Proven Impact

Awards and Praise

With over four million registered users across the fifty states and beyond, Mission US continues to earn honors and praise from educators, parents, students, and critics.

AWARDS

  • 2024 Webby Awards: Official Honoree – Websites and Mobile Sites: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (for “No Turning Back”)
  • 2024 Anthem Awards: Gold Award – Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Education or Literacy Program; Silver Award – Education, Art, & Culture: Education or Literacy Program (for “No Turning Back”)
  • 2024 Kidscreen Awards: Winner – Best Alternative Game (for “No Turning Back”)
  • 2023 Children’s and Family Emmy Awards: Nominee – Outstanding Interactive Media (for “No Turning Back”)
  • 2023 International Serious Play Awards: Gold Medal – K-12 Education (for “No Turning Back”)
  • 55th Annual Public Media Awards presented by NETA: Winner – Best Educational Resources for the Classroom (for “No Turning Back”)
  • 2023 GEE! Learning Game Awards: Finalist – Formal Learning/Middle+ (for “No Turning Back”
  • 2021 Japan Prize: Best Work in the Digital Media Division (The Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Prize) (for “Prisoner in My Homeland”)
  • 2021 International Serious Play Awards: Gold Medal – K-12 Education Category (for “Prisoner in My Homeland”)
  • 2020 Teachers’ Choice Awards: Winner – Classroom Category
  • 2019 International Serious Play Awards: Gold Medal – Education Category (for the updated “For Crown or Colony?”)
  • 2018 Parents’ Choice Award: Gold – Mobile App (for “Up from the Dust”)
  • 2018 Webby Awards: Official Honoree, Games – Social Impact (for “Up from the Dust”)
  • 2017 Daytime Emmy Awards: Nominee – Outstanding Interactive Media
  • 2017 International Serious Play Awards: Silver Medal – Education Category (for “Up from the Dust”)
  • 2016 Games for Change Awards: Finalist – Best Learning Game (for “City of Immigrants”)
  • 2016 Parents’ Choice Award: Gold – Website
  • 2016 Daytime Emmy Awards: Nominee – Outstanding Interactive Media
  • 2016 NETA Award for Online Educational Resource
  • 2016 Webby Awards: Nominee – Website, Games
  • 2015 International Serious Play Awards: Gold Medal – Education Category (for “City of Immigrants”)
  • 2014 Games for Change Award: Most Significant Impact (for “A Cheyenne Odyssey”)
  • 2014 Parents’ Choice Gold Award
  • 2014 CODiE Awards (Software & Information Industry Association): Finalist – Best Learning Game
  • 2014 Common Sense Media ON for Learning Award
  • 2013 Japan Prize: Winner, Minister of Foreign Affairs Prize for Best Work in the Youth Category (for “Flight to Freedom”)
  • 2013 Webby Awards: Official Honoree, General Website – Youth
  • 2013 Common Sense Media ON for Learning Award
  • Jay Is Games Best of Casual Gameplay 2012: Nominee – Best Point-and-Click Adventure Game (for “Flight to Freedom”)
  • 2012 NETA Awards: Winner for Classroom Content in the Instructional Media category (received score 60 of 60 from judges)
  • 2012 International Serious Play Awards: Gold Medal – Education Category (for “For Crown or Colony”)
  • 2012 History Makers Awards: Nominee – Best Interactive Production (for “For Crown or Colony”)
  • 2011 NETA Awards: Winner for Instructional Content/Learning Object in the Instructional Media category (received score 60 of 60 from judges)

SELECTED REVIEWS

Common Sense Media – 5 out of 5 stars
“powerful and compelling”
•    Mission US: A Cheyenne Odyssey brings to life many of the challenges and choices that faced the Cheyenne people in the late 1800s…This is a way for kids to understand the perspective of Native Americans as they fought to retain their way of life. Also, the game presents a clear point of view that isn’t always captured in the classroom… It’s a great starting point for dialogue and a chance for kids to do a lot of critical thinking.
•    Mission US: Flight to Freedom is a powerful and compelling game that forces you to make difficult decisions, just as in real life. This is a strong title that can make history come alive…This is not a frivolous edutainment title. This innovative game is designed to get you thinking and talking about challenging subjects, while learning more about American history. It’s a good one to explore and discuss as a family.

