Originally titled as “Sneeze”, but with the onset of the swine flu, they have renamed it “Stop Swine Flu”, according to a recent New York Times article on the game. As unpleasant as it sounds, the Web based game was designed to give young people an idea of how germs spread when it comes to catching a cold (or in this case, the flu). This is a fantastic use of a simple, yet engaging way for young people to actually visualize how easy it is for colds/germs to spread – especially noting how you can get extra points for making an elderly person sick (probably the ‘twisted’ part of the game that the 8 year old from the article describes).

Along with wanting to eagerly attain the next level, I definitely have become more aware of my surroundings and how to cover my mouth/nose to prevent this from happening in real life. Now that I mention it, the CDC has put together a great page of information on how to prevent yourself from getting sick – complete with highlights of how you can use social media to get the word to others.

Go ahead, try the game out for yourself and let us know what you think!