QuoteINTRODUCTION
A quarter of a billion years ago, an unknown
catastrophe engulfs the Earth. The swamps and ice
caps of the Permian1 are replaced by the blistering
deserts of the Triassic. On both land and sea, 96% of
the animal species die.
In the corner of Pangea2 that will be known as
America, small survivors cautiously sniff the postholocaust
air at the dawn of the Mesozoic Era. Some
of these unspecialized quadrupeds have sloppy everreplacing
reptile teeth; these will be the dinosaurs.3
Others have sculpted "one-shot" teeth; these will be
the mammals. The victor in this titanic ecological
struggle will determine the masters of the planet.
Clearly, the ruling reptiles triumphed since that day,
248 million years ago, and dominated for 170 million
years.4 Only to be over thrown, in what must be the
upset of the eon, by the mammals. Yet the contest is
not over.
Overview of Play
Players start as one of four (or five, with the
Expansion) nondescript archetypes,5 but can mutate or
branch out new species from this basic type by bidding
on DNA or genotype cards as they are revealed. Each
player's population grows and is counted when the
Mesozoic cards are all played, and again when the
Cenozoic cards are gone. The player with the highest
total wins.
Game Scale
Each epoch card represents 6 million years. The game
is one galactic year long (260 million years, the
amount of time it takes the solar system to orbit once
about the center of the Milky Way). Each hex
represents a physiographic region 1500 km across.
Each biomass point represents 2000 megatons of
vegetation, arthropods,6 or sea-food. Each genotype
tent represents either 30 megatons of herbivores, or 1
megaton of predatory animals. A "megaton" is a million
metric tons, where each metric ton is 1000 kg.
QuoteEvolution's metronome
The evolutionary scale of this game encompasses
animal orders, rather than species. The pace of
change of families, genera, and species is too frenetic
to simulate in a 6 My (million year) game turn. Fossils
indicate that the mean duration of a genus is about 20
My, and that of a species is just 4 My. There are many
examples of vertebrate populations that have, in the course of human lifetimes, been formed with
characteristics distinctive enough that they no longer
interbreed. Speciation evolution has been observed
directly, in Darwinian finches, sockeye salmon
(stream-bred versus lake-bred varieties), Australian
rabbit immigrants, scarlet honeycreepers (shorter
beaks in response to loss of its favorite flower in
Hawaii), littorine snails (armor in response to crab
predation), and novel species of mosquitofish. During
the Triassic, when the world was one big
Gondwanaland, the pace of change was stale. Today,
the intermingling of species from seven continents
may constitute the greatest speciation event since the
Cambrian explosion
QuoteIt is now known that the biggest event ever, the
Permian disaster that is the occasion for the start of
the game, was as sudden as it was apocalyptic. Both
land and sea were affected. The Mesozoic life that
populated the post-holocaust world was so utterly
different from the Paleozoic oceans that some early
paleontologists had wondered if life had entirely died
out and been reborn. The deep oceans became
hypoxic, a sign of high global temperatures, and sea
levels fluctuated. Sedimentology records show that
rivers worldwide became braided as the denuded land
choked them with sediment. Photosynthesis shut
down. Coal formation abruptly stopped, replaced by
"redbeds", sandstone deposits indicative of warm arid
regions. In many ways, the signature is similar to the
K-T event, known to be impact-caused. But where are
the blankets of debris, or the notorious tell-tale layer of
iridium? Another difference is that the Permian event
dumped enormous amounts of organic carbon into the
atmosphere and oceans, far more than can be
explained by the death of all the biota on the planet.
This huge spike in the carbon cycle might be explained
by massive methane releases from the continental
shelves in the face of dropping sea levels. The sudden
appearance of titanic flood basalts in a geologically
quiet region of Siberia is also suggestive. There are no
indications that the Siberian traps64 were impactrelated,
and so the mystery lingers
Oh God, not this again.
:huh:
Rules and CB box are available. The game's strategy revoles around forward thinking (to avoid putting your species into a trap from which there is no return, and to optimize population growth rate) and adjusting those plans to drastic changes.
That said the game is not that competitive, due to the high randomness factor. But it has tons of flavor and every game tells a good story. I need 3 other players.
* signed *
Oh and before Jaron scares anyone off: there is no diplomacy and the only thing he can ruin is his own species.
