This scenario activity makes checks and balances click by treating each branch's power like a play in a game: one branch makes a move, and students have to name the branch that counters it and exactly how. Instead of memorizing a list of checks, students work six realistic situations — a vetoed insulin bill, an app ban headed to the Supreme Court, an executive order on immigration, a presidential pardon of an ally, a corrupt judge with lifetime tenure — and break down the move, the counter, and