I’ve said for a long time that the blue orange company makes almost all of our family’s favorite games.

We love the Spot It series of games.  They seem to be a steady favorite.  We like YamSlam an awful lot.  We’ve enjoyed Thumbs Up.

And recently we received the game Dr. Eureka from the kind folks at blue orange to play and review for you guys.

(Reviewing games?  No problem.  Happy to do it!)

Dr. Eureka is a four player game and I prefer six player games just because there’s six of us, but that’s alright.

Otto and Bergen were pretty stoked to open this box and get started playing.  I think because it looked so scientific to them and there’s big appeal in that to those two fellas.

(Otto is seven and the game suggests a starting age of 8 but he had no problem at all.)

Dr. Eureka is a game with a fast set up and fast to understand and that is a fast way to my game-loving heart.  (I do not excel at lengthy directions.  Games like Settlers of Catan are great fun, but I need someone who knows how to play to show me those games first because when I read directions that are long and involved all I see is “blah blah blah”.)

We were all playing in no time.

It’s really a great strategy and mind-engaging game.

Each player has their own set of three beakers and multiple colored balls.  A stack of cards is placed on the table and you work to match your beakers to the beakers shown on the card.  Color for color, beaker for beaker.  And – you can’t touch any of the balls.  You have to pour them from beaker to beaker until your reach the exact accurate combination.  (Upon accomplishment, you get to yell “eureka”!)

There’s no reading – great for kids to gain that level playing field with multiple ages.  There’s a genuine challenge, even for grown ups, so each person feels both able to win and aware that there is legit competition.

We’ve played it with various friends, co-field testers you could say.  And so far every kid has really liked the game.  I definitely think of this as a kid game – I doubt I’d pick this off the shelf for my late night game playing with grown up friends times.  But, and here’s the great news, when Otto asks me to play Dr. Eureka with him I neither sigh outwardly nor inwardly.  I’m happy to oblige.  (Unlike childhood classic games like Chutes and Ladders or Hi-Oh-Cherry or Candyland!  For the love.  Someone save me from Chutes and Ladders.  It is The Worst.)

So I’d say blue orange has done it again at our house.  Dr. Eureka will definitely stay in the game rotation for our family!

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