Scientists have finally cloned dinosaurs! All around the world, zoos full of these huge creatures are opening. Organize your dinosaur pens as best you can to show curious visitors the trendiest dinosaurs!

Components

• 5 Zoo boards
• 60 dinosaurs
• 1 placement die
• 1 draw bag
• Rulebook

Setup

Each player takes a Zoo board and puts it in front of themself. The players must all use the same side of the board. Use the Summer side for your first few games.

Put the dinosaurs in the draw bag based on the number of players.

• 5 players: all the dinosaurs in the box are used (60 go in the bag)
• 4 players: 2 dinosaurs of each species are left in the box (12 dinosaurs stay in the box, 48 go in the bag)
• 3 players: 4 dinosaurs of each species are left in the box (24 dinosaurs stay in the box, 36 go in the bag)
• 2 players: 2 dinosaurs of each species are left in the box (12 dinosaurs stay in the box, 48 go in the bag)

The remaining dinosaurs are put back in the box. The youngest player puts the placement die in front of them.

Game Play

The game is played in two rounds. Each round consists of six turns.

At the start of each round, the players all take six dinosaurs each from the draw bag and keep them hidden in their hands.

Round 1

• 

  The player with the placement die rolls it.

  
  
• 

  Then, all the players each choose a dinosaur from their hands simultaneously. When every player has chosen a dinosaur, everyone reveals the one they chose and places it in their Zoo.

  All the players except the player who rolled the die must obey the placement condition imposed by the die.

  If a player cannot or does not want to place a dinosaur in a Pen, they can always place it in the River. The River is not treated like a Pen.

• 

  Then, the players each pass the dinosaurs still in their hands, without revealing them, to the player on their left. The player with the placement dfi passes it to the player on their left as well.

A new turn begins: The placement die is rolled, each player places a dinosaur in their Zoo, and passes their remaining dinosaurs to the player on their left.

Turns are repeated until the players all have six dinosaurs in their Zoos.

Round 2

As soon as each player has six dinosaurs in their Zoo, the second round begins. It is played exactly the same as the first round.

At the end of the second round, each player will therefore have twelve dinosaurs in their Zoo.

Dinosaur Pens

Each Zoo contains six Pens. Each Pen has a placement condition and provides victory points in a different way.

The Forest of Sameness:

This Pen can only hold dinosaurs of the same species and must be filled from left to right with no gaps.

At the end of the game, it brings in victory points based on the number of dinosaurs in it.

The Meadow of Differences

This Pen can only hold dinosaurs of different species and must be filled from left to right with no gaps.

At the end of the game, it brings in victory points based on the number of dinosaurs in it.

The Prairie of Love

This Pen can hold all the different dinosaur species.

At the end of the game, it brings in 5 victory points for each same-species dinosaur couple in it. (A couple is made up of 2 dinosaurs of the same species. Having more than one couple from the same species is allowed).

The Woody Trio

This Pen can hold up to three dinosaurs of any species, the same or different.

At the end of the game, it brings in 7 victory points if there are exactly 3 dinosaurs in it regardless of species. Otherwise, it brings in 0 points.

King of the Jungle

This Pen can hold only one dinosaur. At the end of the game, it brings in 7 victory points if your Zoo contains at least as many dinosaurs of the species contained in this Pen as there are in each of your opponents' Zoos.

If any of your opponents' Zoos have more dinosaurs of this species than yours does, this Pen brings in 0 points.

Solitary Island

This Pen can hold only one dinosaur.

At the end of the game, it brings in 7 victory points if the dinosaur in this Pen is the only one of its species in your Zoo. Otherwise, it brings in 0 points.

Summer Board Layout

The River

The River is a special zone that is not treated like a Pen. At the end of the game, each dinosaur in it brings in 1 victory point

T-rex

T-Rex is a special dinosaur. At the end of the game, each of your Pens that contains at least one T-Rex brings in 1 additional victory point. Important: Pens with more than one T-Rex only bring in 1 point per pen.

The Placement Die

Every turn, one player rolls the placement die. All the other players must obey the condition imposed by the die. Here are the different sides of the die:

Woodlands: The dinosaurs must be placed in a Pen in the woodlands section of your Zoo.

Grasslands: The dinosaurs must be placed in a Pen in the grasslands section of your Zoo.

Restrooms:The dinosaurs must be placed on the restroom side of your Zoo (to the right of the River).

Food Court: The dinosaurs must be placed on the food court side of your Zoo (to the left of the River).

Empty Pen: The dinosaurs must be placed in an empty Pen.

Watch OutforT-Rex: The dinosaurs must be placed in a Pen that does not contain a T-Rex.

Note: You can still play a T-Rex this turn, as long as there isn 't one already in the Pen in question.

End of the Game

The game is over after the end of the second round. Players count their points, and the player with the most points wins!

In the event of a tie, the player who has fewest T-Rexes wins. If they are still tied, the players share the win.

Alternative Zoo

Once you've played a few games with the Summer side of the Zoo boards, try the Winter side, which offers a slightly more technical challenge.

A Well-ordered Wood

This Pen can only hold two different species of dinosaurs in a specific order. They must be placed from left to right, alternating species as follows: species 1 I species 2 I species 1 I species 2 I species 1 I species 2.

At the end of the game, it brings in victory points based on the number of dinosaurs in it.

Note: You may not place two dinosaurs of the same species one after the other leaving an empty space between them.

Lovers1 Bridge (right and left river banks)

This Pen is divided into two sub-Pens, one on each side of the River; they can hold dinosaurs of any species.

At the end of the game, it brings in 6 victory points for each dinosaur couple of the same species that has one member in each sub-Pen.

Note: The two sub-Pens are treated as two different Pens; they can each bring in 1 additional point at the end of the game if they contain a T-Rex.

The Pyramid

This Pen can hold up to six dinosaurs. The first three must be placed on the bottom row; the next two on the middle row; and the last one on the top row.

Careful! Two dinosaurs of the same species may not be placed adjacent (horizontally or vertically) to each other.

At the end of the game, it brings in victory points based on the number of dinosaurs in it and their position.

The Lookout

This Pen can hold only one dinosaur.

At the end of the game, it brings in 2 victory points for each dinosaur in the Zoo of the player on your right that is of the same species as the one in your Pen.

Quarantine Zone

This Pen can hold only one dinosaur.

At the end of the game, move this dinosaur to another Pen in your Zoo or to the River (obeying placement rules) before counting your points.

Two-player Version

A two-player game is played in four rounds (instead of the usual two). 2 dinosaurs of each species are left in the box.

At the start of each round, the players draw six dinosaurs randomly from the draw bag, but they only place three during the round.

Sequence of Play During the Rounds

The players take turns rolling the placement die.

The die condition only applies to the players who did not roll the die.

• Each player chooses the dinosaur they want to place in their Zoo.

• Each player chooses then a second dinosaur, which they put back in the box.

• The players then trade their hands of dinosaurs.

End of the Game

At the end of the fourth round, each player will therefore have twelve dinosaurs in their Zoo. Points are counted as normal.

Continue Reading