200 questions in 4 categories engage children in fun and interactive play!

"A terrific game to help children practice ethical and safe decision making... A perfect way to provide opportunities to discuss difficult subjects in a developmentally appropriate and engaging way."

- Debbie Gibbs, Former Head of Lowell School, Washington, DC

Strengthen Ethical Fitness & Empathy!

Welcome to Brixiples^®, the children’s board game designed to spark thoughtful discussion and learning about Ethics, Safety, and Common Sense and Courtesy, for 7-12 year-olds. Looking for ways to discuss diversity, equity, and inclusion at home or in school? Read on!

Where did Brixiples^® come from?

Ethics has been a hot topic in the news. From political and medical to academic and animal-related stories, ethical lapses make headlines every day...

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion must have a place in ethical discussions too.

I'm a mom, veterinarian, volunteer, and animal and child advocate. I began researching how children learn to make ethical decisions, or how their moral compass calibrates. The term “Ethical Fitness” caught my attention. This concept can be thought of much like physical fitness.

How do we strengthen Ethics Muscles?

A child may grow up learning about strong values, but unless they have a chance to flex their ethics muscles by facing moral dilemmas regularly, they won't always be ready to act most ethically. Ethical decision-making must evolve from an avoidance-of-punishment-based motivation to an empathy-and-values-based one.

Ethics can simply be defined for children as knowing and doing what is “right.” Values are the set of rules we apply to make ethical choices. Often children know what is “right” but do not know why. This makes it challenging to apply ethical principles across novel situations.

Globally across cultures five core values define ethics:
Responsibility – accountability, loyalty, duty
Honesty – candor, truthfulness, transparency, openness
Respect – reverence, admiration, honor
Fairness – justice, equity, equality
Compassion – caring, empathy, loving, affection, warmth

The Ethics questions in Brixiples^® are based on these values, as well as the “Golden Rule.”

It's easy to see how Equity and Inclusion rely on these core values. Players can apply these and other core values to their decision-making in Brixiples^®

Children can become stuck when two values seem opposed. For example, if a friend shows them a gun smuggled into school, they may struggle with loyalty to the friend vs. safety. They are taught to honor promises and secrets, but some secrets should always be shared with a trusted adult. Many of the Brixiples^® questions address these dilemmas.

"Brixiples^® is a wonderfully creative game that challenges children to think deeply about issues involving ethics, safety, common sense and courtesy. Jackie has thoughtfully and skillfully integrated complex moral issues along with humor and enjoyment that captures children’s attention. The guide provides adult facilitators with important tidbits, research, and perspectives to facilitate healthy discussions with children of different ages. What a wonderful way to help our children develop and strengthen their moral reasoning and empathy muscles!”

Sarah Sumwalt, PhD
Clinical Psychologist

Director of Social and Emotional Learning, Langley School

Why Safety?

The context of a game provides a non-threatening forum for discussion of safety issues of all types, from fire to guns to bullying to inappropriate touch, and allows adults to gauge where children’s knowledge needs a boost. Children can feel empowered to handle potential dangers by engaging in these discussions.

Common Sense & Courtesy became a natural offshoot, as many questions that children face aren't quite ethical ones, but still address kindness and appropriate choices and behaviors.

Some Topics Covered on Four Card Decks

Ethics:

Academic integrity
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in every day life
Respect for the environment
"Opposing values" scenarios
Standing up for peers
Compassion for those with speech and learning challenges and physical disabilities
Animal welfare...and much more!

Safety:

Guns

Tricky people
Bullying
Fire
Wild animals and pets
Doorbell/phone
Inappropriate/Unwanted touch
Adults texting and driving
Peer pressure
Trespassing
Food allergies...and more!

Common Sense & Courtesy:

Making new friends
Skin color/race/religious diversity and inclusivity
Behavior toward persons with disabilities
Courtesy in other people's homes
Same-gender parents
Transgender children...and much more!

Wild Card:

This category provides an opportunity to alter the question format and give some unexpected twists.
Practicing apologies with more than 10 words
Bullying
White lies
Thoughtfulness, respect, compassion,
Where our food comes from...and much more!

