---
title: Games vs history: tech trees, barbarians, empty lands, wonders and f… — how Mova does on the tests · History
description: Lesson 80 of the history course of Mova's primary school: 9 of 12 tests right, exam 1 of 4, every question with the options, the student's choice, the right answer and why it chose.
---

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# Games vs history: tech trees, barbarians, empty lands, wonders and falls

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**Tests:** 9 of 12 right · **Exam:** 1 of 4 right · **Kind:** ★★★ · **Understood:** 12 of 16 · **Run:** 2026-10-18, commit `f3c23ea72`

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Lesson 80 of the history course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: [the lesson in the corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/history/80-games-vs-history-tech-trees-barbarians-empty-lands-wonders-and-falls/).

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Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: [the lesson's questions in the corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/80-games-vs-history-tech-trees-barbarians-empty-lands-wonders-and-falls/).

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### Test 1 · ★★★ · right ✓ {#t1}

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Leo's tech tree goes in a straight line. "So history had to go like that, it's literally scripted." What's the best reply?

- **1.** Yes, God made a tech tree for each country — no support
- **2.** No; inventions depended on needs and luck, and some were even forgotten — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 6
- **3.** No, because there were no inventions before 1800 — no support
- **4.** Yes, every country in the world got the same techs in exactly the same order — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 80, line 6: «Real inventions depended on needs, accidents and resources, not a fixed tree; some were even forgotten, like ways of making Roman concrete in western Europe, s…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «depend» (+4); the same circumstance (+2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/80-games-vs-history-tech-trees-barbarians-empty-lands-wonders-and-falls/t1/)

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### Test 2 · ★★★ · wrong ✗ {#t2}

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Max's game shows "barbarians" as screaming hordes with clubs. His mate: "Barbs were just savages, innit." What's true?

- **1.** They were all one single tribe — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Many so-called barbarians had laws, trade and arts, and the Goths were Christians — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** They lived only in caves — no support
- **4.** They had no language at all — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/80-games-vs-history-tech-trees-barbarians-empty-lands-wonders-and-falls/t2/)

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### Test 3 · ★★★ · right ✓ {#t3}

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In Europa Universalis, Ava sends a colonist to "uncolonised" land in Australia. Her nan, from Brisbane: "Empty, my foot, love." What does nan mean?

- **1.** Only kangaroos lived there — no support
- **2.** The game is completely right — no support
- **3.** Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples lived there for tens of thousands of years — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 9
- **4.** Australia really was empty until 1788 — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 3 with score 9, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 68, line 4: «Taxes shape how people live. From 1696 to 1851 England taxed houses by their windows, so people bricked some up, and you can still see the dark patches today.…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «people» (+5); the same action «live» (+4). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/80-games-vs-history-tech-trees-barbarians-empty-lands-wonders-and-falls/t3/)

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### Test 4 · ★★★ · right ✓ {#t4}

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Jaden's civ builds the pyramids in five turns with one click. His teacher: "Count again." What's the real story?

- **1.** One pharaoh built it all by himself in a week, just like in the game — score 3
- **2.** It built itself from desert sand — score 4
- **3.** Thousands of workers built the Great Pyramid over many years — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 6
- **4.** Slaves from Rome built it — score 3

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 6, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 80, line 9: «The list of Seven Wonders was made by ancient Greek writers; of the seven, only the Great Pyramid of Giza still stands, and it was built by thousands of worker…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «build» (+2); the same doer «thousands» (+2); the same thing acted on «pyramid» (+2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/80-games-vs-history-tech-trees-barbarians-empty-lands-wonders-and-falls/t4/)

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### Test 5 · ★★★ · right ✓ {#t5}

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Ella's game pops up: "The Maya have fallen!" Her Guatemalan friend laughs: "Bro, I'm literally Maya." What should be put right?

