Nerd Words: Science Preview

Anyone who is familiar with Genius Games knows that they do the impossible. They make fun games that are educational. Too often you have one without having the other. Genius Games has previously published Cytosis, Subatomic (watch our quick look), Ion: A Compound Building Game and more.

Nerd Words: Science is the latest project from Genius Games which is a Science themed party game. Players divide up into 2 or 3 teams. With the odd number of 9 players, 3 separate teams work best. Each player is given 2 cards that contain 3 scientific terms along with definitions for each term. Some of these terms are common to most teens and adults. Others require you to dig back into the part of your brain storing all the things you learned in High School Chemistry.

Using a dry erase marker, the active player will write down a clue for the science term they picked. I really like how they created guidelines for the clue giver.

The clue must be a single word and start with a letter that is found in the science word that they picked. An example would be the word radioactive. I could use the V in radioactive and use the clue volatile. As the clue giver, I make a secret bet on whether or not a team will be able to guess the word correctly over the course of up to 4 guesses.

The teams then use their team dry erase boards in order to guess the term. They can also add an additional bet to that will add points to their team score if they are right, or take away points if they are wrong.

Teams play until one team reaches 50 points or each player has had the chance to be the clue giver twice.

What Makes Nerd Words Unique?

I really like the betting aspect of this game. As the clue giver, you’re betting based on who you are play with and against. Not only that, but your bet is also on how confident you are in your ability to give good clues.

I think the clue restriction of using a letter from the term they chose is a fantastic idea. You can only use the first letter of the word when you get down to the 4th clue. It’s really satisfying when you start to see the letters come together after a couple bad guesses.

This game is going to be a great one for anyone who enjoys Science and wants something deeper than Scattegories and Taboo. Nerd Words: Science is going to be an excellent asset for teachers and home schoolers as they bring gaming into the classroom.

While this is definitely a family game, I believe kids that haven’t taken middle school Science may struggle with some of the terms or knowing the best clues to give. With so many cards in the deck, I would say take out a couple that you know your child can handle and put them in a separate bag for them to choose from. It’s an easy adjustment to keep your younger kids from getting frustrated.

Nerd Words: Science is an actual party game where you may just learn something! As a parent, this is going to be a great option for game night with other families and teens. Now I’m off to find a way to get my 11 year old to play and accidentally study for her upcoming Science test at the same time.

You can get your copy of Nerd Words: Science by supporting their Kickstarter campaign now through April 11, 2019.

Genius Games provided us with a prototype copy of Nerd Words: Science ahead of the Kickstarter campaign. This in no way influenced our opinion of the game. Previews are a glimpse into an upcoming game with the pros and cons that we experienced prior to production of the game.