Review of Mad Scientist: A Card Game for 2 Evil Geniuses

Mad Scientist comes in a small square box, with a picture of 2 hands holding the Earth. Even though that box artwork is pretty bad, that's as good as it gets. Inside the box are a single page of rules, 7 continent cards, and cards for play. The play cards consist of mind control cards, giant robot cards, and special cards. While the Mind Control cards have a picture of what appears to be the Dense Pack option for the MX missile defense system (and is just as inscrutable), the Giant Robot cards have that cheesy Captain Video and the Space Rangers quality to them. That same quality continues with the names of the special cards like: The Dreaded Duplicator, The Crazy Clone-o-Matic, and the Diabolical Destructo-Beam. The artwork gets a big thumbs-down, but the game does set the mood with those titles and Giant Robots.

It is a crazy, wierd science, Pinky and the Brain kind of world. This is where the strength and the fun of the game comes in. The concept is simple. There are 7 continents, and the first player to control 4 of them, wins. Each player gets 7 cards. The Mind Control cards are numbered 1 through 9, and the Giant Robot cards are numbered 1 through 4. Each number represents controlling 10% of a continent's population, up to 90% for a 9. Basically, on a player's turn, he draws a card, then plays a single card. So to gain a continent, you need to place a card that brings the total control on a continent to 100%. It will take at least 2 cards to reach that total, but you can only play 1 card per turn. So you have to guess what your opponent doesn't have, and plan on how to take a continent on your next turn.

This simple gameplay is compounded by a few other rules that makes the strategy more intriguing. In many ways, this reminds me of Cosmic Encounter. First of all, there are the Giant Robot cards. When a player uses one of those to control a portion of a continent's population, the other player is prevented from using a mind control card on that continent on her next turn. The other player can play a Mind Control card on another continent, or choose to play a Giant Robot card on that continent, if she has one. Giant Robots temporarily prevent the rest of the free population from being mind controlled, but, like Jell-o, there's always room for Giant Robots!

Next, there are special cards that have special effects. 2 examples are the Diabolical Distructo-Beam that discards all cards in play on one continent, and The Barely Competent Assistant, where your opponent plays a random card on her next turn. The next bit of strategy comes with taking a continent. Each continent has a special effect, from increasing your hand size by 1, to losing your next turn. This adds the strategy of which continents to tempt your opponent with, and which you want to get your hands on, no matter what.

That's a synopsis of the game, but how does it play? Frankly, it's fun. It's a light-hearted game, with interesting gameplay. It even encourages you to laugh maniacally! A game doesn't take too long to play, only 15 minutes to half an hour. The rules are simple enough that non-gamers can be easily enticed to play. And after a few rounds, they're competent at it.

And that's where the strengths of this game lie. It's a fun game that anyone who can count up to 10 can play. Play it with kids, with friends, with family, whether they are into games or not. It's fast, fun, and for 2 players. With the little twists and turns, it's not boring like tic-tac-toe or checkers. There's lots of replay value to it.