This Will Kill You!

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Compare relative mortality risks across demographic groups while surfacing common misconceptions about public health data.

Use it when: Public health workshops, epidemiology courses, and risk communication sessions examining mortality statistics and demographic disparities.

Skip it when: Avoid when participants are experiencing acute grief or recent personal loss, or when direct discussion of mortality causes distress.

Group arrangement: Tables of 3 to 6 participants (1 judge and 2 to 5 players per board). For odd counts like 7, form one table of 4 and one of 3. For 13, form two tables of 4 and one of 5.

Timing: Thiagi source indicates an average game lasts 20 minutes; UWT 40-minute plan adds rules instruction, full grid coverage, and structured debrief.

Materials and tools

• One printed Game Board Grid per table
• High-contrast, large-print Game Board Grids available as needed
• One printed Judge Reference Guide per table, held only by the judge
• Roughly 10 colored poker chips or tokens per player, with each player at a table having a unique color, including one blue chip per table for judge selection
• Blank scratch paper and pen per table for optional notes

Before participants arrive

1. Print one Game Board Grid and one Judge Reference Guide per table.
2. Bag roughly 10 poker chips of matching color per participant, ensuring unique colors per table and one blue chip in the mix.
3. Place the game board, chip sets, scratch paper, and pen on each table, keeping the reference guide face down.

Say this to open

Today we will examine demographic health risks using historical mortality data. Each table has a 4x4 game board with four demographic columns and four age rows. One person serves as judge and holds the factual ranking sheet. On your turn, choose an open square and name what you believe is the leading cause of death for that specific group. Others may challenge with alternative causes. Let us pick judges and get started.

How to run it

1. Select table judge 3 minutes

   Group into tables of 3 to 6. Put chips in a bag or cup at each table. Each participant draws one chip with eyes closed. The person who draws the blue chip acts as judge and takes the Judge Reference Guide. Remaining players take their distinct colored chips.

2. Explain turns and scoring 4 minutes

   Review rules with the room. Play proceeds clockwise. The active player picks an open box on the grid, announcing row and column, and states their guess for the leading cause of death. Other players may pass or offer an alternative cause. The judge checks the guide to resolve the round.

3. Play rounds on the grid 25 minutes

   Active players pick open boxes and name causes. Clockwise opponents pass or offer alternative causes. The judge checks the guide. The player with the highest-ranking cause claims the box with a chip. An unchallenged guess must rank first to win. The winner removes one board chip from each lower-ranking challenger, and from the starter if their initial guess lost. Players with no board chips lose nothing. Continue until all 16 boxes are filled or time expires.

4. Tally grid results 3 minutes

   Call time. Each player counts their remaining chips on the board grid. The player with the most chips wins that game board. Players leave the chips on the board so tables can see their distribution.

5. Debrief findings 5 minutes

   Bring the room together. Invite two or three volunteers from different tables to share which mortality rankings differed most from their initial assumptions. Discuss why certain risks are widely misjudged.

Debrief questions

• Which demographic cell produced results that surprised your table the most?
• What causes of death did players overestimate or underestimate, and what media or social factors might explain that bias?
• How did the challenge and penalty rules influence your willingness to risk an alternative answer?

Finished output: Completed 4x4 mortality grids displaying verified risk rankings across demographic groups.

Remote

Set up breakout rooms of 3 to 6 people with a shared online 4x4 spreadsheet board. Message the reference guide privately to one designated judge per breakout room. Players use colored virtual stamps or initialed digital tokens on the board.

Hybrid

In-person tables include an open video device. Remote players declare their choices aloud or in chat, while an in-person proxy moves designated physical tokens on the board. In-person judges also receive a digital copy of the Judge Reference Guide to verify lines privately with remote participants if needed.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may choose the non-competitive judge role to avoid wagering and challenging.
• Any player may pass on challenging during any round without penalty or explanation.
• High-contrast, large-print grids are provided for players with visual impairments.

If the session gets stuck

Players argue that contemporary mortality data differs from the historical actuarial figures.

Explain before play starts that the table represents a historical baseline for game consistency, and invite players to discuss modern epidemiological trends during the debrief.

Players challenge indiscriminately on every turn, stalling play.

Remind players of the penalty rule: an incorrect challenge removes one previously won box chip, whereas passing carries zero penalty.

Terms used here

• Geller Tables: Actuarial probability charts created by Dr. Harvey Geller estimating leading causes of death by age, sex, and race for health-hazard appraisals.