It Will Be Interesting — You Will Become More Knowledgeable!

A local-history game entitled “A Purchase 290 Years Ago,” dedicated to the Counts Broel-Plater, who purchased Krāslava in 1729, was presented at the Central Library of Krāslava Municipality. The game was created by Anna Bartuša, a librarian at the Central Library of Krāslava Municipality, while Ilona Cabule, the library’s computer network administrator, took care of its computer layout.

The game’s annotation explains that 2019 marked 290 years since Count Jan Ludwik Broel-Plater purchased Krāslava. With the arrival of the Broel-Plater family in Krāslava, the town gradually became a centre of social, economic and cultural life. The areas of economic activity begun by the father were continued by his son, Count Konstantin Ludwik Broel-Plater.

In essence, this is an educational game featuring local-history research. The game contains 28 questions, each accompanied by three possible answers, only one of which is correct. Once an answer has been given, players can read an explanation substantiating the correct answer. However, players will have to count for themselves how many questions they have answered correctly.

The first people to learn about 18th- and 19th-century Krāslava with the help of this game, recall historical twists and turns they already knew, and discover something entirely new were the sixth-grade students of Krāslava Varavīksne Secondary School. As I observed from the sidelines, the game captivated them. The student Anastasija Vanaga agreed to share her opinion: “When I came to the library to learn about the game, I found exactly what I had hoped for: I wanted to learn more about the Counts Plater and our Krāslava. I liked that you have to choose the correct answer for each question, and when you answer correctly, you feel very uplifted and happy that you have not made a mistake. Only a few questions were very difficult for me, but I knew the correct answers to many of them, even though I had only recently begun taking an interest in this subject. I would recommend the game not only to my peers; I think such a game would be interesting for all the people of Krāslava—students, parents, grandparents and so on.”

At present, the game is available at the Central Library of Krāslava Municipality, but its creators promise that soon it will also be possible to download the game onto a computer and play it at home or elsewhere.

Before the game is published on the library’s website, its author, librarian Anna Bartuša, invites everyone interested to play the local-history game in person by attending an event at the library. In February, follow information about the event time in “Krāslavas Vēstis,” on the library’s website and on the library’s Facebook account.