1. What devices does it run on?

All Crossroads Games (Choices, Options, and New Decisions) run on iPhone (iOS) and Android devices.

2. Why are the games free?

The Crossroads Games are funded by the USDA, so you don’t have to worry about it! Get them for free on Google Play and the App Store.
Crossroads is still under development and collecting data through an agreement with Strong Mind Strong Body Foundation. We distribute the software and provide them input on the number of app users and modules accessed. They allow us to distribute the games for free. It’s a win-win.

3. How to Install the Crossroads Games

System requirements:

To play the Crossroads Games, you need an iPhone or Android phone. The Crossroads software is not available on the web. For iPhones, you have to be running iOS 11 or later. For Android phones, you have to be running Android OS 4.4 or later.

Tutorial: Getting Crossroads Software for iPhones

Tutorial: Getting Crossroads Software for Android

4. Topics covered by game

CROSSROADS: CHOICES
  • Safety at a house party
  • Needles on the playground
  • Domestic Violence
  • Packing a safety bag
  • Motivational Interviewing
  • Assessment: Depression and ACES
CROSSROADS: NEW DECISIONS
  • Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
  • Unsupervised teen parties
  • Budgeting
  • Safety plan
  • Motivational interviewing
  • Assessment: Depression and Adverse Childhood Events
CROSSROADS: OPTIONS
  • Dating Violence (Healthy and Dysfunctional Relationships)
  • Avoiding Drug Use
  • Finding a Job (Financial Literacy)
  • Identifying unacceptable situations (Safety Plans)
  • Positive Self-Talk (Healthy and Dysfunctional Relationships)
  • Emotional Abuse
  • Anxiety and Locus of Control (Assessment)
  • Keeping a Job (Financial Literacy)

5. Setting up a Username and Password

Once your clients have downloaded and installed the Crossroads app, open the app to set up a username and password. Although your clients can create their own username and password, we recommend creating the username and password for your client and providing that information for them to login.

This is recommended so that your facility can keep track of clients, especially when it comes to accessing reports. It is also helpful for your facility to be the one to create the client username and password as a way of preventing the client from forgetting that information.

Tutorial: How to create a username and password

6. Assessment Data Collected

Crossroads user data is that it is recorded anonymously. Data are recorded with a username and password selected by the user. Neither the Strong Mind Strong Body Foundation nor The Julia Group (developer of the software) can give you the username of any specific individual.

Research and Theory

What assessment data is collected by Crossroads?

7. Where can I find the report data?

On the Crossroads Reports site you can search for information on an individual player, you can get your number of users, the number of sessions for each user, and more.

In order to access data on your clients/students, click here.

8. Ages targeted

Can the software be used with people older than 19?

You are free to use it with older clients but our validation sample has been ages 13-19. All of the assessment measures in Crossroads: Decisions and Crossroads: Options have been validated in print form with adults over 19 years of age. We have noticed some older staff testers who don’t play a lot of games found the game play part difficult. The scenarios in the game feature, and are designed to primarily appeal to, adolescents and young adults. None of this is to say that older clients might not enjoy and benefit from the games, as well as provide useful information. Feel free to try it and check it out!

Can the software be used by children younger than 9?

Both the difficulty of game play and the vocabulary may make this software frustrating to use by children 8 and under. We have not validated the measures nor usability for younger players.

9. Is the software accessible by clients with special needs?

In nearly every page where text appears, we have voiceover as well, making the software accessible for users with learning disabilities, cognitive impairments or other disabilities that affect literacy. Because the game play requires seeing the screen to touch up or down and avoid objects, the software is not accessible for clients with visual impairments. For clients with hearing impairments, 95% of the game where there is voiceover also has text. We will be adding subtitles to the movies in version 2.0 to make the game fully accessible to players with hearing impairments.

10. Is there a web version?

No, there are not web versions of the Crossroads apps. The Crossroads apps are only available on the App Store for iPhones and on the Google Play Store for Android. We will be working with the developer, The Julia Group, to complete a web-playable version, particularly so that the software can be accessed by Chromebook users, by the end of 2021.