RULES CORRECTION and an update about availability. I missed a rule during the two major extinction events - I should have made land cards go extinct until I had no more than three land cards. At that point I would also check for a food chain imbalance, so that at the end of both major extinction events I should have had no more than 3 land cards, 2 herbivore cards, and 1 carnivore card. Thematically this makes sense, and I'm not sure how I missed it! Also, an update regarding availability (and price) - The designer, Ander Guinea, has kindly pointed out that in the U.S. Miniature Market sells this game at a lower price point ($56 at the moment), and it is also available in many shops in Europe. 🙂
@@Greggiexplore Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear you can't get this in Australia! I find this surprising because the designer is a lecturer at an Australian university (I'm not sure which one - this is from his BGG bio). Maybe you could reach out to him to ask if he knows of a way to get it in Australia? He's on Board Game Geek, and responds to the forum posts for the game. 🙂
I'm glad that you're enjoying this game. I play earth about once a month, and while I appreciate that the theme is different in this, I don't see it pushing earth off the table. I also like games that have a little bit of luck combined with a lot of tactics. The issue of the cards deteriorating after only a few plays, plus the rulebook needing some edits, tells me that it's a game I would happily pay $30 for. Not $70. It's great that the game is pretty, but I don't buy it to hang on the wall, I buy it to play, so I would want it to provide a good experience, and the art as a bonus.
Very good video. I put that game on my "to purchase list"!! What I may miss is some fluff for the animals. But i understand that to have supplemental text on the card could have "push away" potential players.
That's an interesting observation; I think one-sentence about each animal on the cards might have been doable without being too busy (similar to Wingspan). They did include some information about each animal in the playbook that comes with the game, but I agree it would be nice to have it easily accessible during the game. 🙂 Thanks for watching and commenting! I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
Hi Liz, an interesting game. Can you confirm how many animal cards there are? You have 35 animal cards, 21 herbivores and 14 carnivores. The rulebook which I downloaded says there are 105 animal cards, 63 herbivores and 42 carnivores. Do you think the retail edition will have fewer cards than the rulebook suggests?
Thanks for asking! I think I was not very clear - in each period there are 35 different animals, so across the 3 periods there are 105 animals. :) Edited to add that I don't think there are any differences between the Kickstarter edition and the retail edition, other than a few extra cards for Kickstarter backers, but I did not include those cards in the video.
I was also surprised! The box says "Victory within 2 hours". With 18 rounds, even though some can be extremely quick, I don't think I could play it in 20 minutes solo. However, I wouldn't be surprised to get my solo plays to under an hour. I think you could even get a two player game down to about an hour pretty easily if both people have played before. 🙂 Thanks for watching and commenting!
Just curious: in a game where having extinct cards is good (because you get points for it at the end of the game), wouldn't overgrazing be desirable so you can extinct herbivores at the end of the round?
Sometimes it is desirable, but often you are wanting specific herbivores so you can bring in carnivores. Definitely in the last round it is inconsequential, but that's actually a bit thematic, since it is the end of the Mesozoic period. :)
@@gaillardlionel This might be a good strategy in the few rounds leading up to the last round (depending on cards you want to add to your ecosystem), but wouldn't really have an effect in the last round, because you also count cards in your ecosystem. 🙂 I can say there were definitely times in this game and others where I should have purposely let some cards go extinct, because I was struggling to create space on my board. Hopefully I will remember this in the future! 😁
RULES CORRECTION and an update about availability.
I missed a rule during the two major extinction events - I should have made land cards go extinct until I had no more than three land cards. At that point I would also check for a food chain imbalance, so that at the end of both major extinction events I should have had no more than 3 land cards, 2 herbivore cards, and 1 carnivore card. Thematically this makes sense, and I'm not sure how I missed it!
Also, an update regarding availability (and price) - The designer, Ander Guinea, has kindly pointed out that in the U.S. Miniature Market sells this game at a lower price point ($56 at the moment), and it is also available in many shops in Europe. 🙂
I am trying to get the game in Australia, but no availability. Sad.
@@Greggiexplore Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear you can't get this in Australia! I find this surprising because the designer is a lecturer at an Australian university (I'm not sure which one - this is from his BGG bio). Maybe you could reach out to him to ask if he knows of a way to get it in Australia? He's on Board Game Geek, and responds to the forum posts for the game. 🙂
I'm glad that you're enjoying this game. I play earth about once a month, and while I appreciate that the theme is different in this, I don't see it pushing earth off the table. I also like games that have a little bit of luck combined with a lot of tactics. The issue of the cards deteriorating after only a few plays, plus the rulebook needing some edits, tells me that it's a game I would happily pay $30 for. Not $70. It's great that the game is pretty, but I don't buy it to hang on the wall, I buy it to play, so I would want it to provide a good experience, and the art as a bonus.
Very good video. I put that game on my "to purchase list"!! What I may miss is some fluff for the animals. But i understand that to have supplemental text on the card could have "push away" potential players.
That's an interesting observation; I think one-sentence about each animal on the cards might have been doable without being too busy (similar to Wingspan). They did include some information about each animal in the playbook that comes with the game, but I agree it would be nice to have it easily accessible during the game. 🙂
Thanks for watching and commenting! I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
You can find it in Miniature Market in the US with a lower tag price. In Europe there are many shops that carry the game too.
Thanks for this information!
oh, i do like dinosaurs. great video. looking for it right now. i need this. i am editing my comment. its ordered! thank you for this video
I'm excited for you to play this game! Thanks for watching and commenting! 🙂
Hi Liz, an interesting game. Can you confirm how many animal cards there are? You have 35 animal cards, 21 herbivores and 14 carnivores. The rulebook which I downloaded says there are 105 animal cards, 63 herbivores and 42 carnivores. Do you think the retail edition will have fewer cards than the rulebook suggests?
Thanks for asking! I think I was not very clear - in each period there are 35 different animals, so across the 3 periods there are 105 animals. :)
Edited to add that I don't think there are any differences between the Kickstarter edition and the retail edition, other than a few extra cards for Kickstarter backers, but I did not include those cards in the video.
On BGG the minimum play time is 20 minutes. I would have thought at solo it would play more quickly especially because it’s “multiplayer solo”.
I was also surprised! The box says "Victory within 2 hours". With 18 rounds, even though some can be extremely quick, I don't think I could play it in 20 minutes solo. However, I wouldn't be surprised to get my solo plays to under an hour. I think you could even get a two player game down to about an hour pretty easily if both people have played before. 🙂
Thanks for watching and commenting!
Just curious: in a game where having extinct cards is good (because you get points for it at the end of the game), wouldn't overgrazing be desirable so you can extinct herbivores at the end of the round?
Sometimes it is desirable, but often you are wanting specific herbivores so you can bring in carnivores. Definitely in the last round it is inconsequential, but that's actually a bit thematic, since it is the end of the Mesozoic period. :)
@@bitsandbiology so maybe on the last round extinct some land cards so more herbivores can go extinct (and possibly more carnivores too)
@@gaillardlionel This might be a good strategy in the few rounds leading up to the last round (depending on cards you want to add to your ecosystem), but wouldn't really have an effect in the last round, because you also count cards in your ecosystem. 🙂
I can say there were definitely times in this game and others where I should have purposely let some cards go extinct, because I was struggling to create space on my board. Hopefully I will remember this in the future! 😁