PETALING JAYA, April 8 — Five schoolgirls are the creative minds behind an award-winning board game in Thailand aimed at tackling the issue of teen pregnancy in the country.

Pakawadee Panil, one of the game’s five creators, told English-language daily The Nation that the game was made in response to a growing number of posts online that praised girls who got pregnant at a young age.

“We wanted to deter teen pregnancies by clarifying the difficulties that arise when you get pregnant before you’re really ready,” she was quoted as saying.

Pakawadee, a student from St Mary’s School in Udon Thani province, said that she and her friends took more than two years to finish the board game.

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Titled Fortune Condom, the game is targeted at teens aged between 12 and 18 and presents scenarios that young people might face in the event of a teenage pregnancy.

As players go through the deck of playing cards, they might be offered the option of contraception or counselling.

Choosing the “right card” boosts life-experience points but picking the “wrong card” can result in the player getting “pregnant” and having to overcome further challenges in the game.

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The game is designed to educate players on the impact teenage pregnancy can have on a young mother, her family, and the community. — Picture from Facebook/Thammasat-Banpu Innovative Learning Program
The game is designed to educate players on the impact teenage pregnancy can have on a young mother, her family, and the community. — Picture from Facebook/Thammasat-Banpu Innovative Learning Program

Pakawadee hopes that the game can help open up discussions about safe sex amongst her peers.

She and her teammates won the Empathic Communication Award with Fortune Condom at the HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Cup as part of the Thammasat-Banpu Innovative Learning Programme, a project where secondary school students compete in creating board games aimed at addressing social issues.

Their hard work was rewarded with a cash prize of 20,000 baht (RM2,565).

Jutti Jantana, a teacher at St Mary’s School and adviser to Pakawadee’s team, said he now uses the board game in his sex education classes.

“I must admit it was quite difficult to discuss sex openly with the girls,” he told The Nation.

“In fact, there were some words I didn’t want to use at all at first, but I had to because the team needed information to create a game that would be useful.

“I really hope this game reaches a wider audience so that more people get educated about the risks and impacts of teen pregnancy.”