For the type of game that this is, I'm pleasantly surprised with how it looks. Lovely artwork on the cards, fun and pleasing colour schemes, and even the layout seems pretty modern (although that's a bit tough to see in a video). And that survival of the fittest theme is still such a cool way to implement a war game. I hope those publishers who still default to Carcasonne colours, Agricola art, magic the gathering formatting, and generic themes take note.
The original DS is still one of my favorite games, if not *the* favorite and after playing a game of DS Marine it finally has a competitor! I agree with everything Tom says here. My group tends to lean to the AP side so for us this is easily a 3 hour+ game but that's still quicker than the original (we tended toward 5 hours in that one). Love the game. Surprised it didn't get the seal of excellence.
The cubes are easier to handle than custom animal meeples that also make the hexes too crowded. With cubes it's easier to see how many species are on every hex. I prefer cubes. I think this game looks beautiful.
I agree. I've also seen some sets of the original where they replace the dominance cones with animal figures and meeples, and I don't like that as much either. The cubes and cones are simplicity and beauty.
I don't mind the cubes (though animal shaped dominance meeples are nice) but one thing I can't get my head around is why they *distributed* the colors here the way they did. The orange crabs... are brown. The brown-green lizards... are purple. The purple fish.... are blue. I can see the fish being blue (ideally their image as well) as the inky purple may best fit the octopuses. But come on, orange not for crabs?
This might be my favorite game so far this year. I really disliked the original Dominant Species but this version seemed totally excellent. It's 3 hours that just flies by.
A heavy strategy with 'take that' element is something I always look for but rarely find. So much fun but the problem with the original was that it took too long to finish the game. Hopefully this one is a bit shorter as stated in BGG.
On my last play, we were able to play a full game of three people in less than an hour and a half. I guess it just depends how long people think. We also were hitting the evolution cards hard :) It’s a good game. Still don’t know how I feel about the survival/extinction events being randomized. The original DS is my favorite game as of right now.
Very very glad that you reviewed this. I absolutely love the theme and card art, and i actually dont mind the 1990s biology textbook look of the board. But that take that element doesnt sound appealing to me at all. you just saved me $100.
I've really been looking forward to this game and this review by Tom. I'm a BIG fan of the original and am curious about this new version that was rumored to be less 'heavy' than the original, with lower player count, and shorter game. After watching this review....it really sounds like Dominant Species, which I think may be both good and bad. Good in that it's a great, heavy game; bad in that it really doesn't accomplish being a 'lighter'/shorter version of the original. Maybe I was too hopeful that DS could be streamlined down into a 90-120 minute game with 4 players (as I thought it was rumored to be). It appears to include several changes from the original that should make this game a worthy sequel that deserves its own place on the shelf/table. Looking forward to playing!
The best thing about the original DS is the fact that the actions are resolved only after everyone has placed their action pawns. I understand that eliminating that element makes the game go a lot faster, but it's a huge downgrade for me.
Cubes are easier to handle and stuck on each other when you are resolving movement. The game colors for cubes suck though and makes no sense whatsoever...
For the type of game that this is, I'm pleasantly surprised with how it looks. Lovely artwork on the cards, fun and pleasing colour schemes, and even the layout seems pretty modern (although that's a bit tough to see in a video). And that survival of the fittest theme is still such a cool way to implement a war game.
I hope those publishers who still default to Carcasonne colours, Agricola art, magic the gathering formatting, and generic themes take note.
The original DS is still one of my favorite games, if not *the* favorite and after playing a game of DS Marine it finally has a competitor! I agree with everything Tom says here. My group tends to lean to the AP side so for us this is easily a 3 hour+ game but that's still quicker than the original (we tended toward 5 hours in that one). Love the game. Surprised it didn't get the seal of excellence.
The cubes are easier to handle than custom animal meeples that also make the hexes too crowded. With cubes it's easier to see how many species are on every hex. I prefer cubes. I think this game looks beautiful.
I agree. I've also seen some sets of the original where they replace the dominance cones with animal figures and meeples, and I don't like that as much either. The cubes and cones are simplicity and beauty.
