The game

Setting the scene

Think B4U Drink was born out of serious concerns about young people's alcohol use and the problems they experience as a result of their drinking behaviour. Young people are drinking more, more often and starting at a younger age. Think B4U Drink encourages them to think about how they use or might use alcohol and consider the consequences, for themselves and other people, if they over indulge.

Development

Think B4U Drink was developed in North East Scotland with the help of over sixty young people. Funded at first by the Portman Group and Drinkwise, the three alcohol and drug action teams in Grampian developed the boardgame as an innovative educational resource. The game aims to reduce harmful underage and binge drinking by educating 13 - 16 year olds about alcohol and encouraging them to think about the consequences of their drinking behaviour.

Think B4U Drink is an enjoyable, challenging journey of group and self discovery in the form of a 'night out'.

The board is bottle shaped, the dice is a 'spin the bottle' and the game provides a unique opportunity for young people to plan a night out and explore the fun and the problems of drinking alcohol, in a safe game-playing environment.

The game is suitable for a formal or informal setting, and has been designed for up to twelve people to play at one time. Think B4U Drink was evaluated in 2004.

Two hundred and fifty games were first produced for Grampian, and are now being used in schools, community learning centres, youth groups, social work teams, in voluntary youth settings, by school police liaison officers and in other relevant places.

Where we are now

The game kit has been redeveloped and it is now available for sale across the UK in partnership with WIRED. We also recommend Gamesmaster training, click here for details of purchase and training options.

In order to increase awareness of the game and develop the game further, we are now looking for sponsorship, details of the package we can offer to potential sponsors are available on our sponsorship page.

The future

Think B4U Drink has tremendous development potential. Alongside marketing the game nationally, plans also include parents' projects, and work on versions of the game that will cover ethnic and cultural diversity, and disability. We are also planning a web version to take Think B4U Drink into the young person's virtual community.

We will be taking Think B4U Drink onto a larger scale in the next few months, with The Big Game. Using a bigger arena, gym or park, the game can be played with larger groups. This exciting reality option can take game playing into young people's own environments, again helping them practise decision making and learning practical skills to protect themselves and their friends.