Elementeo, a game for learning chemistry
At the 235th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in New Orleans, Anshul Samar, a 14-year-old CEO, has introduced Elementeo, a trading card game intended to teach chemistry while having fun. The game is based on a 121-card deck of chemical elements, compounds and catalysts. And players have 'to reduce the opponents electrons to zero through strategic use of each card's chemical properties.' If this young CEO can find $500K during the ACS meeting, the game should be available at the end of the month for about $25. But read more...
Samar has recently been mentioned in PC World in its "Meet the Whiz Kids: 10 Overachievers Under 21" article (Dan Tynan, March 9, 2008). Here is a link to Anshul Samar, 14, the Alchimist.
Here is a short excerpt. "Anshul started his company with a $500 grant from the California Association of the Gifted. As founder and CEO of Alchemist Empire, Inc., Anshul says he spends most of his time "designing, engineering, R&D, corresponding with designers and artists, giving pitches to people that are interested, marketing, testing, and doing a lot of brainstorming." That's in addition to chatting up venture capitalists and lawyers, giving talks to parents and teachers, doing presentations at conferences, talking to the media, and finishing his homework. Because, after all, he's only an 8th-grader."
You'll find more details about Anshul Samar on the Elementeo website.
But let's go back to the ACS news release to discover the game. "The game is based on a 121-card deck of chemical elements, compounds and catalysts. Every card has an explanation of the element or compound’s uses and chemical properties. For example, the Oxygen card can rust neighboring metal cards and the Copper Conductor card can shock any metals. The oxidation state of an element is used as its attack power, and its physical state determines its movement on the board. The goal of the game is to reduce the opponents electrons to zero through strategic use of each card’s chemical properties."
Now, let's look at some of the cards of this trading game. (Credit for the captions and illustrations below: Anshul Samar, creator of Elementeo)
 | "The Element Cards are the infantry for your army, and form the basis for everything, from attack to defense." You can see on the left the Oxygen Life-Giver card. Here is a link to a larger version. |
 | Then you have the Compound Cards. "Compounds are extremely powerful when it comes to battling in Elementeo. There are 20 compound cards and they follow the same layout as elements but have different information on them. They also have a description that shows what compounds are up to in our world. Some cards have their own special properties (called reactions) that you can use in the game to help you." On the left is the Carbon Dioxide card. Here is a link to a larger version. |
 | There is also the yellow alchemy deck with 20 alchemy cards which is shared between players. "These alchemy cards are not the warrior cards like the other element and compound cards, but they change the game from outside the battlefield." For example, here is the Nuclear Fusion card. And here is a link to a larger version. |
Here are some excerpts of the official rules of the game. "Elementeo is a strategic battle game where you use your elements across the battlefield in reducing opponent's electrons to zero. You do that by harnessing the strength and moving properties of the elements and compounds, and by using their reactionary powers. For example, Oxygen can rust any neighboring metal or Copper Conductor can shock any metals and send them back to the deck. The game starts by taking turns to place your army of elements on the battleground (ok, a 5 x 5 grid game mat), and then moving them based upon their properties."
Let's go back to the PC World for the conclusion about one of the youngest CEOs in business. "'Living in Silicon Valley, I have seen all of these people starting their own businesses, showing the world their product, and being entrepreneurs,' says Samar. 'Since 4th grade, I've dreamed of being the CEO of my own business. And now, in 8th grade, I am finally one.'"
[Disclaimer: Please note that I have no financial ties with Anshul Samar and its Elementeo game. However, here is a link from where you can pre-order the Elementeo game.]
Sources: American Chemical Society news release, April 8, 2008; and various websites
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