Geneticist Trumps

The Genetics Society has produced a Top Trumps-style card game that was sent to every UK secondary school.

Update: the 2020 version can be downloaded in PDF format.

Designed for education, ‘Geneticist Trumps’ provides a fun way to learn about influential scientists and their work in a competitive game format.  The project was funded by a Tier 2 Public Engagement Grant and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research innovation programme.  As a soft launch to coincide with the Society’s 100th anniversary, packs of cards were given away to those who attended the ‘Century of Genetics‘ conference in 2019.

The game consists of 30 playing cards featuring history’s greatest geneticists and explains how they changed our understanding of genes and heredity.  Each card also shows five categories and corresponding scores.  The player with the highest score in a selected category wins their opponents’ cards.  A geneticist’s scores for ‘Fame’ and ‘Impact’ are based on objective measures of online popularity and published research, while their ‘Special Power’ gives a characteristic or hobby that reflects their personality (scores for this category help balance the deck and don’t relate directly to their ability).

‘Geneticist Trumps’ is freely available to download for printing, ideally in colour on thin cardboard.  You can find out more about the various scientists featured on the cards through the links below.

Special Powers