FAQ
83 answered questions23 official
Rules questions from the BoardGameGeek forum. Answers marked Official were confirmed by GMT Games or the designers.
Common mistakes
- Turning any tile at the outside of the placed tiles into a Vent — a basic pawn only reaches tiles in the outer ring of the printed hex grid. Ruling · Rule
- Taking an evolution card after scoring a tile where you have no thriving species. Ruling · Rule
- Running Extinction or Survival when a card is taken — they happen when a card with a fish icon is dealt into the row. Ruling · Rule
- Losing a special pawn because your domination value dropped — only another animal’s Domination action takes it. Ruling · Rule
- Sitting out after retrieving — you keep taking turns until every animal has retrieved and the Reseed happens. Ruling · Rule
- Placing a basic pawn above your special pawn on the display — your special pawns count for the order rule too. Ruling · Rule
- Resolving the Asteroid or ending the game as soon as it is dealt — its two events happen then, but its text and the game end wait until a player takes it. Ruling · Rule
- Handing the Survival card by food chain on a tie — a tie means nobody holds it. Ruling · Rule
Showing 83 of 83
How many element disks of each type are there?
The same number of every type: none is rarer than another. BGG's game wiki lists 18 of each plus a spare.
Source: BGG thread
Where does an element go when an effect removes it from earth or from an animal?
Back into the element bag; elements and terrain markers always return to their bags when removed.
Source: BGG thread
My box has more than 35 cubes of my colour. Do I play with all of them?
No. Each animal plays with 35: the Reseed marker and the three starting cubes come out of those 35. The extra cubes and cylinders are spares.
Source: BGG thread
Can an effect remove one of the six elements printed around the central Reef?
Yes. The printed spots are only setup guides: real disks cover them, and those disks are ordinary elements.
Source: BGG thread
One Wanderlust stack ran out long before the others. Do we spread the remaining tiles out again? Official
No. The empty stack stays empty; players simply have fewer tiles to choose from.
Source: BGG thread
When is the next Wanderlust tile turned face up?
At once, as part of the Wanderlust action: taking a tile reveals the one below it. Only the element disks beside the Wanderlust spaces are refreshed at a Reseed.
Source: BGG thread
Must I place my pawn in the leftmost free space of a section?
No. Any empty space is a choice, as long as your basic pawn goes after all of your placed pawns.
Source: BGG thread
Do my special pawns on the display also limit where my next basic pawn may go? Official
Yes. A basic pawn must go below or to the right of your lowest placed pawn, basic or special. A special pawn itself may go into any empty space, or onto an opponent's basic pawn.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Someone took control of a special pawn I had placed on the display. Does it still restrict my basic pawns?
No. It now belongs to its new controller, so it counts for their placement, not yours.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
May I retrieve when none of my pawns are on the action display, just to pass? Official
No. Retrieving needs at least one of your pawns on the display; passing is not an option.
Source: BGG thread
After I retrieve, am I out until the Reseed?
No. Retrieving is your whole turn; on your next turn you place pawns again as normal. Turns keep going round until every animal's food chain cube is in the right column, which triggers the Reseed.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Who plays first after a Reseed?
Whoever is next in turn order after the animal whose retrieve triggered it. Crustaceans only start the very first turn of the game.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Do the other players' pawns stay on the display during a Reseed?
Yes. The Reseed swaps elements and terrain markers but leaves every pawn where it is; pawns only come back when their owner retrieves.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
What does the special Wanderlust space's "take another turn" let me do? Official
A complete extra turn: place any legal pawn for any action, or retrieve. It is not a second Wanderlust. The special pawn you used stays on the Wanderlust space.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
May I place a pawn on an action space whose element was removed (for example by Semi-Aquatic)? Official
No. Placing a pawn means performing its action, and with no element there is nothing to perform; that space is unusable until the next Reseed.
Source: BGG thread
Does Depletion choose a tile or an element?
An element: any single disk on earth matching a type in the Depletion Box, wherever it is, Vents included.
Source: BGG thread
Can the special Adaptation space replace one of my printed elements?
No. Only an added disk can be replaced; printed elements never leave the display.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Two elements of the same type are in the Regression Box. Do I lose two disks of that type?
No. You lose one disk per element type in the box, so a doubled type still costs one disk.
Source: BGG thread
If I retrieve my pawn from Regression, does my cube come back too? Official
No. The cube stays in Regression and protects you at the next Reseed; cubes only return to the Gene Pool during the Reseed.
Source: BGG thread
Both Regression squares are full. If my special pawn bumps a basic pawn there, do I replace its cube? Official
No. Bumping returns the pawn only; its cube stays. You place a cube only in a vacant square, so with none free the action does nothing.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
My Gene Pool is empty. Can I still use Regression?
No. Regression needs a cube from your Gene Pool, so with none left the action is forfeit.
Source: BGG thread
May Abundance place an element on a tile corner at the outer edge, or between three Vents?
Yes to both. Elements may go on any vacant corner; one on the outside edge can never be surrounded by three Vents, and one placed between three Vents stays until the next Reseed removes it.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
A card says to remove all of one element type from the action display. Which sections?
