items of interest

with contributions from Barbara Brown Taylor

One of the latest board games is called Infection. Designed by a lab supervisor from Fremont, California, the idea is to get rid of (not cure) diseases by leaving them for someone else.

Players start with five cards, representing health perils that range from the common cold to anthrax. They get rid of contagious diseases by leaving them in squares marked "public rest room" or "community swim center." The player who lands on one of the squares, contracts the disease. Players "die" when they accumulate four of the most severe diseases.

Why did such terrible scenarios get turned into a game? The originator said he began working on it after a friend asked him to come up with an idea to make themselves some money.

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