Customer Reviews

Elementeo Chemistry Card Game

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My son enjoyed playing Elementeo, and so did I. It's not a complex game by any means, but it has enough decision making and variety to make it playable many times over. You can develop play strategies, which is key for a successful game. And while there is a bit of luck involved with the Alchemy cards, it doesn't break the game.

Will you learn something about chemistry? Well, some. It helps to know what elements make up a compound. You'll also learn more about characteristics of elements as you read through the cards, which are annotated with useful information.

Components: The game comes with a folding thick playing board, two 40-card decks of Element cards, a 19-card Compound deck, and a 20-card Alchemy deck. They're beautifully illustrated by a professional artist.

Rules: The colorful 43-page rule book is clearly written and offers a useful glossary of terms that will be familiar to the chemist. After our two games we had a few niggling questions on rules, but for the most part the rules are well thought out and explained. The rules are somewhat repetitive as you're taken through the different play levels. Most players will want to start playing using all the play levels since the game is easy to play and learn even with all the levels incorporated.

This is basically a card game on the order of Magic. Your cards have certain strengths that apply toward combat. There is a die roll added to the base strengths that makes things interesting. The die reads 1,1,2,2,3,3, which reduces randomness to an acceptable level. Some Element cards have special powers written on them, as do Compound cards.

Each player has 3 actions in a turn, which can be applied to card placement, movement, and combat. The goal is to reach your opponents side of the board, called the fortress, and destroy all of his 10 electrons (white chips). Once your card reaches your opponent's side of the board, you roll the die for hits and the card expires, relegated to the Toxic Waste Pile.

Strategy: There's a lot to think about during the game. How do you conduct your offense, while preventing your opponent from reaching your side of the board? Do you create compounds or not? Compound cards are powerful, but they take time and resources to build.

I think the crux of the game is creating Compounds cards. Here's where you start to learn. You need to know what elements combine to make a compound. There's a helpful cheat card that lists some common compounds. It takes two to three elements to make a Compound card, which, as you might expect, has greater powers. You can also use your electrons to buy Compound cards, but it's a random draw. Gunpowder is an awesome 10 points, making it virtually invincible in combat. However, there's an Alchemy card that destroys an opponent's compound, which my son happened to have in hand when I created Gunpowder.

So, how educational is it? By reading all the cards and studying what elements combine to make compounds, you're picking up the basics of chemistry. You won't be playing Elementeo in preparation for an organic chemistry exam, but this is a game with chemistry as its theme, pure and simple.

Our games went quickly, taking about 20 minutes each. I like that duration for quick, fun games. All in all, I'm impressed.

I purchased Elementeo for my seven year old son who is very interested in science. The game sparked his interest in learning about Chemistry and the Periodic Table of Elements. The cards for the game are colorful and interesting. They provide the player with factual knowledge about the elements in a fun and exciting way! I also know of high school teachers that use the game as a teaching tool. Elementeo makes learning Chemistry fun! This is an excellent game! I highly recommend it!

After watching my seven year-old memorize page after page of Pokemon statistics, I couldn't help but search for something more scientific for him to memorize. Luckily, we found Elementeo. I brought it with us on a trip and my son was instantly hooked. We started by playing a few games at the most basic level, the Element Level, and I was very impressed with how much thought went into creating the game. The cards are well designed, with interesting images and easy-to-read information that teaches you something about each element or compound. My son quickly caught on and wanted to advance to the next level. Playing at each level helped us understand how to play and begin to strategize. I found him studying the cards and wanting to know more about the elements. As a geologist and parent, I was thrilled.

Recently, I had the opportunity to hear the founder, Anshul, speak about how he created the game. It was one of the best talks I have heard. He is a natural speaker and the kids loved him. He explained the process of creating the game and made sure the kids understood, throughout each step of the talk, that they too could create something. He showed the evolution of one of the cards to help the kids see that he didn't use the first, second, or even fourth version. We came away from the talk empowered.

I highly recommend this game. It doesn't take very long to play, your kids will learn some basic chemistry, and it's engaging for adults too.

The inventor of this game is a young man in high school - he did a fine job on it, and I bought it in part to support and encourage him, and in part to help my son (7 at the time we bought the game) learn a few things about Chemistry.

The artwork on the playing cards is very well done, the game's basic concepts are quick to pick up, and it's enough fun to keep a kid's attention for quite a while. My son had a good time learning the various elements and their clever names. We come back to it periodically and still enjoy it.

I do wish there was more content in the manual about actual chemistry - there's just a little - but it was enough to pique my son's interest and he then devoured Simon Basher's "The Periodic Table", and had fun cross-referencing the game with the chemistry book.

In all, I think it was better than many of the commercial games we have, and I recommend it to parents who appreciate blending fun and science.

It is a lot of fun (and I am 20). You quickly forget you're learning.

We bought Elementeo for our 8 year-old, another Pokemon addict. Even though our son has no particular interest in chemistry, he immediately took the game, because it was simple to learn at the basic "Element" level and fun to play. He's now progressed up to the "Alchemy" level one below the highest "Fusion" level of play.

We found it browsing the gift shop of a hands-on science museum in the Bay Area, CA and it stood out for its novelty. The educational component seemed intriguing without being too science-based to bore a kid interested in battling. The warriors' names and artwork are very creative, readily appealing to kids stuck in the Pokemon mindset. We also appreciate its compact design, perfect to fit in a tote bag and take to gatherings. Our son can teach new kids to play at the "Element" level very quickly. He brought it to his 3rd grade class and the math/science teacher thought it was awesome. The games go quickly, so kids can complete one or more during recess or lunch.

The increasing levels of challenge are giving the game some longevity, another bonus. I expect he'll still be playing it when introductory chemistry gets around to being taught in his classroom and then Elementeo should take on a whole new meaning! Having been exposed to the elements and their characteristics in a game should certainly help his retention of the science at school and in life.

We recommend it .

I am a mom that homeschools two 6th graders. Chemistry is coming, and this was a really good way to introduce them to it. I have one that LOVES science, and one that would rather skip it. Both kids have had fun playing it, and I think that it has helped to ease my non science lover into it without her knowing it. It's a lot like Magic the game...which I never played. It comes with instructions, but what I LOVE is that you can go online and watch a video tutorial. It made it pretty darn easy to get started. Also, The game was created by a 13 year old boy! How cool is that? My kids thought that that in itself was great. It got them thinking about what they could do. I am pleased with the purchase.

Just received our game and played a few rounds while on a long train commute with my 11 year old son. We both enjoyed it. I like that each round can be completed in 15 - 20 minutes. My son, who loves Pokemon and the Periodic Table is thrilled with it. A great intro to chemistry. Wish I had it in high school! We'll be purchasing 2 more sets to give as gifts next holiday season.

I found this game last year, and we love it! My daughter is entering third grade, and we love playing the basic version. I like that it's based on real science, and she likes the battle card aspect (and she's learning, too). We liked it so much we bought another for a birthday present.

Bought a set of these for my classroom last year. Played it with my then 8-year old son (as a test,) and he loved it. I had several of my Chem I and IPC students play it throughout the year, usually as something to do when we found ourselves with "free time" at the end of a unit. I also use the cards as a "race" to reconstruct the PTE with the deck, followed by a "see if you can figure out WHY they are grouped the way they are" activity. Amazing. Bought 3 more sets this year. Great game.