Being seriously injured in an accident is not a game. But it seems being educated on how to avoid serious injury can be.
University of Otago student James Hamilton (23) has created a board game for those aged 4-8 years which aims to teach them how to avoid common dangers around the home and at school.
The bachelor of teaching student came up with the idea while on a three-month scholarship at the Child Injury Prevention Unit of New Zealand.
During the scholarship, Mr Hamilton said he delved into child injuries, not just from a statistical perspective, but by examining prevention methods used for teaching adults and children.
''It became glaringly obvious that there was a significant lack of educational-based resources that had the appeal to children or the content to educate.
''In fact, it was often found that a trade-off between the two existed.''
He said unintentional injuries among 0-9 year-olds were typically caused by sharp objects, falls, being struck by or against something, fire or hot equipment, machinery, vehicle crashes, overexertion, suffocation, poisoning, drowning and firearms.
''The primary aim of this scholarship was to create an educational resource that assisted children and families in identifying areas of risk and how to prevent these unintentional injuries from taking place.''
He said the lack of effective educational resources prompted him to develop a working prototype board game for use as a teaching resource, aligned with the appropriate curriculum, while still holding the entertainment value of traditional board games.
''Having had experience in the early childhood education sector, it seemed natural and sensible to draw on my own skill set and complement that with the skill sets of experts and contributors in fields essential to the well-rounded development of this resource.''
The game, called Safety Sleuths, is a cross between Snakes and Ladders, Monopoly and Cluedo, he said.
It encourages children to take on the role of a detective, rolling a dice to move around the board and answering questions such as: ''What should you do if you find a medicine bottle?''
Correct answers earn the Safety Sleuths tokens.
The first person to collect six tokens wins the game.
''It's getting that social dynamic of fun and board games, while also reinforcing some of these ideas of being able to be safe in any instance.
''We don't just cover household problems. It's things like not wearing your helmet while biking, or not swimming between the flags at the beach.
''We've tried to cover a broad range.''
Mr Hamilton was delighted with responses to the game so far, and now believes it might have commercial potential.
He is investigating interest in selling it at retail outlets, and also hopes the Ministry of Education will pick it up and use it in schools as an education resource.
''If it really takes off, then maybe we can refine the game into specific avenues such as the fire department and see if they will endorse it - just looking at burns and injuries from fire.''
Safety Sleuths
The Rules:
• Each sleuth rolls the dice and moves their counter around the board.
• If you land on an ''Uh Oh'' square or an ''Evidence'' square, pick up the corresponding card and follow the instructions or answer the question.
• Correct answers or actions are rewarded with tokens for your case file.
• Continue taking turns until a sleuth fills all six spots in their case file with tokens.
• The first to fill their case file wins.
