Genotype: Mensa Award Winning Genetics Board Game about Mendel's Pea Plants

I cannot rave enough about this game. I didn't know that it would be Worth the price it is asking but I have come around. It's so detailed and the gameboard is beautiful. It took us a little bit to Learn - the first time playing was confusing - but if you are a science person who loves challenges continue to try and it is worth it.

I will be honest I don’t know anything about genetics which made the teach a bit harder at first but once you understand how the terms work in this game, wow it is fun and not actually super heavy (hard). It uses worker placement to select the actions you want to do and you’re trying to grow pea plants for maximum points. The deluxe pieces add on (separate purchase) greatly enhance the game. If you’re looking for a fun challenge with a science theme, this is the game for you.

This rating and review originally was intended for the expansion pack, not the base game. Amazon seems to think they are variations of the same items, so it appears it’s showing for both. 🤦🏻 So I’m editing accordingly.Base game: 5/5Genotype is a fun, medium-light worker placement/contract fulfillment game. In term of game mechanics, it’s not groundbreaking, but the theme of genetics is integrated into the design very well and is very enjoyable. It reminds me of the part of high school biology I found the most interesting. 😎Expansion pack: 2.5/5The so-called expansion pack doesn’t contain any Kickstarter expansion cards, new material, or promo cards, so it’s not a real expansion. The only worthwhile upgrade is the metal coins, which are a little light weight but are a very nice, authentic design. I wish they were available separately so I could buy extras for other games. The wooden turn marker is nice. The rest of the upgrades are replacing wood components with other wood components, a few glass beads, and a custom cloth bag - woohoo. The components most in need of an upgrade - the cardboard leaf tokens - aren’t upgraded at all. All in all I was disappointed. Apart from the coins it’s a waste of money.

We got this game because it had the Mensa award even though we hadn't played it or known anyone who had. Really glad we did.There is the worker placement part, so on one hand you are doing your own thing but then you can mess people up by getting to actions first. Then when you are picking up dice/traits you mess people up by first picking up the ones they need.We liked that the first player rotated and that research went backward. That gave a nice balance to the game.

This is our family's favorite game! All my children are grown, so we're all adults. We probably own somewhere between 250 and 300 games, and this is pretty much our #1 favorite of everything we own. (Some of our other favorites include Terraforming Mars, Ethnos, and Wingspan.)It's worker placement and dice-rolling, although there are ways to change the dice results. My memory isn't what it used to be (I'm 59), so I have to use the rulebook every time we play, but we all enjoy it immensely! We always take this game on family vacations. We take other games, too, but this one gets played at least once daily, if not more. The board and game implements are gorgeous and well thought out. I can't say enough good things about Genotype!!

My board game loving ten year old was able to play with adults (age 14+). Excellent incorporation of genotype theme into the mechanics. Useful for homeschooling, but also perfectly solid as a euro-style board game. I loved it over other worker placement games (Pillars of the Earth, Puerto Rico). Our first game took 2.5 hours but it was worth it, and will be quicker play now that we know the rules and tool card meanings. Good quality dice, tokens and cards. My kid though the pea plants theme was fun.

This game was a gift for a family who likes their games to be fun but instructional too. The mom in the family said it’s being out her inner biology geek.

If you enjoyed Cytosis you’ll probably like this one