Great review Tom. I really like the green screen backgrounds at the beginning of your reviews! You look great. I've got my copy reserved at my FLGS for pickup this week. I read the rules after seeing this video and want to thank you for bringing it to our attention.
you can shorten the game by placing the ice age card higher in the deck so it comes up after two or three turns, it really helps to quicken things up if you don't have much time
For others reading this today, there are also officially endorsed ways that can also be combined: - Remove the 3 cards that grant extra AP, as well as "Immigrants" - Remove unused dominance cards before refilling them - Play with 1 fewer AP per player Also what helps is to use small dice to track the exact strength of the currently dominant animal in a tile, so people don't have to calculate this over and over.
+Jan Vos Did you hear anything more about Dominant Species from Dice Tower? How did you go with the DS vs Dead of Winter decision? I am considering a copy of Dominant species (this version of artwork)
It is not guided by "random chance", it is guided by selection. Selection can involve many factors, including diet, adaptation to the environment (based on temperature, for example), or even sexual selection (ie an otherwise useless trait that is desirable to a potential mate). The only people who claim that evolution involves "random chance" are those who don't understand how evolution works (say creationists, as a convenient example).
I finally played the game and it is absolutely fantastic, for sure the best game I've played released in 2010, and it might be one of my favorites of all time.
I bought Dominant species based solely on Tom's review. It is a great game and worth checking out. Great review. I would not have heard about this game if it was not for Tom's review. Thanks!
@thadrine A player selected the card and carried out the action. That's not random, it's deterministic. The game's about EVOLUTION. You have to adapt and prevail when crazy stuff happens. :)
This game looks like a TON of fun! I love science and evolution so this is like the game of my dreams!! I only wish they had it for the computer. I'm not much into board games and I don't have anyone to play with. :(
3rd edition just came out and the pieces are still simple (but pretty) wooden shapes, but the rest of the set seems to have taken a big jump up in attractiveness. Looking forward to playing as I've only ogled my purchase so far. :)
@OutlawGrrl The funny thing is that Tom does not actually mention evolution once in the video, I think that is because he is a minister (or lay preacher) and his church does not believe in evolution.
The premise sounds cool but this game looked daunting as soon as Tom poured the contents onto the table. If it weren't for his enthusiasm I might pass this one but as it is this is probably a game I'll have to play first before deciding to buy.
Wow. I saw this on bgg site (previews of board and cards) and it looked interesting. Now i see it is even more interesting. I love species simulation, survival, evolution theme. And i like that there are so many areas to make a choice. Though this is definitely not for everyone. Looks too complex for an average gamer or euro gamer.
Other than the time required he kept mentioning this game seems to have a lot of different pieces that need to be in specific spots. This is a problem for me as it seems the people I play with often bumps the table or send something flying.
A good way to shorten the game is to either remove one AP from each player, or take away 5 or 10 cards. It's an official suggestion from the designers.
"Adaptation" and "evolution" are not the same thing. Evolution involves adaptation, certainly, but evolution also implies it was guided by random chance. In this game the player chooses how to develop/adapt the creatures so, if anything, it's a loose variation of "intelligent design." Which isn't necessarily a religious term (though it usually is) since it can also apply to life on earth being created by aliens, ghosts, etc. Oh and any form of 'intelligent design' can include 'adaptation.'
It is an OK game, nice and complex. However, it's also expensive as hell! 80€ from a game with components as simple as these? That is a *lot*. Sometimes really great components justify the price, like when the game comes with lots of good quality miniatures, but these components are pretty much the usual wooden. The price is giving this game a long minus. Otherwise, I've got no complaints. It's quite a long game, yeah, but also very intense. And I love the theme.
Random???!?? What you didn't see the card on the side of the board KNOWING it will be available to play in the current/subsequent rounds? You MUST make adjustments to MINIMIZE the damage done. There is at no time where your pieces will be immune to other game effects...there is no "COMPLETE" strategy making an easy win. Those that can ride the tides the best will score the most points and win. Random? Oh and Settlers isn't?
