Board games are fun and entertaining, but they can also educate and get the brain into a mental gym for a cognitive workout. If you agree, it’s time to see the doctor. Dr. Eureka that is! Dr. Eureka is a brainteasing sequencing puzzle game where players have some challenging experiments to complete.
Dr. Eureka, from Blue Orange Games, is a tabletop game for 1-4 players, aged 8+. It has a playing time of around 15 minutes.
If you have ever played the maths 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 on this popular sequencing game and turned it into a single player / multiplayer child friendly / family friendly challenge game that is lots of competitive fun.
In the box:
- 12 Test Tubes
- 24 Colourful Balls (8 Red, 8 Purple, 8 Green)
- 54 Challenge Cards
- Illustrated Rules
Welcome to Dr. Eureka’s science lab where the eccentric doctor takes on up to four apprentices for some fun challenges. Dr. Eureka has some challenging scientific formulas for his apprentices to solve in a speedy and precise manner. Players must use their test tubes and coloured balls to solve the scientific formulas; mixing the colourful molecules in the correct sequence to master the formula! And be the quickest at it.
Setting up to play is simple; players are given three test tubes each (these have a solid base so they can stand up on the table) and six coloured balls (2 red, 2 purple and 2 green) which are placed in the test tubes. The Challenge Cards are shuffled and placed face down on the table. When everybody is ready and got their thinking head on, the top Challenge Card is turned over and play begins.
Playing the game is a fast, fun challenge. The object of the game is for players to get the balls in their test tubes to match the image on the Challenge Card as fast as they can without touching the balls with your hands/fingers, without removing any balls from the test tubes and putting them on the table and certainly not dropping any. Essentially ‘pouring’ balls from one test tube to another.
To do this, players must transfer the balls from one test tube to another to try and arrange them in the correct sequence as shown on the challenge card. Players cannot touch any of the balls, drop any of the balls of use other objects to help them transfer the balls into the correct sequence.
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 and shouting “Eureka”, wins that round and gains 1 point, the first person to complete five challenges and get 5 points is the winner of the game and is Dr. Eureka’s top apprentice.
Overall, Dr. Eureka is an excellent, fun game. It is a fast brainteasing challenging game that is so simple to play but can be hard to win. Game play is easy to understand, and it has no complex rules to battle with. It is a game of logical thinking, sequencing, forethought and planning, speed, visual perception, focus, attention to detail and mental processing speed. It is a perfect game for helping to develop fine motor skills as a certain amount of dexterity is required to transfer the balls around the test tubes.
We have enjoyed playing Dr. Eureka. It is a fast game to play with very easy rules to follow but is a challenge, especially when trying to do it at speed. We love games where a bit of thinking and brain power is required, ones that are not just dependant on the lucky outcome of the throw of dice.
We also love that it can be played as a single player game to challenge yourself or as a family game to challenge each other, it makes the game much more versatile. As for the child-friendly scientist theme, it really appeals to the children and entices them into playing.
If you love speedy challenging puzzle games with hidden educational properties, then Dr. Eureka is the game for you and your family.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £25
For more information, visit www.blueorangegames.com. Available to buy from Amazon here.
