Sneeze (video game)

Background and reception

The 2009 swine flu pandemic, caused by the Influenza A virus subtype H1N1, spread rapidly from the United States and infected millions. Journalists noted that the pandemic inspired many browser-based Flash games, such as Swinefighters and Swine Flu: Hamdemic, and that player numbers for earlier virus-related games also rose. Mic Wright of The Guardian observed that some people questioned whether disease should be explored in video games.

Sneeze was released in 2009 before the pandemic as part of a genetics series called Routes, commissioned by the Wellcome Trust and Channel 4 to encourage healthy habits in young people. Later that year, Miniclip renamed the game Stop Swine Flu, a change Wright called misleading. This led Donald G. McNeil Jr. of The New York Times to question the awarding of points for infecting toddlers.

A Channel 4 commissioning editor for education asked Miniclip to restore the original message. Griffin McElroy of Engadget found the game surprisingly fun, while Asher Moses of the Brisbane Times said swine flu games inevitably border on bad taste. Stop Swine Flu reached the Top 10 on Miniclip.