2006 News Archive

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„Kismajom” project is coming!
Computer game on the '56 Revolution

Written by Árpád Pünkösti
Translation by Eva Banszki

Népszabadság (A Hungarian daily newspaper)

October 25, 2006

Andrea Lauer Rice is a second generation Hungarian who learned Hungarian, her mother's tongue, as an adult. She has both lived and worked in Hungary and in this year alone she has been to the country at least six times. One of her greatest wishes is to teach Hungarian to her three and a half year old son Nicholas -the third generation of Hungarian Americans. Her husband is of Greek descent and she hopes he will learn her family's native tongue too. “I want to preserve my Hungarian background,” says Andrea resolutely.

As a journalist Andrea received her MBA degree and worked for five years in marketing at IBM, but she has never forgot her Hungarian roots or why she is an American citizen.

She says she has been interested in the 1956 Revolution in all of her life. This is demonstrated by the fact that her company Lauer Learning, founded two years ago, recently introduced FF56!, a bilingual, educational computer game.

“At first I wanted to make a documentary to pass the knowledge of my parents onto the next generation,” she said. “But, in the end, I created an interactive game: the best history book you will ever play.”

The game is historically accurate and enables sudents to role play different scenarios of the Revolution with 200 graphic novels and 28 mini games and experience the passion of the young freedom fighter rebels. Players gain Freedom Fighter Points by delivering medical supplies, rescuing the wounded, and battling Soviet soldiers and the dreaded secret police. At the Island Festival this summer in Budapest, hundreds of teens played the FF56! demo version.

Andrea says that among Hungarian Americans in the United States, there are many who are deeply committed to commemorating 1956. One child of a '56-er rode 1956 miles on his bicycle in memory of the Revolution, and another child of a '56-er is attempting to place a memorial guitar decorated in the theme of 1956 at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

“The Revolution is an historical event of which all Hungarians can be proud,” said Andrea, who also presented a copy of the recently published “56 Stories” book, containing stories collected and edited by Andrea and her mother, Edith K. Lauer. The book, published in both Hungarian and English, contains a uniquely rich photo collection and personal recollections of Hungarian Americans, who either experienced the Revolution themselves or have a family member who was in the revolution. The game includes some of these recollections as well as biographical detail. For example, during the Revolution, a pharmacist at Móricz Zsigmond Square tended to wounded freedom fighters and made Molotov cocktails in the cellar of the house where she worked. The pharmacist was Andrea's grandmother.

This and other books published recently on 1956 Revolution are helping to create a more objective view of the Revolution. According to research, we certainly need it.

Lauer Learning sponsored a reserach study with the Szocio-Graf Institute for Market and Public Opinion Research, in Pecs, Hungary in the spring of 2006. The survey results showed that only 12% of the 705 high school students polled mentioned the 1956 Revolution as one of the three most important events of Hungarian history. In addition, students mixed up the events and personalities of 1848, 1956 and 1990.

This is one reason why Andrea believes that learning must be made engaging for children who are greatly involved in today's world of modern technology and media.

“If we can't reach them, we can't teach them” is the philosophy of her company. Lauer Learning creates innovative, educational multimedia products to teach children about foreign languages, cultures and historic events.

Lauer Learning is planning to release a language teaching program called 'Kismajom'. But where does the “majom” (monkey) come from? Andrea's grandfather called her “Kismajom” (my little monkey) maybe because of her vivid gestures. That is why she named this product 'Kismajom'. She says she wants to create it for her son, Nicholas, and her husband too, and she plans to test it on them. The “Kismajom,” Hungarian language learning packets will consist of fun and imaginative DVDs, books and flashcards, to help parents raise their children bilingually.

'Jump into the Revolution' - is the tagline for FF56! Andrea Lauer Rice jumps into work. She will travel back to the U.S. soon because she is lecturing at the Serious Games Conference in Washington, D.C. All products will be available for purchase through the www.LauerLearning.com website.

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