Linkage: A DNA Card Game

The quality of the game materials is excellent, and I like the whole Genius Games idea of making science fun. "Linkage" is not as "basic" as I had expected. It seems that "Linkage" would be good for students or adults who already have some understanding of DNA and RNA and sequencing (or maybe its design is that no prior knowledge is necessary because it forces deductive learning by using color matching? If so, it's still over the heads of those with little-to-no understanding of DNA and RNA). The game box instructions were not as clear as the instructions on the video demonstration on the Genius Games website. (Our version of the game based on reading the instructions was totally different from the video version.) Maybe include a URL to a Genius Games-generated site that gives a primer in DNA and RNA, so that at least the game has context and the terms and pictures are the same as in the game, and can be corresponded to?

I am a Biology/Biotechnology student and really enjoyed this game. It is very quick once you get the rules down, which only took a couple games through. By quick I mean 5 min per game. I got it for christmas and played it with my mom who is in her late sixties; it was simple enough for her to just pick it up and play. They did a great job making sure that people who don't know the pairing G-C and A-T( or A-U) can still play. The fun part is obviously not making your complimentary RNA strand, that would be mind-numbing, but when you mutate your opponents RNA strand or even steal one of their nucleotides. This hinders their ability to earn points and beat you. I loved it so much I told two of my biology professors who also ordered their own games for possible use in the classroom when they teach General Biology 1 and cover the "Central Dogma". I look forward to seeing this companies protein game Peptide!

The game is fun. Its really not so complicated, but I think some people can't get past the fact that its using actual scientific terms (even though you don't need any clue about them to play). My in-laws never seemed to get it after several rounds, but my wife and I picked up on it just after two rounds or so (though we're both into games and science). We were trying to learn it all at the same time, if someone understood it it would be easier to watch a few rounds and get the idea.I want to play some more. I think with 4 players you'd have more fun interplay between players (you can "steal" cards you need from them etc.) but even with 2 its pretty good. I'd give it 1/2 star more if I could. Only reason not 5 is that its a little more complicated than say carcassonne (but I think easier than pandemic). There are just several options you can do each turn that take a bit to learn, but they make it interesting and strategic. Perhaps if the instructions had a simple introduction to dna replication it might help people understand why the game works the way it does (though again, you can just learn the rules just like any other game).Game is just cards but they're nice and I really like the artwork. Its priced right.

My lab got this game for our advisor for a Christmas present, and we enjoyed the test rounds that we played before making the final decision to give it to her. I really enjoyed how the game subtly taught several concepts about RNA, DNA, base pairing, and stability:- It helps to teach both the canonical DNA and RNA bases, but also uses card coloring to help explain the correct base pairs without blatantly spelling it out on the cards.- the scoring method (specifically, the bonus points for having a long sequence of correct base pairs ) helps to teach stand binding stability and the disadvantages of base mismatches without ever directly alluding to it, which is a nice touch.All in all, I found it to be a fun edutainment type game, which some would consider to be an oxymoron. However, Linkage feels like it could stand alone as either a teaching aid or a game in of itself, and so it gets my vote!

I am a high school biology teacher, and backed this game , as well as the Peptide game on Kickstarter. I found the game to be so much fun for students as a quick review/reinforcement or a fun way to pass some time if they finish work early that I ordered two more copies when I saw it on Amazon to add to the two (and the prototype) I got from Kickstarter. I also received print and play files, but I really liked the quality of the produced game, and I am happy to support someone making games for bio students that are fun, educational, and don't take hours to play!Games can be as short as five minutes, mad our longest took about 15, as we got the hang of mutating other people's DNA strands to improve our own. The coloring on the cards makes it easy to figure out pairing rules even if you don't have any prior knowledge. In fact, the rule pamphlet is very thin, meaning the game is easy to learn.As for the quality, cards are playing card sturdy, with good even color. They are easy to read. I generally have groups of 3-4 play.

I find myself enjoying this game more and more with each play. It's not the deepest game in the world, but it's thematic/ biology driven design is brilliant and the this game has enough strategy to be a good game for some color matching fun. The design of the different cards are intuitive and colorful. For some more advanced play, add in the DNA mutation cards and the additional actions they bring. This variant is my favorite way to play, because someone can upend the whole game in glorious biological anarchy. Fans of card games owe it to them selves to add this one to their collections.