
- BGG rank
- BGG #4,303
- BGG rating
- 7.1
Zoo Tycoon: The Board Game
- 1–4 players
- 120–180 min
- Complexity 4.2/5
- 2023

Rules assistance for Darwin's Choice: Before and After
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Darwin's Choice: Before and After is an expansion for Darwin's Choice released in 2020 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.
Their footsteps have shaken the earth for millions of years. Large, heavy and armored, but also small, agile and deadly, dinosaurs shaped their time from the top of the food chain. Today, another species dominates, it moves on two legs, builds huge colonies and shapes the landscape like no other species before. Evolutionary, however, every challenge is also an opportunity. Find your niches, face the new situation and become Darwin's Choice. Darwin’s Choice - Before and After is the expansion to Darwin’s Choice and requires the base game. The expansion brings over 240 new Animal Cards into play, with a focus on dinosaurs and prehistoric species. In addition, human-made events and territories set the focus of this expansion on the consequences towards nature and evolution created by humanity. The expansion fits seamlessly into the theme of the base game and creates a reference to today‘s environmental challenges. All artworks are again beautifully hand-drawn by the French artist Rozenn Grosjean, giving the game its very own style. Since the team behind Darwin's Choice cares for the environment, the expansion will once again be solely made out of sustainable wood and contain as little plastic as possible. In addition, both the base game and the expansion will be 100% carbon neutral. 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 food availability. 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 is now 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. 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 opponent 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 thus guarantees a high replayability. —description from the publisher
Darwin's Choice: Before and After 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: Before and After 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: Before and After 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: Before and After has a complexity rating of 3.0 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-weight 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: Before and After 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: Before and After 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: Before and After as an expansion for Darwin's Choice. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need Darwin's Choice to use it. Check that your edition of Darwin's Choice is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.