
- BGG rank
- BGG #23
- BGG rating
- 8.4
Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy
- 2–6 players
- 60–200 min
- Complexity 3.7/5
- 2020

2016
Rules assistance for Chromosome
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 2 players

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Chromosome is a board game released in 2016 for 2–4 players, 30–60 minutes per game, and ages 8 and up. It was designed by Marcin Danysz and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Dice Rolling, and Area Majority / Influence.
A huge meteor containing some form of extra-terrestrial life crashes to Earth somewhere in the icy wasteland of Antarctica. The American government sets up a secret facility whose goal is to contain and examine these new and unfamiliar lifeforms — but something goes wrong. A huge storm damages the station, destroying vital systems. The alien microbes escape and begin to spread and conflict with each other, while the station's human inhabitants rapidly succumb to the cold. The last survivor, afraid of what the microbes could do to humanity, initiates a self-destruction procedure. There are four minutes left... Chromosome is an asymmetrical, tactical board game for 2-4 players. As an alien microbe, unaware of your impending doom, you struggle to survive and to escape the laboratory. As one of four microbe species, you have four general and four unique actions to take during your turn. You use them to spawn your microbe, fight other microbes, manipulate energy, create radioactive spaces, and finally mutate – to get new genes (four different types) that will help you to fight better, grow faster, and overcome your opponents. Your goal is to create the most effective set of genes to thrive in an environment that might be different each time you play. You win the game and escape the station if you have more population tokens on the board and more enemy microbes destroyed than any other player.
Chromosome supports 2–4 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Chromosome is 30–60 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Chromosome for ages 8 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Chromosome has a complexity rating of 2.8 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Chromosome belongs to these categories: Science Fiction. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Dice Rolling, and Area Majority / Influence. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Chromosome are: Marcin Danysz. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Chromosome as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.