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How can a game help you talk with your kids about fentanyl?

April 12, 2024

The PlaySmart video game is a great way for families to connect, have deeper conversations, and learn from an accurate source in a fun and engaging way. PlaySmart was designed for older adolescents (age 16-19), with the goal of teaching players critical skills and knowledge through an engaging, interactive video game targeting their perception of risk surrounding opioid misuse.

Video games have demonstrated significant engagement and impact with people of all ages, but particularly youth. 66% of Americans—more than 215 million people of all ages and backgrounds, play video games regularly.

The PlaySmart game was designed, developed, and evaluated with the input of hundreds of teens in collaboration with behavioral scientists with expertise in both substance misuse and mental health, content experts, and commercial and serious game developers. The game was recently added as an important resource around mental health by the Office of the US Surgeon General and was featured in an impactful article in the Washington Post as a tool to fight the opioid crisis.

Recommended resources

Request access to the PlaySmart game.

The development and evaluation of PlaySmart is part of a large national multi-site study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative.

PlaySmart is a game about family, friendships, mental health, and substance misuse where you learn lessons you can carry with you throughout your real life.

**Overview:** In PlaySmart, you are in control of your destiny. You start the game having made some mistakes, but through the various storylines, you learn how to avoid those mistakes and what decisions are the best to make. It's your job to learn through your experiences so you don't fall into the trap of bad decisions, such as trying an opioid.

**The Stuff:** You see firsthand how drugs can harm you, your friends, and your family. Through this, you learn how to educate others and keep yourself healthy. And of course, for the stuff you don't know too much about, you always have your friends.

**Conclusion:** But for some troubles you face, you need more professional support than your friends can give you. You learn that sometimes you have to try a few therapists out before you find the perfect fit, and that it's okay and actually pretty cool to reach out for help when you need it. In PlaySmart, you're given the opportunity to go back and fix your mistakes, so you learn both the right and the wrong decisions. In the game, you learn lessons you can use in your real life.

PlaySmart was developed by Yale's Play to Prevent Lab. For more information, visit playtoprevent.org.

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