MasterMED - Beat the virus!

Overview</b>

The object of MasterMED is to build an immune response to a virus. To do this you need to solve the correct antibody binding combination for the viruses so that the patient can build an immune response and fight off the infection. This consists of 2 pairs of 2 colored pegs (4 pegs in total). The winner is the player who solves the correct binding combination with fewer guesses.

MasterMED uses 3D printed parts to explain how antibodies detect and bind to foreign pathogens and viruses. To have protective immunity, the body needs to produce a certain type of antibody, called a neutralizing antibody, which prevents the virus from entering cells. It works on a similar principle to the classic game, Mastermind, where player one (the patient) must guess the correct binding pattern that the second player (the virus) is presenting. However, as you will see, there are a number of variations that can make the game easier or more challenging.

MasterMED Rules for 2-players</b>

Before starting the game, all players must wash their hands - you're fighting a virus, after all!

1. Player one (the virus), selects a code. This represents the antigen or protein on the surface of the virus. Cover the pegs with the shields. Depending on the difficulty you wish to play at, 2 or 4 pegs can be used.
2. Player two (the patient) makes their first guess. Pick the colored pegs and place them in the first row nearest the virus. The game difficulty can be adjusted by adding more or fewer colors for the pegs. In this example, 6 colors are used.
3. The virus player gives feedback. Next to each row of guesses are holes for 2 tiny pegs. These pegs are only white and black. White pegs mean that one of the guessed pegs is correct, but is in the wrong hole. Black pegs mean that one of the guessed pegs is correct, and is in the right hole.
4. Repeat with the next row.
5. Continue until the binding pattern is solved. Once you get all 4 black answer pegs you win! Congratulations! You saved your patient by solving the binding pattern for the antibody! With this information, the body can now produce an immune response to remove the virus.
6. Once you have built an immune response to the virus, swap roles and player one now becomes the virus and player two the patient. Make sure to wash your hands before starting the next round!

Rules Variation: 3-Player Mode</b>

Same game as above, except 2 players are now competing directly against each other at the same time. One arm of the antibody is for player one, and the other is for player two. Player three remains as the virus.

In the variation, the winner is the player who needs fewer moves to save their patient.

Rules Variation: 2-player mode, but virus player always inserts answer pegs starting on the left antibody arm.</b>

The only difference in this variation is that instead of the answer pegs being placed on the same arm as the guessing pegs, they now are always placed on the left antibody arm first, and only if there are more than 2 correct guesses are pegs put in the right arm.

This effectively makes it more challenging since a single white or black peg could be referring to 1 of 4 pegs (versus 1 of 2 pegs in the first version).

Note: In this variation, the rules become similar to traditional MasterMind.

Some Background On Why I Designed This Game</b>

As a scientist, I am motivated to help people learn about Coronavirus related issues while keeping the lessons fun and enjoyable. While my current research does not focus on viruses, I have helped develop vaccines for viruses such as Ebola virus in the past.

My intention in designing this game was not to offend or trivialize the current situation, and in fact the opposite. The hard work being done by healthcare professionals around the world is truly heroic. I also do not mean to imply that active immune responses are "simply" finding the correct binding patterns of antibodies. This is only one step in a very complicated process which if you are interested, I would recommend reading more about (some links provided below). However, I understand that for some people, playing board games helps them process the world around them and many are turning to board games now for that reason.

What are antibodies and how do they bind?</b>

Antibodies are an integral component of the adaptive immune response. An antibody (also known as an immunoglobulin) is a special Y-shaped protein produced by your immune system. They recognize unique parts of a pathogen or virus called an antigen. They can bind to antigens using the tip of the Y-shaped protein called the fragment antigen-binding (Fab) variable region. You can think of this similar to a lock and key, where the antibody and antigen can bind each other with precision. Using this binding mechanism, an antibody can tell other parts of the immune system to remove the foreign microbe or virus. To have protective immunity, the body needs to produce a certain type of antibody, called a neutralizing antibody, which prevents the virus from entering cells. They are composed of two chains, a light, and a heavy chain. In this educational game, the light chain is represented by the blue part of the game board and the heavy chain is represented by the red portion of the board.

For more information about antibodies, please check out this short video lecture.

For more information on how your body builds an immune response, please see this short video here.

Thank you for checking out MasterMED</b>

If you like this project please leave a comment or review, and share it with your friends. This is an entry for the Prusa Design "Educational Items" contest. We really want to expand our distribution of these projects, especially in developing countries. If we win this design challenge we plan to use this printer to mass-produce and share our SCOPES projects with school children everywhere.

For another virus related educational game, please see virusSCOPE.

For an educational activity that allows students to assemble the sequence of DNA fragments and identify the species of animal or plant that this DNA belongs to, please see DNAscope.

More information about SCOPES Education: https://scopeseducation.org/

Print instructions

3D printed components</b>

1. Antibody board (Left and right pieces)
2. Infecting viruses (x2)
3. Shields (x2)
4. Guess/Antigen pegs (print ~16 of 6 colors if possible)
5. Answer/Key Pegs (about 20-25 of both black and white)

Optimally, the board should be printed in two or three colors, so that the raised parts of the antibody arms are a different color than the main board piece. I have designed this so it does not require the multi-material extruder and only filament changes. In PrusaSlicer this can be accomplished by setting the point at which you want to perform a filament change. I would recommend picking three colors that provide good contrast.

Importantly, all pieces should fit on your Prusa Mini print bed! Hurrah!

For a short tutorial on color changing without a multi-material printer, check out this short clip from Prusa Printers.

I recommend printing about 16 of each colored guessing peg and about 20 of each white and black answer pegs.