A group of 150 high school students huddled around laptops at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., on Monday as they competed in a video game competition to demonstrate their knowledge of the Constitution. The stakes were high. A tour of the U.S. Supreme Court was on the line.

For those who doubt that a tour of the high court could persuade teenagers to spend the prime of their summers learning about constitutional principles, doubt no more: The three students from the winning team — T.J., Stratton and Mack — told me the tour was enough to make them try hard for the highest score.

Then again, these aren't your typical high school students. The students came to Georgetown to take a three-week college-level course in a summer program run by the Junior State of America. All of the courses offered involve politics, law or international relations.

Students played "Do I Have a Right?," a video game developed by iCivics that takes about 30 minutes to play. The game lets students take on the role of a constitutional lawyer who opens a law firm. Students hire another constitutional lawyer who specializes in a specific right. Customers come in with dilemmas, and players must determine whether that customer has a legitimate complaint. If so, the customer has to be matched with the appropriate lawyer or asked to return when the firm has hired a lawyer who can take their case.

Not only does the game help players learn about the Constitution, it also helps develop their business skills. The players learn how to allocate scarce resources, as they must decide between hiring more lawyers who specialize in various rights, placing ads to attract more customers and upgrading their waiting area so customers don't leave while lawyers are busy.

"It was really fun, and by the end you know all the amendments by heart," Alexandre, from Florida, told the Washington Examiner.

While a few of the students told me that they learned about rights they didn't know they had, most of the high schoolers said it was useful for learning which rights correspond to which constitutional amendment number. The game also showed students how rights can be applied in everyday life.

"Honestly, I didn't know like a lot of the amendments at all, and [the game] was definitely really helpful, because you don't even realize you were learning," Sarah from Las Vegas told the Examiner. "People can't take advantage of you if you know your rights."

The game was designed for middle school students, making some of the competitors wary at first, but they appeared to enjoy it in the end.

"I am a 17 year old uprising senior at a very rigorous arts high school, but it was still very fun for me, as someone who likes to consider themselves almost an adult," Gabriel, from California, told the Examiner. Gabriel said he would tell all his teachers about the game, as well as his mother, who teaches high school.

"It was just a nice, fun little way to introduce people to basic constitutional principles," said John, a student from New York City, whose laptop sported a Rand Paul sticker. "In terms of specific rights, beyond the usual 'don't tread on me,' 'no police in my house' kind of thing, it helped with that."

The students seemed to be split on whether they would play other iCivics games on their own time, but everyone would have been happy to play more games during class.

The game is useful not only for teaching students, but also for motivating them to get more involved in politics.

"They're having fun, it's amazing," JSA's CEO Jeff Harris said while watching the students compete. "They're so into it." Harris seemed glad the JSA had included the iCivics game in their summer curriculum. "One of the things we've been looking at in our organization is how to promote civic engagement in the digital space. ... [iCivics] was just a natural fit."

"I think it's important that you understand your political system and your rights and where you're coming from so you can make a difference," Nyatasha, from New York, told the Examiner.

"It's part of the American way, I think every American should know our amendments," said Stratton, from Idaho.

After the competition, I tried the game out for myself. The result? An average score, but it'll take a couple more tries before I can compete with the likes of T.J., Stratton and Mack.