Top Five Infectious Diseases Card Games for Medical Learners

Educational card games are increasingly used to teach microbiology, infectious disease management, and antimicrobial stewardship across the medical education continuum, from undergraduate coursework through residency and fellowship. This technical report identifies and evaluates infectious-diseases-themed card games (excluding board games) and ranks them based on their suitability for medical students, pharmacy students, residents, and fellows. Games were identified through targeted web searches, retailer searches, publisher and crowdfunding-platform listings, and a search of the peer-reviewed medical education literature, including PubMed, MedEdPORTAL, and the Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education. Five games met the inclusion criteria and are profiled in depth. Games ranged from free, peer-reviewed, guideline-derived instructional tools to commercially available retail products. Ranked from most to least suited to medical learners, the games are Empiric, Pharmageddon: Bugs vs Drugs, Pathogen Pursuit, Epipocalypse: Bug Detectives, and Healing Blade: Defenders of Soma. Ranking criteria included clinical and guideline fidelity, emphasis on antimicrobial stewardship, evidence of learning benefit, and practicality of use, including cost, availability, and solo versus facilitated play. Free, guideline-anchored, peer-reviewed games offer the strongest fit for clinical learners, while commercially polished products trade some clinical depth for production value and broader appeal.