Valence Plus Card Game – Science Games for Kids 8-12, Periodic Table of Elements Educational Games, Card Ninja Game to Teach Molecules, Chemicals & Reactions in Simple Rules - Chemistry Gifts for Kids

Because we love the Science Ninjas and their products (especially Valence Plus), I have purchased numerous sets of Valence Plus games (on Kickstarter and Amazon). The company is very small, so their customer service is awesome, too.The Valence Plus packaging, the booklet (which creatively introduces the Science Ninjas), the rule book and the delightful element and molecule cards are almost as much fun to read as the game is to play.The element and molecule cards are so full of interesting facts that each card is a science lesson by itself.Valence Plus is such an adaptable game, that almost every age can play it. By taking out a few cards (the rules tell you which ones), the game is played like the original Valence game where players make a few molecules with elements. Even young children who cannot read the cards, (with adult guidance or as a team player), can still match the colors and may gain some knowledge of chemistry.There are several variations of the game. The easier variation is fairly fast and simple for those just learning about elements, electrons, and molecules or you can choose a more complex variation of the game. My 12-year-old grandson, his friend and I first played the simpler Valence game so that the friend would understand the basics of how to make molecules with elements.The second time we played, we decided it would be great fun to play the Valence Plus version where all of the players cooperate to make every molecule on the board. Working together, instead of competing, was great fun! We laughed a lot and became excited when someone finally drew a card that we needed to make a molecule.The Valence Plus instructions are fairly clear and basic. It took us a few minutes to figure out how to make the molecules that needed to be created with a reaction—but we soon discovered how to use the reaction cards.Playing Valence Plus helps players develop skills like strategy, thinking ahead, reading and observation. When Valence Plus is played using regular rules—just when you think you are going to easily win—someone has a card (usually water or an acid) that changes your molecule into something else and takes away most of your points!When the Valence Plus game came in the mail—we were impressed with the fun box, which has a periodic table (with the new elements) printed inside as the bottom and sides of the box. Ziplock plastic bags are included for storage of the different types of cards. I appreciated that as a great way to keep the cards from becoming jumbled when the game is finished and needs to be put away.Also included is a fold-out board with color-coded areas so the molecule and element cards stay organized during game play. The color-coding (on the board and the cards) helps with game play.Playing Valence Plus reminds me of a quote by Lord Baden Powell, which goes something like: “If you put a boy into the correct environment and right situation—[learning] will come naturally.”Valence Plus puts players into the “right environment” for learning, because they get involved in the game and may not even realize they are learning science while having fun. The molecule and element cards explain in an interesting way about the uses and other facts about each molecule and element.My grandchildren and I bought the original Valence game on Kickstarter and enjoyed it so much that we, along with others, begged for a more advanced game for teenagers. The Science Ninjas fulfilled that desire with an even more fun and educational game! Thanks Science Ninjas!PS We also like the scienceninjas.com website, which has fun comics about scientific principles.

As an I.T. professional. I never had that much of an education in chemistry. I know it's important for medicine, rubber and plastic based products among other uses as universal as it gets. Though playing this, I think I've had a better understanding of it than I did before.The rules are basic, your building compounds of chemicals such as salt or water to gain victory points while also using these to "attack" another players compounds and mixtures to reduce or take away their points.The only failing grace I've so far seen is not many players have been attacking or need to attack just yet. If there was an incentive to fight while have the other player like a temporary boost to steal one of the chemicals it broke down too or something more sneaky, then there would be an incentive to fight more often if needed.Still, this is an educational game and I love the art to it.

Fantastic art brings life to the intricate mechanics of basic chemistry! Forget Pokémon, give your children a basic understanding and familiarity with atomic weight, basic elements, how elements react into molecules and then how those molecules can cause chemical reactions, all in a package that they beg for more of! I was not given a sample of the game to review, I was not paid to write kind words, we stumbled across a YouTube video of the game while doing some chemistry homeschooling and immediately purchased it, and it’s by far everyone’s favorite learning tool right now (well I consider it a learning tool, the kids think it’s just a great game!).The cards are high quality, full size cards. They shuffle and deal very smoothly. The art is very fun and really brings life to the game (we love the salty salter!). My boys are 6, 8, and 10, it’s simple enough for the youngest to play without any problem, and advanced enough that it keeps my 10 year old engaged, heck I’ve learned from playing it! You learn it quickly and easily and there is tons of replay value.Can’t recommend this product enough. If you’re considering it, go through with the purchase and you won’t be disappointed. I can’t wait for the next game in the Valence family!Well done Science Ninjas! 👍👌😁

My husband and I and our 11 year old had a lot of fun playing this game. Beautifully drawn cards. Not too complicated to play (compared to other games we have). Watching the YouTube play-through video by the game author helped. We were all learning chemistry by the end!

My 8-9 yo kids learned the names of all the characters from pokemon , minecraft amognus and other games. I figured if they can do that, why not actually learn something that will be beneficial for them at school. I searched online and found valence, and so far it has been a wonderful and fun game, lots of strategy playing, the base/water and shield reactions are a good trick. The learning also is great: now they know how to navigate the periodic table, atomic number and atomic mass, element symbols. I see opportunities to add more elements maybe phosphorus, nitrogen, iron, magnesium etc. The elements we find in our body. Perhaps even a virtual version for online valence gaming.