Pyramid Review
Gene Pool: The DNA Card Game
Designed & Published by Mark Goadrich
12 Base Pair cards, 14 Gene Research cards, 2 Player Reference cards, 7 by 11-Inch Full Color Double Sided Rules leaflet; $9
With the PDF format providing the perfect avenue to self-publishing, even for some board and card games, it is a little odd to come across a self-published card game . . . especially as one as nicely put together as Mark Goadrich's Gene Pool: The DNA Card Game.
This is a two-player card game in which the players take the roles of genetic engineers working with the building blocks of life to fight rare genetic diseases such as Osteogenesis Imperfecta (Brittle Bone Disease) and Huntington's Disease. They compete to repair gene sequences of varying length and complexity by manipulating the Base Pairs within the sequence. As rivals, what is at stake after years of research is the ultimate in recognition, a Nobel Prize for either Medicine or Physiology.
The game consists of 28 cards and a double-sided rules sheet, all in full color. The rules are clearly written and easy to understand, and play is eased by the inclusion of a pair of Player Reference Cards. The remaining 26 cards are of two types, each further divided into two types. The 12 Base Pair cards are marked with the four chemicals that make up the building blocks of life: Adenine, Cytosine, Guanine, and Thymine. Six cards are marked A/T and six are marked G/C. These cards can be read along the top and the bottom of each card. . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: August 24, 2007
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