- BGG rating
- 7.5
Darwin's Choice: Before and After
- 2–6 players
- 60–120 min
- Complexity 3.0/5
- 2020
- BGG rank
- BGG #5,040
- BGG rating
- 7.3
Darwin's Choice
2019
Rules assistance for Darwin's Choice
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–6 players
- 60–120 min
- 10+
- Complexity 2.8/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Darwin's Choice
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Darwin's Choice is a board game released in 2019 for 2–6 players, 60–120 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Marc Dür, Samuel Luterbacher, and Elio Reinschmidt and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Take That, and Area Majority / Influence.
Expansions
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About the game
After millions of years of wasteland on Earth, animal life is finally emerging. But the world is still forming and undergoing a constant change. Only those species able to adapt to the ever-changing conditions will survive to leave their mark in history. Here is your chance! Do your best to become Darwin’s Choice. Darwin's Choice is a competitive card game in which players create their own animal species from more than 230 animal cards. These animal species will be placed in biomes that differ strongly in their requirements and the food supply. The highest possible adaptation of animal species to their biomes not only ensures their survival but is also rewarded with the coveted Darwin points. In addition to a high adaptation the species with the highest competitive strength are also awarded across all zones. Between the 3-4 eras played, conditions can change completely due to biome changes and event card effects. The task now is to adapt the successful animal species of the past eras to the conditions of the present, either through sophisticated mutations or smart migration to other biomes. However, you must always keep an eye on the animal species of the other players in order to anticipate their actions, because anyone who acts too quickly or imprudently might be unable to react at the decisive moment. In Darwin's Choice the victory points (Darwin Points) are assigned to the animal species and may only be collected by players after the last era has ended. With this mechanism, the game remains exciting to the very end, because the extinction of a species also means the loss of its associated Darwin points. Darwin's Choice is a strategic allocation game in which you must think carefully about how to use your cards. The large number of own possibilities and the ones of your opponents lead to a high variability, which makes thinking through each action and thinking ahead indispensable. The randomness caused by drawing cards (animal cards, biomes, event cards) requires flexibility and fast rescheduling. This results in each played game being completely different and guarantees a high replayability. All pictures, icons and symbols of Darwin’s Choice are hand-illustrated by the French illustrator Rozenn Grosjean, giving the game its very own style. —description from the publisher
Categories
Publishers
- Treecer (Treeceratops)
- 小黑的桌游工坊 Black Games Studio
Questions and answers
Darwin's Choice supports 2–6 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 Darwin's Choice is 60–120 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 Darwin's Choice for ages 10 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.
Darwin's Choice 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.
Darwin's Choice belongs to these categories: Card Game, Animals, and Educational. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Take That, 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 Darwin's Choice are: Marc Dür, Samuel Luterbacher, and Elio Reinschmidt. 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 Darwin's Choice 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.