Dominant Species

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• Setup
  • • Each player either chooses or is randomly dealt an animal and gets all of the pieces of their animal’s colour.
    • In reverse Food Chain order, players place their animal’s initiative marker into the boxes under Initiative.
    • Place 1 tile of each terrain type on the board. Place a Tundra tile atop the Sea tile.
    • Shuffle the remaining terrain tiles and divide them into 3 face down stacks of 8 each. Place these on Wanderlust.
    • Remove the Ice Age card from the Dominance deck and shuffle the remaining cards. Place Ice Age on the bottom.
    • Draw the top 5 Dominance cards and place them in the available Dominance cards section.
    • Take 2 elements of each type and place them on the tiles as shown on the board.
    • Draw 4 elements from the bag and place them on the spaces for each of Adaptation, Abundance, and Wanderlust.
    • Each player discards cubes (species) and cylinders (APs) to reach the following numbers in hand:
      • 6P: 3 cylinders, 35 cubes.
      • 5P: 4 cylinders, 40 cubes.
      • 4P: 5 cylinders, 45 cubes.
      • 3P: 6 cylinders, 50 cubes.
      • 2P: 7 cylinders, 55 cubes.
    • Each player places 1 cube on the 0 space of the VP track.
    • Each player places their species from their gene pool and places them as follows:
      • Insects: 2 on Savannah, 1 on Wetland and Desert.
      • Arachnids: 2 on Jungle, 1 on Forest and Wetland.
      • Amphibians: 2 on Wetland, 1 on Jungle and Savannah.
      • Birds: 2 on Forest, 1 on Mountain and Jungle.
      • Reptiles: 2 on Desert, 1 on Savannah and Mountain.
      • Mammals: 2 on Mountain, 1 on Desert and Forest.
• Endangered Species
  • • Any species on a tile where its animal matches zero elements is endangered.
    • Endangered species cannot claim dominance.
• Gameplay
  • • When an animal is added to earth, it comes from the player’s Gene Pool.
    • When an animal is removed from earth (besides Glaciation) it is returned to the box, not the Gene Pool.
  • Planning Phase
    • • In player order, players take turns placing APs on eyeball spaces to select their actions.
  • Execution Phase
    • • Carry out the actions in order from top to bottom, left to right.
      • Actions are never mandatory. A player may choose to not perform the action when it is their turn to play.
      • Sections are never skipped if there are no APs on them; always resolve their end effect if applicable.
  • Reset Phase
    • Extinction
      • • Eliminate all endangered animals from earth.
        • Mammal player may save 1 endangered species from extinction, keeping it on the board.
    • Survival
      • • Player with most species on Tundra tiles takes Survival card and gets bonus VP based on number of tiles occupied.
        • Nobody gets tile when tied.
    • Reseed
      • • Refill Domination cards. Will not refill once deck runs out.
        • Slide any APs in Glaciation left.
        • Remove all elements from Regression, Depletion, and Wanderlust.
        • Slide elements in Wasteland down to Depletion.
        • Slide elements in Abundance down to Wasteland.
        • Slide elements in Adaptation down to Regression.
        • Draw 4 elements and fill each of Adaptation, Abundance, and Wanderlust.
        • Reveal the top tile of each Terrain stack if not already revealed.
• End of the Game
  • • Game ends when Ice Age is used.
    • Finish off any remaining Domination actions.
    • Perform final Extinction and score Survival card as normal.
    • Remove all Domination markers from earth.
    • Score each tile.
    • Break ties closest to top of food chain.
• 2-Player / 3-Player Game
  • • Each player controls 3 animals (2P) or 2 animals (3P).
    • Get pieces as though playing a 6P game.
    • Each animal scores independently.
    • Each animal is considered to be opposing, even if you control it.
    • Lowest of your controlled animals is VP you end the game with.
• Actions
  • Initiative
    • • Swap your initiative marker with the animal directly to the left.
      • Place the AP marker that was on the eyeball into any vacant eyeball space.
  • Adaptation
    • • Select 1 element and add it to your animal.
      • If you already have 6 elements, discard the chosen element token.
  • Regression
    • • Remove an element from the Regression box.
      • Reptiles get 1 free action at end.
      • After all APs resolved, each animal loses 1 element for each type still left in the Regression box.
  • Abundance
    • • Place any element from Abundance and place it on any tile’s vacant hex corner.
  • Wasteland
    • • Remove an element from the Wasteland box.
      • Remove all elements from Tundra tiles that match the element types still left in the Wasteland box.
  • Depletion
    • • Select any 1 element on earth that matches an element in the Depletion box and remove it.
  • Glaciation
    • • Only resolve the AP in the first space. All other APs must wait until a future turn when they slide down.
      • Select a non-Tundra tile that is adjacent to at least 1 other Tundra tile and place a new Tundra tile on top.
      • Remove all elements from earth that are surrounded by 3 Tundra tiles.
      • Gain bonus VP based on number of Tundra tiles that are adjacent to the newly-placed Tundra tile.
      • Each animal on the Tundra tile may only keep 1 species there; rest are returned to their Gene Pool (not the box).
  • Speciation
    • • Choose 1 element on earth that matches the element on your AP space.
      • Place species on tiles surrounding the chosen element based on their terrain type as shown on the board.
      • After all APs resolved, Insect may place 1 species anywhere on earth
  • Wanderlust
    • • Select 1 of the face up Wanderlust Terrain tiles.
      • Select any vacant hex next to at least 1 other occupied hex and place your hex there.
      • Select 1 of the available Wanderlust elements and place it on any vacant corner of the hex you just placed.
      • Gain bonus VP based on number of existing tiles that are adjacent to the newly-placed tile.
      • In Food Chain order, every player may move any number of species from adjacent hexes to this new hex.
  • Migration
    • • Select up to the indicated number of your species anywhere on earth and move them to an adjacent tile.
      • Move species one-at-a-time.
      • Birds may move up to 2 spaces instead of 1.
  • Competition
    • • Arachnid player gets a free Competition on any Terrain type.
      • Choose up to 1 tile of each Terrain type shown that contains your species and at least 1 opposing species.
      • Eliminate any 1 opposing species from each chosen tile.
  • Domination
    • • Select 1 tile on earth that has not been scored this turn and score it based on who has the most species there.
        • Break ties in descending Food Chain order (mammals first).
      • If there is a dominant animal on that tile, they must select and execute a Dominance card, then discard the card.