Every section of the action display, including the Autotrophs, Depletion and Regression boxes.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
With Speciation, do I choose one element disk or every disk of that type?
One disk. You add species to the one, two or three tiles touching that corner.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can I speciate around an element where I have no species yet? Official
Yes. Nothing requires you to be present; the action deliberately has few restrictions.
Source: BGG thread
What does the special Speciation space allow?
Speciation around any element on earth, of any type — not only the types shown beside the Speciation spaces.
Source: BGG thread
What is "the edge of the hex grid" for Tectonics? Official
The ring of hexes around the edge of the printed play area — not the outside of the tiles placed so far. A basic pawn can only turn a tile already placed in that outer ring into a Vent; the special space allows any tile.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Does a new Vent have to be next to another Vent? Official
No. Adjacent Vents only add to the bonus VPs; with none next to it you still score 1 bonus VP for the new Vent itself.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Is a Vent a geyser or a smoker because of the tile under it?
No. It depends on the half of the board: geyser in the top half, smoker in the bottom half, whatever terrain it covers.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Tectonics lets me add one of my eliminated species. Do I take a cube back from the box?
Yes. It is one of the few ways an eliminated cube comes back into play.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
May I take Wanderlust when no element is left beside it?
Yes. Placing the element is optional, so you still place the tile, score its bonus VPs and let species move onto it.
Source: BGG thread
May one species move twice in a single Migration?
No. Each chosen species moves once, to an adjacent tile.
Source: BGG thread
Does Competition remove up to 3 whole animals or up to 3 cubes?
Up to 3 cubes: a "species" is a single cube, an "animal" is a player.
Source: BGG thread
With the special Competition space, do I need species of my own on both tiles?
Yes. The normal Competition rules apply to each tile you choose, so you must have at least one species on each.
Source: BGG thread
The Competition example on page 15 shows a pawn on a space with no terrain marker. Are markers removed? Official
No. Terrain markers only change at a Reseed; the picture is missing its marker. Kai Jensen drew the examples after Chad Jensen's death and noted this one for correction.
Source: BGG thread
May I score a tile where I have no species, or only endangered ones, and still take an evolution card?
No. You may score any tile of the right terrain, but you take a card only if you have a thriving species there — and then you must take one.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Does an animal with no species on a tile score anything there? Official
No. You must be present to score.
Source: BGG thread
When an Evolution action scores a Vent, do I use the bonus table as in a Survival event?
No. A Vent scored by Evolution gives its first place the 1 VP printed on the Tile Scoring table.
Source: BGG thread
My species has no matching element but Carnivore protects it. Is it thriving for the evolution card?
Yes. Carnivore makes it not endangered, so it counts as thriving.
Source: BGG thread
Are ties broken by the food chain during the final scoring of every tile?
Yes. Each tile is scored exactly as during the game.
Source: BGG thread
Can the card row run out mid-game? Official
Each time a card is taken, the cards above it slide down and a new card fills slot 5 while the draw pile lasts.
Source: BGG thread
Page 7 says endangered species can't claim a card "during Domination actions". Is that right? Official
No, it is a misprint: it means Evolution actions. GMT's correction sheet fixes it. Kai Jensen noted it, with the other misprints players found, for correction in a reprint.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Does Solar Radiation halve Survival bonuses or the final scoring? Official
No. It halves only scoring from an Evolution action; the final scoring of every tile is not an Evolution action.
Source: BGG thread
What is X for a "slot" card (Profligate Carnivore, Solar Radiation, Trophic Cascade) resolved from the discard pile? Official
Zero, so its effect does nothing: X only has a value for a card taken from a slot of the row, or when the card says to use the slot you chose (as Trophic Cascade does).
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Does the order matter when Bountiful Habitat scores several tiles? Official
Hardly ever; the rule just says who decides (the active player) so play doesn't stall.
Source: BGG thread
Cladogenesis resolves Tectonic Shift. When does my extra turn happen? Official
After your current turn is fully finished, including discarding and refilling the card row; then you go again.
Source: BGG thread
The rulebook says Monotypic Habitat reverses the food chain, the card says something else. Which is right?
The card. The correction sheet replaces the rulebook note: count the tiles where your animal is alone, however many species it has there, and score bonus VPs for that count.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
What do "in play" and "enters play" mean on evolution cards? Official
"In play" means face up in the five-slot row. "Enters play" effects happen when the card is dealt into the row (also at setup); "while in play" effects end when the card is taken.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Do the fish icons trigger when someone takes the card?
No. Extinction and Survival happen when a card showing them is newly dealt into the row — not when it is taken, and not when a card is resolved from the discard pile.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
The Asteroid shows both fish. Are there two Extinction and Survival events at the end?
Yes. Both happen when the Asteroid is dealt into the row, and again in the endgame after it has been taken.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Does the game end when the Asteroid is dealt into the row?
