First we saw a Pokemon-inspired card game devised to make learning about the animal kingdom fun…. now, we see a similar card game designed to make learning about bacteria and diseases… well, fun. Why battle against Charmander with your Pokeball when you can battle the “fiery colonic demon” Enterococcus faecalis? That question is answered in graphic, fantastically-illustrated detail with Healing Blade, a card game devised by Nerdcore Learning that’s equal parts Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh and D&D ( according to the Wall Street Journal). Players are asked to choose the side of diseases or antibiotics, then see which one comes out on top in mortal combat. The conceit of the game is meant to teach students the complexities of choosing disease-specific prescriptions.
You know, I think there’s such a thing as being too creative sometimes. I can’t help recalling a photo slideshow about venereal disease I had to bear witness to in sophomore health class… because the horrific images will forever be burned into my mind’s eye! As unpleasant as that was, I can imagine that it would've been even more comfortable if a collectible card game like this was used to help me learn about it. Ewwww…
I also have to comment that the “horrifically real” Pokemon we showed earlier looked very much like diseases already.
-- Tom Pinchuk is the writer of UNIMAGINABLE for Arcana Comics and HYBRID BASTARDS! for Archaia. Pre-order the HYBRID BASTARDS! hardcover now on Amazon.com.
