As a family we love to play board games. Playing board games is lots of fun and helps us spend quality time together as a family, which is why we look forward to family game nights. But for me, games that educate and get your brain working whilst still being lots of fun are the best. Games such as Dr. Eureka from Blue Orange Games.
Dr. Eureka is a brainteasing sequencing game for 1-4 players, aged 8+ with 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 challenge game that is fun for the whole family.
In the box:
- 12 Test Tubes
- 24 Colourful Balls (8 Red, 8 Purple, 8 Green)
- 54 Challenge Cards
- Illustrated Rules
Welcome to the science lab where every player is an apprentice to the eccentric scientist Dr. Eureka. Dr. Eureka has some challenging scientific formulas for his apprentices to solve. 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; each player is given three test tubes (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.
The object of the game is to get the balls in your test tubes to match the image on the Challenge Card as fast as you can without touching the balls with your hands/fingers and certainly not dropping any.
To do this you 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. You cannot touch any of the balls, drop any of the balls of use any 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 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.
Overall, Dr. Eureka is an excellent, fun and fast brainteasing challenging game that is so simple to play but can be hard to win. Game play is so easy to understand, and it has no complex rules to battle with. It is a game of logical thinking, sequencing, 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 all really enjoyed playing Dr. Eureka. It is a fast game to play with very easy rules to follow. 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 we can play as a family or as a single player, it makes the game much more versatile. And the child-friendly scientist theme really appeals to the children.
If you love speedy challenging puzzle games, then Dr. Eureka is the game for you.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £25
Available to buy from Amazon here.
Disclosure: All thoughts and opinions are my own. This review uses an affiliate link which I may receive a small commission from if you purchase through the link.
