I wrote this as a comment on Mythic Lab's Facebook page, but decided to repost it here:
I bought the game about a week ago and I have now played about 10 rounds of the game with four different sets of people.
The game is super easy to pick up. A game lasts about 10-15 minutes maximum.
The core mechanics are to either use a scientist card from one's hand to claim a discovery card from the table (if they match colors) or to attach an equipment card to a scientist card that has already claimed a discovery (also if they match colors). Both equipment and discoveries are worth points and the person with the most points at the end of the game wins.
There is a little bit of strategy involved with the game, but not a lot. The level of strategy is more than Uno, but less than Dominion. The strategy mostly involves avoiding picking up the lower point discoveries and waiting until higher point options are available.
I have a very positive opinion of this game (I'm sorry if it might not come across that way in this comment, but I really do love the game). However, if I were to talk about the negatives this is what I'd say: for a game about the brightest minds of the human species, the game feels a little less cerebral than expected. The options available to the players are not as expansive as the subject matter of the game suggests they might be. This is partly because the game is so short.
One could make the game longer by playing multiple rounds and keeping score, but this has the problem that no one round would affect the other rounds much. It would be nice if there were ways to affect subsequent rounds of play or more gambles that could be taken during a round of play. That would increase the level of strategy used in the game. Maybe making a scientist card that gives a bonus in the current round, but a penalty in the next (or the other way around). Maybe allowing the player to make a choice whether they want to try to complete two scientific methods; if they succeed, that is a lot of extra points. If they fail, make them take a penalty for an incomplete line of research. I'm not sure what would be good, I am not a game designer.
I am going to add to the original Facebook comment now: I think the artwork is great, the cards are well-made, and the booklet with the paragraphs about the scientists' lives and discoveries are interesting. I bought it to use with my high school students (I teach math and computer programming) and have instituted the rule that the players must read their scientist cards out loud when they play them. This is getting them familiar with some important historical characters and has been useful to reference in classroom discussions. I look forward to school starting after Christmas break so that I can continue to bring these important people to life for my students. I am very happy with my purchase.
