pag. 127 International Journal of Serious Games Volume 7, Issue 1, March 2020 ISSN: 2384-8766 http://dx.doi.org/10.17083/ijsg.v7i1.303 Can digital games serve as potential intervention or suicide risk? Elsie Ong 1 1 Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong, elsieong@hku.hk Abstract With the rapid growth of advanced digital technology, the use of mobile apps is of increasing interest as a means for providing continuous access to evidence-based digital interventions. Suicide is a socially taboo topic with approximately 800,000 people dying due to suicide every year. As suicidal ideation and suicide risk increase rapidly, gamified intervention is argued to have an important role in the future of mental health care provision and access to these mobile resources may save lives. However, due to the lack of published research to demonstrate that apps can be effective at reducing suicide behaviours, many developers are pushing ahead with apps for suicide prevention with unclear benefits and risks. In this communication piece, issues and challenges of digital interventions will be discussed, hence solution such as using attentional bias modification may be an option for future health care. Overall, the use of digitized gamified intervention holds great promise for a radically new approach to deliver prevention programs, thus overcoming barriers inherent in traditional therapeutic approaches. Keywords: Gamified intervention, suicide, mobile apps, cognitive deficits; 1 Introduction Suicide is a socially taboo topic, yet approximately 800,000 people die due to suicide every year, which is one person every 40 seconds [1]. It is the tenth leading cause of death for all ages [2], but the incidence is even greater for people aged 15-to-24 years old where it is second largest cause. The issue of suicide is even more alarming when individuals do not tend to present to services when feeling suicidal [3, 4]. Although there has been a wealth of research in the study of suicidal behaviour, prediction and prevention of suicide is challenging because suicide is an extremely personal and sensitive topic [5]. Suicidal behaviour refers to a wide range of suicide-related thoughts (or ideation), cognitions, emotions, and behaviours [6]. It is a term that has been used to categorize behaviour associated with ideas, intentions, motivations, plans, and attempts for suicide. Those who have suicidal thoughts may avoid disclosing these feelings as it triggers feelings of stigmatization. A recent systematic review [7] supports the use of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) which are generally effective in reducing the risk of suicidal acts being repeated. However, widespread implementation is limited by the cost of providing face-to-face models of delivery between patients and therapist. The costs in terms of time, money, and potential stigma may also explain why many individuals refuse to seek help [8]. Moreover, CBT relies on imparting psychoeducational information, individuals who do not recognize that they have mental health problems may find this immensely boring. Motivating individuals to engage is another challenge for clinicians aside accessing prevention programs among those who