Quote from: Tamas on September 28, 2009, 06:56:43 AM
Oh and before Jaron scares anyone off: there is no diplomacy and the only thing he can ruin is his own species.
Just like real life!
Well unless he just quits the game and leaves everyone elser hanging...
I could be convinced to play. What would I need to do?
I'm in.
Quote from: Barrister on September 28, 2009, 11:39:25 AM
Well unless he just quits the game and leaves everyone elser hanging...
Ahh. You must have played with Jaron before.
No thank you, I've struggled with an American megafauna opponent for years already.
Quote from: Barrister on September 28, 2009, 11:39:25 AM
Well unless he just quits the game and leaves everyone elser hanging...
I could be convinced to play. What would I need to do?
You would need to read the rules. Please check boardgamegeek.com, or I'll be back in a while with a link.
I'll gather up a pack of CB module, playaid, and rules for those in the game, which we would be already, once you guys read the rules which are quite short, really.
Quote from: ulmont on September 28, 2009, 11:58:11 AM
Quote from: Barrister on September 28, 2009, 11:39:25 AM
Well unless he just quits the game and leaves everyone elser hanging...
Ahh. You must have played with Jaron before.
:huh:
Quote from: Barrister on September 28, 2009, 11:39:25 AM
Well unless he just quits the game and leaves everyone elser hanging...
I could be convinced to play. What would I need to do?
What?
Quote from: Barrister on September 28, 2009, 11:39:25 AM
Well unless he just quits the game and leaves everyone elser hanging...
Oh you mean like you did when we were going to play RoR?
Quote from: garbon on September 28, 2009, 01:49:54 PM
Quote from: Barrister on September 28, 2009, 11:39:25 AM
Well unless he just quits the game and leaves everyone elser hanging...
Oh you mean like you did when we were going to play RoR?
:Embarrass:
At least we hadn't started the game...
I took my turn!
http://www.sierramadregames.com/downloads/AMF_2_5_June_2008.pdf
Quote from: garbon on September 28, 2009, 01:49:54 PM
Oh you mean like you did when we were going to play RoR?
For the record, it's being reprinted in the very near future (supposed to be on my doorstep some time in October) and I plan on attempting to GM it. :smarty:
I assume you'll be saving me a spot. Rome isn't Rome without Jaron i it. :frog:
Quote from: Habbaku on September 28, 2009, 02:05:18 PM
Quote from: garbon on September 28, 2009, 01:49:54 PM
Oh you mean like you did when we were going to play RoR?
For the record, it's being reprinted in the very near future (supposed to be on my doorstep some time in October) and I plan on attempting to GM it. :smarty:
I am in!
Mammals winning out was hardly the upset of the eon, what with the asteroid hitting the earth it was more like the favored team getting gunned down by terrorist while up 100-0 with a minute left in the game.
Quote from: jimmy olsen on September 28, 2009, 08:37:12 PM
Mammals winning out was hardly the upset of the eon, what with the asteroid hitting the earth it was more like the favored team getting gunned down by terrorist while up 100-0 with a minute left in the game.
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fexcel.uncreativity.com%2Fexcel%2Fdinosaur.jpg&hash=74306d44f4ce1dc741aed8e8a6a6398471c43054)
EXCEL!
Damn, that's embarassing. I couldn't place that image until I had scrolled down and read Tim's post.
I'm trying to get my head round the rules of this game. Looks interesting (and judging by the notes at the end of the rules, the designer so has an agenda.)
Quote from: jimmy olsen on September 28, 2009, 08:37:12 PM
Mammals winning out was hardly the upset of the eon, what with the asteroid hitting the earth it was more like the favored team getting gunned down by terrorist while up 100-0 with a minute left in the game.
Frankly, catastrophes every once in a while are more like features, not bugs. So in fact us, mammals were the winning team because we had a construct which allowed us to survive what the dinos could not.