Yes; we're the same crazy people that spell "ppl" as "people" and put an apostrophe into the word "don't". We also believe the world is round, and that the Earth goes around the Sun, something that all the scholars of the day laughed at. We believe our understanding of science should change as new observations are found, and that we should adapt our understanding to reflect those observations. We're not stuck in the 1800s where people had no understanding of genetics.
Initially I thought the combination of a worker placement mechanism and an evolutionary theme would be a great idea. I've played alot of other worker placement games in the past, Agricola, Caylus, Egizia etc. But unfortunatly the game is quite unbalanced and the vastly over powered cards make virtually everything you do seemingly pointless, it makes the game far less skillfull. Also, it's very expensive considering the production values. for evolution games, I recommend Primordial soup or Evo.
The game is great...until people started using the cards, it went downhill pretty fast. We all actually quit the game in disgust about half way through because of the game breaking effects on those cards.
Everyone refuses to play Catan because of how crazily random it is. And when 1 card can invalidate everything that every other player has done in the last two hours, it is broken, it makes the rest of the game pointless.
@mns000001 Two hours in and a player buys a card and plays it. He figures it will mess with some people but not sure on the details. It destroys everything many of us have done, making the last two hours useless. WAY TOO RANDOM.
You need a better game group. That’s not a design flaw; that’s human error. In most games, someone not knowing what they are doing/playing purposefully suboptimally can ruin the part or all of the experience.
Probably gonna skip this one. The mechanics don't really appeal to me much, and the last thing I need right now is another lengthy game. Also, it annoys me somewhat that they use the word "species" when they obviously mean "class" , but I guess that's just the nerd in me. :) Nice review nonetheless.
Great review, Tom. Yet I totally disagree with it being a great game or even a good game. I didn't like it the first time I played it. I liked it even less the second time. Games ran 5-6 hours. Way too long. You can be leading in one round and absolutely decimated as soon as a domination card is played. Normally in a game you can have a good sense on how you'll do compared to others near the end of the game. Not with this. The power shifts wildly. It's pure chaos. Some may like that. I don't.
Remember, adaptation and evolution are not the same thing. Adaptation and natural selection are observable, the long-term "evolution" of one species to another has never been observed or documented... only assumed! This is why people take issue with evolution as it is traditionally taught.
So do I. but im an evil type of person. so i enjoy viruses infecting other things and those viruses evolving to Kill and Take advantage of the host.. :P
I played this game once and I did not like it. It was dull. Might as well be playing Catan for how boring it was. But then, I don't like euro games or worker placement games in the first place.
Man, Tom was crazy about this one... sad to never hear him mention it in his lists though...
The game pieces are the most wonderful pieces ever. Just use the power of IMAGINATION.
How does this compare to Cones of Dunshire? The other cone-game I have heard about.
Just got the 3rd edition and I can tell this video will give me a real leg up when it comes to getting my head around the rules. Thanks!
Great review Tom. I really like the green screen backgrounds at the beginning of your reviews! You look great.
I've got my copy reserved at my FLGS for pickup this week. I read the rules after seeing this video and want to thank you for bringing it to our attention.
Could this be the first time a GMT game appears at the Tom Vasel top 10? :)
Another brilliant design by Chad Jensen!
you can shorten the game by placing the ice age card higher in the deck so it comes up after two or three turns, it really helps to quicken things up if you don't have much time
For others reading this today, there are also officially endorsed ways that can also be combined:
- Remove the 3 cards that grant extra AP, as well as "Immigrants"
- Remove unused dominance cards before refilling them
- Play with 1 fewer AP per player
Also what helps is to use small dice to track the exact strength of the currently dominant animal in a tile, so people don't have to calculate this over and over.
Hey... where is this on your top 100 in 2014?? *chuckles* So much for best game of the decade... didn't even last for four years!
+Jan Vos Did you hear anything more about Dominant Species from Dice Tower? How did you go with the DS vs Dead of Winter decision? I am considering a copy of Dominant species (this version of artwork)
It is not guided by "random chance", it is guided by selection. Selection can involve many factors, including diet, adaptation to the environment (based on temperature, for example), or even sexual selection (ie an otherwise useless trait that is desirable to a potential mate).
