Bench

Each case has a hidden governing principle. Play argument cards and the Bench responds: green means you found the principle and win, amber means a related thread, grey means off-point. Use the feedback to rule out principles and win with the fewest wrong arguments.

• Play an argument card from your hand to test a line of reasoning
• Read the colour feedback, green wins, amber is warm, grey is cold
• Watch which principle chips get dimmed out as you narrow the field
• Solve the case using as few wrong arguments as possible

• Desktop: click an argument card to play it
• Phone & tablet: tap a card to play it

• Treat each amber as a clue, it links the answer to a neighbouring principle
• Eliminate by colour: every grey card removes a whole family of principles from contention
• Higher-subtlety cases need a sharper read of the partial feedback before you commit

Bench teaches constitutional principles through guided trial and error, building reasoning about rights and the courts.

• Skills: civics, constitutional principles, judicial reasoning, the courts
• Best for: roughly grades 8–12 (ages 13+)
• For parents & teachers: constitutional reasoning through guided cases.

Playing argument cards and reading the Bench's green, amber or grey response is an appellate hearing, and the hidden governing principle is the case's ratio.

Grading arguments as on-point, related or irrelevant is the original feedback.

That grading is what precedent means in practice. A case is decided by the principle it turns on, so an argument can be true, well made and still grey because it addresses a different question — which is the distinction between being right and being relevant.

Bench is an original legal deduction game that teaches constitutional principles through guided trial and error. It is free to play in your browser with daily and practice cases.

A free, original browser game on PlayPendium. No download, no install.