Cards & Components

Every Dominant Species: Marine card and component: all 35 evolution cards, all 18 trait cards, the Survival card, terrain tiles, elements, markers, pawns, animal displays and every action display space.

Every distinct face, with what it does and where the rules explain it. Annelids, Budding Intelligence and the small pictures are from GMT’s rulebook; the other card faces, the animal displays, the smoker Vent and the terrain markers are from the Dominant Species: Marine VASSAL module (made with GMT’s art). The effects are paraphrased; where the module shows a first-printing card, the corrected rule is given.

Boards

Animal displays

Display	Use
	Reptiles (purple) — printed ; top of the food chain, win ties, play last.
	Cephalopods (yellow) — printed ; second on the food chain.
	Fishes (blue) — printed ; third on the food chain.
	Crustaceans (brown) — printed ; bottom of the food chain, play first.

Each display has element spaces, a trait card space, the Gene Pool and an action summary. The reverse side has six grey spaces for Alternate animal displays.

Action display spaces

37 action spaces in twelve sections; marks a special-pawn-only space. FAQ FAQ FAQ

Section	Spaces
	Abundance — 3 spaces, each: place one of its elements on earth (rules). FAQ
	Autotrophs — smoker space and geyser space (rules).
	Depletion — 1 space (rules). FAQ FAQ
	Adaptation — 2 spaces + 1 special space that may replace a disk (rules). FAQ
	Regression — 2 spaces, each with a cube square (rules). FAQ FAQ FAQ FAQ
	Speciation — 4 spaces, one per element drawn, + 1 special space for any element (rules). FAQ FAQ FAQ
	Wanderlust — 2 spaces + 1 special space with an extra turn (rules). FAQ FAQ FAQ FAQ
	Tectonics — 1 space (edge tiles) + 1 special space (any tile) (rules). FAQ FAQ FAQ
	Migration — 2, 3 and 5 species + 1 special space (all species) (rules). FAQ
	Competition — up to 1, 2 and 3 species on a marked terrain + 1 special space (1 + 1 on any two tiles) (rules). FAQ FAQ FAQ
	Evolution — 5 spaces, card slots 1–5, each with a terrain marker (rules). FAQ
	Domination — 3 spaces: 1 always, the 2nd with 3+ players, the 3rd with 4 (rules). FAQ FAQ FAQ FAQ FAQ
	Retrieve — not a space: your whole turn, taking back all pawns (rules). FAQ FAQ

Cards

Evolution cards

35 cards. Five are face up in the slots at a time; the Asteroid is always among the last five. Cards whose name says X use the number of the slot the card was in. When it enters play effects happen as the card is dealt into the row; while in play effects last until it is taken. A fish icon on a newly dealt card triggers its event: Survival, Extinction (the bare skeleton). Cards with a when it enters play or while in play box have no event icon. FAQ FAQ FAQ