- **1.** Ella's friend is joking, the Maya are long gone — no support
- **2.** Maya cities declined, but millions of Maya people live and speak Mayan languages today — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 9
- **3.** The Maya never existed — score 2
- **4.** The Maya vanished without a trace — score 2

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 9, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 80, line 2: «Games give you a tech tree in a fixed order, neat borders in one colour per country, «barbarians» with no culture, «empty» land to settle, wonders built by one…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «cities» (+5); the same action «decline» (+4). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/80-games-vs-history-tech-trees-barbarians-empty-lands-wonders-and-falls/t5/)

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### Test 6 · ★★★ · right ✓ {#t6}

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Kai's game leader is still ruling after 6,000 years. "Lol, immortal king, he's built different." ("Built different" means special.) What would happen in real life?

- **1.** Everyone would forget who he was — no support
- **2.** The ruler would die, and someone else would take power and maybe change things — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 4
- **3.** The country would vanish when he got tired — no support
- **4.** The ruler would live for ever — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 2 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 80, line 2: «Games give you a tech tree in a fixed order, neat borders in one colour per country, «barbarians» with no culture, «empty» land to settle, wonders built by one…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «die» (+2); the same doer «rulers» (+2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/80-games-vs-history-tech-trees-barbarians-empty-lands-wonders-and-falls/t6/)

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### Test 7 · ★★★ · right ✓ {#t7}

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Mia: "My civ won a science victory, GG!" ("GG" means good game.) Her teacher: "Real history has no finish line." What does she mean?

- **1.** History ended in 1821 — no support
- **2.** History keeps going with no winner, and we are part of it — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 10
- **3.** Only scientists are part of history — score 10
- **4.** The first country to build a spaceship wins, and then history stops — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 10, tied with another option at 10 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 80, line 12: «History has no finish line and no winner; it keeps going, and we are part of it.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same thing acted on «part» (+3); the same circumstance (+2); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/80-games-vs-history-tech-trees-barbarians-empty-lands-wonders-and-falls/t7/)

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### Test 8 · ★★★ · wrong ✗ {#t8}

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Leo picks "England" and paints the map red. His teacher: "Real empires were mixed." Which example shows it?

- **1.** The Ottoman Empire had one language only, and everyone spoke Turkish — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Empires never had more than one town — no support
- **3.** England has always been one colour — no support
- **4.** The Ottoman Empire had many peoples, languages and religions — **✓ the right answer** · no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/80-games-vs-history-tech-trees-barbarians-empty-lands-wonders-and-falls/t8/)

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### Test 9 · ★★★ · right ✓ {#t9}

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Sam's game borders are crisp lines. His Geordie grandad: "Howay, man, borders were proper mucky back then." ("Howay, man" means come on; "mucky" means messy.) What's true?

- **1.** Borders were always painted on the ground in bright, crisp lines — no support
- **2.** Borders did not exist at all — no support
- **3.** Many borders were fuzzy until modern maps and treaties — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 5
- **4.** Every field had a border wall — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 80, line 14: «For most of history borders were often fuzzy, with lands that paid tribute to two rulers or to none, until modern maps, surveys and treaties drew sharper lines.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «most borders» (+2); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+2); the same property (+1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/80-games-vs-history-tech-trees-barbarians-empty-lands-wonders-and-falls/t9/)

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### Test 10 · ★★★ · wrong ✗ {#t10}

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Ruby: "Where are the peasants in this game? It's all kings and generals, tho." What's the real picture?

- **1.** Most people, often eight or nine in ten, were farmers — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** Peasants were very rare, most people were lords and knights — no support
- **3.** Kings and generals did most of the farming by themselves — no support
- **4.** Nobody farmed at all before tractors and machines came along — **← Mova's choice** · score 4

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**Why:** It took the question to ask where. It chose option 4 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 80, line 4: «Games are still good teachers of some things: maps and geography, trade-offs, cause and effect, and the habit of thinking «what would happen if»; Europa Univer…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same place «all» (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/80-games-vs-history-tech-trees-barbarians-empty-lands-wonders-and-falls/t10/)

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### Test 11 · ★★★ · right ✓ {#t11}

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Ben's AI rival pops up: "I denounce you!" Ben: "Was real diplomacy that salty?" ("Salty" means grumpy.) What do the Amarna letters show?

