The New Science

Well, I'm running about 3 weeks behind on my blogging, things have continued to be a little crazy and hectic here. But, the combination of science and gaming has provided the motivational energy to post again. We had dinner last night with my friends Fraser and Lencia. After an excellent dessert of berry and rhubarb cobbler (mmmm, thanks Fraser!), we tried out a new boardgame called "The New Science". My friend Fraser had supported the funding of the game through kickstarter. For a game that had been funded through crowd funding, I was very impressed with the high production values of the game, better looking than many other games I've played. My one criticism was that my dementia-addled brain kept confusing the little square block pieces with the ever so slightly larger square block pieces that were used for a completely different purpose.

Anyway, in the New Science, you play as one of the great scientific thinkers of the 17th century. And science in the 17the century clearly was just as competitive and cutthroat as it is today. You have to beat your fellow scientists to publishing your significant discoveries. Each turn you get 3 actions, where you can either research a scientific theory, experiment to prove your theory is correct, publish your theory to gain prestige (whoever has the most prestige wins the game), gain influence (by schmoozing government, religious, scientific or industry figures), take a random event, or rest. Deciding when the publish was crucial, you don't want to get scooped, but on the other hand, do you want to let your scientific competitors get a free ride on your research? So, pretty much just like real life. Resting at the right time to build up your energy for important scientific work was also crucial. Overall, we all thought it was a very fun game. The irony of relaxing from the stress of science by playing a game simulating the stress of science provided additional entertainment.

I played as Gottfried Leibnitz, my girlfriend played as Isaac Newton, resulting in an animated discussion about who really invented calculus!