Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
In Evolution, players adapt their species in a dynamic ecosystem where food is scarce and predators lurk. Traits like Hard Shell and Horns will protect your species from Carnivores, while a Long Neck will help them get food that others cannot reach.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Action Points
Spend a limited allowance of points across several possible actions each turn.
Push Your Luck
Choose whether to secure current gains or risk them for a larger reward.
Hand Management
Time and sequence a limited hand of cards to preserve future options.
Simultaneous Action Selection
Choose actions secretly or concurrently before revealing them together.
Simulation
Model a real or imagined system through detailed cause-and-effect rules.
Take That
Direct negative effects at selected opponents.
Read the full game description
In Evolution, players adapt their species in a dynamic ecosystem where food is scarce and predators lurk. Traits like Hard Shell and Horns will protect your species from Carnivores, while a Long Neck will help them get food that others cannot reach. With over 4,000 ways to evolve your species, every game becomes a different adventure. Evolution packs a surprising amount of variety for a game with simple rules. The variety comes from the synergies between the trait cards and from the different personalities at the table. Some players thrive on creating Carnivores to wreak havoc on their fellow players. Others prefer to stay protected and mind their own business. Evolution encourages both play styles by giving each of them multiple paths to victory. And it is the mix of play styles at the table that ultimately determines the ecosystem in which the players are adapting. So gather your friends and see who can best adapt to the changing world around them. "The theme of evolution is not just tacked on: it drives play." - Nature (the world's most prestigious scientific journal) Evolution was covered in the journal Nature. The article was written by Stuart West, a Professor of Evolutionary Biology at the University of Oxford who has used Evolution in his undergraduate class. https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1487263/evolution-and-other-evolution-themed-games-nature https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1580710/using-game-evolution-teach-evolution