| Recommended Age: | 8+ |
| Our Recommended Age: | 6+ |
| Players: | 2-4 |
| Cost: | USD $21.99 |
| Play Time: | 15 minutes (Times will vary) |
| Company Site: | www.blueorangegames.com |
| Contents: | 49 Microbes, Petri Dishes, 4 Lab Tweezers, 54 Challenge Cards, Illustrated Rules |
| Skills: | Visual Perception Focus & Attention Problem Solving Fine Motor Processing Speed |
Compete against other players to impress Dr. Microbe by using all your science skills. One super bug and 3 microbes are needed to complete the Dr’s research, however there is a catch! The super bug cannot be the same shape or color as any other microbe. A petri dish, tweezers, logic, a fast hand and a good eye will help you complete the research and win!
Dr. Microbe is one of 3 science (I consider them STEM) based games made by Blue Orange Games. Dr. Eureka you may have heard about or read our review for already and Dr. Beaker I will be posting a review on soon. Dr. Microbe is similar in that you are competing against other players to find and finish a pattern using scientific items and themes.
Great for all ages but perfect for around 6+ and recommended by Blue Orange at 8+. The Diva at 7 has mastered it and my 4 year old nephew, Tato-Tot, has also figured it out. We have to slow things down so it isn’t a big race when he plays but he has caught on to the mechanics rather well. He gets confused sometimes but that is to be expected, we played a few round so fill in the blank spot for him til he got it.
This method will work great for younger kids and you can take turns filling in one spot and then two and then 3 until they are ready to play the regular way. I love that about games like this, they can grow with your kids! They are also pretty well made out of the good plastics.
Except for the cards the parts are all plastic of various…levels? I guess…The tweezers and the microbes feel different than the petri dishes for example. But they don’t break easy and hold up to various aged kids playing with them…both properly and for fun.
I love the insert in this box! Everything has a beautiful place once you lift the standard lift top lid. Plastic is what the insert is made out of as well and the cards are pretty standard material but not too thin cards with colorful pictures of the pattern you need to complete. These pictures make microbes look less scary than I know they could be which is great to help get kids interested in science. Now let’s see how to play…with and without a 4 year old! Let’s do with first…
With a 4 ish year old
Objective:
Complete 5 research cards correctly. Take out the race and competitiveness and make it cooperative.
Setup:
First put the large petri dish with all the microbes in the middle of the playing area so all players can reach it. Remove the purple virus. Now shuffle the cards! and put them in a pile face down in the middle of the playing area.
Every player takes a set of tweezers and a petri dish that has the sections and set them in front of them to play at the same time but with no competition OR use one petri dish and everyone can try to help complete the puzzle. This is the best option when teaching anyone how to play.
Play:
Flip the top card over and everyone looks at what microbes are on the card and their placement then depending on how you are playing everyone completes the card in the petri dish. You have to include the microbes from the card and they have to be the same color and shape and in the same location in the petri dish. It is best to have the younger kids match the card first and make that a focus.
To complete the research you have to find the remaining microbes and put them in the empty spots but there are rules. Always a catch right? Yes, but a fun and challenging one!
The Superbug – This bug must always be a different color and a different shape than every other microbe in the dish. It will be in the largest compartment in the dish as well.
The other 3 microbes must be different shapes from each other but they can be the same color just not the same as the Superbug. All 4 bugs will be different in shape, don’t forget that. If the Superbug is on the card make it a point to have the kids name the color and shape…however they identify it is fine and THEN ask them what colors the other microbes can be and then the shapes. Follow this up with having them show you a correct shape in the correct color and finish the card.
Winning:
Once the single card or everyone’s card is complete they win! Yay! You can keep doing this as often as you want or need to help learn and reinforce the game. We had to go through a few with my nephew and treated it like a quiz game for him. He loved it! He didn’t win against his cousin but she let him win a few rounds and took her time.
Objective:
Be the first to complete 5 research cards correctly.
Setup:
First put the large petri dish with all the microbes in the middle of the playing area so all players can reach it. Remove the purple virus unless you are playing with those rules, which I am not going to cover but are in the instructions. Every player takes a set of tweezers and a petri dish that has the sections and set them in front of them.
Now shuffle the cards! and put them in a pile face down in the middle of the playing area. Everyone plays at the same time so get ready.
Play:
Flip the top card over and everyone looks at what microbes are on the card and their placement then race to see who can complete the card in their own petri dish. You have to include the microbes from the card and they have to be the same color and shape and in the same location in the petri dish.
To complete the research you have to find the remaining microbes and put them in the empty spots but there are rules. Always a catch right? Yes, but a fun and challenging one!
The Superbug – This bug must always be a different color and a different shape than every other microbe in the dish. It will be in the largest compartment in the dish as well. The other 3 microbes must be different shapes from each other but they can be the same color just not the same as the Superbug. All 4 bugs will be different in shape, don’t forget that.
The Diva loves this game and didn’t mind playing with her younger cousin for the pictures. She took her time so he could win a few rounds but she won the whole game. Although he wasn’t that fast at the game he did understand it and after some practice was able to figure out what he needed in order to complete the research. Maybe a natural scientist?
If you are wanting to add a fun, educational game to your Family Game Night or homeschool lessons this is a great game and is one of three in a Doctor series. Not sure if it is actually a series but that is what I call it.
Show us your research! @MyGeeklings #DrMicrobe @BlueOrangeGames
