Evo

About this board game

Evo is a board game for 3–5 players, with sessions lasting about 120 minutes, in which you guide a dinosaur species through the dangers of prehistoric life.

The first Dinos have left the sea for land, but survival is far from guaranteed. An ever-changing climate forces them to keep moving, while rival creatures compete for their place as the dominant species. Guide migrations toward temperate climates, acquire genes, mutate your species, and push out other creatures that have not yet adapted.

Each turn is divided into six phases. During the course of a round, Dinos move, fight, reproduce, and evolve as players respond to the perils of prehistoric life. You earn and spend mutation points to develop the characteristics your species needs to survive, but careful planning is essential: any points left over are counted when determining the winner.

• Guide Dinos toward more temperate climates.
• Acquire genes and mutate your species.
• Move, fight, reproduce, and evolve across six turn phases.
• Manage mutation points, since remaining points help determine the winner.
• Watch the meteor advance with every round.

The meteor provides a looming deadline. With every round, it moves one step closer to Earth, and when it strikes—an outcome determined partly by dice—the game ends. To win in Evo, your species must evolve more quickly and successfully than its opponents before prehistoric life reaches its final crisis.

Released in 2001, Evo combines migration, competition, adaptation, and a steadily approaching end condition into a struggle for dinosaur survival.