Action Pawns (AP's)

The set of wooden cylinders that players will use each turn to mark the actions they wish to perform.

Animal

Mammal, reptile, bird, amphibian, arachnid or insect. One of the six animal classes that each player will be representing throughout the game. Each animal class is rep- resented on earth by a set of like-colored species cubes. Each animal has an animal display and an initiative marker.

Bonus VP's

Some actions and card effects call for a player to earn "bonus VP's". To earn bonus VP's, refer to the Bonus Points Track located in the bottom left of the game board.

The top row of the Bonus Points Track lists the count that the action or card effect is checking - for example, how many tundra tiles are occupied by an animal during the Survival action - while the square directly below this number in the bottom row gives the amount of VP's gained based on that count.

Dominance Cards

The set of 26 cards that a player will choose from whenever a tile is scored where their animal is dominant. Dominance Cards grant a player one-time effects.

One of these cards - "Ice Age" - will trigger the end of the game. The "Survival" Card is not a Dominance Card and has its own separate set of rules.

Dominant / Dominance

Having at least one species present on a tile where your animal matches more elements than that of any other animal with species present on that same tile.

Earth-The group of tiles placed in the hex grid portion of the board. Players will place elements and their animals' species and dominance markers onto the various tiles making up the earth.

Element

Grass, grub, meat, seed, sun and water. These round markers - or "disks" - represent the resources the various animals require to thrive. Elements are placed on the animal displays to show "need" and on earth to show "supply".

When on earth, elements are placed on the corners of tiles- in this manner, a single element disk can be present on up to three different tiles simultaneously.

Endangered

Any species in play on a tile wherein none of that tile's elements match those of the player's animal (or if the tile is devoid of elements altogether).

Food Chain

Used to break ties when scoring a tile during a Domination action, among other things. In top-down order - best-to-worst - the food chain is:

  • Mammal
  • Reptile
  • Bird
  • Amphibian
  • Arachnid
  • Insect

Initiative Markers

The set of six square markers used on the Initiative track to determine the order of placement during each Planning Phase.

Matching

The number of element "A" on a player's animal display times the number of that same element "A" on a tile occupied by that player's species. To this is added matching element "B", matching element "C", etc. to arrive at a total number of matching elements of all types.

Species

Each small wooden cube represents one species. Each like-colored set of cubes represent the various species belonging to a single animal (known in real world terms as a "class" of animal).

Terrain

Tundra, mountain, desert, forest, jungle, savannah, wetland or sea. Each tile making up the earth is one of these eight terrain types.

Tile

The large and small hexagonal pieces representing the various terrain types. These are used to initially create - then during the game to add to - the earth's playing surface.

Victory Point (vp)

Collected during the game by each animal. Highest VP total determines final winner.


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