About Containment Crew

Trace cases, isolate outbreaks and allocate public health resources in this free online epidemiology game about stopping a pandemic.

Containment Crew is a free online epidemiology game where you deploy public health interventions to stop an outbreak before it spirals. This infectious disease game compresses the logic of real outbreak response into fast reaction gameplay.

The core math is the basic reproduction number R0, the average infections each case causes. When R0 sits above one, outbreaks grow exponentially; push it below one and the epidemic dies out. Every tool in the game attacks a different term of that equation. Isolation removes infectious hosts, quarantine catches exposed contacts, vaccination shrinks the susceptible pool and contact tracing breaks transmission chains you cannot even see.

Timing is everything in containment. Early interventions are cheap and effective while delayed responses face exponential caseloads, which is why the game rewards fast targeting over late heroics. The same tradeoffs shaped real responses to influenza, Ebola and COVID-19.

Key Science Concepts

• Basic reproduction number R0
• Isolation versus quarantine
• Contact tracing and transmission chains
• Herd immunity thresholds
• Exponential outbreak growth
• Non-pharmaceutical interventions

What You'll Learn

• Explain how R0 determines outbreak trajectory
• Match public health tools to their mechanism of control
• Reason about exponential growth in disease spread
• Evaluate why early intervention beats late response

Grade Level: Middle School, High School, College

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How to play

1. 1. Select Tool Tap a tool in the bottom dock or press keys 1 to 5 on your keyboard.
2. 2. Target Outbreak Click or drag your tool directly onto the matching risk before it vanishes.
3. 3. Multi-Tool Combo Apply both Mask and Distance to neutralize high-risk Infected Clusters.
4. 4. Research & Hazards Grab Research for bonus time, and avoid clicking deceptive Misinformation!

Frequently asked questions

Is Containment Crew free to play?

Yes. Containment Crew is completely free to play in your browser. There is no download, install or account needed.

What grade level is Containment Crew for?

Containment Crew is designed for Middle School, High School, College students and works well as a classroom activity or homework.

Does Containment Crew work on phones and tablets?

Yes. Containment Crew runs in any modern browser on desktop computers, Chromebooks, tablets and phones in landscape mode.

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