--- product_id: 44081220 title: "Virulence" brand: "genius games" price: "AED 153" currency: AED in_stock: true reviews_count: 9 category: "Genius Games" url: https://www.desertcart.ae/products/44081220-virulence store_origin: AE region: United Arab Emirates --- # Strategy for ages 8+ Science-accurate viral components 15-20 min fast-paced rounds Virulence **Brand:** genius games **Price:** AED 153 **Availability:** βœ… In Stock ## Summary > 🦠 Infect your game night with science and strategy! ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Virulence by genius games - **How much does it cost?** AED 153 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.ae](https://www.desertcart.ae/products/44081220-virulence) ## Best For - genius games enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted genius games brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - β€’ **Master Viral Strategy:** Engage in a unique blind bidding system that challenges your critical thinking and timing. - β€’ **Inclusive for All Ages:** Designed for kids 8+ but deep enough to captivate adult gamers and science enthusiasts alike. - β€’ **STEM-Approved Learning:** Accurately teaches virus structure and biology concepts aligned with NGSS standards. - β€’ **Engine-Building Mechanics:** Build your viral empire by collecting helicals, icosahedrals, genomes, and more. - β€’ **Quick & Addictive Gameplay:** Perfect 15-20 minute sessions ideal for family game night or classroom engagement. ## Overview Virulence is a fast-paced, strategic card game where players compete as viruses to collect scientifically accurate viral components. Designed for ages 8 and up, it combines STEM education with addictive gameplay, making it perfect for classrooms, family nights, and gamers seeking a brainy challenge. Developed by a science teacher and game designer, it aligns with NGSS standards and encourages critical thinking through a unique blind bidding mechanic. ## Description Virulence is a strategic bidding and engine-building card game that’s addictively quick and simple. Players compete as viruses trying to collect viral component cards and take over the host cell!Each player starts with the same set of six bidding cards, and each of the six has a different strengths. Every round, Viral Component Cards worth varying numbers of points are flipped face up in center of the table. Players then use their bidding cards to simultaneously place secret bids to determine the order they will select from those Viral Component Cards. Highest bidder selects first, followed by the next highest bidder, and so on down to the lowest bidder. Players try to get their highest pick for the lowest bid - but bid too low and you might get stuck with whatever's left!While most of the Viral Component Cards score points, some of them add to the strength of a player's hand, improving their bidding power for future rounds!Virulence is great for your gaming group, game night with family and friends, or introducing the study of viruses in the science classroom! Virulence encourages risk-reward analysis, critical thinking and strategic timing. All the viral components covered in Virulence are components that would be introduced in a basic high school level lesson on viruses. And it does so in a way that is fun and intuitive for everyone!Virulence was created by a professor of game design who is also a chemical engineer and science teacher!Genius Games is a STEM-centered publishing company that creates high-quality tabletop games and children's books. We demystify intimidating concepts in the sciences through the thrill of play. We engage players in a lifelong process of inquiry by rewarding curiosity with fun.Play:Ages: 8+ Players: 2 - 5 Time: 15 - 20 minsScience Concepts covered in Virulence:Structure and components of viruses, genome, helical, icosahedral, spherical envelope, virus replication, vaccines, mutations Review: An Inventive, High-Quality Game. Highly Recommended - This game neatly combines card auctioning with set building to create a fun, quick, competitive card game. Quick Overview Players each have identical hands of bidding cards, numbered from 1 to 6, indicating different levels of virulence. A dealer then deals out a number of cards from a deck, equal to the number of players, plus an additional card on top of the first card in the "lineup." The cards in the lineup can contribute to your cause, either by providing victory points or contributing to sets of cards you're trying to accumulate, or by providing even more powerful bidding cards, thus making your bidding hand more "virulent." Or, cards in the lineup might be harmful. They might include vaccine cards which reduce victory points or weak bidding cards that reduce your hand's virulence. For any given lineup, you want to select a virulence card of the appropriate strength, relative to the choices of your opponents, which allows you to acquire useful cards and avoid being stuck taking penalty cards. Over the course of the game, you'll want to accumulate cards that provide individual points, as well as sets of cards that provide points based on the number of cards in a set. The result is a relatively simple game to learn and play, while providing interesting choices for the players. 2 Player Variant Often, these sorts of auction games don't work well with only two players. But Virulence has a clever 2-player variant. Basically, you create a "dummy deck" of bidding cards. Shuffle the dummy deck and, after players select their own bidding cards, you randomly draw a card from the dummy deck. If you selected a bidding card that has a lower virulence value than the dummy deck, then the dummy player acts before you can select a card from the lineup, removing most of the valuable cards before you can choose. This makes your decisions about which virulence card to play more interesting and complicated. Kudos to the designers for figuring out how to make a two player auction game that plays really well! Educational Value Other reviewers have indicated that this game "teaches while having fun." I'd like to hear more from them, as I'm hard pressed to say that a player learns more about how viruses work through playing the game. Certainly, the game introduces terminology and concepts that can inspire students to investigate further, but I have a hard time seeing how the mechanics and gameplay align with how viruses work. If you're looking for a game that introduces concepts that inspire learning, this may be for you. If you're looking for a game that teaches through gameplay, I'm not sure this does it. Final Verdict Virulence is a solid, fun game that's easy to learn, easy to teach, quick to play, while providing an engaging gaming experience. I highly recommend this game. Review: this game is an absolute blast!!!! - Kids love it, adults love it, passive learning with little effort... there is no down side to this game! My husband who is an immunologist got a huge kick out of it. ## Features - BIOLOGY CARD GAME - Learn about viruses from a science game! Play as a virus to take over the host cell and collect helicals, icosahedrals, genomes, spherical envelopes just like in biology class. - STRATEGIC PLAY - A blind bidding card game about viruses with a level of strategy to engage an adult gamer, yet intuitive enough for kids 8 and up to play at home or in the classroom. - EASY TO LEARN, FAST PACE, QUICK TO PLAY - Virulence is a great game for gamers, science class or family game night. And All viral components and science vocabulary are accurate. - WHO CAN PLAY - Perfect for the gamer, science class or family game night. Teachers, scientists, biologists, and students love playing this geeky science game; and it makes a great birthday surprise! - LEARN ABOUT VIRUSES - Designed to show virus structure and viral components like helical, icosahedral, and genomes at middle school or high school levels. Complies with STEM and NGSS standards. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | ASIN | B06XC6GGXX | | Age Range Description | 96 months to 9600 months | | Best Sellers Rank | #214,335 in Toys & Games ( See Top 100 in Toys & Games ) #3,195 in Dedicated Deck Card Games | | Brand Name | Genius Games | | Color | Multicolor | | Container Type | Box | | Customer Package Type | Standard Packaging | | Customer Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 stars 103 Reviews | | Educational Objective | biology | | Global Trade Identification Number | 00748252187642 | | Grenre | Strategy | | Included Components | Virulence: An Infectious Card Game | | Item Dimensions | 5.38 x 1.7 x 8.63 inches | | Item Type Name | Virulence: An Infectious Card Game by Genius Games | A Strategy Card Game about Viruses for Gamers and Scientists! | | Item Weight | 0.4 kg | | Manufacturer | FLAHC | | Manufacturer Part Number | GOT1005 | | Manufacturer Warranty Description | No Warranty | | Manufacturer recommended age | 8 years and up | | Material Type | Cardboard | | Model Name | Virulence: An Infectious Card Game by Genius Games | A Strategy Card Game about Virus | | Model Number | GOT1005 | | Model Year | 2016 | | Number of Items | 1 | | Number of Packs | 1 | | Number of Players | 5 | | Operation Mode | Manual | | Other Special Features of the Product | Engine-Building | | Package Quantity | 1 | | Product Style | Classic | | Set Name | Virulence: An Infectious Card Game | | Size | Medium | | Subject Character | Virus | | Theme | Educational | | UPC | 748252187642 | | Unit Count | 1 Count | ## Images ![Virulence - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81m6MjqWudL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An Inventive, High-Quality Game. Highly Recommended *by J***W on June 6, 2018* This game neatly combines