The only people who claim that evolution involves "random chance" are those who don't understand how evolution works (say creationists, as a convenient example).
I finally played the game and it is absolutely fantastic, for sure the best game I've played released in 2010, and it might be one of my favorites of all time.
I bought Dominant species based solely on Tom's review. It is a great game and worth checking out. Great review. I would not have heard about this game if it was not for Tom's review. Thanks!
@DominoFalls I am with you on that...I really look after my games and careless handling drives me crazy
Reminds me of Sim Life somehow. It ain't pretty but I'm definitely picking this one up.
@thadrine A player selected the card and carried out the action. That's not random, it's deterministic.
The game's about EVOLUTION. You have to adapt and prevail when crazy stuff happens. :)
Thank you! Yes! This is exactly how our group feels about this game.
It would almost be better to just eliminate the cards, and leave it as-is.
This game looks like a TON of fun! I love science and evolution so this is like the game of my dreams!! I only wish they had it for the computer. I'm not much into board games and I don't have anyone to play with. :(
Same here ten years later.
3rd edition just came out and the pieces are still simple (but pretty) wooden shapes, but the rest of the set seems to have taken a big jump up in attractiveness. Looking forward to playing as I've only ogled my purchase so far. :)
@thadrine Disgust? Halfway through the first play?
@OutlawGrrl The funny thing is that Tom does not actually mention evolution once in the video,
I think that is because he is a minister (or lay preacher) and his church does not believe in evolution.
@XShrike0 I guess you don't play Jenga very often?
The premise sounds cool but this game looked daunting as soon as Tom poured the contents onto the table. If it weren't for his enthusiasm I might pass this one but as it is this is probably a game I'll have to play first before deciding to buy.
Wow. I saw this on bgg site (previews of board and cards) and it looked interesting. Now i see it is even more interesting. I love species simulation, survival, evolution theme. And i like that there are so many areas to make a choice. Though this is definitely not for everyone. Looks too complex for an average gamer or euro gamer.
does this still hold up?
The new edition is prettier and of course it holds up it’s a fairly complex game it’s hard to find an opponent with how long it takes to play
@@billable1861 you know that there is a shorter version, right?
Even just removing the 4 cards that add action tokens is a huge drop in time.
Other than the time required he kept mentioning this game seems to have a lot of different pieces that need to be in specific spots. This is a problem for me as it seems the people I play with often bumps the table or send something flying.
@Outlawgrrl - go to BoardGameGeek and find some gaming groups in your area! Check out local gaming stores. There are always gamers to find.
Very interesting, good review tom
great review
Why did it drop off our Top 100, Tom? Did another game, replace it?
@@SauerGustavo not so heavy, and there is a rule for much shorter game - you just have to swap the cards on every round.
it's my birth day n oct 14 it's a miracle !! tom vasel reviewed a game on my birthday oh yeah
A good way to shorten the game is to either remove one AP from each player, or take away 5 or 10 cards. It's an official suggestion from the designers.
"Adaptation" and "evolution" are not the same thing. Evolution involves adaptation, certainly, but evolution also implies it was guided by random chance. In this game the player chooses how to develop/adapt the creatures so, if anything, it's a loose variation of "intelligent design."
Which isn't necessarily a religious term (though it usually is) since it can also apply to life on earth being created by aliens, ghosts, etc.
Oh and any form of 'intelligent design' can include 'adaptation.'
It is an OK game, nice and complex. However, it's also expensive as hell! 80€ from a game with components as simple as these? That is a *lot*. Sometimes really great components justify the price, like when the game comes with lots of good quality miniatures, but these components are pretty much the usual wooden. The price is giving this game a long minus.
Otherwise, I've got no complaints. It's quite a long game, yeah, but also very intense. And I love the theme.
This game reminds me of a game by the German publisher Mosquito.
@OutlawGrrl Try BSW - an online board gaming site.
