FAQ
79 answered questions41 official
Rules questions from the BoardGameGeek forum. Answers marked Official were confirmed by GMT Games or the designers.
Common mistakes
- Giving the card to the animal with the most cubes — cubes score the tile, but the card goes to the dominant animal (best matching elements). Ruling · Rule
- Resolving every Glaciation pawn in one turn — only the left-most acts; the others slide left in the Reset Phase. Ruling · Rule
- Removing elements between three tundra tiles when nobody glaciates — that only happens in step 4 of a Glaciation action. Ruling · Rule
- Forgetting the Ice Age bonus — when the card is taken, each animal scores the bonus table for the tiles it dominates, before final scoring. Ruling · Rule
- Returning eliminated species to the gene pool — only Glaciation sends species back; everything else removes them from the game. Ruling · Rule
- Letting a Wasteland pawn save a whole element type — it removes one disk; a second disk of that type still strikes the tundra. Ruling · Rule
- Removing one cube of every opposing animal in Competition — each chosen tile loses a single opposing species. Ruling · Rule
- Breaking a tie for dominance by the food chain — a tie in matching elements means nobody is dominant there. Ruling · Rule
Showing 79 of 79
Is every Dominance card unique? A box with two Aquatic cards and no Fecundity has turned up.
Yes, there is one of each of the 26 cards; a duplicate is a misprint. Replace it with a note for the missing card.
Source: BGG thread
The starting tiles cover the elements printed on the board. Can we leave those tiles off?
Place the tiles: the game is built around a fixed number of each terrain. The elements printed on the board are only a setup reminder — the real disks sit on the tile corners and can be removed like any other element.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Do later printings have different rules?
No. Later printings changed the art, not the rules; the rulebook GMT hosts as its living rules is the current one.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Are the dominance cones limited to 10 per animal?
No. If an animal dominates more than 10 tiles, mark the extra tiles with anything — the rulebook says so on the Dominance page.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Are species cubes limited? What if I run out during a Speciation?
Yes, your gene pool is all you have. With no cubes left, the rest of that Speciation is wasted. Glaciation is the only way cubes come back to your gene pool.
Source: BGG thread
Can I put more than one of my pawns on the same action? Official
Yes. Any empty eyeball is legal on your placement, even in a section where you already have a pawn — you could take all three Adaptation spaces if nobody else does.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Must I fill the left-most free eyeball of a section first? Official
No. You may choose any vacant eyeball, including a later one (to act later in Wanderlust, say, or to pick a Speciation element or Competition terrains).
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
What happens to an action nobody put a pawn on?
Most actions simply don't happen. Regression and Wasteland always happen, the insects still get their free species after Speciation and the arachnids their free Competition.
Source: BGG thread
Do the birds, reptiles, arachnids and insects need a pawn to use their special ability?
Reptiles (Regression), arachnids (Competition) and insects (Speciation) get their bonus every turn without a pawn. Birds only fly two tiles when they take a Migration action with a pawn — and then every bird moved by that action may fly two.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Are action pawns gained or lost through Dominance cards permanent?
Yes, for the rest of the game. New pawns come from the ones left in the box at setup.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can I take my pawn back and not do the action?
Yes. Every action is voluntary, but you forfeit the whole action. The only thing that is mandatory is resolving a Dominance card once you are the dominant animal on a scored tile.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Does the Initiative order change by itself each turn, as the arrows on the board suggest? Official
No. It changes only when someone takes the Initiative action; the arrows were just a reminder that pawn placement goes round the table, and were to be removed in reprints. Turn order starts in reverse food chain order.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
After Initiative, may my pawn go back on the Initiative eyeball? Official
No, it must go to a different vacant eyeball.
Source: BGG thread
If I take Domination, must I score a tile and take a card? Official
No. Scoring is voluntary; a Dominance card must be taken only when you actually score a tile and an animal is dominant there. Sometimes you skip scoring a tile to avoid a harmful card.
