!!SITE UNDER DEVELOPMENT!!
About the game
For gut's sake, compete with other players to engraft health-promoting microbes and win the game! Without these essential micro-organisms, all other players suffer from poor gut health, resulting in never-ending diarrhea!
​
Fun and silliness aside, this game subtly delivers an educational introduction to the topic of microbiomes, with evidence of significant learning gains. See your teaching resource links below for more!
Game Trailer
How to Play (Instructional Video)
Educational value
The research we are doing and findings on learning gains in different groups of students...
Player's Guide to
Microbiomes PDF
TRACK YOUR LEARNING
Take this test before and after you have played the game (pre-play test and post-play test) to see how your scores have improved!
​
We recommend playing the game around 3 times before taking the post-play test. You'll be amazed by how much you can learn through play!!
Resources for Educators
Learning Objectives PDF
Educator's Guide PDF
Educator's Guide Video
Rate your gameplay experience and give us your feedback!
Help us make the game better.
Downloads
Cards v2024
MicroBite Questions
List v2024
Rulesheet v2024
Gameplay tips & tricks
Another strategy is to engraft many different card types since you are more likely to engrafts cards that nobody else has: For instance, if you engraft only one “Fact Check” card and nobody else does, this one card gets you all 7 points!
1
Don’t look down on “Diarrhea” – these cards guarantee a point each when engrafted and every point counts.
3
Engraft the most of each card type, bearing in mind how many cards of the same type others are likely to have engrafted. Note that it doesn’t pay to engraft too many of the same card engrafted since having a majority will suffice. For instance, having 6 of the 11 “Fact Check” guarantees you will get 7 points, so don’t bother engrafting any more than 6!
2
If you can’t win by gaining more points, you could win by sabotaging others through “Phage Therapy” which allows you to rob others of their precious engrafted cards! You won’t make any friends but as they say: it’s lonely at the top!
4
Alternate Rules
​​
A. Play in pairs instead - total score of the pair determines the winning team!
B. For every MicroBite question you answer wrongly, you lose a card from hand.
C. Download a new set of MicroBite questions. The questions will no longer match the MicroBites on the cards (duh), but at least you will be learning some new content as you play!
If you have mastered the game, do consider spicing things up with the following changes to spice things up!
Acknowledgements
-
The game creators would like to thank our NUS colleagues from the Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, and the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, for developing and refining the game with us, especially Russell Lee, Lee Li Neng and Goh Lih-Ing.
-
Game art was produced by Pencil Party Studio and graphic design by Capital Gains Studio.
-
This game was inspired by “Trash Pandas”, invented by Lisa and Michael Eskue, and published by Gamewright (Gamewright.com).
-
Additionally, the game creators would like to thank the following:
-
MicroBite contributors from our department: Justin Chu, Kevin Tan, Yeo Huimin, Benoit Malleret, Lee Yuankun and Png Chinwen
-
Legal advice and copyrighting: Jonathan Tan (NUS Industrial Liaison's Office)
-
Proof-reading: Gladys Sim (Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Dean's Office)
-
Seed funding for game illustrations and graphic design: Microbiology and Immunology Dept, DEEP Seed funding from NUSmed Dean's Office.
-
Production of first edition: Dept of Surgery, Lee Foundation,
-
Research funding: CDTL TEG-LIP to study the educational impact of No Guts No Glory.
-
Advise on game manufacturing: Yann Boucher
-
Playtesting: staff and students of the Department of Microbiology & Immunology, and from other faculties in NUS.