You can always find someone to play boardgames with in your area.
Try using BoardGameGeek website or ask me for some help if you want :)
awesome! a game based on evolution. totally sweet.
Random???!??
What you didn't see the card on the side of the board KNOWING it will be available to play in the current/subsequent rounds?
You MUST make adjustments to MINIMIZE the damage done. There is at no time where your pieces will be immune to other game effects...there is no "COMPLETE" strategy making an easy win. Those that can ride the tides the best will score the most points and win.
Random? Oh and Settlers isn't?
How high is this guy?
That's when you make your own custom pieces!
Yes; we're the same crazy people that spell "ppl" as "people" and put an apostrophe into the word "don't". We also believe the world is round, and that the Earth goes around the Sun, something that all the scholars of the day laughed at. We believe our understanding of science should change as new observations are found, and that we should adapt our understanding to reflect those observations. We're not stuck in the 1800s where people had no understanding of genetics.
1:48 that's a lot of stuff to lose and knock over!
Wow. Sounds great. Evolution has always been a fascinating subject to me, and this game looks very complex.
Hope I can find it.
@DominoFalls No, I am with you - suffering...
Initially I thought the combination of a worker placement mechanism and an evolutionary theme would be a great idea. I've played alot of other worker placement games in the past, Agricola, Caylus, Egizia etc. But unfortunatly the game is quite unbalanced and the vastly over powered cards make virtually everything you do seemingly pointless, it makes the game far less skillfull. Also, it's very expensive considering the production values. for evolution games, I recommend Primordial soup or Evo.
the artwork looks awful in this edition. I bought a newer version and it looks 100x better.
The game is great...until people started using the cards, it went downhill pretty fast. We all actually quit the game in disgust about half way through because of the game breaking effects on those cards.
Everyone refuses to play Catan because of how crazily random it is.
And when 1 card can invalidate everything that every other player has done in the last two hours, it is broken, it makes the rest of the game pointless.
@mns000001 Two hours in and a player buys a card and plays it. He figures it will mess with some people but not sure on the details. It destroys everything many of us have done, making the last two hours useless. WAY TOO RANDOM.
You need a better game group.
That’s not a design flaw; that’s human error. In most games, someone not knowing what they are doing/playing purposefully suboptimally can ruin the part or all of the experience.
@DominoFalls It bothers me too.
Probably gonna skip this one. The mechanics don't really appeal to me much, and the last thing I need right now is another lengthy game.
Also, it annoys me somewhat that they use the word "species" when they obviously mean "class" , but I guess that's just the nerd in me. :)
Nice review nonetheless.
Dominant class? Hmm. Bow down, proles.
I hate Settlers for its degree of randomness.
Great review, Tom. Yet I totally disagree with it being a great game or even a good game. I didn't like it the first time I played it. I liked it even less the second time. Games ran 5-6 hours. Way too long. You can be leading in one round and absolutely decimated as soon as a domination card is played. Normally in a game you can have a good sense on how you'll do compared to others near the end of the game. Not with this. The power shifts wildly. It's pure chaos. Some may like that. I don't.
Looks like an overly complicated version of Wildlife.
Remember, adaptation and evolution are not the same thing. Adaptation and natural selection are observable, the long-term "evolution" of one species to another has never been observed or documented... only assumed! This is why people take issue with evolution as it is traditionally taught.
bullshit
Comic Sans strikes again! :(
are there still ppl who dont believe in evolution? wow
eww. . . (:-\ is this the actual artwork for this game!!!
So do I. but im an evil type of person. so i enjoy viruses infecting other things and those viruses evolving to Kill and Take advantage of the host.. :P
Oh boy do I have a wet dream of a year for you...
One of the ugliest games I have ever seen.
Would be nice to see new version with nicer graphics.
The new versions look really nice. This video was like 5 editions ago.
i like cake... who cares?
too bad the game has such ugly components.
I played this game once and I did not like it. It was dull. Might as well be playing Catan for how boring it was. But then, I don't like euro games or worker placement games in the first place.