31 January 2025
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The follow up title to the much loved In The Footsteps of Darwin, In the Footsteps of Marie Curie is the board game taking you on a journey through Marie Curie's life, with no prior knowledge required.
Written by Emma Garrett
What is In the Footsteps of Marie Curie?
Only a year after In The Footsteps of Darwin, comes a new game In The Footsteps of Marie Curie. It feels like only the start of a long, ongoing series. It’s very classy and well made. The theme is evident throughout the game, and only daunting on first inspection.
Okay, maybe on the second as well.
I can promise you, there’s no prior knowledge needed about radium, or the events of the late 1800s, or science at all. You can even get through the whole game learning nothing more than the word “flask”, if you like. But if science - or learning in general - is your thing, it doesn't stop at the in-game concepts. The box also includes a gorgeous 11 page appendix on the life of Marie Curie.
In the Footsteps of Marie Curie Review
I don’t think I can start anywhere else but with how beautiful this game is. Despite what might be considered a dry subject, the box is engaging and appealing and looks like something that would be fun to play. Unpacking the box, I had to double-check the price of the game, it felt like it should have been much more expensive than it is.
The rulebook and the appendix are a joy to hold and a joy to read through on quality paper. It seems a mad thing to comment on, but it looks and feels so classy. Everything is explained clearly and simply. I love a game with an intuitive language of symbols.
The cube tower is a fantastic innovation. When you draw cubes from the workshop tile you throw them into the special cube tower. The levels of the tower are offset in a way that means not all the cubes you place in the tower fall out again on your turn.
Sometimes a cube from a previous turn is knocked out as well. Or instead.
Now, I don’t remember a lot from GCSE science, but this random release of cubes seems an incredibly thematic inclusion in a game about the unstable particles involved in radioactivity.
It was a much lower scoring game than I imagined it would be. With so many options, so many avenues to pursue, I had imagined we’d be racking up points here there and everywhere. In actuality, points are hard to come by. Our final scores have not always been in double digits.
Given this, I wasn’t sure about the balance between some of the experiment tiles that you can draw. They are random, and all cost something different and give you a different goal. Some of them, when achieved, directly earn you a point and some don’t.
I would’ve liked some variation in the card deck. There are five symbols and bonuses when you collect certain numbers of cards that match. All the cards with one symbol are identical to each other. They’re lovely, I was just expecting to find different examples of things in the same category rather than exactly the same card repeatedly.
Perhaps that’s a thematic choice too. Much of science is repetitive rather than glamorous.
Footsteps is a game that does exactly what you’d imagine it does. It makes you think. It asks you to make logical plans, and then adapt them to changing circumstances. It’s sensible, it’s linear and the time goes quickly. You’ll just be getting started when you find the game coming to an end.
Aesthetically, it’s outstanding. Gameplay is good, and might get better with familiarity. I fear it’s too light to appeal to heavy gamers and too heavy for those who want a fun game. That could make it an excellent game for those wanting to take a step into more complicated games.
Review Conclusion
In the Footsteps of Marie Curie an absolutely gorgeous game, that feels like so much love and thought has gone into making it. If you liked In the Footsteps of Darwin, you'll love this.
About the Board Game
Designer: Florian Fay
Publisher: Sorry We Are French
Time: 25-40 minutes
Players: 2-4
Ages: 8+
Price: £35
What’s in the box?
- Cube tower
- Main board
- 4 Personal boards
- 47 Activity cards
- 24 Experiment tiles
- 16 Thesis tiles
- 5 Objective tiles
- 3 Workshop tile
- 54 Resource cubes
- 29 Victory Point tokens
- Marie Curie tile
- Timeline marker
- Workshop marker
- First-player token
- Fabric bag
- Rulebook
- Appendix booklet