Periodic: A Game of the Elements | Periodic Table Board & Card Game About Atoms, Elements & Compounds | A Strategy Board Game for Gamers & Educational Science Game for Kids or Family Game Night

For a bit of context, we are definitely geeks and we homeschool our children. We are not heavy gamers, but we do like to play some lighter to mid weight board games. We really like this game! There are quite a few steps to remember and it can seem overwhelming at first, but that is true for a lot of games. We broke it down step by step as we played our first game, and the steps really started to flow the longer we played. I haven't thought about chemistry in quite a few years, so I was very rusty. The game does not require you to know chemistry to play, but I love how much chemistry my brain started picking up during our play. It isn't a comprehensive chemistry class, but it is a great and fun way to familiarize yourself and your children with the periodic table of the elements. The elements are grouped on cards in interesting and educational ways: The Curies discovered Polonium and Radium or most common metals in industry etc. While it is an educational game, we think the fun aspect stands on its own. We will be playing this game a lot because we have fun, but we are also excited that we will be learning while having fun! We own a few Genius Games now, and this one did not disappoint. We will definitely keep adding games from this company to our collection.

Great Game

This game is amazing for getting familiar with the periodic table and understanding how to navigate it. The game rules are very easy to learn. I got this game for my 13 year old 8th grader because we are going into chemistry in a few weeks and I wanted him to get to know the elements and the table. This game exceeded my expectations and my son wants to play everyday. We absolutely love this strategy/ educational game. There is so much to learn while playing the game; the name of the elements, the symbol, atomic mass and number, what the elements are typically used for, the element groups and more. The most important thing for my sometimes reluctant learner is that it doesnt feel like a boring educational game and you dont actually need to know chemistry to play it. The board is strong so it wont warp and the game pieces are colorful and sturdy.

The students are not engaged like expected. Too many directions and parts. They found rules difficult . We will try again. I wanted this to suppliment curricular material.

First I have to comment about other reviewers saying this is complicated. It isn't. At all. I suspect they are more the Monopoly and Scrabble type gamers. If you have played more medium weight euro style games this is going to be a breeze. The game is visually appealing with really high quality components. You are moving around the periodic table based on trends. So for anyone familiar with Chemistry, atomic number, atomic mass, radii size and ionization can all be seen by using the table. You use these trends to move to "research" and element. This is to complete goal cards to earn points. You can also earn points by ending a turn on certain element family groups that advance you along a point track. Not even remotely complicated yet quite fun, especially if you are using the game as a homeschool or enrichment activity. I have played multiple times with my 9 and 11 year old who took to it with no problem. My 9 year old was the one who read the instructions originally and taught the game. We also have Compound which is another great game but different enough that if you enjoy science based board games, then having both isn't redundant.

Periodic has great presentation from the color pallet chosen to the piece shapes. The game should appeal to players liking set collection with multiple paths to victory. The duration of the game is suitable for classroom use and works well for casual as well as experienced players. Periodic is nicely balanced and generates some surprises as folks reveal their hidden agendas at game end. Finally, the game stores well in the provided box and bags with no unnecessary insert for pieces to fall out of during transit. A couple of caveats to consider: the connection between game mechanisms and subject is weak (but not completely absent). The choice of a microscope for one of the pieces is quizzical. Perhaps a laboratory balance would have been better. These are small concerns however. Overall, this is a wonderful game.

This game is way too complicated to be enjoyable. It literally takes 30 minutes just to set up, and we could never even figure out how to actually play. So frustrating, and not a helpful way to learn for my teens. Such a bummer. I gave 2 stars because it is good quality and nice looking.

Pair this with a couple khan academy videos to understand increase in energy and such, and it's very useful to get to know ones way around the periodic table. Good for high school chemistry student and interesting enough for an 11 yr old and adult to also play. I'll play again.

My 9 year old boy loves to play this and he is a big fan of the periodic table. You need to play it two times to get the game more easily going. Makes even more fun to play with 3. Enjoy!!

Great fun way to help kids get to grips with the periodic table

Great game to learn the periodic table. Great that it can be played without prior knowledge of the periodic table!

We homeschool and love educational games, but just reading through the rules and figuring the game out took us over an hour! Genius games have lots of good ideas, beautifully illustrated but the fun factor is really low and complication too high. Wish I hadn't bought it unfortunately.