Tabletop board games come in all shapes, sizes, and themes. Board games covering scientific topics are not the most prolific but do exist! We present here ten games with scientific themes. There are plenty of other games but, in the interest of the scientific method, we only offer a selection that has been thoroughly researched and play tested by our own staff member, Lore Coordinator Steena.

Abomination: The Heir of Frankenstein (2019)

In 1819, twenty years after the death of Victor Frankenstein in the arctic, a competition grips the scientific community of Paris. A mysterious benefactor of gigantic stature has offered the scientific research of the late Frankenstein and a great prize, unlocking the secrets of mortality.

In this game, based on Mary Shelley’s classic novel of gothic horror, each player takes on the role of a renowned scientist, tasked with creating life through worker placement and resource management.

Botany (2024)

In the quest to be named the Royal Botanist of Victorian England, players will gather plant specimens from around the globe and build up their estate. The balance of venturing farther afield and ensuring you can return home with your specimens intact, lends an element of push-your-luck to the game. With many paths to victory, each play of Botany is unique.

Daybreak (2023)

In this cooperative game, players take on the role of world powers working together to take climate action and decarbonise. Through policy action and technology advancement, players will work to limit global heating and build resilient societies.

If the global temperature increases too much or too many people are impacted by climate crises, the game is lost. But through collaborative efforts, players can win by bringing global emissions to net-zero. Better still, the game is chock full of QR codes and explanations providing more information on these real-world solutions!

Dr. Eureka (2015)

In this competitive race and pattern-building game, players must conduct a series of experiments set forth by the brilliant Dr. Eureka. Mix the molecules from tube to tube without letting them touch your bare hands! The scientist who can complete Dr. Eureka’s experiments the fastest wins! A challenge of wits and dexterity, this game is perfect for family game night.

The Fox Experiment (2023)

“In 1958, Demitri Belyaev and Lyudmila Trut started an experiment on domestication. From a large group of foxes, they selected the ones that reacted to humans with more curiosity and less aggression. In each generation, they selected only the friendliest pups to become parents — hoping to recreate the process that originally led to domestication thousands of years ago. The experiment made stunning progress. Even though the foxes were chosen only for their friendliness, they soon started to get many of the physical traits that we associate with domesticated animals — like spots, floppy ears, and curly tails. As communication opened up, the foxes made major contributions to our understanding of how these traits are expressed. The experiment continues to this day.” (Pandasaurus Games)

Players compete as scientists conducting their own experiment in breeding domesticated foxes. Over five generations, players select parent foxes for certain traits in order to breed the friendliest pups.

Genotype: A Mendelian Genetics Game (2021)

Learn from the master, Gregor Mendel, the 19th century friar credited with the discovery of modern genetics. In Genotype, players take on the role of Friar Mendel’s assistants, and compete in a series of experiments on pea plants. Through these experiments, players will attempt to control phenotype traits (the observable traits – height, flower color, seed shape) and glean important genotype data (the genetic make-up of the plant). Players will learn to change the genes of the parent plants in order to express the phenotypes they need. Science!

The New Science (2013)

As scientists during the 17th century Scientific Revolution of Europe, players will utilise worker placement and tech trees to advance discoveries, test hypotheses, and publish papers in key sciences of the day: Astronomy, Mathematics, Physics, Biology and Chemistry. Correspond with famous scientists, hire assistants into your laboratory, and further the cause of science.

Rescue Polar Bears (2016)

Set in C.E. 2045, Rescue Polar Bears envisions an Arctic where global climate change has sped the melt of the polar ice caps. With the last area of ice on land rapidly disappearing, polar bears will soon be without a habitat. Players in this cooperative game are a multi-nation team dedicated to saving the polar bears. Piloting individual boats with unique abilities, players must work together in a race against time to gather the bears before the ice melts.

Terraforming Mars (2016)

In this civilisation building game, each player is a corporation, seeking to terraform the planet Mars in a post C.E. 2400 world. Players will need to raise the temperature, increase oxygen levels, and build up ocean coverage in order to make a habitable environment. Players are collaborating on the terraforming process but must also strategise to increase their corporation’s individual prestige.

Wingspan (2019)

This engine-building game has players compete to attract a variety of birds into their wildlife preserve. Each bird card strengthens a chain of combinations in one of your preserve’s habitats. By enticing the right birds into the preserve, players complete set collections and create new opportunities for biodiversity.

We hope this selection has sparked your scientific interest and perhaps encouraged your own research! We’d love to hear what other science games are on your table!

Hosted by Steena AKA Lore Coordinator Steena
BAT! No wait, that’s just Steena – camp lore keeper, pie eater, and snarker extraordinaire, Steena loves to hike, deep dive on movies, and has an obsession with quirky earrings. Find her in the discord server to chat about the macabre, Sailor Moon, or classic films!