In 2023, of the 659 water-related fatalities in the United Kingdom, 236 were thought to be accidental. Globally, an estimated 235,600 people drown every year, and drowning is among the ten leading causes of death for children aged 5-14 years.Â
Today, July 27th, is World Drowning Prevention Day. This day is a global opportunity to highlight the tragic and profound impact of drowning on families and communities. It was launched in 2021 by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, who affirmed drowning as a preventable global public health issue.
There are lots of things you can do to celebrate the day, such as wearing blue, talking to your loved ones about water safety, signing up to a swimming lesson, or writing to your MP asking them to do more to prevent drowning in your local area.
As a board game fanatic, you can also follow Splash Safe on Kickstarter to be notified when it goes live in September, by going to www.kickstarter.com/projects/minikingames/splash-safe.
This simple tile flipping game is a genius way for you and your loved ones to learn water safety. So, let's dive into the DOALG review!
Players: 2-6
Ages: 7+
Game Time: 30 minutes
In the tabletop game Splash Safe, players tackle trivia, take on tasks and search for items (and a dog).
The idea for Splash Safe was born from a simple yet powerful desire to combine education with enjoyment. The creators at Minikin Games (www.facebook.com/minikin.games/) realised that traditional methods of teaching water safety, especially to young people, needed a creative twist.
Collaborating with AbSafe (www.absafe.org.uk/), a Scottish charity dedicated to health, safety and risk education, graphic designer Jay Remy (Jeremy) Varcl, project manager Kairn McKee and CEO Louise Richardson, came together to create a game designed to combine fun, strategy, and educational elements around water safety and emergency preparedness.
Players navigate through various scenarios ranging from beach outings to boating adventures, facing challenges and making decisions that test their knowledge and readiness in water-related emergencies. It encourages critical thinking and problem-solving and increases the likelihood of players knowing what to do if faced with such scenarios in real life.
Gameplay
To set up, you shuffle the blue Splash tiles and lay them out in a grid (6 x 6 standard setup up, or the 8x8 stairs or 9 x 4 column for advanced layouts) . Then shuffle the red Task Cards and green Trivia Cards separately, placing them near to the game area alongside the 30-second timer.
Each player choses a coloured pawn and takes 15 matching counters, then places their pawn on any edge tile (one player per tile and at least two empty tiles apart). You can also play the game in teams, which can help if you are playing with young children or are a larger group (and I believe that there will also be a solo mode in the final version).
Chose a start player (e.g. the last person to go swimming), with play proceeding in clockwise turns.
On your turn, you move your pawn to any adjacent tile (can be diagonally), you cannot move onto a tile occupied by another player. Once you have moved, you flip the tile you just left, activating that tile. There are three different card types as follows:
TASK TILES
Take a red Task Card and start the timer. Read the card aloud (unless instructed otherwise) and complete the task before the timer runs out. If successful, place one of your counters on the tile to claim it, otherwise return the task card to the bottom of the pile.
TRIVIA TILES
Take a green Trivia Card and read the question aloud. Try to answer it. If correct, place one of your counters on the tile to claim it, otherwise return the card to the bottom of the pile.
FIND TILES
If you have a tile that has 'FIND' on it, search the flipped blue Splash Tiles to find the matching item. If found, shout "SAFE" to claim the two tiles by placing a player counter on each. Note that as soon as two matching tiles come up ANY player can shout "SAFE" to claim the tiles, so keep your wits about you, particularly as incorrectly shouting "SAFE" causes you to miss your next turn.
Once all tiles have been flipped and claimed, the game is over. The winner is the player with the fewest counters remaining (or the first player to run out in two-player). If players are tied, as a tie-breaker you perform a trivia-off, with each player taking a turn to answer as many trivia cards as possible within 30 seconds. Whoever, answered the most correctly wins.
So, as you can see Splash Safe is really simple to set up, learn and play. Kiddos (and grownups) can have fun performing tasks like dancing to their favourite song or silently doing their best impression of a lifeguard, all whilst also learning/sharing their knowledge about water/beach safety, such as listing ten beach hazards or identifying what do if you suffer cold water shock.