No. Its two events happen at once, but the game end starts only when a player takes the Asteroid with an Evolution action; until then new cards keep filling the row. If nobody takes it the game goes on — Kai Jensen points out that Evolution is the main way to score, so a player who wants the game to end takes it.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
After the Asteroid, an element placed between three Vents is never removed because there is no last Reseed. Is that right?
Yes. The endgame skips the Reseed, so the element stays and can save species from the final Extinction.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Predator: one species per tile, or one per opposing animal on each tile?
One species per tile you occupy.
Source: BGG thread
Invasive Species: which tiles lose a species when it enters play?
Every tile of every terrain type shown in the Competition section — but a type shown twice only counts once.
Source: BGG thread
Marine Snow: 1 VP per species cube or per tile?
Per species cube on Ocean and smoker Vent tiles.
Source: BGG thread
Profligate Carnivore: must the X species be on one tile?
No. They may be anywhere on earth.
Source: BGG thread
Ecodiversity: does it count one element type of my animal, or all of them?
All of them: 1 VP per element on earth that matches any type on your display (a type counts once however many disks of it you have).
Source: BGG thread
Adaptability lets special pawns bump special pawns; with Autotrophs two players can swap back and forth. Is that allowed? Official
Yes. The loop is not infinite and continuing it is the players' choice; no rule was added against it.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Can a score go below zero?
Players who met it played that a score never drops below zero.
Source: BGG thread
May I take Domination for a special pawn I already control, just to raise its target marker? Official
Yes. The target marker moves up to your domination value, which is also worth that many VPs at the end.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
My domination value fell below the target number. Do I lose the special pawn?
No. Target markers never move down and are only checked when someone takes the Domination action; you lose the pawn only when another animal claims it.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
To take a pawn from another player, do I compare my value with theirs?
No. You compare it with the element's target number on the VP track, and you must exceed it.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
At the end, do I score a target marker for an element I dominate but whose pawn I don't control?
No. You score the target markers of the special pawns you control.
Source: BGG thread
What does "several animals can dominate the same element" mean?
Several animals can exceed the target number at once, so each of them could take that pawn with a Domination action. The first to do so raises the target, which the others must then beat.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Is Pack Hunters a one-time benefit?
Yes, once, when you gain the trait. The correction sheet starts that pawn's target marker on space 2 (one above its starting space), not 3.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
I swap Pack Hunters away with Gene Expression. Do I keep the special pawn?
Yes, you keep it.
Source: BGG thread
Exaptation copied Pack Hunters. When Exaptation switches, do I lose that special pawn?
Opinions differ. The rulebook says you lose every benefit of the copied trait, so most players give the pawn back if you still control it.
Source: BGG thread
I lose Budding Intelligence. Do I lose the extra pawn?
No. The rulebook says you keep it even if you drop below 20 VP or lose the card.
Source: BGG thread
Does Seasonal Migrants also help when my species move during Wanderlust?
No. The card names Migration actions only; moving onto a new Wanderlust tile is not a Migration action.
Source: BGG thread
Does the Bottom Feeder action space follow the order rule for basic pawns? Official
No. You may use it whenever you like, wherever your other pawns are.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Resilience: the card saves one element, the rulebook says a phantom Regression cube. Which is it?
The card. GMT's correction sheet rewrites the rulebook note: Resilience saves one element of your choice from Regression; a real cube still saves the rest.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Cannibal: if five of my species are eliminated at once, do I gain 5 VP?
Most players score 1 VP per eliminated species, so 5.
Source: BGG thread
How often does Solitary score?
1 VP each time a tile is scored while you have exactly one species on it — through Evolution, card effects or the final scoring.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
How often can Ancient Lineage be used, and can it take the Asteroid?
Once per game. It may replay any card in the discard pile, including the Asteroid, even at the very end.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Flight says "above" my other pawns. Does that mean before them?
Yes: before all or after all of your placed pawns, never between them, as the rulebook note says.
Source: BGG thread
Does Hadopelagic make retrieving a free action?
No. Retrieving is still your turn; the trait only gives a further turn when its condition is met.
Source: BGG thread
Do the element spaces on Phenotypic Plasticity start filled?
No, they start empty and fill like the grey spaces of your display.
Source: BGG thread
What does it mean that Social pawns don't gain the "place before" ability?
Your basic pawns may bump opposing basic pawns, but they must still go after all of your placed pawns.
Source: BGG thread
Who gets the Survival card: most species on Vents, or most Vents occupied?
Most species cubes on Vent tiles. The number of Vents occupied is what the holder then scores.
Source: BGG thread
What happens to the Survival card on a tie?
Nobody holds it until there is a sole leader again; the food chain does not break this tie.
Source: BGG thread
Which elements does the Reseed remove because of Vents? Official
Only an element whose corner touches exactly three Vent tiles. A corner on the outer edge touches at most two tiles, so its element is never removed this way.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Depletion left my species with no matching element. Are they eliminated?
Not yet: they are endangered, and die only at the next Extinction event.
Source: BGG thread
Why is there no Reseed before final scoring?
The Asteroid's round ends where the Reseed would come; instead you run the final Extinction and Survival, then score. Regression would not remove species anyway — only Extinction does.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread