Beyond The Finish Line is a reflection-based board game that is aimed to combat the social justice issue of mental health stigma that has impacted student-athletes for many years. Our goal is to create a safe environment for young athletes to become vulnerable and build the necessary skills to practice positive mental health strategies for when they are needed in the future. When players engage in repeated gameplay, they will be better equipped with skills and knowledge that can be used to overcome mental health stigma, as well as become educated and inspired by those who have stood up to this cause through our various game cards and scenarios.  

Serious games are a reasonable proposal as a solution to change in mind-sets for many different reasons. Serious games have the ability to promote prosocial messages and behavioral change by furthering academic content taught in schools (Blumberg et al., 2013). They give an opportunity to practice culturally relevant skills, require interactivity, and improve self-efficacy and cognitive skills (Blumberg et al., 2013). The practice of play also has the ability to improve executive functioning skills. Since many tasks are cognitively demanding, through games, players are able to willingly pursue their own personal interests, so it takes less cognitive effort to complete the tasks of the game (Doebel & Lillard, 2023). These experiences translate into real-world situations, therefore it is important for players to explore through trial and error in a virtual game situation. Furthermore, games provide the opportunity for players to engage in role-play scenarios, which eventually gives players the opportunity to learn important topics, while engaging in enjoyable, playful learning. 

Our Game

Beyond The Finish Line is a board game designed to change the behaviors and actions of youth athletes through reflection-based questions, so they are prepared to come across the mental struggles of being a student athlete. 

Objective: Roll the dice, draw the card that corresponds to the colored space you land on, and become the first player to reach the finish line before the other players.

Target Audience: Game is designed for young student athletes whether they are in a team/practice environment or taking part in team bonding activities outside of a team setting.

Card Examples:

Reflection Spaces:

Personal Best Space: The Personal Best Space was designed to let players highlight a successful moment in their career and what caused that successful moment in the first place. 

 Mental Block Space: The Mental Block Space was designed to let players reflect on how they have been doing so far in the game and see if players would have changed any of their previous decisions. 

The Creators