Most Epic Campaign Game Ever

…is called Catch the Sperm. What sounds like a really cheap setup for a b-movie is actually one of the best campaigns for sex ed I’ve ever come across.

Just like the recently prosperous condom ringtone by the BBC World Service Trust, the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health harnessed the power of the Internet and new media: They created and distributed Catch the Sperm, a 3.4 mb PC game to be played for free.

When the original CTS was released in 2001 it received worldwide coverage and more than 18 million downloads from 104 countries. 2002 the game was donwloaded more than 3 million times.

Several new Catch the Sperm versions were released subsequently to satisfy the fans’ appetite: Catch the Sperm 2, Carnival, Summer and Winter/Christmas (during the the UEFA Euro 2004 in Portugal even a football theme was added).

What really made this campaign so successful is the simple gameplay.

Catch the Sperm Gameplay

Your mouse controls a “condom cannon” that’s supposed to hit all the nasty little opponents like viruses and bacteria. If you manage to hold everyone off for 90 seconds, you win (not as easy as it sounds though).

A player loses 50 fifty points each time that his or her condom gun is fired, but players can accumulate 100 points for snaring sperm cells.

Additional points may be gathered by trapping viruses, bonus points for snaring special sperm. You’re allowed to let sperms slip, but viruses end your game instantly.

Now that you know all there’s to know about this little gem, let me introduce you to the various themes. Clicking on the pictures will also send you to the official download page for Catch the Sperm.

Catch the Sperm I

Catch the Sperm II

Catch the Sperm Carnival

Catch the Sperm Summer

Catch the Sperm Winter/Christmas

This classic is available from the Swiss Government until today and worth downloading. My only regret is that my request for an iPhone or web version modification was turned down. It would’ve been a perfect summer Appstore addition.