Epidemics and pandemics are not going anywhere and will forever be a part of history.
Mask-It-Or-Casket was created to help visualize disease spread and the impact of
policy implementations on it. Aspects of the game were included to make the game
more realistic - money and time is needed for policies, vaccines need to be developed
before they can be used, and the risk bar was based off a model the New York Times used
to assess transmission risk. We hope Mask-It-Or-Casket will give you some insight into
some of the work that goes into fighting against epidemics and pandemics!
How to Win
Strategize and implement policies within your budget and in time.
Keep the risk as low as possible so you can gain more green points and reduce your red points.
Long story short: Protect the people from the disease in time to save as many people as you can!
Game Screen
Below, you will find videos demonstrating each component of the game screen.
Money Tracker & Timer
Green and Red point Tracker
Stats about people
Information about updates on game status such as payday and status of policies.
Policy buttons
Policy options & grid with icons representing people
Risk bar
Policies
Need to develop vaccine before getting people vaccinated.
The more expensive, the more effective the vaccine. It will also take more time to develop.
You can only choose one vaccine to develop each time you play the game, so choose wisely!
Social Distancing. The more expensive the policy, the more people social distance.
Shutdown. Stay at home order, shutdown public places, and add stimulus for the shutdown.
Buy masks to give people to wear!
Meaning of border colors
You have not implemented this policy yet.
Policy is getting ready to be implemented.
Policy is being implemented at full capacity.
Intensity of the policy is dwinding.
Risk Bar
Red Points
You gain red points when your risk level is high, or in the red section of
the risk bar.
You lose if you gain too many red points!
Green Points
You can earn green points by keeping your risk level low, or in the green
section of the risk bar.
Earn green points to win the game!
Citizens (Part 1)
The citizens will have one of four base states:
Citizens who have not been infected by the virus will be shown as a plain circle.
Citizens who are infected by the virus will be shown as a green virus.
Citizens who were infected by the virus, but have recovered will be shown as a plain circle with green arms.
Citizens who have died because of the virus will be shown as a skull.
Citizens (Part 2)
If a citizen is following a certain policy, then their base icon will have one of the following effects over their icon.
*If the citizen is vaccinated, no other policies will be displayed. Otherwise, if the citizen is following a mask mandate and social distancing mandate, their icon will randomly swap between these policies.
Citizens who have been vaccinated will have a blue aura around their base icon.
Citizens who are wearing a mask will be a shown with a mask over their base icon.
Citizens who are social distancing, will have an arrow pointing in both directions over their icon.
