Adapt in an ever-changing ecosystem where food is scarce and predators lurk. (Sounds familiar, right?)
Evolution relies on good management of resources and the multiple characteristics of the species in our possession. A game is divided into several rounds, each of which is divided into 3 stages. First, all players secretly decide on the potential food available in the dedicated space. The strategy starts now, as the food pool is shared by all players... so whoever eats first (in turn order) has a clear advantage. Once this choice has been made, players are invited to select the cards of their choice in order to perfect the species they own, design new ones, increase populations, or even increase the size (and therefore the defence) of a species. A large number of cards are available, each with its own criteria.
Once this stage is complete, each player's population, defences, and characteristics are laid out in front of him. The available food is revealed, and each player has access to it in turn order, with a few subtleties if the cards played beforehand suggest so.
The round ends as soon as all the animals have been fed, or there is simply no food left... all animals without food perish. Food points acquired are accumulated and added up for each player. They are then taken into account at the end of the game.
Once all the rounds have been completed, the points are tallied. They take into account the food ingested, whatever the diet, the characteristics of the species and the number of species still alive.
At the beginning, the difficulties are even less, as the herbivores feed in a totally passive way, and the impact on the rest of the players is minimal. A little gumption is enough to win the game by multiplying your populations while keeping an eye on available food.
The game becomes progressively more difficult with the addition of carnivores... which, in turn, inevitably have an impact on the other players. Carnivores, the offspring of transformed herbivores, require meat, and will therefore aggressively attack neighboring populations. A definite asset, but one to be handled with great care. Indeed, prey must be smaller and unguarded, and the latter have many strategies at their disposal to avoid attack- but in the case of a successful aggression, the attacked player quickly finds himself deprived of a large part of his population!
Evolution packs a surprising amount of variety for a game with simple rules. The variety comes from the synergies between the trait cards and from the different personalities at the table. Some players thrive on creating Carnivores to wreak havoc on their fellow players. Others prefer to stay protected and mind their own business. Evolution encourages both play styles by giving each of them multiple paths to victory. And it is the mix of play styles at the table that ultimately determines the ecosystem in which the players are adapting. So gather your friends and see who can best adapt to the changing world around them.
This game won many awards, such as the Golden Geek, and that is a solid reason for you to try it right now if you have not played yet. Like usual, click the link below:
https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=evolution
Of course, no games without developers, and this one has been beautifully adapted to our platform by stst. A lot of thanks to him, and of course, the whole team of North Star Games and the game designers Dominic Crapuchettes, Dmitry Knorre & Sergey Machin for their authorization to bring this brilliant title on Board Game Arena!
No doubt you can handle this wonderful game with a few friends or random opponents here and there. But will you climb the Arena ladder to the top?
Let's discover it!
And that's it for today.
See you around in a few days.
Until next week, take care, and...
Play fair!
I love how becoming a predator at the right moment instantly changes the dynamic of the game for everyone