- **1.** Kings sent only armies, never letters — score -2
- **2.** Kings wrote polite letters, called each other «brother» and asked for gifts — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 6
- **3.** Kings never talked to each other — no support
- **4.** Kings only shouted insults — score 5

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 6, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 75, line 9: «The alphabet began with signs made by workers in Egypt and Sinai around 1800 BCE; the first letter, which became A, was a picture of an ox's head.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same thing acted on «first letter» (+3). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/80-games-vs-history-tech-trees-barbarians-empty-lands-wonders-and-falls/t11/)

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### Test 12 · ★★★ · right ✓ {#t12}

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Leo: "Games teach history, so I don't need books, no cap!" His teacher: "They teach some things." Which is the wisest plan?

- **1.** Never play games at all — score 1
- **2.** Trust the game completely — no support
- **3.** Use the game as a start, then check books, museums and the people whose history it is — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 4
- **4.** Believe whatever the loudest player says — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 4, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 80, line 5: «So play, then check: use the game as the first page, and books, museums and the people whose history it is as the rest of the story.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «people» (+2); the same doer «history» (+2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/80-games-vs-history-tech-trees-barbarians-empty-lands-wonders-and-falls/t12/)

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### Exam question 1 · formal language · right ✓ {#e1}

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Identify the principal deficiency of the representation of land as «empty» within strategy games.

- **1.** Such lands were in most instances inhabited by peoples with their own lives and rights — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 5
- **2.** Such lands were in all instances wholly uninhabited until the arrival of European settlers — no support
- **3.** Such lands did not exist prior to the game — no support
- **4.** Such lands were inhabited solely by animals — score 3

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 5, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 80, line 8: «Most lands that empires called empty had people living there; Britain treated Australia as «terra nullius», nobody's land, until 1992, when Australia's highest…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «live» (+3); the same circumstance (+2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/80-games-vs-history-tech-trees-barbarians-empty-lands-wonders-and-falls/e1/)

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### Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e2}

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Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the circumstances of the Maya following the decline of their southern cities around the ninth century?

- **1.** They disappeared entirely during the ninth century and left behind no descendants of any kind — no support
- **2.** They were transported to Europe — no support
- **3.** Their cities never declined in any respect — **← Mova's choice** · score 8
- **4.** Their descendants persisted, numbering millions and speaking Mayan languages to this day — **✓ the right answer** · score 5

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**Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 3 with score 8, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 80, line 2: «Games give you a tech tree in a fixed order, neat borders in one colour per country, «barbarians» with no culture, «empty» land to settle, wonders built by one…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+6); the same action «decline» (+4); the same doer «cities» (+4). Against it: one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-6). The right option, 4, scored 5. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/80-games-vs-history-tech-trees-barbarians-empty-lands-wonders-and-falls/e2/)

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### Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e3}

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Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the composition of the population in agrarian societies.

- **1.** The majority were monarchs and military commanders — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Agriculture was conducted solely by machinery — no support
- **3.** The great majority, frequently eight or nine persons in ten, were engaged in farming — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** Farmers constituted fewer than one person in a hundred, the remainder being artisans and merchants — no support

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**Why:** Nothing it remembers matched the question, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/80-games-vs-history-tech-trees-barbarians-empty-lands-wonders-and-falls/e3/)

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### Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e4}

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Ascertain the response most consistent with a judicious use of historical strategy games.

- **1.** They should supersede all historical scholarship — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** They constitute a complete and accurate record of the past — no support
- **3.** They possess no value whatsoever — no support
- **4.** They may serve as an introduction, to be verified against books and knowledgeable persons — **✓ the right answer** · no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/80-games-vs-history-tech-trees-barbarians-empty-lands-wonders-and-falls/e4/)

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- ← previous: [79. Worries and hopes: climate, the UN, space, AI, a…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/history/79-worries-and-hopes-is-the-world-getting-better/)
- next →: [81. Alice's Victorian world: tea, croquet, pocket wa…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/history/81-alice-s-victorian-world-tea-croquet-pocket-watches-shillings-and-chimney-sweeps/)
- ↑ back to [History](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/history/)