Source: BGG thread
In Regression, there is one seed and one meat in the box. I have two seeds and a meat on my display and one pawn there. What do I lose? Official
Save the meat with your pawn and lose a single seed. Regression never takes more than one disk of each type present in the box.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Two grubs are in the Regression box. Do I need two pawns to keep my grub?
No. Regression works by element type: two grubs in the box still count as one type, so one pawn saves your grub.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
In what order do the animals resolve Regression? Official
Whenever an order or tie-break is needed, go down the food chain: mammals first.
Source: BGG thread
My pawn on Wasteland removes one element. If the box holds two water, is water still wiped from the tundra? Official
Yes. The pawn removes one single disk; the second water stays and every water touching tundra goes.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
If nobody takes Depletion, what happens to the elements in the Depletion box?
Nothing that turn. In the Reset Phase they go back to the bag.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
My display is full. Can Adaptation replace one of my elements? Official
No. With six elements the action is forfeited and no part of it happens; the element stays on the action display. You can only make room by losing an element (Regression or a card).
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Does the element that wipes the tundra leave the Wasteland box? Official
No. An element leaves the Wasteland box only when a player removes it as their pawn comes off the section, and at the end of the turn when the rest slide down to Depletion.
Source: BGG thread
Can the elements printed on my animal display ever be lost or covered?
No. Regression, Disease, Metamorphosis and Immigrants never touch them.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can Abundance put an element on a corner surrounded by three tundra tiles?
Yes. It stays until the next Glaciation action is carried out (step 4 removes it), or until Wasteland removes its type.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Are elements between three tundra tiles removed in every Glaciation step, even if nobody glaciates? Official
No. They are removed only in step 4 of a Glaciation action that is actually carried out: no action, no removal.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Does step 4 remove only the elements around the new tundra tile? Official
No — every element on earth that touches exactly three tundra tiles, wherever it is and however it got there.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
The only Glaciation pawn is on the third eyeball. Does it act? Official
Yes. The action takes the left-most pawn in the section, whichever eyeball it is on; only one Glaciation happens per turn.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
When a tile glaciates, how many species stay?
One of each animal that was there. The rest go back to their owners' gene pools, not to the box.
Source: BGG thread
With Instinct I put a pawn on the empty first Glaciation eyeball while another player waits on the second. What happens at Reseed? Official
Your pawn stays first; pawns only slide into empty spaces, so the waiting pawn stays second. You have jumped the queue for next turn's Glaciation.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
In Speciation, do I choose one tile?
No, you choose an element disk. You may add species to every tile touching that disk (up to 4 on sea or wetland, 3 on savannah, jungle or forest, 2 on desert or mountain, 1 on tundra).
Source: BGG thread
Can I speciate around an element my animal does not use?
Yes. The new species may match other elements on those tiles; if they match nothing they go extinct in the Reset Phase.
Source: BGG thread
Must I place every species a Speciation allows? Official
No. It places up to that many on each tile; placing none on a tile is legal.
Source: BGG thread
Can I speciate on a tile far from my other species? Official
Yes. Every animal is assumed to live everywhere; your cubes only show where it flourishes, so new species need not be next to old ones.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
I have no species left on earth. Can I still speciate?
Yes, as long as your gene pool has cubes. Only an animal with no cubes anywhere can neither speciate nor migrate.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can a bird species move twice in one Migration, or move 14 times with the 7-space?
No. The number is how many species you move; each moves once, up to two tiles for birds. A second Migration pawn can move the same cube again.
Source: BGG thread
Can birds join a Wanderlust tile from two tiles away?
No. Wanderlust only lets species already adjacent to the new tile move onto it; the two-tile flight is for Migration only.
Source: BGG thread
After Wanderlust, does the player who placed the tile move in first?
No. Everyone moves in food-chain order, mammals first, whoever placed the tile.
