American Megafauna

About this board game

American Megafauna is a strategy game for 1–4 players that recreates the ecological and evolutionary contest between dinosaurs and mammals, from the Triassic to the present, with a playing time of about 360 minutes.

Set in the corner of Pangea that will become America, the game begins after the catastrophe that ended the Permian and wiped out 96% of animal species. Players start as one of four nondescript archetypes, then compete to branch into new species as genotype and DNA cards are revealed.

The game’s auction system uses gene coins from a shared gene pool as currency. DNA cards let players create unusual animals, including cud-chewing crocodiles with antlers and saber-tooth meat-eating camels. These creations bring the game’s central themes of ecology, evolution, and DNA to life.

• Play as dinosaurs or mammals in a prehistoric struggle for dominance.
• Bid on genotype and DNA cards to develop new species.
• Follow the changing world from the Triassic era through the present.
• Play with 2–4 players or tackle the game solitaire.

In the advanced version, the environment becomes more dynamic. Laurentia can be flooded or glaciated, greenhouse levels change, and cards represent the three Milankovich cycles according to historical probabilities.

Biome cards—including cicada prairies, mountains, ice sheets, and mangrove swamps—appear on the map in succession according to their climax ratings. With its sweeping timescale and emphasis on adaptation, American Megafauna presents an ambitious contest in which the ruling reptiles and later-rising mammals compete to become Earth’s masters.