SARS Wars – Sha Si Zhan Qi
Towards the end of the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak in Singapore in 2003, an enterprising media company published this simple roll-and-move board game, incorporating the public health education messages that were issued at the time. It was sold at branches of a book-cum-stationery shop chain, Popular Bookstore.
The game is for 2 to 6 players and players each have a coloured pawn that moves along a spiral track towards an End Point. Along the way, players follow instructions on spaces they land on, including taking two kinds of chance cards.
The ‘Personal Hygiene’ card is drawn when landing on a ‘Personal Hygiene’ square – players follow whatever instructions are written on these cards. The ‘See Doctor’ cards may be drawn when landing on a ‘Symptoms’ square, or also after landing on a ‘Check Your Temperature’ square and rolling a 4, 5, or 6 (on lower numbers your temperature is normal, so you naturally don’t need to see a doctor).
Players may also get sent to Hospital or be put under Home Quarantine. Being in the Hospital is worse as the player proceeds to Home Quarantine after discharge from hospital.
The game has lots of humorous touches that reflect the atmosphere at the time. One of the pre-game preparation rules is, “All players must wash their hands thoroughly before playing”. There’s also a rule concerning expulsion from the game, “You are not allowed to continue with the game when you are expelled because of reckless, irresponsible personal misconduct that jeopardizes the entire community”.
The first player to reach the End Point is the ‘overall winner’ of the game. The other players can continue to play the game. Ominously, “the last player left is the loser, who may be punished appropriately”.