How It Works!

On our Web site, we won't attempt to give a complete rundown of the rules. We'll simply offer a broad description of the game in the hope that it will give an overall 'taste' of how the game works and fire the reader's curiosity to try it for themselves. The Evolution Game has been extensively tested and developed over a period of more than ten years. The result, we believe, is a game which is attractive to handle, strikingly original in its appearance and structure, and most importantly great fun to play.
Game Board image

THE GAME BOARD consists of three different areas 1. THE ENVIRONMENT coloured image of the Environment

The 'environment' is the central area of the board and this is where most of the action takes place. Each of the 8 domains (labelled from A to H) has 9 territory squares and (usually) a coloured "specialisation" card showing the environmental conditions. 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 AND

^{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
dice are:-}

^{"disease" : lose 1 colony per
domain.}

^{"starvation" : lose 2 colonies per
domain.}

^{"global catastrophe" : lose 3 colonies per
domain.}

^{"natural disaster" : empty 1 domain of}^all^{players' colonies.}

GETTING ADAPTED image relating a Gene Pool to the Environment

Every player has a gene pool which indicates the present adaptation of their species to the environment. If, for example, the A colour in their Gene Pool matches the A colour in the environment, then their species is adapted to domain A and the player's colonies may enter and occupy territory there. If a player is unadapted to a domain (e.g. domain E above), the coloured specialisation card (in the E-compartment of the player's gene pool) is turned sideways to show the word 'Unadapted' hiding below. The player needs one or more suitable mutation cards to get adapted. Below you can see various ways in which a lilac specialisation card can be converted into an orange one using different combinations of mutation cards:- colour conversions with Mutation cards

How one or more mutation cards can be used to adapt
a compartment of your gene pool from one colour to another colour! ECOLOGICAL NICHES card faces

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. When a player lands on a survival square

^or

an established niche allows their species to 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.

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