Games for Health

Cyclothymia shows us how to deal with a mental health issue through astrology

This is not the first time Kara Stone has talked about mental health through a videogame. Previously, she had us participate in the rituals that her doctor prescribed—taking medicine, breathing exercises, practising absolute somatic control—in MedicationMeditation. Now, with her latest game, Cycloth

I’m Positive aims to reduce the stigma around getting tested for HIV

Pardon me, but let’s start this out with a personal question: Have you been tested for HIV? If you’re aged between 13 and 64 years old then it’s recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that you get tested for it at least once. Time’s a-tickin’. If you’re a little frighten

A video handily explains all the wonderful things videogames do for your brain

It’s well-documented at this point that playing videogames has an effect on your brain. It’s just what effect, exactly, that scientists haven’t quite figured out. Something to do with decision-making and sensory awareness, right? But it’s a step toward appreciating games for what they are—valuable i

This is the Battle Against Ebola Simulator 2014

Seattle-based med-tech startup Shift Labs held a hackathon last month where a mix of 40 game designers and clinicians collaborated on a simulation that replicates an ebola treatment center in Liberia. The WHO-endorsed simulation could be used to prepare health workers for the rigorous procedural str

This asteroid-zapping game might cure cancer

The free mobile game Play to Cure: Genes in Space was created at a madcap game jam hosted by Cancer Research UK to do just that: research cancer. You can get it for Android here and iPhone there and start blasting your way towards a cure. But listen how it works first. The human genome is teeny tiny