The Evolution Game is a board game for two, three or four players, which was inspired by the concept of biological evolution. During the course of the game, your species will compete for territory with other species. As the environmental conditions change, it will face plagues, endemic disease, starvation, natural disasters and global catastrophes and may even succumb to total extinction. It will take advantage of mutation within its gene pool to establish itself in a series of ecological niches, thereby surviving through the successive stages of the geological sequence from the Precambrian (the dawn of life) to the Pleistocene (i.e. the present day).
This is a text-only version of the Web site. Since the Evolution Game is a very visual experience, it is extremely difficult to describe without the use of images. If you have an image-capable browser, but you are running it with the image display turned off, we would ask you to consider returning to the image-based version so that you can, at least, view a few of the visual elements on the way. If, however, you are running a genuine text-only browser, this version has been prepared especially for you. We will try our best to give you an idea of what the game involves and how it works.
The game box contains the following items:-
THE GAME BOARD is octagonal in shape and consists of three roughly concentric areas:-
1. THE ENVIRONMENT
The 'environment' is the central area of the board and this is where
most of the action takes place. It is divided into 8 Domains
(labelled from A to H) each with 9 territory squares and (usually) a
coloured "Specialisation" card showing the environmental conditions
for that Domain. During the game the environmental conditions will be
continually changing. Every player will try to occupy as many
territory squares as possible with colonies of their own species
(i.e. coloured counters). To achieve this, it will often be necessary
to compete with other players' colonies.
2. THE GEOLOGICAL SEQUENCE
This consists of 16 compartments arranged clockwise around the board
representing 16 major divisions of geological time from the
Precambrian (4,600 - 570 million years ago) through to the
Pleistocene (2 million years ago - the present). Every player begins
with a species in the Precambrian. The primary aim of the game will
be to survive through the successive stages of the geological
sequence and be the first player to reach the Pleistocene.
3. THE TIME CIRCUIT
This comprises 52 squares running round the outer edge of the game
board. Every player will have one counter moving around the Time
Circuit according to the numbers they throw on the Time Dice. Every
square of the Time Circuit carries a symbol, and every symbol
represents a set of instructions which the player landing there
should follow. The six types of square and their functions
are:-
Mutation : The player draws some new Mutation cards which may help their species to stay adapted to the environment.
Population Growth : The player gets some new colonies to place into the environment.
Natural Selection : The player draws a Natural Selection card and follows its instructions.
Environmental Change : The Environment Dice is rolled to set a new "colour" for the indicated Domain's environmental conditions.
Survival Squares : The only four places on the Time Circuit where players may use their Ecological Niches to survive into the next stage of the geological sequence.
Population Control : The player rolls the two Population Control dice to discover if they will suffer losses of colonies from the environment. (Some of the other players may also be affected.) The fatal combinations of the two dice are:-
GETTING ADAPTED
Every player has a Gene Pool which indicates the present adaptation of their species. It is divided into 8 compartments corresponding to the 8 Domains of the environment. Every compartment carries a coloured Specialisation card. If, for example, the A colour on their Gene Pool matches the Domain A colour in the environment, then their species is adapted to Domain A and the player's colonies may enter and occupy territory there. The same principle applies to the other 7 Domains.
If a player is unadapted to a Domain (e.g. their F compartment carries a lilac card but Domain F carries an orange one), then the right Mutation card(s) can allow the player to adapt and exchange their lilac card for a matching orange one.
ECOLOGICAL NICHES
Ecological Niche cards display different combinations of the 8 letters from A to H. They therefore refer to various combinations of the 8 Domains of the environment (1 Domain, 2 Domains, 3 Domains or as many as 4 Domains per card). A player's species is considered to be established in an Ecological Niche if it is adapted to every domain shown on the Niche card, and has at least one colony occupying each of those Domains. If a player then lands on a Survival Square (see the Time Circuit above) their species will survive into the next stage of the geological sequence.
THE RULES
The Evolution Game comes equipped with a comprehensive "Rules of Play" booklet. This presents both the Standard Rules and a more advanced version which will offer experienced players greater tactical flexibility and an exciting, challenging end-game. Also included in the booklet are some useful tips on general strategy and an informative "Short History of the Earth" outlining the main events in the life of our biosphere, from the origins of the planet till the present day. In the game box you will also find a four-page "Getting Started" leaflet designed to orient and guide complete beginners, and a "Quick Summary of the Standard Rules" mounted on a handy laminated card that can be passed around the table for easy reference.
That completes our brief text-only overview of the Evolution Game. You could now:-