Science Ninjas: Valence
Science Ninjas: Valence Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
48 Element Cards: 12 Oxygen, 10 Hydrogen, 3 Carbon, 6 Sodium, 4 Fluorine, 8 Chlorine, 2 Potassium, 2 Calcium, 1 Helium.
46 Molecule Cards: 9 Salt, 9 Water, 5 Metal Oxide, 5 Acid, 5 Base, 6 Carbon Dioxide, 4 Deadly Carbonyl, 3 Halocarbon.
Getting Started
Initial Setup
The play area has the Element Deck, the Molecule Bank and the Discard Pile (start the game with one card already in the discard pile).
- Arrange the Molecule cards in the center of your playing surface to form the Molecule Bank.
- Deal each player 6 Element cards.
- The player with the Element card with the highest atomic number (the purple number at the bottom of the color box) goes first and turns proceed clockwise. Calcium is the highest - whoever has it usually goes first! In a tie, the next highest atomic number is used to determine who goes first.
Drawing Element Cards
Unless someone reacted with you last turn, your turn always starts with drawing Element cards. If you have two or more Element cards in hand, draw one card from the Element Deck. If you have only one Element Card in your hand, draw two. If you have none, draw three.
If only drawing one card, you may instead draw the top card from the Discard Pile.
Instead of drawing, you can discard your entire hand and draw three new cards.
If the Element Deck is empty, reshuffle the discard pile and reuse it as the Element Deck.
If an opponent has reacted with one or more of your Molecules on the previous turn, you must skip drawing Element Cards on your turn! You can still collect Element Cards by Trading Up with a Salt or Reacting.
Building Molecules to Earn Points and Win the Game
- Build Molecules on your turn by finding combinations of your Element Cards whose Valence numbers add up to zero.
- Take the Molecule from the Molecule Bank that matches the colors of the Element Cards. Check the back of the Molecule to make sure you built it correctly.
- Place the Molecule face up in front of you so all opponents can see - it is now in your Molecule Stash. If you have ten points worth of Molecules, you've won the game!
- Place Element Cards that built the Molecule face up in the Discard Pile.
Build as many molecules as you choose on your turn. If the Molecule Bank is out of a Molecule, you cannot build it.
Helium
Helium is a special Element Card - add Helium to your Molecule Stash as if building a complete Molecule (worth two points) directly from your hand. All players then pass all Element cards in hand to the player to their right. If Helium is one of your first six Element cards, return it to the bottom of the Element deck and replace it with another card. You cannot add Helium on your first turn!
Reacting
Acid and Water Molecules are Reactors and can react with certain white-bordered Molecules. You can react as many times as you choose on your turn.
- Find an Opponent's Molecule and React. The bottom of your Reactor tells you what Molecules you can react with. Acid reacts with Base and Metal Oxide; Water reacts with Deadly Carbonyl.
- Return the Reactor to the Molecule Bank. Take a random Element Card from your opponent. If the opponent has no Element Cards, take an Element card from the Element Deck.
- Collect Products. Whoever owns the white-bordered Molecule replaces it with the products of the reaction. Exchange a Base or Metal Oxide for a Salt and Water; exchange a Deadly Carbonyl for a Carbon Dioxide and Acid. This player skips the draw phase of their next turn!
Trading Up
Discard (return to the Molecule Bank) a Salt during the Build phase of your turn to draw two Element Cards from the Element Deck. You can Trade Up once per turn.
Finishing Your Turn
When you are done building molecules, reacting, and / or trading up, you are done with your turn. If you have 7 or more Element cards in hand, discard until you only have 6 Element cards.
Tips and Strategies
- Try to get rid of all of your Element cards - then draw 3 on your next turn! More cards = more molecules!
- You can put Element cards in the discard pile in any order you choose. If you have Bases, don't put anything that could make Acids on top!
- You don't have to build molecules every turn. Save for a surprise Acid attack, or a late burst of points. But keep an eye out for Helium...
Alternative Rules
- Beginner Rules - Set aside trading up and reactions and just focus on building Molecules.
- Cooperative Rules - Work together to build every type of Molecule before reshuffling the Element deck.
- Science Ninja Rules - Players must name the specific Molecule they're building. So if a player builds a Base from Sodium, Hydrogen, and Oxygen, they must declare they've made Sodium Hydroxide to take their Molecule! If they get it wrong, players can try again next turn.
What is Valence?
Everything in the universe is made of tiny bits called ATOMS. Atoms are so small you could fit a billion trillion in one drop of water!
How do atoms fit together? It depends on the outermost shell - the Valence Shell. To achieve stability, an atom needs to fill any empty "slots" in its Valence Shell. To get a full valence shell, an atom needs to share electrons with other atoms. We call this stable group of atoms a molecule - the building block of all matter! (Example: the H2O molecule, water.)
These diagrams are designed to show the atoms' structures. In real atoms, the nucleus is a lot smaller compared to the electron shell. If an atom was the size of a stadium, the nucleus would be a marble.