"Brixiples® helps children develop the skills they need most—critical thinking, good judgment, and decision-making in the face of real life questions—and does it using an engaging board game. It’s upbeat, it’s fun, and parents love it as much as kids do."

Neal D. Barnard, MD, FACC
Adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine, George Washington University School of Medicine
President, Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine

"Brixiples® is a wonderful way to encourage children to address challenging real-life scenarios and other topics that might be difficult to discuss. Jackie provides encouraging guidance to the adult/parent that allows for respectful listening and connection with children."

Kathy Hedge
Executive Director, Parent Encouragement Program (PEP)

Hear what kids and parents are saying!

What Parents are Saying About Brixiples^®
"Playing Brixiples is some of the best time I have spent with my kids! How many of us wonder if the values and ethics we're trying to impart really get through to our kids? Or the safety precautions? Playing Brixiples with my kids provides a wonderful, fun setting where you can discuss questions without lecturing or nagging. Playing Brixiples my kids are eager to share details and examples from their lives to make a point. An absolutely amazing way to get to know the real lives of your kids!"

"I was amazed at how eager my kids were to share their opinions on a whole range of issues. It became clear that my kids are dealing with more at school and at home than I realized and I am grateful to Brixiples™ for providing this glimpse into their real lives. Please keep on Doing what Brixiples does. It's awesome!!"

"Brixiples is a fabulous fun-to-play game where we get to discuss our family values and ethics without lecturing or grilling and while getting to know what our kids really think and deal with. It's a fascinating look into your kids lives and hands down the best family game night game ever!"

- Stephanie, mother of three primary school children

Who is Brixiples^® For?

Brixiples™ can be used as a tool to help kids open up about their views and experiences, providing crucial insight to counselors and therapists. The fun and interactive nature of the game relaxes kids in the face of tough questions and topics.

Many schools are holding break-out sessions with small groups to promote character development, diversity training, and social/emotional skills. Brixiples™ is packed with appropriate content for these sessions!

Parents want to know how their kids think about ethical scenarios and potentially threatening situations. They want their kids to develop common sense and learn how to be courteous. Brixiples™ gives parents a forum to engage their kids in these critical discussions in a fun and comfortable setting. Perfect content for home educators!

Schools

Families/Homeschoolers

Counseling

Many camps and clubs promote social/emotional development, confidence-building, and character growth. Brixiples™ brings fun, action, and liveliness to these goals.

Ethical Societies strive to teach children how to be kind and caring by promoting values-based decision-making. Brixiples™ is the perfect game for such a curriculum with its diverse questions addressing the five core values and more. The Common Sense and Courtesy questions further promote discussion consistent with these principles.

Although the Brixiples™ questions are not of a religious nature, they do address religious and cultural tolerance, as well as the ethical principles consistent with many religious teachings. Discussions elicited by Brixiples™ questions could easily be adapted to a religious setting.

Ethical Societies

Religious Organizations

Camps/Clubs

How To Play

Brixiples^® has colorful board and four decks of cards, with categories of Ethics, Safety, Common Sense & Courtesy, and Wild Card. The players start with bricks and hearts, and donate bricks to the Community Center Construction Zone when they answer questions. They also earn a heart when they answer a Wild Card question. Other players may join the discussion once the first player gives their answer. The adult facilitator, or Sage, uses a guide to help the players reach appropriate conclusions on their own. There are no right answers! The player advances as long as they offer some response and spark discussion. The Wizard of Wise is the first player to donate all of their bricks and accumulate enough hearts - for the rest of they game they can choose any card on their turn. But...all the shelves in the Food Bank and Animal Shelter must be filled with hearts first! Players donate hearts to the shelves at will when it's their turn, a collective effort. Players must donate to community-building organizations throughout the game - obviously designed to plant some seeds! The game continues until all players have donated all of their bricks to the Community Center and accumulated enough hearts.

Game board

"I think this game can really help kids to grow up to be better people."

- Rowan, age 7