Source: BGG thread
A Wanderlust stack has run out. Is its eyeball closed? Official
No. A pawn may still go there, but it can do nothing: only face-up tiles can be taken, and tiles turn face up only in the Reset Phase.
Source: BGG thread
Does Competition remove one cube, or one of every opposing animal on the tile? Official
One cube. A "species" is a single cube, so each chosen tile loses one opposing species.
Source: BGG thread
Must I compete on all three terrains of my eyeball?
No. You choose up to one tile of each of the three terrains, so you may skip any of them.
Source: BGG thread
Where can the arachnids use their free Competition?
On one tile of any terrain where they have a species and an opponent does too. It happens first, before the pawns in the section.
Source: BGG thread
Why does jungle appear at both ends of the Competition row?
The row wraps around so that every non-tundra terrain appears in two eyeballs; tundra is in all seven.
Source: BGG thread
Can I be dominant on a tile where I am the only animal? Official
Yes, as long as your species there are not endangered (you match at least one element). The rulebook examples show lone animals holding dominance.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Two animals tie for most matching elements. Does the food chain break the tie? Official
No. A tie means nobody is dominant on that tile.
Source: BGG thread
My species on a tile become endangered. Do I lose dominance there at once? Official
Yes. Being endangered is checked continually, and an endangered animal can never hold dominance.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
My last species left a tile I dominated. Do I keep the cone?
No. Dominance needs at least one of your species on the tile; remove the cone.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can an animal be dominant on a tundra tile?
Yes — tundra is scored and dominated like any tile, though species there are often endangered.
Source: BGG thread
Dominance must be "claimed". If I see a cone that is wrong, may I stay silent? Official
No. Whenever you see that dominance should change, in your favour or not, say so and fix it. The "not automatic" wording is there so nobody has to rewind the game when a change was missed earlier.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Does adding or removing cubes change dominance, or only elements? Official
Both. Your first cube on a tile where you match more than the animal holding it takes dominance, and removing cubes can lose it — so speciation, migration, competition and cards all matter.
Source: BGG thread
What is the difference between dominance and domination?
Dominance is a tile's best-matching animal (the cone). Domination is the action that scores a tile by cube count and then makes the dominant animal take a Dominance card.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
If several players have Domination pawns, is a card taken after each tile?
Yes. Each Domination action scores one tile, and its dominant animal (if any) takes a card each time — one player with two pawns may take two cards.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can a tile be scored twice in one turn?
No — not by another player and not by the same player with a second pawn.
Source: BGG thread
What if nobody takes Domination this turn?
No tile scores and no card is taken; the face-up cards stay for next turn.
Source: BGG thread
May I score a tile where I have no species, or that is empty? Official
Yes. The only limit is that the tile has not been scored this turn. It can deny a card to a rival or hand points to someone — or you can simply forfeit the action. Nobody scores points on an empty tile, and no card is taken.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Do endangered species still count for majority when a tile is scored?
Yes. They cannot be dominant, but they score points for their numbers; they die in Extinction afterwards.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can I score a tile when no Dominance cards are left?
Yes. The tile scores; the dominant animal takes a card only if one is available.
Source: BGG thread
Can I take a card that does nothing for me, just to keep it from a rival?
Yes. You must carry out what you can, but a card with no effect (Nocturnal when you are already first, for example) is a legal pick.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Evolution: how many species do I replace, and where do mine come from? Official
Up to two opposing species, each from a different animal, each replaced by a cube from your gene pool. The replaced species are out of the game: anything removed other than by Glaciation never returns. With an empty gene pool the card does nothing. In the multiple-animals variant your own other animals count as opposing.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Biomass and Predator: does a tile lose one cube or a whole animal?
