Cytosis

Cytosis is an extremely fun and educational game in which players take control of the various mechanisms in the cell to make the molecules it needs to function. I have been told by those I know with a background in biology that the science is very good. The gameplay is also very enjoyable and quick to play once you get the hang of it. Game play: You are given a number of flasks based on the number of players in the game (2-5), as well as a few cell component cards with goals to complete. This is done by placing your flasks on the various organelles of the cell to build and transport various macro-molecules. Macro-molecules score points in a variety of ways, both immediately and at the end of the game. After every player has placed their flasks an event card is revealed. Event cards impose an effect on the cell for the coming round. Players then take back their flasks and continue play until the event deck is depleted, at which point final scoring is calculated. A game can be finished in about an hour start to finish. Overall: Game play was great! The mechanics helped me (a college graduate, not in a science field) refresh my knowledge from my science classes. I walked away learning way more than I thought. In my opinion it is the best way to learn cell biology. It can be a tad complicated to learn, so I would recommend learning from someone who already knows how to play if you get the chance. Overall, I thought it was a very fun and educational game I can't wait to play it again! Best parts of this game: 1) Theme was integral into the game play. 2) Accurate science. 3) Great mechanics: Worker Placement. (You place your wooden flask on a space to so something within the cell) 4) Nice pieces. (Great colors!) 5) Lot's of fun for board gamers with science backgrounds and those without. 6) Helps teach the cell biology and functions.

Took about 30 minutes to figure out how to play, got some of the rules wrong the first time we played but by the second play it was pretty easy. The rules make a lot of sense once you play once. I loved how many different strategies you could use- made it feel different each time we played because there were so many different ways to play. I almost wish there was even more options. The length of game play was perfect- the game ended at exactly the right time. Definitely worth the $50. Lots of fun details on all the pieces (I adored the chemical structures on the back of the macromolecules and ATP). I don’t think this game would work to try and play with kids/teens. It requires a lot of patience.

This is a very complicated game with a lot of components. Once you figure it all out, it's fun and educational. Definitely worth the purchase. That said, we watched three videos on how to play and still weren't closer to understanding how to play it so we went back through the guide and very carefully read the instructions step-by-step (using a little cell biology knowledge to help us understand what was going on). Steps 1 and 2 are simple and relatively transparent. For step 3, we highly recommend that you sort the Cell Component Cards by category and follow each pathway all the way through (with the pieces) to really understand how to move around the board before starting play. If you just jump right in there's just no way you'll be able to wing it.

This game took my husband and I several hours to learn, but I knew that would be the case after reading the reviews. Once we figured it out, we had fun playing with our 14 year old. We've played 3 times so far and it really is pretty straightforward once you know what youre doing. The only complaint we have is that the scoring system is overly complicated. Some points you get right away after finishing a card but at the end of the game, there are all kinds of bonus points to figure out. My son and I like to gauge how we're doing by comparing our points on the board in real time racing each other and deciding which cards to pick based our relative positions, so we decided that it sucks the fun out of the game when at the end all kinds of extra points show up that weren't accounted for during play. For that reason, we haven't played with the goal cards yet (and might never), and we have so far decided to disregard bonus points. We wish instead of having all kinds of end game bonus points, maybe the alcohol detox or enzymes were worth one more point each. We might try doing that with our house rules at some point. Right now, I'm just enjoying having something fun to play while introducing my son to biology. I'm glad I bought it and I'm sure we'll play it a lot.

I love this game! As a homeschooling mom I am always looking for sneaky ways to get educational content in our day. This actually teaches a lot, at least subconciously, which I think is kinda the best for general science understanding. It's simple enough and requires little enough reading reading that my board-game-obsessed 4 yo enjoys playing (I think generally I would think more 7+), but it is complex enough that I often bring it to adult board game parties and everyone has a lot of fun. I think it woud be great to play with teens/pre-teens learning biology in school to reinforce what they are learning. But, I like it even better for indroducing concepts far before a kid learns formal biology. It's great to hear my little kids playing and talking about needing more carbohydrates to gain ATP and that they need RNA to build that protein. I think that when we actually do cover microbiology, they will already speak they language, so we will be able to go into more detail. I highly recommend this game and encourage you to check out their other games, we have a lot of them and enjoy them all! A really nice thing about these games is that they are thoughtfully made to make them easy to store and use. The boxes are sturdy and the boards and cards are also nice quality. They also send little plastic baggies for all the parts, well-written game instructions, and a separate explanation of the science which makes getting things moving especially with young kids so much easier. Oh, and for you board game people. It plays very much like the Lords of Waterdeep, so if you like that game, you'll probably like this one too. Especially if you are looking for a game that is a bit geeky or simply something that is rated G (nice for parents of curious youngsters who don't want to explain why they are gathering rouges to assasinate the cultist leader, lol).

We attempted to learn it. We had two full blown PhD scientists teaching me what the science of it was. They were too smart for me, but they definitely understood the science. After handing the rule book back and forth between us for a while, one of us set one of our markers on what we think is the winning square and declared victory. Everyone agreed and we put it away. May or may not try again. May or may not have played a couple rounds? Or one round? Very unclear what we were supposed to do. I think if you have someone who already knows how to play it, has the rules memorized, and has experience teaching people, then it likely is a fun game. One star for now as we don’t feel we can play it for fun and would need to dedicate significant time to learn it.

Awesome game for learning. Perfect to use with your biology class.

I have a science background and I was afraid that it would be a water down/boring game. Understanding the rules was kinda challenging. There is a youtube video about the game rules and reading the rules after the video, made it super easy. I think it's super fun and a good teaching tool for kids. However, the grandparents found it boring. Great fit for: families parent with science background, older kids up to the challenge, fun night for friends interested in science. Not good fit: somebody looking for a "just a fun game"