What if...?: a fun game to get children thinking and talking about staying safe : NSPCC inform

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What if...?

A fun game to get children thinking and talking about staying safe

Every child has the right to feel safe and to have someone to turn to for advice, guidance or help when they need it.

What if...? is a collaborative, electronic board game on CD for practitioners engaged in therapeutic work with children and young people from seven to 12 years. It has been developed by the NSPCC and e-learning agency Fuel.

Use the game to support your work with children

What if...? is designed to enable children to recognise when a situation may be unsafe, and to help them learn how to handle safely situations that are risky or make them feel uncertain.

You can use it to promote discussion and problem-solving behaviour about serious issues, to help develop protective behaviours and assist your assessment of the thinking of children you work with.

Choose scenarios from a range of themes, including:

the internet
anger-provoking situations
looked after children
drugs and alcohol
bullying.

You can also input your own scenarios to suit the circumstances of a child you are working with. Downloadable notes are included to explain the features, and how to set up and play.

Fun for children

Children and young people can personalise the game by:

entering their name
choosing their shark, rabbit, cat, penguin, dog or bear counter
filling in the names on their own helping hand
printing a certificate when they have completed the game.

Activities to start you talking

Simple, on-screen instructions guide practitioners and children through the game. On their journey, players will encounter:

Challenge cards - silly things to do and fun tasks using paper, felt tips or play dough.
The Wheel of Fortune - spin the wheel and see what happens!
Lucky breaks that help them move towards their destination and unlucky breaks that set them back.
What if...? cards - opportunities to think, talk, problem-solve and make decisions.

Players collect a FULL STOP for every challenge they undertake, and every scenario they consider. These appear on screen and on their certificate.