The 4 starting species. I will start with cynodont because I think they have a hard time (the other 3 are much more balanced between each other):
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gavinrymill.com%2Fdinosaurs%2Ftimeline-life-on-earth%2Fcynodont.gif&hash=94b6da3a8d7db33363e3dbbd0e937648e0801f33)
their only hope is being the only race which can be both a herbivore and a carnivore at the same time (at one area they eat herbs, in the other they hunt / eat eggs)
The species most capable to turn into a carnivore (from the starting species) is the pseudosuchian:
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F_MCznsojQGoc%2FShJAM4x1NdI%2FAAAAAAAAAVY%2FR2ul1ABDkSo%2Fs400%2FRevueltosaurus.jpg&hash=4fc980178f4c6a5d55117aa3c9e2a33d6495cd8d)
And there is the über-reptile rhynchosaur:
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2Fthumb%2F3%2F3b%2FHyperodapedon_BW2.jpg%2F140px-Hyperodapedon_BW2.jpg&hash=f5db99b59bb56ecb2041bae00eee5e997f26f0d7)
and the best starting herbivore (has most teeth which is one of the deciding factors when competing for a space on a biomass), the dicynodont:
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2Fthumb%2F1%2F15%2FDicynodont_from_PolandDB.jpg%2F800px-Dicynodont_from_PolandDB.jpg&hash=13e32e1b7602ea9c35876817e565244382d475b0)
Of course, new species can enter play through them being drawn from the events pool. What is more likely, however, is that you get DNAs for your species and modify them that way. (size can be modifed gradually, but "free of charge" during the game).
Status report?
ANY QUESTIONS?!!! :rolleyes:
Can you play through a round or two on CB solo, annotate it, and send it around so I can watch how things go in practice?
Quote from: ulmont on September 30, 2009, 08:22:21 AM
Can you play through a round or two on CB solo, annotate it, and send it around so I can watch how things go in practice?
Sure, will get around doing it today.
Tutorial sent to you guys. Fire away with questions, or tell me we can start.
I have the tutorial. I'll have to set up cyberboard tonight on a thumb drive.
Who all is playing?
Quote from: Barrister on September 30, 2009, 05:20:56 PM
I have the tutorial. I'll have to set up cyberboard tonight on a thumb drive.
Who all is playing?
It's supposed to be you, me, Jaron and ulmont.
I have been continuing the tutorial game on my own as a test run.
The dog-faced creatures became huskers on the first turn which is a dramatic change: it was due to some acorn-crusher teeth DNA which maximized their size on 1 (minimal) but the husker is like the 3rd "eating zone" (beside herbi- and carnivores), so they got competition-free living on the biomes which do support acorn-eating.
Then came the digging claws DNA which gave a gene which could offer some advantage on some biomes (as a tie-decider on which herbivore survives) and Nocturnal ability.
This DNA having size limitations the other species already passed, I decided the dog-faces could win this bid on a medium price.
Of course I did not understand the implications fully: here was the status quo before that: the reptile race was less of a herbivore than the pig-reptile race (big picture), thus the pig-reptiles were more numerous so the predator reptile race made a living off of them mostly. As a sidenote, the pig-reptiles have evolved trunks which limited their size in 4 (max is 6) so the reptiles has had the hope of overtake them in size and thus often win competition for biomes.
Now, as the dogfaces started to multiply, I have come to the realization that they can overcompete the pig-reptiles. How? They are nocturnal, while the predators were not, so when you have a biome which can support two populations, and you have 2 each of dogfaces, pigreptiles, and predators, what happens first is the herbivore cull, and the pigreptiles lose that because they are getting eaten by the predators while the dogfaces are not.
So the pigreptiles getting reduced fast, I decided the predators would decide to starve themselves voluntarily to death in many cases in order to save the species they live off on. They even had to buy off some fast-ass legs DNA so the pigreptiles dont get them, rendering them uncatchable for the predators.
And right now, the pigreptiles won the auction for: wings. This will not allow them to get off from the predators (their speed is equal now), but in some cases can best the dogfaces for some certain biomes, and can travel most of the map in one turn.
Yes, they have trunks and wings.
Okay, let's see what race Jaron plays. 1: "rrrr" (über reptile) 2: "mmrrr" (pig-reptile) 3: "rm" (predator reptile)
Request: 3-sided die x 1
2
Jaron gets the pig-reptile race! An easy one I think, until DNA cards start to appear you dominate everyone when it comes to eating plants.
ulmont receives either the reptiles (1) or predators (2)
Request: 2-sided die x 1
2
ulmont gets the "rm" species! Their strength is being far more suited for carnivore lifestyle than any other players (the less teeth you have the better carnivore you are)
This leaves BB with the "rrrr" über-reptiles. Far from being good predators, and only second best herbivores, they have a big advantage: having the most reptile teeth, they win almost all ties (except for some mammal-friendly DNAs) in the first half of the game, so with a good player they can dominate the field of buying newly appearing DNAs and species.
