Dominant Species is a strategic board game that takes players to a period around 90,000 years BCE, as the Earth prepares for an ice age. Each player takes on the role of one of six major animal groups: mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians, arachnids, or insects. The goal of the game is to adapt your species to a changing environment, expand its influence, and become the dominant species on the planet.
The game is divided into three phases:
Planning: Players take turns placing their action pawns on various action spaces, determining the order in which actions will be carried out in the next phase.
Execution: Actions are resolved in a specific order. Through these actions, players can adapt their species, add new animals to the game board, migrate between terrains, compete with other species, or trigger glaciation, which turns terrain into tundra and makes survival more difficult for other species.
Reset: The game checks whether any species have gone extinct due to unsuitable conditions and prepares the next round.
A key element of the game is the food elements (grass, meat, seeds, water, sun, larvae), which determine where a particular species can survive. Players must carefully plan how to adapt their species and where to expand their influence in order to survive and dominate.
If you are interested in games with deep strategy, rich thematic storytelling, and intense gameplay, Dominant Species is an excellent addition to your collection. ❄️
