Regular readers of our blog will know that as a family we love playing board and tabletop games and anything that helps the kids with their education. Combine the two and we are over the moon. With Christmas approaching and looking for things to do together as a family over the holiday we have been trying out some games and the one we are trying for this review is Dr. Eureka from Blue Orange Games.
If you have ever played the maths game or puzzle game Tower of Hanoi, then you will just love Dr. Eureka. Tower of Hanoi is a simple yet challenging game where you have to move the discs from one tower to another, only moving one disc at a time without breaking sequencing rules. Dr. Eureka has expanded the popular sequencing game and turned it into a single player / multiplayer challenge game.
Dr. Eureka is a brainteasing game for 1-4 players, aged 8 and upwards. Every player is an apprentice scientist in Dr. Eureka’s eccentric laboratory, and they have to use their test tubes and coloured balls to solve a scientific formula; mixing the molecules to master the formula!
What’s in the box:
- 12 Test Tubes
- 24 Colourful Balls (8 Red, 8 Purple, 8 Green)
- 54 Challenge Cards
- Illustrated Rules
Setting up and playing the game is simple; each player takes three test tubes (these have a solid base so they can stand up on the table) and two each of the coloured balls placing them in each of their test tubes. The Challenge Cards are shuffled and placed face down on the table. When everybody is ready, the top Challenge Card is turned over and play begins.
The object of the game is to get your test tubes to match the image on the Challenge Card as fast as you can. To do this you must transfer the balls from one test tube to another without touching the balls, arranging them in the correct order as shown on the card. You cannot touch any of the balls, drop any of the balls of use other objects to help you transfer the balls – you have to tip a ball from one tube to another, effectively “pouring” one ball from one test tube to another. Combinations can be completed with the test tubes right side up or by turning the tubes upside down. If a player touches or drops a ball they are out of that round. If a player incorrectly announces they have completed the challenge, they are out of that round. The first player to complete a challenge, shouting Eureka, wins that round (1 point), the first to complete five challenges (5 points) is the winner of the game.
Dr. Eureka is an excellent short game, with a playing time of around 15 minutes. Game play is easy to understand with no complex rules and we were up and playing within 5 minutes of opening the box. It is a game of logical thinking, sequencing, planning, speed, visual perception, focus & attention and is perfect for developing fine motor skills as a certain amount of dexterity is required to transfer the balls around the test tubes.
The only issue we found is that when you have younger children playing, the older players are usually more dexterous and are able to complete the challenges faster, but using one of the variants of game play can help to level this up.
We have all really enjoyed playing Dr. Eureka. It is a fast game play, very little set up and the rules of the game are uncomplicated and easy for all family members to understand and grasp. We like games where a bit of thinking is required and is not just dependant on the lucky outcome of the throw of dice.
If you love speed and puzzle games, then Dr. Eureka is definitely the game for you.
Rating: 4.5/5
RRP: £25
Available to buy from Amazon here.
