Elbow Shieldcatch the sneeze, not the germs

How to play

1. The tickle meter fills. The nose goes red. The face goes "ah... AH..."
2. During the wind-up, tap ELBOW. Sneeze caught. Germs stay put.
3. Tap HANDS and you catch it too, but now the hands are full of germs and the face goes "ugh." It counts as a half.
4. Tap nothing and it blows. Germs fly across the room. Three of those ends the game.
5. Sometimes a TISSUE pops up in the corner. Tissue beats elbow. Tap it during the wind-up for bonus points, and it goes straight in the trash.
6. 45 seconds. The wind-ups get shorter.

The real-life version

• Sneeze or cough into your elbow, not your hands. Your hands touch everything next.
• A tissue is best. Use it once, throw it away, wash your hands.
• If it got on your hands anyway, that's a Poopy Fingers situation. Wash before anything else.

For grown-ups and teachers

First pass. The reflex being drilled is elbow up before the sneeze, under a little time pressure, with the hand-catch left in on purpose because it's what most kids do by instinct. The game lets it work, then makes the consequence obvious. Nothing is tracked or sent anywhere.

Talk about it after

• "What's wrong with catching it in your hands if nothing gets out?"
• "Where does a used tissue go? Then what?"
• "Show me the elbow. Now show me where it goes if someone's sitting next to you."