Jay is Games
“an intelligent, thought-provoking work” “highly recommended” “a must-play”
•    Mission US: A Cheyenne Odyssey tackles an important period of history head-on, well-aware of its difficulty, and its success in its depiction is to be lauded… All in all, A Cheyenne Odyssey keeps up the high stands of education and fun that the previous chapters of the Mission US series promised, and while targeted towards a young audience, history buffs of all ages will find it a must-play.
•    I’ve been lucky enough to cover the Mission US series ever since its first installment, and the topics they’ve chosen to cover have never been more relevant (though one sometimes wishes they weren’t…). The team has never faltered in providing deeply researched personal tales…We all have much to learn from the past, and that learning never comes easier when it can come in the form of games like [Mission US’s] City of Immigrants.

USA TODAY – 4 out of 4 stars – Kids relive history with free role-playing game
“realistic” “brilliant” “ingenious” “fascinating” “a powerful game that all kids should experience”
The branching storylines, each tied to your possible decisions, are brilliant in their diversity and ingenious in how they weave together to create the fascinating story path of this game. The story line is careful to reflect the history of the time and show it from multiple perspectives. From hearing spirituals being sung in the beginning of the game to Lucy’s haunting voice at the end recalling her journey, this is a powerful game that all kids should experience.

KOTAKU – They Made a Video Game About Slavery, And It’s Actually Good
“It’s not only an engaging video game, it’s a harrowing, illuminating look at the realities of life as an American slave…
I was struck by how effectively the game placed me in the shoes of an American slave. The precarious nature of my existence was readily apparent…
The game’s presentational simplicity forced me to use my imagination, and I imagined very scary things. This was real, I kept reminding myself, people lived this, they lived under these laws and with this kind of fear. Sneaking through the yard at night, stealing enough food from the garden to be able to survive the coming trial… I was very much in the moment. It was intense…
Mission U.S. would certainly make for an engaging classroom aid, but it’s so much more than that—it’s an entertaining, well-made adventure game, a slice of livable history that every American should play.”

Living is Learning – “Mission US Convinced me that Gaming Has a Place in the Classroom”
I have used parts of it in 7th grade Social Studies class for several years now and have been consistently impressed by the quality of the content and support materials… My students were very engaged by the game and often played it on their own at home and/or play it multiple times.  They identified with the characters and had a much better understanding of the events that they “experienced” in the game.  This, combined with the quality of the content, has convinced me that gaming can (and will?) have a place in education.

Forbes.com – “Let’s Get Serious About Video Games”
“Mission US: Cheyenne Odyssey” is different. It brings history to life… It plays like a smart, modern version of the “Choose Your Own Adventure” novels that I loved as a kid. I say it brings history to life because it focuses on the real, everyday decisions that one Cheyenne boy, Little Fox, has to make. It is exciting to me to imagine students learning history in such a way that they see how immediate decisions have impact not only on individual survival, but also on the trajectory of a collective future.

Parents’ Choice Awards – from Gold Award review for Up from the Dust: 
“Game play is compelling; we couldn’t put it down the first time through. The entire interactive story can be completed in an hour or two, but there are so many roads not taken that players will want to revisit the game a few times to see whether bigger risks or more caution will work out best…This is a free app, but it is worth more than many full-price games on the market.”

Teachers’ Choice Awards – from the teacher evaluators’ comments:
“Students, even those who identified themselves as not liking history at all, fell in love with mission-us.org. You know you have a great product when moans of ‘NOOOOOO’ fill the room when you say it is time to move on. The content knowledge students gained from the simulations allowed for much deeper discussion than I have experienced at the fifth-grade level. I will (along with my team) definitely make mission-us.org a part of my curriculum.”

NETA Public Media Awards – from the judges’ comments: 
“For me, this is a grand slam out of the park in all ways. Incorporating such serious content in an interactive game that connects students not just to gaming aspects but to the ideals, concepts, and quite honestly difficult subject matter is outstanding…The fact that there are educator resources built in, it’s age appropriate – just wow.”

Testimonials from Educators, Parents, and Students