What I love about it, especially for children, is that other players can still feel involved in play off-turn, such as thinking what they would answer for the Trivia Card or from guessing on the "Guess what I am doing" Task Cards. This reduces the risk of player boredom between turns, with participants engaging with the game throughout, and therefore being more likely to retain what they have learnt.
As with any trivia-based game, there is some limit to replayability should players learn all the answers through multiple plays. However, more experienced players can always take the game to a friend or family member's house, or even school, for others to also learn about water safety. After all, the more people who learn about water safety, the more lives could be saved from drowning.
As an enhancement to the Trivia Cards, it would have been great to include a facts leaflet that digs deeper into the trivia so that in can be a discussion point for greater educational opportunity, e.g. to include a list of coloured beach flag meanings or an explanation of what cold water shock is. This means that parents could teach their children more, either during gameplay or afterwards, or that the game could be used more effectively in a classroom environment on a day dedicated to water safety.
Another possible enhancement could be introducing some kind of optional hazard mechanic, which could vary the difficulty of the game depending on how many hazard cards you shuffle into the grid (this would perhaps change the size of the grid you use).
Production
As we received a prototype, I cannot fully comment on this. However, the trifold rules leaflet is sensibly laid out and the rules easy to digest (albeit that white on blue is a little hard to read). The prototype components are of a decent quality, therefore the final product will certainly be too. The artwork is bright, clear and child-friendly, giving the game great table presence. I hope that in the final product there will be a divider in the box for better storage of the tiles so it is more easily transportable, especially as it would be a great little game to take on a family holiday, particularly if you are going somewhere that involves getting into or being on water in a boat etcetera. At £18 it is quite an affordable price point.
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Conclusion
So, let's break it down for you in our key areas:
Replayability - Fairly replayable in that families can definitely have fun playing it multiple times, however this is a little limited because of the game featuring trivia. That said, trivia is in the heart of the game for the important reason of teaching water safety and can be used as a conversation point. The game wouldn't achieve what it sets out to do without it.
Production Value - We had a prototype version, so this is hard to comment on. However, the quality of the prototype gives me confidence that the final product will be high-quality.
Theme - Knowledge of water safety is extremely important, and Splash Safe provides a creative and interaction way of teaching it.
Complexity - Simple game mechanics, so very family friendly and easy to use in a school environment for teachers.
Rules - Easy to learn and follow.
Uniqueness - Whilst printable water safety games do exist on the internet, I am not aware of any commercially available tabletop games with this theme, therefore Splash Safe is quite unique as far as I'm aware.
Value - At £18 the game is fairly affordable for families and teachers, etcetera.
Splash Safe is a brilliant way to educate children and adults alike about water safety. It is more than just a game because it has the potential to save lives. Whilst immersed in the gameplay, players learn about water safety in a fun and engaging way, leaving them better equipped to keep safe in and around water, and more likely to know what to do in an emergency. Just shy of top marks because I would prefer it if the game came with an information leaflet that digs into the trivia more for even greater educational opportunities.
Your resident Word-nerd, Sueyzanne
Before you go, I would also like to take this opportunity to share with you, our dear followers, two water safety tips in the hope that they may save you or someone else's life in the future. These were taken from the Respect the Water website (https://respectthewater.com/)
If you see someone in trouble in the water, the best way you can help is by staying calm, staying on land, and following the 3-step rescue guide – Call, Reach and Throw.
CALL
999 (or equivalent in your country) and ask for the right service (usually Coastguard or Fire and Rescue)
TELL
them to float on their back
THROW
them something that floats
FLOAT TO LIVE
If you are struggling in the water unexpectedly, your instinct will tell you to swim hard. But cold water shock could make you gasp uncontrollably. Then you could breathe in water and drown. Instead, you should Float to Live.
5 steps to know how to float
However you end up in the water, if you end up in difficulty, Float to Live.
Tilt your head back with ears submerged
Relax and try to breathe normally
Move your hands to help you stay afloat
It’s OK if your legs sink we all float differently
Spread your arms and legs to improve stability
Remember it. Share it.
Make sure your loved ones know what do if they get into difficulty too. Help them learn how to float!
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