Card	Effect
	Adaptability — Swap one element on your animal with an element of a different type on earth; it goes exactly where the other came from. While in play: special pawns may bump opposing special pawns. Event: no event icon. Rules FAQ
	Annelids — Gain 1 VP for each tile you occupy that has at least one worms element. Two qualifying tiles score 2 VP, regardless of how many worms are on each. When it enters play: remove every worms element from the action display. Event: no event icon. Rules FAQ
	Asteroid — Pick a tile and eliminate all but one species there, then one species on each adjacent tile (the active player chooses; mandatory, even your own). Dealing this card triggers both printed events, but the game ends only when a player takes it; then play through the round and its final events. The game ends at the end of this round — see Endgame. Event: Extinction and Survival. Rules FAQ FAQ FAQ
	Biodiversity — Gain 1 VP for each tile you share with at least one opposing species. Event: no event icon. Rules
	Biomass — On every tile with more species than elements, eliminate one species (your choice of animal; your own if you are alone there). Event: Extinction. Rules
	Bountiful Habitat — Choose any of the eight terrain types and score every tile of that type, in the order you choose. Event: no event icon. Rules FAQ
	Carbon Cycle — Gain 1 VP for each tile you occupy that has at least one plankton element. When it enters play: remove every plankton element from the action display. Event: no event icon. Rules FAQ
	Cladogenesis — Resolve the top card of the discard pile, then resolve and discard the face-up card in the lowest slot (other than this one). Skip a part that has no card. Event: Survival. Rules FAQ
	Disease — Every animal with more elements than yours loses one element of its choice (never a printed one). While in play: an animal loses 1 VP whenever one of its endangered species is eliminated. Event: no event icon. Rules
	Ecodiversity — Gain 1 VP for each element on earth that matches a type on your animal (each type counted once on your display). Event: Survival. Rules FAQ
	Endosymbionts — Gain 1 VP for each tile you occupy that has at least one sponges element. When it enters play: remove every sponges element from the action display. Event: no event icon. Rules FAQ
	Extremophiles — Gain 1 VP for each of your species on Vent tiles, geyser and smoker. When it enters play: score every Vent tile. Event: no event icon. Rules
	Fecundity — Add one species from your Gene Pool to every tile that already has one of yours (you choose which tiles if you run short). Event: Survival. Rules
	Fertile — Pick a tile with at least one of your species and gain 1 VP per species on it, every animal’s included. Event: Survival. Rules
	Gene Expression — Shuffle the unused trait cards, draw three, keep one and swap it for your current trait. When it enters play: each animal loses 1 VP per endangered species it has. Event: no event icon. Rules
	Habitat — Remove one element from earth matching a special pawn you don’t control; then take an element of your choice from the bag matching a special pawn you control and put it on earth. Event: Survival. Rules
	Invasive Species — Return half of your eliminated species (rounded up) to your Gene Pool. When it enters play: every animal eliminates one of its species on every tile of each terrain shown in Competition (a type shown twice counts once). Event: no event icon. Rules FAQ
	Marine Snow — Each animal gains 1 VP per species it has on Ocean tiles and smoker Vents (not geysers), so four of your cubes there score 4 VP. When it enters play: score every Ocean and every smoker Vent (no card is taken for these scorings). Event: no event icon. Rules FAQ
	Mass Exodus — Pick a tile and move all species on it, everyone’s, onto one or more adjacent tiles. Event: Extinction. Rules
	Metamorphosis — Swap an element on your animal for one of your choice from the bag. Event: Extinction. Rules
	Monotypic Habitat — Score bonus VPs for the number of tiles where yours is the only animal present (corrected rulebook note); count each tile once, even if you have several species on it. Event: Extinction. Rules FAQ
	Niche Construction — Move one element on earth to any other vacant corner. Event: no event icon. Rules
	Omnivore — Pick a tile you occupy: remove one element there and eliminate one species there (your own if no opponent is present). Event: Survival. Rules
	Population Explosion — Pick a tile and add as many species from your Gene Pool as there are species on it already (all animals counted). Event: Survival. Rules
	Predator — Eliminate one opposing species on each tile you occupy. Event: Extinction. Rules FAQ
	Producers — Gain 1 VP for each tile you occupy that has at least one algae element. When it enters play: remove every algae element from the action display. Event: no event icon. Rules
	Profligate Carnivore — Eliminate X opposing species anywhere on earth (X = the slot this card was in) and replace each with one of yours from your Gene Pool; the victims need not share a tile. Event: no event icon. Rules FAQ FAQ
	Semi-Aquatic — Gain 1 VP for each tile you occupy that has at least one sun element. When it enters play: remove every sun element from the action display. Event: no event icon. Rules
	Solar Radiation — On each tile you occupy, return X species there to their owners’ Gene Pools (X = the slot this card was in). While in play: all Evolution-action scoring is halved, rounded up; Survival events and final scoring are unaffected. Event: no event icon. Rules FAQ FAQ
	Symbiotic — Your animal and every animal with fewer elements than yours each gain one random element from the bag. Event: Survival. Rules
	Tectonic Shift — All pawns on the action display go back to their owners (this is not a retrieve). Then take another turn after this one (corrected card text). Event: Extinction. Rules
	Terrestrial — Put an element of your choice from the bag on any Land tile or geyser Vent, then add up to 4 species from your Gene Pool there. Event: Extinction. Rules
	Trophic Cascade — Pick a tile and remove X elements from it (X = the slot this card was in); X is the card’s slot when taken from the row, and is 0 if replayed from the discard pile. Event: Extinction. Rules FAQ
	Univalves — Gain 1 VP for each tile you occupy that has at least one gastropods element. When it enters play: remove every gastropods element from the action display. Event: no event icon. Rules
	Volcanism — Take an immediate Tectonics action; the new Vent may go on any Seamount. While in play: new Vents may cover Seamounts anywhere. Event: no event icon. Rules

Trait cards

18 cards; each animal keeps one of three at setup (two with Superheroes). Each effect is paraphrased from the card and the rulebook’s clarifications.

