
Pay the doctor to treat the whole town.
Pay the doctor to treat the whole town...
Bloodletting is an ineffective treatment and may harm more than help. The plague doctor also charges a great deal for the procedure.
-2 Health
-2 Wealth
NEXT
Allow individuals to choose and pay on their own...
This plan avoids spending town money, but does not improve anyone's overall health. A few people that were "treated" become even more sick.
-1 Health
+1 Wealth
NEXT
Ban bloodletting all together...
This is a smart choice! Not allowing bloodletting allows the village to heal from the plague and start to get back to normal village life.
+2 Health
+1 Wealth
NEXT
With a noble decree, a local Lord demands that you house the sick from his castle within your village. How do you respond?
You do as he says. He is a Lord and his orders must be followed.
Refuse to follow his orders, even at the risk of insulting him.
Do as the noble says...
The sick continue to bring the plague into your village. However, the Lord rewards you for your loyalty by sending a small pile of gold as your reward.
-2 Health
+4 Wealth
NEXT
Refuse the noble's demands...
The noble is angered and threatens to send his knights in to take over your village. Fortunately for you, most of the knights have also been affected by the plague, so the noble is powerless to carry out his threat. In the meantime, your village continues to recover from the plague.
+3 Health
0 Wealth
NEXT
Graveyards are filling up quickly. What do you do?
Hire people to build a mass burial pit.
Allow the bodies to pile up. That is the problem of the family members of the deceased.
Ask the local churches to help.
Build a mass burial pit...
This option removes large numbers of bodies from public areas quickly, reducing the spread of disease and foul air (which people at the time believed was harmful). This was one of the more effective responses available, but digging a large burial pit takes time, workers, land, and tools. It is a major public project and a financial strain on the town.
+2 Health
-2 Wealth
NEXT
Let the bodies pile up...
Uh oh! Leaving bodies in homes, on the streets, or overflowing in graveyards causes widespread fear, unsanitary conditions, and faster disease spread. It costs you nothing because you are doing nothing, but the long-term cost might be survival itself.
-3 Health
0 Wealth
NEXT
Ask the local churches for help...
This option is a good compromise to help with some the removal. Church officials have some space (and people) that could help,though you still need to pay them for their services.
+1 Health
-1 Wealth
NEXT
After many long years, the Black Death is finally starting to fade and you can start to rebuild your village. How will you shape your village's future?
Try to "go back to normal" by restoring old systems and trying to save money.
Invest in the training of workers and education to build a better future.
Compromise with small changes and rebuild slowly.
Invest in workers and education...
Supporting education and training for new workers is a smart move and one that will push your village out of the Dark Ages and into an era of revitalization and rebirth. Arts, culture, and a sense of joy sweeps over your village. Unfortunately, progress does not come cheap, but it was worth the investment.
+5 Health
-2 Wealth
NEXT
Go back to the way things were before...
While the old systems do bring you some money, it doesn't quite go as you had hoped. Too much has changed for people to be able to simply go back to systems and rules that existed before the plague. Many people in your village are left wondering if maybe there are better ways of doing things.
-2 Health
+1 Wealth
NEXT
Compromise with small changes and slowly rebuild...
You recognize that change is inevitable, but you also realize that fast changes can be risky too. By playing it safe, you are allowing your villagers to stay grounded in the life that they know, while encouraging them to look into the future instead of the past.
+1 Health
0 Wealth
NEXT
The Black Death killed millions of people in Europe, but it also brought about big changes. With fewer workers, peasants could demand better pay and working conditions. Some people began to question the power of the church, especially since prayers and traditions did not stop the disease. Towns and cities changed as well, and people started thinking in new ways about science, medicine, and learning. Over time, these changes helped bring about a "rebirth" of ideas and classical culture known as the Renaissance. This was a time when art, inventions, and education began to grow across Europe.
Did your village survive?
Did your village survive the Bubonic Plague?
Add your HEALTH and WEALTH points together.
Total Score: 0-7
Total Score: 13+
Total Score: 8-12
Result: DIED
Result: thrived
Result: survived
Your village did not survive the plague! Illness and hardship overwhelmed your people.
Your village stayed strong and healthy! you protected your people and ensured their future.
Your village made it through with losses, but there is hope for rebuilding!
Play Again
Black Hollow:
A crowded town with bustling markets, but close quarters make disease spread easier. Start with 3 Health and 7 Wealth points.
Harveston:
A farming hamlet with fertile land, but fewer defenses and limited medical knowledge. Start with 6 Health and 4 Wealth points.
Rivercross:
A town on a busy river trade route, but vulnerable to infection from travelers. Start with 5 Health and 5 Wealth points.
Goldspire:
A prosperous trade hub with a lot of wealth, but high risk of plague from many visitors. Start with 6 Health and 4 Wealth points.
Sea Haven:
A busy coastal port with active trade, but exposed to incoming ships carrying illness. Start with 4 Health and 6 Wealth points.
Greenfield:
A small, remote village with fewer visitors, but limited resources and trade. Start with 7 Health and 3 Wealth points.
Stonewatch:
A mountain fortress town, well-defended with fewer visitors, but tough living conditions. Start with 5 Health and 5 Wealth points.
Abbeywell:
An isolated monastery focused on healing and prayer, with strong health but little wealth. Start with 8 Health and 2 Wealth points.