Science Scramble – Physics Edition Game Review
DISCLOSURE – THIS ITEM WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE THE REVIEWER’S OWN.
Reviewed by H Chan
We are a big board game loving family, we take games everywhere with us, and if I can find an engaging and fun game which also teaches the kids something, it’s a huge bonus. Which was why I was excited to review Science Scramble, the Physics edition by Oaka books.
This game follows the Ks3/CE curriculum, (ages 11-14) , and it is a simple turn based game with a twist. As you move around the board, trying to collect merit points, you come across obstacles such as comet cards and question cards. Each comet card will be a penalty or a reward, like Chance cards in Monopoly. The cards are very easy to follow, so we had no problems at all understanding them. Question cards, ask you a question. These cards are designed to test your knowledge of the topic and you have to stay on the spot until you answer a physics question correctly.
The game arrived in a very simple box, inside sheets of cards which needed to be popped out before the game can be set up. It also contained counters, dice and merits (points cards). Whilst the game at first, didn’t look like other games we have in our collection, it proves the point that a book cannot be judged by it’s cover. Inside the box, is colourful and visually pleasing, and just looks like it will be lots of fun to play. Gameplay itself, is very fun.
The aim of the game is very simple, you begin with 6 physics cards, each with a place on the board for you to get to. Once there, you receive a merit. Once you have visited all 6 places, you can return to *Earth* the game stops when the first person returns to Earth. Upon return, they receive 30 merits. Everyone adds up how many merits they have earned over the game answering questions or from visiting their places, and the winner is the person who has the most. You can also time the game and count the merits for a winner, or we also played with 3 starter cards instead of 6 when we didn’t have enough time for a longer game which makes it more versatile.
I played this game with my three children, aged 15, 12 and 9. Surprisingly, my 9 year old knew a lot more of the answers to the questions than I realised, and it helped his siblings to revise in a none obvious way for their end of year exams. Imagine the smile on my face when my 12 year old returned home and said that there was question on her test which she only got right because she’d been asked the same question whilst playing this game.
The company, Oaka, produce some wonderful content along with their range of science games.
One thing which really did interest me, was their revision packs. Whilst browsing their website to learn more about the company behind the game, I was pleased to see that the guides had been put together with visual learners and those with dyslexia in mind. Content by Oaka, was created so that those who struggle with the usual presentation of work, can access the same information but in a different, more visually stimulating way. Which is incredible. The revision packs look fantastic, and I will certainly be purchasing some for my children. I can see the game being a big hit in high schools, especially for activity days at the end of terms.
We also received a sheet of blank question cards, so that we could tailor our own and be more specific with some of their learning. I recommend that you find some little bags or elastic bands to hold the cards together when you pack away, and decide if you’re accepting jet packs to return to Earth, or not. This rule seems to be one that the children couldn’t agree on, so I decided that it couldn’t but we did allow extra turns upon rolling doubles.
We gave the game 4½ out of 5 stars. The game retails at £29.99 and can be found here. it’s on the higher price point for games, but educational games do usually cost a little more. The only reason it lost half a star was because of it’s longevity, and knowing that after a time the children will have memorized the answers. If there were an option to purchase different cards for the game, then it would of course, keep that excitement level. There are a lot of cards to be getting on with though, so don’t let this put you off unless you’re planning on playing it over and over. Which, to be fair, would also be a great help to those who need information to be repeated. Also, even though the quality is high, the game board did slightly rip on opening and the cards are on the thinner, flimsy side, but the content is definitely worth the price tag.
Well done Oaka, on producing a fun and engaging game where you actually learn something, my 9 year old is really picking up these science buzzwords and meanings.
Rating: 4.5/5