Dr. Eureka
Players: 2-4
Ages: 5 and up
Purchase: Buy on Amazon (affiliate link)
Math Ideas: logical deduction, spatial reasoning
Questions to Ask:
How can you solve this in the fewest moves?
Can you get directly from the last challenge to the next challenge?
My son's birthday was earlier this month, and as a result I (er, I mean, he) got a ton of great new games!
One of them in particular caught my son's eye with its bright colors and simple gameplay. I've already thought up a couple of variations that I'll share below!
The game is called Dr. Eureka.
How to Play
Each player gets three test tubes, and in each test tube you place two marbles that are supposed to represent molecules. You set up your tubes as seen in the photo.
Then you flip over a game card that shows the molecules in a new arrangement. Your goal is to be the first person to re-arrange your molecules until your tubes match the tubes in the image.
There is a special challenge, though! You can't touch the molecules directly, since they represent potentially radioactive or poisonous chemicals. Instead, you must take the test tubes and "pour" your molecules from one tube to the other, like the mad scientist on the box. Also, if you spill your molecules, you lose that round.
As you might notice, this is a speed-based game, which is not my favorite type of game. To remedy that, I've come up with a couple of variations that I'll share below.
Where's the Math?
Dr. Eureka is a fantastic game to get your kids thinking strategically and using spatial reasoning to visualize their approach. Much like Tipsy, which I reviewed a few weeks ago, Dr. Eureka rewards players who can think about the effects of their moves before they actually begin pouring molecules.
The game feels a bit like the classic Tower of Hanoi puzzle, which come to think of it, I should write about some day! That puzzle has sat on my teacher desk for my whole career, and kids absolutely love playing it. Dr. Eureka takes some of the same principles and makes the game accessible for younger kids.
As your child starts to play, they will notice that the molecules on the bottom of the tube are the hardest to move, since all the molecules above them hamper their mobility. So they may begin to focus on ensuring that they have all the bottom molecules in the proper spot.
Or, they can use a great wrinkle in the rules: At the end of the game you can flip a tube if you want to flip the order of the molecules in order to win! Again, this strategy requires your child to visualize what the tube will look like in its flipped state prior to actually flipping the tube.
Questions to Ask
The first time my son and I played, he got a little frustrated. His fine motor skills aren't as developed as mine, so he kept pouring more molecules than he wanted, or spilling some of the molecules on the table.
Since I wanted him to enjoy his present, I asked him "How about I make up a challenge with my tubes and then you try to copy it, using the rules of the game?"
This way, we removed the speed-based element of the game, and he got to take his time and think strategically. He also enjoyed coming up with arrangements that might stump me!
Once he felt more confident, I flipped over a new card and said "How can we solve this challenge with the fewest moves?"
Again, the focus turned from speed to strategy. Sure, the fewest moves would be a fast solution, but that was due to its efficiency, not how fast my son's hands could move. I much prefer that version of the game.
Sure enough, my son had built his confidence enough to challenge another member of our household who has politely asked me to stop making fun of her in this newsletter. So, without rubbing it in, he totally beat her and was extremely proud of himself.
Click here to buy Dr. Eureka on Amazon (affiliate link)