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Now that we have covered many health-related topics in previous blog articles, such as:
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Getting quality sleep
- Reducing Salt, Oil, Sugar (S.O.S.)
- Quit smoking and drinking
- Mental well-being
- and many more…
I have incorporated all these health promoting ideas into a little board game, the modified Snakes and Ladders. The purpose of the game is to inculcate the habits and mindsets of healthy lifestyle and diet. It is a fun game for you to play with family members, and take the opportunity to reflect on yourself and educate other players.
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You can download the board here and print it in colour on A3 paper. As for the die, it requires a little effort to cut out and fold according to the instructions given.
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The Snakes and Ladders board game
The concept is exactly same as the traditional Snakes and Ladders board game. There are ups and downs along the way as you move, but you will only move up the ladders when you practise healthy habits, and slide down the snakes when having unhealthy habits. The focus of the modified board game is on the habits and lifestyle.
The die and moves
The die adopts healthy plate concept to replace number dots. Each face is corresponding to the variations of healthy plate that you consume.
As you can see from the die, if you only eat either meat / tofu / egg or wholemeal / brown rice, you only get to move 1 step.
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When you make your healthy plate more complete, you will move more steps. Until you add in water and fruits, you can move 6 steps.
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The bigger moves represent a better and comprehensive choice of healthy plate than the smaller moves.
How to play the Snakes and Ladders?
- All players will choose a token and place at the start box (box 1).
- The first player will roll the die once. Depends on the side facing up, it corresponds to the number of steps as showed on the right of the board.
- The second and subsequent players will take turns to roll the die and move accordingly.
- When stopping at boxes with ladders, player will get to climb up to a higher number, showing a positive lifestyle.
- On the contrary, when stopping at bad habits, player will slide down from the snake head all the way to the box where the snake tail ends.
- Players can set their own rules, such as rolling die once more when get 6 moves, skip a turn, or force another player back to box 1 when meeting at a same box.
Conclusion
Messages from the board game:
- Healthy life is a combination of healthy habits, diet, lifestyle, mental well-being, and good personal hygiene.
- Even when you practise healthy habits (the board), but you are not following healthy plate (the die), you will not progress fast.
- Similarly, if you only eat your meals according to healthy plate (the die), but not putting attention on a healthy lifestyle (the board), you will eventually meet the snakes and slide down more often.
Leave a comment and let me know if this is fun. You can also share with me your experience and happy moments.
