Don’t Wash This Deck! – Mixing Microbiology and Tabletop Games.

Jacob p -

Hello fellow bacteria enthusiasts (and maybe bacteria haters, I guess)! My name is Jacob Parker and for the past two academic years I have been obsessed with all things biology. For my senior project, I am creating a card game about bacteria, hence the reason you shouldn’t wash this deck (you wouldn’t have anything to play with).

I originally came up with this idea for my senior project while listening to an honors biology lecture about plasmids when helping Ms. Martinez after school. The transfer of genes through plasmids reminded me of the trading card games I played when I was younger (most notably Magic the Gathering). As soon as I thought of this, I started drafting a game about it on a Google doc. Since then, I have done an unhealthy amount of research on bacteria, proteins (Especially the ones in the T6SS system), operons, and genes for this now 8 page monster of a document.

Before this project, I had very limited experience with biology as the only high school biology class I had taken was honors biology (but I still self studied and took the AP Biology Exam). This year I have also started reading some of Richard Dawkins’ work like The Selfish Gene and The Ancestor’s Tale which argue for a gene-centric view of evolution.

For my site placement, I am doing my experience at Baxter’s Realm, a local card game shop. Baxters has a multitude of card and board games which I will be able to discover and research. I am looking forward to doing a ton of further research to give my card game more information than the genome of a Sorangium cellulosum.

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    ashwyn_k
    As a fellow bacteria hate- I mean enthusiast, I love the idea of making a bacteria card game! I think it's a great mixture of two things that you love and it is very creative. In regards to the development of the card game, do you know how many different bacteria, proteins, etc you plan on adding to the game? I know you've done a lot of research on these topics, so I'm curious to know how many different cards you plan on developing.
    February 18, 2025 at 4:52 pm - Reply
    joaquin_s
    Hey Jacob (don't worry I love bacteria, especially cyanobacteria), your project in particular stands out to me as a great way to teach people about bacteria in a fun manner, which I think is really awesome. I was wondering though, what kind of card game will it be? Is it going to be like Pokémon/Magic the Gathering, or will it be more in the style of a board game of sorts?
    February 18, 2025 at 5:41 pm - Reply
    jacob_p
    Hey Joaquin, thanks for the question. I am still playing around with how much of a board game versus card game I want it to be. With some recent ideas from my site placement, I'm leaning more towards a trading card game. I do want to incorporate some elements of board games (especially the hexagon tiles from Twilight Imperium) to build a custom board each game. So far, I'm thinking that players will bring their components individually (like a card game) but assemble a board together (like a board game).
    February 18, 2025 at 10:27 pm - Reply
    jacob_p
    I'll admit, this might be the most difficult question I get, Ashwyn. I'll start with the simpler part: the amount of bacteria. I am hoping to get at least 10 bacteria done because of the artwork. For each bacteria, they each need their own personalities to make them likeable which takes a significant amount of time. The upside for bacteria is that they need the least number since each player will only needs one per game. Now for the hard part, Gene cards (basically the same as protein for prokaryotes) are the hardest to come up with but I need the most of them. 50 gene cards would be a good goal but I think I could push that and almost double my current amount to get 80. Like the bacteria cards, I will have to do art work but I doubt it will need to be as detailed or rigorous. The hardest part is finding or coming up with unique cards that enhance the gameplay without seeming like filler cards. I hope this long-winded reply answered your question.
    February 18, 2025 at 10:45 pm - Reply
    dina_i
    Combining plasmid gene transfer with trading card mechanics is such a creative concept! It’s impressive how much research you’ve put into this (eight pages and counting). How are you deciding which bacteria to include, and are there specific traits that make some better for gameplay than others? Can’t wait to see how this all comes together—even from a bacteria hater!
    February 19, 2025 at 9:30 am - Reply
    rohit_p
    Jacob, this card game could become the next Pokémon-level franchise, especially with the grand variety in species of bacteria out there. Just curious, is there a kind of rarity or ranking for the bacteria, that would make one species more valuable (or in some cases deadly, I guess) so I wouldn't want to "wash the deck?"
    February 19, 2025 at 12:52 pm - Reply
    meggiles
    Jacob, I adore your enthusiasm for this subject. You are so gung ho, it's infectious. Yes, that was a pun. Can you show us a picture of Baxter's? It would be great to get a visual on your site! MG
    February 19, 2025 at 3:27 pm - Reply
    jacob_p
    Hello Dina! Searching for bacteria to put in my card game is the funnest part about this project for me. To choose them I usually just scroll through random pages on Microbewiki and pick whichever ones have unique metabolisms, immunities, or styles of predation. There are some bacteria I've had to be careful about like V. cholerae which has so many different metabolisms and can adapt so easily to practically any environment. Overall I try to make every bacteria unique and balanced if they go into my game.
    February 19, 2025 at 5:35 pm - Reply
    jacob_p
    Rohit, I appreciate your optimism. Currently I have no ranking for rarity of the bacteria as I'm still figuring out the template for cards. I do plan on making some cards rarer than others but I might not even assign them rarity. I generally think assigning rarity tiers is meaningless because I am a firm believer in "one man's trash is another man's treasure."
    February 19, 2025 at 5:49 pm - Reply
    jacob_p
    I love the pun, Ms. Giles. I just came back from Baxters about an hour ago but I will be going again tomorrow. I can definitely get a picture of it then and show it in my next blog post on Monday.
    February 19, 2025 at 6:05 pm - Reply

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