Gut Check: The evolution of an educational board game

TLDR

Gamification of science has surged, yet few games highlight the beneficial roles of microbes rather than their harmful aspects. The authors created the board game “Gut Check: The Microbiome Game” to educate players about the positive functions of microbes while providing an engaging challenge. They describe the game’s design, development logistics, and offer guidance for others building similar educational board games.

Abstract

The "gamification" of science has gained a lot of traction in recent years, and games that convey scientific concepts or themes are increasingly popular. While a number of existing games touch on microbiology, very few consider the beneficial (as opposed to the detrimental) aspects of microbes. We designed a board game called "Gut Check: The Microbiome Game" to fill this gap. The game is meant to be both educational as well as challenging and fun. Here we discuss the development of the game, some of the logistics of game development in this context, and offer suggestions for others thinking of similar projects.