The Science Game draws and analogy betweens cience and a news service: scientific researchers/reporters collect, check and analyse messages in order to draw conclusions. Scientific theorists/editors help define target areas of investigation and provide context and interpretation for news stories; they show us how the news fits in to the big picture and tell us what it means. This analogy helps students to identify sources of variance in a report, and to reveal how the preferences of editors/theorists shape which questions are asked and which interpretations are given. This text aims to educate readers so that they become discriminating consumers of science.