Have a Mac or PC? Then you have Chaco Canyon

Explore Chaco the way it is… And the way it was.

Virtual Archaeology in 3D

To unlock the secrets of Chaco Canyon, you’ll need to excavate the Great Houses, and find realistic Anasazi artifacts and objects. With each discovery, you’ll reveal more of the mystery.

Fun, entertaining, and highly educational for the entire family. No violence or controversial material, suitable for all ages.

Stunning 3D recreation of Chaco Canyon

All 14 major Chacoan buildings have been faithfully re-constructed. Excavate the ruins, find priceless artifacts, and the secrets of each Great House are revealed to you.

The Amazing “Sun Dagger”

 

The Sun Dagger is a remarkable celestial calendar of the Anasazi, aka “Ancestral Pueblo Indians”. Research by the Solstice Project has shown that the Chaco culture’s ceremonial architecture was built to align with the cycles of the sun and moon. The Sun Dagger is a remarkably accurate pre-historic calendar that tracks solstices, the equinox, and a subtle 18.6 year cycle of the moon.

This would have been extremely important for agriculture (planting, harvesting) and ceremonial events.

This program has a working 3D model of the Sun Dagger. Simply put in any date and time, and see how the play of light and shadows appeared!

Uncover the Secrets of Chaco Canyon

This program provides the user with a deep understanding of the Chaco Phenomenon. A fun, educational experience for anyone interested in Chaco Canyon, Anasazi, Native American or US History.

Chaco Architecture

The fourteen key Chaco buildings have been brought back to life in stunning 3D. For the first time, see shadows of the moving sun and moon across the architecture and terrain of Chaco.

Realistic Day / Night Cycles

The canyon is faithfully reproduced. As you move around the landscape and architecture, watch the patterns of sun and moon, and the shadows they create for any date or time.

Virtual 3D Archaeology

For the first time ever in a consumer program, experience the excitement and thrill of excavating Pueblo Bonito and the other Great Houses of Chaco, revealing authentic Anasazi artifacts.

Realistic Artifacts

More than 40 artifacts have been reconstructed in 3D for you to excavate. Includes replicas of many important items uncovered during the early days of Chaco archaeology.

Functioning Sun Dagger

This alone is worth the price of the program. Visit the Sun Dagger, put in any time/date combination, and see how the Sun Dagger would have appeared. Simply amazing!

Supports Four Languages

Includes English, German, French, and Spanish versions.

Program Walk Through

A time-lapse video of Chaco Canyon greets you at the Main Menu. Let’s go to “Settings” and choose our language & music options.
Anasazi of Chaco Canyon computer game settings menu
We’ll choose English and our background music choices, then click “Save”. If you’ve finished the game, or want to start over from the beginning, you can choose “Reset All Data”.
How to Play Anasazi of Chaco Canyon
The Anasazi of Chaco Canyon Computer Simulation is very easy to use, but we’ve provided a helpful section to get the player started. Let’s get started! Click “Play Game”
current progress in the chaco canyon game
Shows our current progress. We have excavated Penasco Blanco, Casa Chiquita, Pueblo Bonito, and Chetro Ketl. The “Learn Button” tells you the story of that Great House, and the secrets you uncovered while excavating it. First, let’s check out our “Inventory”
3d replicas of actual Chaco Canyon artifacts
Our inventory screen shows all the artifacts we have unearthed so far, with information and a 3D view. Note: These are 3D replicas of ACTUAL treasures found in Chaco Canyon and across the Anasazi range! Now, let’s go back to “Current Progress” and choose “Play Game”
chaco canyon game themepark map.
You can choose where to want to excavate next from the “Current Progress” screen, or click on a Great House from the main map. Let’s choose Chetro Ketl.
Chetro Ketl Excavation
We can see Chetro Ketl has three areas that need to be excavated. Let’s click on one of them and get started.
digging in chaco
This room is covered in 800 years of dust and decay. use the shovel to start digging and exploring, first by removing the weeds and shrubs.
looking for anasazi artifacts.
Now we’ve removed the brush and started gently excavating, looking for Anasazi artifacts.
inspecting the dig, looking for anasazi artifacts
We may have found something! We’ll use the magnifying glass to zoom in on the spot and get a closer look.
finding anasazi pottery in chaco canyon
It looks like we have indeed found something, and it looks like an intact pottery jar. Choose from among your tools; trowel, pick, or brush. Here, we’ll gently brush away the dirt and dig around the artifact. Careful!
digging for artifacts in the chaco canyon game.
Gently brushing away the dirt…….
anasazi pottery jar collected
Success! We have recovered an intact pottery jar.
excavation progress
Once all artifacts are recovered from an excavation area, you can move on to the next.
chetro ketl information revealed
Once we have excavated all the rooms, we will have learned the story of the Great House, and now have the information necessary to see it in restored condition.
Chaco Canyon Great House "Chetro Ketl" in restored condition
Chetro Ketl Great House, Restored

Fly with the Birds over Chaco Canyon

As you restore the ruins of Chaco, you can fly freely with the birds across the canyon, and see your progress.

flying over Chaco Canyon
In Free Fly mode, you soar with the birds over Chaco Canyon and enjoy amazing views. Here flying over Pueblo del Arroyo, still in its ruined state.
free fly mode, Anasazi of Chaco Canyon game.
To enter “Free Fly” mode, click the button from the main map.
moving across chaco canyon in free fly mode of the game.
Flying is easy! Simply use your mouse to choose the direction you wish to go, and use the W, A, S, D keys to move. If you hold down “shift”, you can go faster.
pueblo bonito ruins.
Flying over the cliff behind Pueblo Bonito while it is still in ruined condition.
pueblo bonito restored.
Pueblo Bonito in restored condition.
fajada butte and sun dagger site.
Let’s fly to Fajajda Butte and see if we can find the legendary “Sun Dagger”

The Sun Dagger

sun dagger sandstone slabs on fajada butte.
There it is! The three famous sandstone slabs that shape the light and helped the Chacoans determine Solstices and Equinoxes. Let’s peek behind the slabs and see if the petroglyphs are there.
petroglyphs behind sandstone slabs on fajada butte, the "sun dagger"
Behind the three sandstone slabs, the spiral petroglyph. Let’s active the “Time of Day” Feature in the software by clicking on the clock button in the lower right of the screen.
winter solstice in the year 1120 on the Sun Dagger.
Now, we can choose any date and time in history and see what the Sun Dagger actually displayed. Here, we’ve chosen the Winter Solstice in the year 1120, when Chaco was at its peak. It’s amazing to think of the Chacoan Sun Priest watching this very signal at this precise time and announcing to all that the days would begin to get longer.

 

Video: In-Game Sun Dagger in Action

Video: Pueblo Bonito Restored in 3D

Buy Now & Download for Mac Computers:

Buy & Download for PC / Windows Computers:

The Anasazi of Chaco Canyon Program is a product of:

Shadowplay Communication, LLC
PO Box 61072
Boulder City, Nevada, 89006
(800) 376-6274
info@chaco-canyon.com