Safer Sex Shuffle (originally pitched as “Safe Sex with Friends”) was the winner at the 2013 Games for Change Game Design Competition and received a $35,000 developement grant for its completion in partnership with Answer.org, a non-profit organization devoted to providing progressive safer sex awareness information to young people via their website Sex Etc.
A browser-based game optimized for mobile access, this casual tile matching game was designed to teach young people the mechanics of using barrier methods for safer sex practices in a funny and engaging way without embedded assumptions about sexual orientation. In the game players create chains linking whimsically illustrated body parts with protection methods such as condoms and dental dams, trying to connect as many tiles safely as possible. Details like a roll-the-dice shuffle mode and choose-your-own “?” tiles keep the experience interesting as players try to beat the clock for the highest score. Safer Sex Shuffle was completed by Kaho Abe, Ramsay Nasser and Sarah Schoemann in 2014, you can read about our original game concept in FastCompany, Kotaku.au and Gamasutra.com.
