Part Sims, Part Tamagotchi, New Game Lets Anyone Be a Stem Cell Scientist

Dish Life is a new phone game from sociologists and stem cell scientists at the University of Cambridge. It puts players in the lab coat of a young stem cell research scientist as they navigate the route from undergraduate to the top tiers of modern science. It is free to download on iPhone App Store, Android App Store, and Steam (PC).

"The route to scientific discovery can feel like a mystery to many of us," said Dr Karen Jent, who led the game's development. "A lot of people only encounter the process of science through hyperbolic headlines or cinematic tales of the lone genius."

"We want to use gaming to have a different kind of conversation about science," added Jent. "Science involves teamwork and care as much as reason and logic. We aimed to create an interactive experience reflecting the nurturing of experiments and building of social relationships at the heart of good science."

For her research fieldwork, Jent has been embedded in stem cell labs, where she observed not just the dynamic between scientists, but the curious connection researchers have with the cells they grow, which need near-constant care and attention—a bit like microscopic kids. These relationships are central to the gameplay, which the team describe as "part Sims, part Tamagotchi" with a dose of strategy and dilemma. Players must balance competing demands: growing a range of ever-hungry cells while adding to their lab's well being and reputation—all as they negotiate the scientific career ladder through publication and promotion.

The game follows on from a short film produced in 2016 by stem cell scientist Dr Loriana Vitillo and Jent in collaboration with director Chloe Thomas. Also called Dish Life, it featured scientists discussing their oddly intimate rapport with cell cultures: the constant checking, feeding and coaxing—even talking aloud to them—for months on end to keep cells happy, in the hope they bloom into healthy colonies.

As players rise from student to PI and eventually professor, they acquire extra dishes and rooms, as well as broader perspectives. "Once you run a successful lab, the game opens up questions of medical ethics, environmental impact, the bioeconomy and equality in science," said Jent. "Although those cells will always need feeding."