(Under development/testing)
This poster presents a comparative survey of existing smoking cessation games the authors conducted in preparation to design a “Game for Health” based on their successful workbook Quit for Life: A Clinical Guide to Smoking Cessation. By incorporating game-play, intelligent feedback, and rewards into the self-monitoring approach employed by the book, the authors anticipate being able to increase access and efficacy of the system.
Click the column titles to sort the table.
| Game | Type | Platform | Target Audience | Play Style | Organization | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Cessation Nation | Milestone Tracker | Android | General Audience | Not really a game, though it includes a distraction game. | Ron Horner |
|
Choices: What Would I Do? (series) | Education | Online (Flash) | Teens, Young Adults | Text Adventure | Partnership for a Drug-Free America |
|
Community Clash | Education | Online (JavaScript) | General Audience | Card game style guessing. | "MeYou Health |
|
DSI: Drug Scene Investigators | Education | Online (Flash) | Pre-Teens, Teens | Simulated library and cases to solve. | InDepthLearning with Grant from National Institute of Drug Abuse |
|
Goal Post | Milestone Tracker | Online (Web) | General Audience | Not really a game; facilitates sharing milestones via facebook. | Goalpost.it |
|
Khemia | Distraction | Online (Unity) | General Audience | Pattern Unlocking (2 styles: Fast and Strategic) | Vermont Quit Network |
|
Kongregate Quit Smoking | Distraction | Online (Flash) | General Audience | Brickout with Lungs instead of brick wall and cigarette instead of paddle | Kongregate.com |
|
Lit 2 Quit! (Under development/testing) |
Smoking Replacement | Smart Phones | General Audience | Uses the smart phone's microphone to listen to "puffing" and give players a cigarette-free way to satisfy their desire to smoke. The app's two modes are designed to mimic the stimulant and relaxant effects of smoking. | Dr. Charles Kinzer, Teachers College, Columbia University |
|
My Stop Smoking Coach with Allen Carr | Education | Nintendo DS | Adults, Young Adults | 15 mini-games aimed at nicotine addiction education. Reward system using a "Path to Freedom meter" to measure progress, and calendar of daily benefits from life without cigarettes. | Ubisoft Quebec |
|
NicoDerm CQ | Distraction | Online (Flash) | General Audience | Mini-Arcade Style (Games have nothing to do with quitting but are offered as a distraction for when a cigarette is wanted.) | GlaxoSmithKline |
|
quitsmokinggames.com Collection | Distraction | Online (Flash) | General Audience | Shooting and Jigsaw Puzzle games (i.e. shoot at cigarette with e-cigarette) | http://www.quitsmokinggames.com/ |
|
quittingsmokingtimeline.com | Distraction | Online (Flash) | General Audience | Asteroids, but with cigarettes | The Visability Group Incorporated |
|
Rex Ronan:Experimental Surgeon | Distraction | Super Nintendo, Windows 95 | General Audience | Side-Scrolling Arcade | Sculptured Software |
|
Sara's Quest | Education | Online (Flash, Text) | Pre-Teens, Teens | Q&A | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) |
|
Smoke Attack | Distraction | PC (Windows 95-98, Windows XP) | General Audience | Arcade Action | Blackpencil Entertainment AG with the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health |
|
Space Wranglers | Education | Online (Flash) | Teens | Multiple choice questions presented as asteroids - players shoot the asteroid with the correct answer. | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) |
|
Stop Sunny Smoking | Education | Online (Flash) | Pre-Teen | Kick the soccer ball to stop the falling cigarettes. | Sunderland AFC Foundation |
|
Wally Bear and the NO! Gang | Education | Nintendo Entertainment System (cartridge) | Children, Pre-Teens, Teens | Side-Scrolling Arcade | American Game Cartridges, Inc. in cooperation with the American Medical Association and the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information. (released 1992) |
As healthcare undergoes significant technology-driven change “Games for Health” are increasing in use and are receiving greater attention from the NSF, NIH, and the international medical community. Early efforts are delivering on the promise of great potential to significantly improve well-being, particularly by employing behavior modification techniques to encourage the adoption of healthier lifestyle choices and habits1. For the past 15 years the Quit for Life system has been used to help patients quit smoking. With the ubiquitous computing now afforded by devices such as iPads and smart phones the authors believe it is possible to make the workbook’s content easier, more effective, and fun. The authors have surveyed the existing smoking cessation software offerings to assess their use of game-play, and compare the various software packages’ reward techniques, and patient-monitoring approaches with those employed in the original Quit for Life workbook. In addition, the various platforms and platform-specific features of these software packages were compared.
The vast majority of smoking cessation games fall into two categories: Educational games designed to discourage smoking, and distraction games to take the player’s mind off of their cravings. In the latter category one wonders if those games which incorporate smoking metaphors might actually be counter-productive in this goal. Several of the packages identified are not really games, however they do show up in searches for smoking cessation games and are likely to be found by smokers looking to quit, so they are included here. Of all the games identified, Goal Post is the only one which incorporates the type of behavior modification techniques employed by Quit for Life. Goal Post is not a game itself however, but merely incorporates a distraction game.
The authors believe that by creating a fun and intelligent game based on their successful monitoring and feedback systems will encourage more patients to successfully quit smoking and that there is a lack of such games at this time.