Card	Effect
	Ancient Lineage — Once per game, right after you retrieve, you may play any one card from the evolution discard pile — before the next player and before any Reseed your retrieve triggered. FAQ
	Bottom Feeder — Gives your animal a personal action space on this card, usable only by you: return half (rounded up) of your eliminated species to your Gene Pool. It counts as part of the action display and ignores the basic pawn order, so it can be used regardless of where your other pawns are. FAQ
	Budding Intelligence — Once you reach 20 VP, take one extra basic pawn from the box. You keep it even if your score drops or you lose the card. FAQ
	Camouflage — At the end of an opponent’s Wanderlust or Tectonics action, you may put one species from your Gene Pool on the new tile (not on your own actions).
	Cannibal — Gain 1 VP whenever one of your species is eliminated (sent to the box), even by your own effects; species returned to a Gene Pool don’t count. Five eliminated cubes earn 5 VP. FAQ
	Carnivore — Your species are never endangered on a tile with two or more opposing species. FAQ
	Ecological Niche — When anyone speciates around an element matching a special pawn you control, you add 1 to each tile’s limit and opponents subtract 1.
	Exaptation — When revealed, pick another animal’s trait and treat this card as an exact copy of it. Once your Gene Pool is down to 16 species or fewer, swap this card for an unused trait drawn at random (you lose the copy and its benefits). FAQ
	Flight — Each of your basic pawns may go before or after all your placed pawns, never between them; you choose which end for each placement. FAQ
	Hadopelagic — When you retrieve while all your pawns (basic and controlled special) are on the display, take another turn — after any Reseed it triggers, and not if that Reseed ends the game. Retrieving still uses your current turn. FAQ
	Pack Hunters — Once, when you get this trait: take any one special pawn matching one of your elements, with its control marker; its target marker starts on space 2 (corrected). FAQ FAQ
	Phenotypic Plasticity — Your animal has two extra element spaces on this card; they count as spaces on your display and start empty, then fill like its other empty spaces. FAQ
	Prey Switching — Gain 1 VP per tile whenever opposing species are placed from a Gene Pool onto a tile you occupy.
	Ram Feeder — Your animal has one extra printed (default) plankton element, on this card.
	Resilience — At each Reseed one element of your choice is safe from Regression (corrected rulebook note). FAQ
	Seasonal Migrants — Your Migration spaces are worth 1 more, and each migrating species may pass through an adjacent tile onto a second tile (never through empty hexes). FAQ
	Social — Your basic pawns may bump opposing basic pawns like special pawns, but must still follow the order rule. FAQ
	Solitary — Gain 1 VP whenever a tile is scored while you have exactly one species on it, on top of that scoring; it can trigger again each time that tile is scored, including final scoring. FAQ

Survival card

Card	Use
	Survival — held by the animal with the most species on Vents (nobody on a tie); scores bonus VPs at each Survival event. Its back lists the six special-pawn-only spaces. FAQ FAQ FAQ FAQ FAQ FAQ

Tiles

Terrain tiles

36 large tiles (5 Land, 5 Ocean and 1 each of the others at the start; 21 in the Wanderlust stacks) and 12 small Vents. The numbers printed on a tile are its scoring values. FAQ FAQ

Tile	Use
	Land — scores 8/4/2/1; up to 1 new species by Speciation.
	Kelp Forest — scores 7/4/2; up to 2 new species.
	Coral Reef — scores 6/3/2; up to 2 new species; the central starting tile. FAQ
	Seamount — scores 5/3/2; up to 3 new species; Volcanism can turn it into a Vent anywhere.
	Seagrass Meadow — scores 4/2; up to 2 new species.
	Sand Plain — scores 3/2; up to 3 new species.
	Open Ocean — scores 2/1; up to 4 new species.
	Hydrothermal Vent — laid on a large tile by Tectonics; geyser side (top half) or smoker side (bottom half). Scores 1; up to 1 new species; counts for the Survival card. FAQ FAQ

Tokens & pieces

Element disks

Six types, the same number of each. On an animal they are needs, on a tile corner supplies (Elements). FAQ FAQ

Disk	Use
	Sun — printed twice on the Reptiles.
	Worms — printed twice on the Crustaceans.
	Plankton — printed twice on the Fishes.
	Sponges — printed once on the Reptiles and the Cephalopods.
	Gastropods — printed twice on the Cephalopods.
	Algae — printed once on the Fishes and the Crustaceans.

Markers

Marker	Use
	VP markers (4, one per animal) — score on the Victory Point Track; flip to +100 past 100. Only the Cephalopods’ is pictured.
	Target markers (6, one per element) — the target number to beat for Dominance; scored by the pawn’s controller at the end. Only plankton’s is pictured. FAQ FAQ
	Control markers (6, one per special pawn) — show who controls each special pawn (Domination). Only the sun pawn’s is pictured.
	Terrain markers (16, two per terrain type; starfish back) — drawn for the Competition and Evolution spaces at each Reseed.
	Land, Kelp, Reef and Seamount markers.
	Seagrass (“Grass”), Sand, Ocean and Vent markers.

Pawns and cubes

Piece	Use
	Special pawns (6 white, one per element) — won by Domination; place anywhere or bump opposing basic pawns.
	Basic pawns (8 per colour; 4, 5 or 7 used) — placed on the action spaces in order.
	Species cubes (35 per colour) — one is the food chain Reseed marker; the rest live in the Gene Pool until placed. FAQ

Icons

To be added.