Dr. Microbe Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Research Objective
• Lab Prep
• Research Rules
• Important
• End of Game
• Variations

Components

• 49 Microbes
• 54 Research Cards
• 4 Tweezers
• 4 Sectioned Petri Dishes
• 1 Large Petri Dish
• Illustrated Rules

Players: 2-4. Age: 8+. Playing time: 15 min.

Research Objective

Race to be the first scientist to impress Dr. Microbe by completing the Research Card correctly. In order to do this, players must select the correct Microbes, and place them correctly in the Petri Dish by matching the Research Card AND following the Research Rules. The first player to correctly complete five Research Cards wins the game.

Lab Prep

• Place the Large Petri Dish filled with all of the Microbes in the middle of all players (keep the Purple Virus aside unless playing variation 1 or 3).
• Shuffle the Research Cards and place them face down in a pile, next to the Large Petri Dish.
• Have each player take 1 Sectioned Petri Dish and 1 pair of tweezers as their lab equipment.

The 3 smaller sections of a player's Petri Dish are used to isolate 3 Microbes and the largest section is used to isolate a special Microbe called the Superbug.

(Illustration labels: "Section for the Microbes"; "Section for the Superbug".)

Research Rules

When all players are ready, the top card is flipped. Using their tweezers players must race to complete the Research Card by picking the correct Microbes one-by-one from the Large Petri Dish and putting them into their own dish.

The Microbes visible on the Research Card must be picked and placed correctly in the Petri Dish to match the Research Card. The Microbes missing on the Research Card must be found, picked, and placed in the Petri Dish so that the following rules always apply:

• The Superbug must always be a different shape and color than the other 3 Microbes. It must be isolated in the largest section of a player's Petri Dish.
• The 3 Microbes need to be different in shape and color from the Superbug. Two Microbes will be the same color as each other, but all must be different shapes (no shape may be repeated in a player's Petri Dish).

When a player feels they have completed their research correctly, they stop and yell "Eureka!". All other players must immediately stop and put down their tweezers.

They now carefully check the first player's Petri Dish to see if it is correct. If all players agree the research is completed correctly, the first player scores the Research Card as a point.

1. Match the Research Card (illustration: a dish matching the card is correct; one that does not match is wrong)
2. Find the missing Microbe (illustration: one correct dish, two incorrect dishes)

Note: There may be more than one correct answer.

Important

• If a Microbe falls on the table, the player who dropped it must pick it up immediately; it may not remain on the table.
• Players may not steal Microbes from their opponent's Petri Dishes.
• Players also may not add Microbes into their opponents' dishes (unless playing variation 2 or 3).
• Players must always use their tweezers to pick the Microbes, Superbugs and the Purple Virus.

End of Game

The first player to score 5 points wins the game.

Variations

1. The Purple Virus: At the beginning of the game, the Purple Virus is placed in the Large Petri Dish. During the game, players can pass the virus to their left neighbour. When a round ends, the player with the Purple Virus must give up a card to the winner. A player may not yell "Eureka!" when the Purple Virus is in their dish. (3 or more players recommended).
2. Sabotage: Players may add Microbes to their opponents' dishes in an attempt to sabotage their research efforts. However, players may not steal Microbes from their opponents. Players get rid of any unwanted Microbes by placing them back into the Large Petri Dish using their tweezers.
3. Combination: The game is played with the two variations above.