How to Play

Evolution

2-6 players 60-60 min 7.0 Board Game Geek Rating

Players develop species in a competitive ecosystem by drawing trait cards each round to create new creatures, enhance existing ones, or secure food. Species can evolve defensive traits against carnivorous predators or specialized feeding abilities. Victory goes to whoever accumulates the most food, traits, and population when the deck runs out.

Published 2014

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

Place the watering hole

Put the Watering Hole Board in the center of the table

Create the food bank

Place all Food Tokens aside to form the Food Bank

Distribute food bags

Give each player 1 Food Token Bag

Prepare the deck

Shuffle the deck of Trait Cards and place it face down on the table

Determine first player

Randomly select the first player and give them the First Player Marker

Initial species

In the first round, place a Species Board in front of each player with wooden markers on the "1" spaces of both the Population and Body Size tracks

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

Provide free species

Give a Species Board to any player who does not currently have a species

Draw cards

Each player draws 3 cards plus 1 additional card for each species they have

Check for final round

If the deck needs to be shuffled during this phase, this will be the last round

Choose food card secretly

Each player selects 1 Trait Card from their hand and places it facedown on the Watering Hole

Play trait cards

Place a Trait Card facedown above one of your species

Create new species

Discard a Trait Card face-up to gain a new Species Board placed to the left or right of existing species

Increase body size or population

Discard a Trait Card face-up to increase either stat by 1 on any of your species (maximum of 6)

Reveal all cards

After all players finish, flip all played Trait Cards face-up

Reveal food cards

The First Player reveals Food Cards on the Watering Hole and adds that much Plant Food from the Food Bank

Feed species clockwise

Starting with the First Player, each player must feed one Hungry species

Feed non-carnivores

Take 1 Plant Food from the Watering Hole and place it on your Species Board

Feed carnivores

Attack another species (including your own) if your Body Size is greater and you can overcome defensive traits

Handle extinction

If Population reaches 0, discard the Species Board and its traits, then draw that many new cards

End feeding phase

When all species have food equal to Population or cannot eat further

Winning

How to claim victory.

Trigger game end

The game ends after the round in which the deck needed to be shuffled during the Deal Cards phase

Score food tokens

Each food in your bag is worth 1 point

Score surviving population

Each species earns points equal to its current Population

Score trait cards

Each Trait Card on surviving species is worth 1 point

Determine the winner

The player with the most total points wins

watch & Learn

Let the pros teach you with these top videos.

Evolution - Part 1: game set up [JLTEI]

Instructional

Evolution - Part 2: how to play [JLTEI]

Instructional

Evolution

Get Ready

On Your Turn

Winning

watch & Learn

Evolution - Part 1: game set up [JLTEI]

Evolution - Part 2: how to play [JLTEI]

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