One cube per tile. Biomass removes one species from each tile with more species than elements; Predator removes one opposing species from each tile you share.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Who makes the choices on Catastrophe and Mass Exodus? Official
The player who took the card makes every choice — which tile, which species die and where every animal's species move. Mass Exodus moves every species off the tile, wherever the player likes — it may strand them with no matching element.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Fecundity: does a tile where I have two species qualify? Official
Yes; "containing one of your species" means at least one. Adding the species is optional, tile by tile.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Immigrants: may I choose to cut to one species per tile when I already have one everywhere? Official
Yes, that is a legal choice. An animal with only its printed elements cannot choose to lose an element. Every animal chooses, the one that took the card too, in food chain order. A lost action pawn may come from anywhere, even a pawn waiting in the Glaciation section.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Symbiotic: if every animal has the same number of elements, who gains one? Official
Only you — the others gain one only if they have fewer elements than you.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Ecodiversity: how do I count? Official
For each element type on your display, count once (a duplicate on your display does not count twice) every disk of that type on earth.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Biodiversity: one point per opposing species or per tile?
Per tile: 1 VP for each tile you share with at least one opposing species.
Source: BGG thread
Niche Biomes can take more points than an opponent has. Can scores go negative?
No. Victory points never drop below zero.
Source: BGG thread
Instinct: can the pawn act again this turn? Official
Only if you put it on an eyeball still to be resolved this turn, such as a later empty Domination space. The space you just used, or any section already resolved, acts next turn.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Fertile: do I count only my species on the tile? Official
No — every species there, yours and your opponents'.
Source: BGG thread
Metamorphosis: may I swap an element for the same type? Official
Yes — any element for any type of your choice, the same one included. With only your printed elements you have nothing to swap, so the card does nothing for you.
Source: BGG thread
Aquatic: may I choose a full sea tile just to add species? Official
Only if no sea or wetland tile has a free corner. You must carry out a card as fully as you can, so if a chosen tile has a free corner you must place the element.
Source: BGG thread
Blight, Catastrophe, Hibernation, Ice Sheet, Mass Exodus: may I pick a tile where the card does little? Official
Yes: Blight on a tile with one element or none, Catastrophe on a tile with one cube, Hibernation with 0 to 5 cubes on a single tile.
Source: BGG thread
Habitat: may the element replace one already on earth? Official
No, it goes on a vacant corner only — even one between three tundra tiles, where it stays until the next Glaciation action.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Intelligence and Parasitism: “neighbours” on which track? Official
The food chain, which never changes — not the Initiative track.
Source: BGG thread
Two players tie for most species on tundra. Who keeps the Survival card? Official
Nobody — it is uncontrolled and scores for no one, even if someone held it before.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
How does the Survival card score?
On the bonus points table, for the number of tundra tiles you occupy: 2 tiles score 3, not 2. Dominance does not matter for it.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
What exactly happens when the Ice Age card is taken? Official
At once, every animal scores bonus points for the number of tiles it dominates (its cones). The rest of the turn is played out (remaining Domination, Extinction, Survival), then the cones come off — only to clear the board — and every tile is scored once more by species count alone. If nobody takes the Ice Age card, the game goes on. A “turn” here is the whole round — Planning, Execution and Reset — so every remaining Domination action is still played.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Can the Ice Age come out on turn one?
No. It is placed under the shuffled deck at setup, so it is always the last card drawn.
Source: BGG thread
With 2 or 3 players, must each of us run several animals? Official
No. One animal each is the normal game at every count; running two or three animals each is an optional rule. The designer calls controlling several animals an optional rule for experienced players, not a balanced format.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread · BGG thread
Random earth setup: how are the starting victory points set?
Every animal starts on the number of species of the animal with the most, then drops by its own number of species. With 2, 3 and 5 species the animals start on 3, 2 and 0 VP.
Source: BGG thread
Is there an accepted way to shorten the game? Official
Many groups remove the cards that add action pawns (Intelligence, Parasitism, Omnivore), which usually cuts a whole turn, and some also remove a few cubes per player; asked about trimming the cubes too, the designer called it reasonable. It is a house rule, not part of the rulebook.
Source: BGG thread