Now in its second iteration, Cytosis proves another all-round high scorer with our duo, for its take on the workings of the human cell system.
Is it fun?
Once you get into the swing of the rounds, play moves at a rapid pace and you begin to strategise. Initially, you don’t think that being the first player in a round is that important, until you find yourself shouting at your opponents ‘get your flask off the golgi apparatus!’
Lots of wooden pieces make for a nice tactile game and the health point counter acts as a continuous reminder of where you’re currently placing in the game. The imagery on the board helps to recall the actions taken, and it would seem that gameplay has been greatly improved in the second edition with the inclusion of a two player board and updated rulebook. The game prompts that immediate ‘let’s play again’ response.
What is Cytosis?
Cytosis is a round-based game in which you play out the functions of a human cell. You have four turns per round, in which you can either gain resources (such as ATP, mRNA, or lipids) or take action to purchase and complete cell component cards, or convert some of your resources.
You have four conical flask counters to mark your turn, and each player places one flask down and completes their action until all flasks are played. Each area of the board can only be used by one player per turn, for example placing your flask onto the mitochondria to gain ATP.
There are five types of cell component cards – enzyme, macromolecule, alcohol detoxification, hormone, and hormone receptor. All cards are worth differing numbers of health points and the winner is the player who scores the highest number of points. Goal and event cards provide ways of gaining more points or reducing the cost of resources within a round.
Is it educational?
Although you don’t have to understand the science of cell biology to enjoy playing this game, you naturally pick up the terms used within the gameplay. There is an additional ‘science behind’ booklet that any player can read, and it shows how the science translates to the game.
If you’re a non-scientist, you may need some support in understanding this fully but the language used in the explanations makes the content more accessible. If used alongside teaching, it would be a great game to reinforce learning.
Conclusion
Cytosis is a highly enjoyable game which is simple to play once you get the hang of the actions which can be taken (the ‘game in a nutshell’ on the back of the rulebook makes a handy guide). Overall it is well designed and the mechanics make for a fun, fast-paced and strategic game.
Details
- Age 10+
- 60-90 minutes
- 2-5 players
- Genius games
- Dr Louise Robinson is Lecturer in Forensic Biology and Dr Ian Turner an Associate Professor in Learning and Teaching, both work at the University of Derby
