Elemonsters History

It all starts with a question: what if the chemical elements came to life as monsters? Animator, author and director Andreas Dihm develops Elemonsters at the Academy for Children's Media into a transmedia adventure world for children aged 6 to 10.

That same year the 360° children's media concept receives the German federal “Kultur- und Kreativpiloten Deutschland 2012” award. From day one the concept rests on four pillars: stories, music, knowledge and games.

Together with Story House Productions, pre-production for an animated TV series takes shape: character designs, a story bible, music and a finished series trailer. Three children end up in the parallel world of the Elemonsters and have to survive its adventures.

This phase creates the visual core of the brand — the monster designs that still define every card and every encyclopedia entry today.

The story world becomes a game. Card values are derived strictly from real scientific data: atomic number, density, melting point, abundance. Playing teaches the logic of the periodic table almost by accident.

In parallel, the first explainer videos appear, with the monsters demonstrating chemical reactions — Oxy and Hydro performing electrolysis and the oxyhydrogen reaction.

At the Long Night of Science in the Institute of Chemistry at TU Berlin, the Elemonsters appear live for the first time: a science show, experiments, a real-life Elemonster — and the first publicly available print run of the card game, including an augmented reality app.

The first Elemonsters periodic table poster is released alongside it.

The Elemonsters card game gets its regular release, distributed by the German Chemical Society (GDCh). It is tested in schools and settles into its place between family game and educational material.

In 2021 the game is presented to a wider gaming audience at the Berlin Brettspiel Con.

The fully reworked edition arrives as Elemonsters Explore: redesigned cards, two additional elements, expanded rules and three game modes — from a quick round to tactical trick-taking.

The companion app still brings the monsters to life through augmented reality. Elemonsters Explore marks the game's start under the Nut & Shell Games label.