I much prefer playing with animal meeples or miniatures... it looks better. With cubes, all I think about is the mechanics and not much the theme.
I don't mind the cubes (though animal shaped dominance meeples are nice) but one thing I can't get my head around is why they *distributed* the colors here the way they did.
The orange crabs... are brown.
The brown-green lizards... are purple.
The purple fish.... are blue.
I can see the fish being blue (ideally their image as well) as the inky purple may best fit the octopuses.
But come on, orange not for crabs?
Body language was implying "Excellence". Sad it didn't get the full gold seal. It is a solid variant on the Dominant Species line.
The length + meanness combo cost it the golden seal
THANK YOU FOR MAKING COMPONENTS ITS OWN SECTION
I'd love to see how these compare from Toms point of view. The first is one of my favorites.
I have to applaud Tom for not comparing it to the older game. I always thought videos with too many comparisons were not as useful.
Thank you, u help to understand need it or not!
Thank you very very much for this review!
I'm so excited about this game. Im going to play the crabs while wearing all my crab clothing and use the pincers from Crabs Adjust Humidity.
Now this is something that is interesting! I wonder if I should try this one or the first one first? Any opinions?
This might be my favorite game so far this year. I really disliked the original Dominant Species but this version seemed totally excellent. It's 3 hours that just flies by.
A heavy strategy with 'take that' element is something I always look for but rarely find. So much fun but the problem with the original was that it took too long to finish the game. Hopefully this one is a bit shorter as stated in BGG.
please do a comparison :)
I have played the original DS, from your explanation, it seems rather more complex than streamlined!
Is there a reason why The Loop has been hung on the wall for so long now?
It's paid advertisement by the sponsor.
@@lastburning oh ok that makes sense now. Thanks.
@@wolvz7081 Tom told this on a Q&A video btw.
Maybe I missed .... did you like this better or the original? Thanks.
On my last play, we were able to play a full game of three people in less than an hour and a half. I guess it just depends how long people think. We also were hitting the evolution cards hard :)
It’s a good game. Still don’t know how I feel about the survival/extinction events being randomized. The original DS is my favorite game as of right now.
Very very glad that you reviewed this. I absolutely love the theme and card art, and i actually dont mind the 1990s biology textbook look of the board. But that take that element doesnt sound appealing to me at all. you just saved me $100.
Like the original, this is a war game at its core.
I've really been looking forward to this game and this review by Tom. I'm a BIG fan of the original and am curious about this new version that was rumored to be less 'heavy' than the original, with lower player count, and shorter game. After watching this review....it really sounds like Dominant Species, which I think may be both good and bad. Good in that it's a great, heavy game; bad in that it really doesn't accomplish being a 'lighter'/shorter version of the original. Maybe I was too hopeful that DS could be streamlined down into a 90-120 minute game with 4 players (as I thought it was rumored to be). It appears to include several changes from the original that should make this game a worthy sequel that deserves its own place on the shelf/table. Looking forward to playing!
I played it once on TTS and it definitely felt shorter and lighter to me.
@@lastburning Good to know! Thank you!
I thought this was an expansion. It's a whole nother game!
Tom said “kill enemy units” because this is a wargame in disguise. Looking forward to playing this one!
Why is this game completely out of stock everywhere?
А где оценка?где баллы?
The best thing about the original DS is the fact that the actions are resolved only after everyone has placed their action pawns. I understand that eliminating that element makes the game go a lot faster, but it's a huge downgrade for me.
Cubes are easier to handle and stuck on each other when you are resolving movement. The game colors for cubes suck though and makes no sense whatsoever...
I just wish the cover wasn't so terrifying 😕
Love the cover. It evokes the theme. Mean creatures in a mean game.
Tom better be careful. Sounds like he likes wars games but does not know it!
This looks pretty cool but man oh man 4 hours is intimidating. Yikes
I did not enjoy this at all compared to the original version
How come?
@@namethem00 No time to prepare for the events makes Marine feel more chaotic. Also some ability/event combinations seem broken.
@@lastburning ah dang, makes sense. That's disappointing especially considering it to be a more strategic game.
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