card auctioning with set building to create a fun, quick, competitive card game. Quick Overview Players each have identical hands of bidding cards, numbered from 1 to 6, indicating different levels of virulence. A dealer then deals out a number of cards from a deck, equal to the number of players, plus an additional card on top of the first card in the "lineup." The cards in the lineup can contribute to your cause, either by providing victory points or contributing to sets of cards you're trying to accumulate, or by providing even more powerful bidding cards, thus making your bidding hand more "virulent." Or, cards in the lineup might be harmful. They might include vaccine cards which reduce victory points or weak bidding cards that reduce your hand's virulence. For any given lineup, you want to select a virulence card of the appropriate strength, relative to the choices of your opponents, which allows you to acquire useful cards and avoid being stuck taking penalty cards. Over the course of the game, you'll want to accumulate cards that provide individual points, as well as sets of cards that provide points based on the number of cards in a set. The result is a relatively simple game to learn and play, while providing interesting choices for the players. 2 Player Variant Often, these sorts of auction games don't work well with only two players. But Virulence has a clever 2-player variant. Basically, you create a "dummy deck" of bidding cards. Shuffle the dummy deck and, after players select their own bidding cards, you randomly draw a card from the dummy deck. If you selected a bidding card that has a lower virulence value than the dummy deck, then the dummy player acts before you can select a card from the lineup, removing most of the valuable cards before you can choose. This makes your decisions about which virulence card to play more interesting and complicated. Kudos to the designers for figuring out how to make a two player auction game that plays really well! Educational Value Other reviewers have indicated that this game "teaches while having fun." I'd like to hear more from them, as I'm hard pressed to say that a player learns more about how viruses work through playing the game. Certainly, the game introduces terminology and concepts that can inspire students to investigate further, but I have a hard time seeing how the mechanics and gameplay align with how viruses work. If you're looking for a game that introduces concepts that inspire learning, this may be for you. If you're looking for a game that teaches through gameplay, I'm not sure this does it. Final Verdict Virulence is a solid, fun game that's easy to learn, easy to teach, quick to play, while providing an engaging gaming experience. I highly recommend this game. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ this game is an absolute blast!!!! *by S***M on November 17, 2025* Kids love it, adults love it, passive learning with little effort... there is no down side to this game! My husband who is an immunologist got a huge kick out of it. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Fun science-themed game *by N***M on January 4, 2019* Our teenagers and us enjoyed this game, once we go past the cumbersome and somewhat confusing directions (best to play a round or two to get the idea, fairly simple concept but lots of rules). It used various scientific terminology, but other than the theme, is not particularly educational - ie doesn't actually teach you how viruses work. No need for any knowledge of cellular biology to play. ## Frequently Bought Together - Virulence: An Infectious Virus Card Game - Educational Bidding Game for Kids 8+ - Perfect Biology Board Game for Kids, Teens, and Adults - Medical Science Gifts for Nurses, Doctors, Teachers - Genius Games Peptide: A Protein Building Game | A Strategy Card Game with Accurate Science for Gamers and Teachers | Teaches Amino Acids, mRNA, Organelles - Cytosis: A Cell Biology Board Game | A Science Accurate Strategy Board Game About Building Proteins, Carbohydrates, Enzymes, Organelles, & Membranes | Fun Science Games for Adults & Family Game Night --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - πŸ›’ **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** β€” Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** β€” Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - πŸ’° **No Hidden Fees** β€” All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - πŸ”„ **15-Day Free Returns** β€” Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - πŸ”’ **Secure Payments** β€” Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** β€” Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.ae/products/44081220-virulence](https://www.desertcart.ae/products/44081220-virulence) --- *Product available on Desertcart United Arab Emirates* *Store origin: AE* *Last updated: 2026-10-20*