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Lab Wars box art
2016 Ranked #19,787

Lab Wars

This science-themed strategy card game has players build labs, sabotage competitors, buy impact cards, and finish with the most impact points. Rock-paper-scissors character choices trigger attacks and bonuses, while labs combine items into stronger research engines.

Card Game Educational Open Drafting Rock-Paper-Scissors

Players

2-4

Play time

30-60 min

Age

12+

Complexity

2/5

Rating

5.76

Harder to teach Highly interactive Deep strategy

Overview

At a glance

Is this game right for my group?

ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.

Teachability 2.3/5

Harder to teach

Replay value 4.0/5

High replayability

Interaction 3.7/5

Highly interactive

Player scaling 4.0/5

Scales well

Strategic depth 4.5/5

Deep strategy

See all 5 specifications

How it plays

How does it play?

Lab Wars is the science themed card game of building up your lab and sabotaging your competitors all for scientific glory! How to play: Players start play with a research team of 5 lab characters and 3 lab item cards in their hand.

Core mechanisms

Key systems that shape the decisions players make.

Read the full game description

Lab Wars is the science themed card game of building up your lab and sabotaging your competitors all for scientific glory! How to play: Players start play with a research team of 5 lab characters and 3 lab item cards in their hand. At the beginning of each round players will reveal which character they will be playing in a rock, paper, scissors mechanism. When it is the player's turn their character activates an attack (a resource bonus) if another player has played the targeted character and an extra character specific bonus. If a player is successfully sabotaged they also gain a sabotage card decreasing their "Impact point" total (see end). Players will then purchase lab item cards into their lab area from their hand. Lab items can combine to create combos which give the player more research points of the drawing of more cards. Players may also play action cards which have variable effects. Players gain action cards by the successful sabotage of another player or by playing the professor card. If players have enough research points they can purchase from an open supply of 3 different "impact cards". They become more expensive to purchase as they get bought up. Players need impact cards to give themselves impact points which are needed to win the game. Once the player has finished their turn the next player has their turn. Once all players have finished their turn players start over and reveal which new character they will be playing that round. From the beginning of the second round and future rounds each player receives 2 research points and 1 lab item card from the lab item deck. How to win and end the game: The game ends at the end of the round when 2 of the 3 supply cards have run out, with the player with the most impact points winning the game. Bonuses are also given to those with the most remaining research points, lab items in their lab area and Nurture paper impact cards.

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Editions

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Edition Year Language Publisher / Region
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Player resources

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Game and edition data

All specifications (5)

Play and group

Players
2–4
Best with
2–4
Play time
30–60 min
Age
12+
Complexity
2.0/5
Credits and catalog connections

Credits

Designers

2
Caezar Al-Jassar Kuly Heer

Artists

3
Crimzon Studio Mihajlo Dimitrievski Nizar Ilman

Publishers

1
Alley Cat Games

Linked items

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