Stroke of Genius: How Genius Games & Artana Gamify Science and History

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to make a board game, but at St. Louis-based Genius Games, one may join the creative process alongside designers, artists, and playtesters.

- Natalie Rodriguez

"We want to create games that both a gamer would choose to play because the mechanisms are what you see in traditional games," begins CEO John Coveyou, "and the science is accurate enough that a scientist would go, 'Oh wow! This is real!"

Each Genius Game centers on a specific concept within biology, chemistry, or physics. Artana LLC, which was acquired by Genius Games in 2019, publishes games focused on history and scientists. Games from both companies have been international hits and have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Popular Science, and Scientific American.

Catalyst for Greatness

Coveyou’s journey into gaming started when he left home at age 16 due to a troubled home life and joined the Army Reserve while still in high school. A family saw that he was living in his car and took him in to finish his senior year of high school. A motivated self-learner, Coveyou was in his first semester of classes at St. Louis Community College when his unit was deployed to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Coveyou was also sent to Iraq where he used science during his downtime to lessen the pressure of the deployment.

“I’ve always been fascinated with just how things are made, and I’ve always been fascinated with how things work,” explains Coveyou. “When I was in Iraq, I was in the middle of a degree in science. I would just get lost in my mind reading about how an atom works or how the universe works. It was very therapeutic for me.”

Coveyou's instructors encouraged him to study science at Washington University in St. Louis. Coveyou earned both a Bachelor's degree in environmental science with an emphasis in biology, and a Master's degree in energy, environmental, and chemical engineering.