Education: How to win at evolution

Abstract

Evolution by natural selection is like a game: the winners are the organisms best at passing on their genes. Several board games are now available that exploit the strategies and uncertainties involved. We (two 12 year olds, a 16 year old, three graduate students, two postdocs and three professors) tested three: Evolution by North Star Games, Evolution: Random Mutations by Rightgames and Terra Evolution: Tree of Life by Mindwarrior Games. Our mission? To discover their potential for ‘edutainment’ — and as last-minute holiday gifts.