My general observations from the flow of the game. Each game can be drastically different due to various catastrophes of course, but in general:
The early couple of turns are easy, obviously, as there is plenty of room to expand to.
Early mid-game is the thoughest: there will not be enough room for everyone, so you will have to try and optimize your placement. What cards appear and when decisively influence the flow so I can't give any detailed tips here.
The length of this phase also depends on the event flow. But at some point, the populations stabilize when some kind of specilaziation sets in. From this point onward, turns again will be over fast, unless some new DNA, or catastrophe upsets the status quo.
Oh, and I planning of posting drawn epoch (event) cards here so we can get over bidding processes faster, and lurkers can also follow the general course of the game.
Gamefile and replay of card-shuffling and my population placement is sent.
Let us agree in this general order of play:
1. me
2. Jaron
3. ulmont
4. BB
EDIT: BUT, there is no part of the game where there is a strict order needed, so by all means, send the replay with your initial placement if you can do it. That order is only for the extremely rare case of people sending stuff at the same time.
Quote from: Tamas on October 01, 2009, 10:57:21 AM
This leaves BB with the "rrrr" über-reptiles. Far from being good predators, and only second best herbivores, they have a big advantage: having the most reptile teeth, they win almost all ties (except for some mammal-friendly DNAs) in the first half of the game, so with a good player they can dominate the field of buying newly appearing DNAs and species.
RRRR :pirate:
I won't be able to get a move in until tonight. :(
Quote from: Barrister on October 01, 2009, 11:32:35 AM
Quote from: Tamas on October 01, 2009, 10:57:21 AM
This leaves BB with the "rrrr" über-reptiles. Far from being good predators, and only second best herbivores, they have a big advantage: having the most reptile teeth, they win almost all ties (except for some mammal-friendly DNAs) in the first half of the game, so with a good player they can dominate the field of buying newly appearing DNAs and species.
RRRR :pirate:
I won't be able to get a move in until tonight. :(
We are waiting :)
Sorry all. :( Last night was crazy, between curling, and new houseguests arriving shortly after I got back from curling.
Tonight. :)
Quote from: Barrister on October 02, 2009, 05:27:57 PM
Sorry all. :( Last night was crazy, between curling, and new houseguests arriving shortly after I got back from curling.
Tonight. :)
I'm getting echos of Rome here. :yeahright:
Quote from: Jaron on October 02, 2009, 05:50:21 PM
Quote from: Barrister on October 02, 2009, 05:27:57 PM
Sorry all. :( Last night was crazy, between curling, and new houseguests arriving shortly after I got back from curling.
Tonight. :)
I'm getting echos of Rome here. :yeahright:
Better than echoes of Origins :bleeding:
Well, I will be off to a wine-fest in a couple of hours, won't return until Sunday, that is the deadline for BB. :P
As I was saying, I am planning to free us from sending CB files as much as possible, so I will attach screenshots of epoch cards here, we will handle the auction here, and I will apply the result and send it out.
It should go as a breeze until the map gets overcrowded.
Quote from: Tamas on October 03, 2009, 04:54:31 AM
Well, I will be off to a wine-fest in a couple of hours, won't return until Sunday, that is the deadline for BB. :P
As I was saying, I am planning to free us from sending CB files as much as possible, so I will attach screenshots of epoch cards here, we will handle the auction here, and I will apply the result and send it out.
It should go as a breeze until the map gets overcrowded.
How very Martinuseque of you
:(
So whoever is interested and declares it here gets BB's reptile race. If he does show up with a CB file first he keeps it.
If neither happens in a short period of time, I will kick out the dogface race, pick up the reptiles, and do a 3 players game.
So, our 3 players game has started. I have taken over the reptiles and dropped the dogfaces from the game.
First turn's epoch card made Sedge Tundra appear in Beringia (see attachment)
EDIT: I have decided that despite being only 3, we will go 2 epoch cards per turn.
An explanation for lurkers:
The "G" on that biome counter means that a herbivore must have the "G" (gazing) gene in order to survive on the biome. The "N" in the white background means that herbivores having the most "N" (nocturnal) DNA are in advantage over the rest of the herbivores on the biome.
