The N Game

The N Game pits players against each other in a race to the Nitrogen cycle finish line. Players move their Nitrogen (N) tokens on the game board through the various “pools” (chemical forms) of the Nitrogen Cycle and back to the starting N2 pool. When one player has moved three of his/her N tokens through the cycle and back to N2, the game is over, and total scores determine the winner. To move Nitrogen, players draw and play cards representing soil bacteria and the resources that these bacteria need. They also draw event cards. Event cards can affect the active player, another player, or the entire game. This game was developed at The University of Wisconsin-Madison through funding from the Engage program to teach the Nitrogen cycle to university soil science students, as well as high school students.