Dino-Mite!
I was lucky enough to get an opportunity to check out the digital trading card game about prehistoric survival from North Star Games. The game I’m referring to is called Evolution and comes in a digital version that will be available for mobile devices/electronic devices as well as a board game. Let the fight for survival begin.
At Pax East, I played the digital trading card game version. The game has a simple premise, you come to a watering hole, to feed, and another dinosaur group is also there to feed. If you haven’t figured it out by now, the other dinosaur group is your opponent that you need to defeat if you want to eat.
There is a tutorial at the beginning of the game to teach you the basics of the game. This is where you learn the ropes of gameplay and where you learn how to adapt to the changing elements. What I mean by that is you will need to adapt to survive and there are ways to adapt in the game.
You will be able to add a trait card to your dinosaur to give it the advantage in battle. You might get the upper hand if you add the “foraging” to your dino to eat twice as much. You might have to give your dino the “carnivore” trait to attack/eat opponent dinosaurs to win.
There are a limited number of trait cards so you will have to think on your feet for victory. Every game is different since there are limitless ways to adapt and conquer. Some moves you make might not be worth it in the long run but it is the ultimate feast or famine move. You might need to make that move in the short term but could end up costing you the match in the long run. That’s what makes Evolution so much fun.
As I mentioned before is that there is a limited number of trait cards. You never know how the games will turn out since you will have to think on your feet with different trait cards each time you play. Also there is attack restrictions as well such as needed to have climbing to attack so you might not be able to attack/eat an opponent and that might put you at a disadvantage in survival. Games are won and lost in the trenches or in this case the watering holes and if you don’t adapt, you will get left behind.
Usually, I don’t like having the tutorial mode thrown at me put in games like this, it works since you won’t be able to succeed unless you know the rules. The game is fun and simple to pick up right away but there are tons of combinations/adaptions to master. I’m looking forward to seeing all the combos and playing real life opponents.
It feels like the only way to react properly in Evolution is with real players playing against you. Graphically, the game looks great such as the environment and the different cards and dinosaurs. Dinosaurs adapting for survival is an interesting idea for a computer/board game and I’m really interested to see what North Star Games does next. One thing is certain, their first step into the digital world is a good one!