Quote from: Tamas on October 04, 2009, 03:58:45 AM
I will kick out the dogface race
I didn't know Martinus was playing. :huh:
Okay so the second epoch card of Turn 1 is a DNA. A very useful one!
As you can see, it gives two browsing and one gazing DNA, altough it has a size limit of 2-3. In practice this means that whoever buys it can not use it on Turn 1, because the expressing DNA phase (putting cards from hand to play) is before the size-alteration phase.
But despite the size limitations this can be a ver lucrative DNA card because there are currently 5 biomes on the map which could allow herbivores to survive on with this DNA, effectively doubling the allowed livespace for them, half of it with no competition from other species (yet).
Also note that the most mammal teeth win ties, so if tied, Jaron would win the election.
To start things off, I bid 2 genes (each of us has 6 right now)
I bid 2 !
No bid, going carnivore.
BB seems quite dependable.
After heavy bidding on MSN, Jaron wins the DNA card for 4 genes.
Next step is deciding on being herbivore or carnivore, and if you want your race to grow to size 2.
Ulmont is going carnivore, I am staying herbivore and growing to size 2 (about 200 kilograms).
Jaron's race is the most unsuite for carnivorism and needs size 2 to use his newly bought DNA next turn, so his choice is quite clear.
After that, the next step is population growth: a second population will be placed in every biome where there is one already.
After that, herbivore migration: at the start, the question for me and Jaron: do we want to move a population to an other "NONE" square, or not? I will be moving one of my pops to Greenland (biome #166)
So in summary, the answers I need to end the turn:
-is ulmont growing to size 2
-is Jaron moving one of his population to an other biome? If yes, where?
-after that is done, where do ulmont's predators go to feed? They can catch both other races so the choice is rather free.
Question: Can ulmonts carnies eat my herbies?
Quote from: Tamas on October 04, 2009, 03:58:45 AM
:(
So whoever is interested and declares it here gets BB's reptile race. If he does show up with a CB file first he keeps it.
If neither happens in a short period of time, I will kick out the dogface race, pick up the reptiles, and do a 3 players game.
Soon. Very soon.
It's just a matter of getting cyberboard set up and figuring out the rules.
Quote from: Jaron on October 04, 2009, 03:42:40 PM
Question: Can ulmonts carnies eat my herbies?
They can feed on them yes but that does not remove your population.
Quote from: Barrister on October 04, 2009, 03:43:18 PM
Quote from: Tamas on October 04, 2009, 03:58:45 AM
:(
So whoever is interested and declares it here gets BB's reptile race. If he does show up with a CB file first he keeps it.
If neither happens in a short period of time, I will kick out the dogface race, pick up the reptiles, and do a 3 players game.
Soon. Very soon.
It's just a matter of getting cyberboard set up and figuring out the rules.
We have already started but there is a rule for late arrivals so if/when you are ready let me know and you can join as newly-arriving dogface people.
I will grow and chase the Jaronites.
Before turn 2 begins, I'm going to spend 2 genes to DoW ulmont.
Alright, I have resolved Turn 1, now Jaron's piglizards concentrate on what will later become NW USA/Canada, with ulmonts predators eating away at them happily, and my guys dispering on the NE parts of the map.
Turn 2 brings another DNA bidding, consult the attached file.
It is not such a decisive gene at first sight as the previous one, but still, being Nocturnal not only gives advantage when competing with herbivores on certain biomes, it also stops carnivores from eating you unless they have equal or less Nocturnal genes.
Therefore I bid 3 genes, declaredly to shut my competitor Jaron out of it, because it would make him too strong. This, however, is also the maximum I am willing to shell on it, and because again the mammal teeth decide ties, ulmont needs only 3 to get it from me.
I'm confused by your equal or less language.
Are you really saying that if I have nocturnalx2 that I will be unable to feed on a nocturnalx1 species?
I bid 3.
EDIT: no, of course not, the rules are sane. If a herbivore has 1 nocturnal gene, the predator needs 1 or *more*.
Ok, ulmont wins it for 3 genes. The next epoch card is also a DNA. My bid is 3 genes.
After this, I will do the grow and population expansion phase, then let you guys, especially Jaron, to take your time and figure out population movement.
Ok, that card looks useless to me, so no bid.