#biosmegafauna

[illuminatinggames]

First play of Bios Megafauna 2 with 4 players. We did the Achterbahn game because I kinda think that’s the real game, but man, it’s tough with 4! Space is very tight, and if the climate goes south - we were in deep freeze most of the game - it can be tough. The plant player is in a hard place, wanting a pretty high greenhouse effect while the other 3 players want it to be lower. They need to be pretty careful about their Medea superpower and spend it only when it’s going to make a huge difference (and also bear in mind that you can spend your turn to grab it back). Continuing to quite enjoy this. #bgg #boardgamegeek #boardgames #sierramadregames #biosmegafauna

[illuminatinggames]

More Bios Megafauna. Maybe now after game 3 we’re starting to be competent; we both got a lot of species going and really filled up the board for the first time. Important rule we missed and which seems easy to screw up: for each era, you need to reshuffle all 15 ET event cards and pick 5 new ones, and not just run through the deck. You get a lot more variability the correct way, which is what the game wants. Continuing to really enjoy this 2 player, and looking forward to trying with more. We’ve only played the Achterban game, which seems like the “real” game, but now I’d actually like to try the Tooth & Claw version which is much simpler and might be easier to teach people who don’t want to make a major investment in the game. The Mars and Venus variants also seem like cool 2-player versions. Of all the recent SMG games, this one seems like the underlying models (especially for climate) are the sketchiest, but it all comes together for a fun game which is not as brutal as many other SMG games where the game system really is out to kill you (although the 2-player Achterban game leaves players with enough space to breathe; 4p might well be quite different). #bgg #boardgamegeek #boardgames #sierramadregames #biosmegafauna

[illuminatinggames]

Final couple shots of Bios: Megafauna. Really enjoyed this and looking forward to playing it again - hopefully it’ll continue to be fun! #sierramadregames #biosmegafauna

[illuminatinggames]

A few more Bios: Megafauna shots. #biosmegafauna #sierramadregames

[illuminatinggames]

As Godwana drifts away from the supercontinent, Kim’s creeples get a bit cramped for space in our learning game of Bios: Megafauna. Enjoying learning this - it’s a bit cleaner and more accessible than Bios: Genesis, and a bit more strategic than Bios Megafauna 1st edition (while still having that Eklund craziness we all love). Early still but quite promising. I love that Mars and Venus variant scenarios and cretons are included! When I first read the rules when they went online last year I found them totally impenetrable, but after setting the game up and playing a few turns solitaire learning the game actually went pretty cleanly (of course, I have some experience with these games 😄). Looking forward to putting it through its paces. A little unlike Bios: Genesis, this seems like it could positively benefit from more players and the associated space competition, and it actually plays pretty quickly with each player having just a couple actions each turn. #bgg #boardgames #boardgamegeek #biosmegafauna #sierramadregames

[illuminatinggames]

Playing some Bios Megafauna. I haven't played this in a while - after getting a lot of play in relatively recently on Bios Genesis and Neanderthal, it now feels like a bit of a dated design, given how much better Phil Eklund's games have been getting. I still enjoy it because it's fast and has a nice and authentic "epic sweep of history" feel, but the way the mutations available for your megafauna are not in any way tied to the environment is not ideal (sometimes you can have no good options and be forced to just churn the deck and hope something good comes along, which is not great if you're already behind). This is from 2011, and there is a rebuild due this fall for Essen - I'm really curious to see what Phil Eklund comes up with. His recent designs have been continuing to improve significantly in terms of adding player engagement and playability to the deep science. #bgg #boardgamegeek #boardgames #biosmegafauna #sierramadregames #phileklund

[illuminatinggames]

Kim wanted to play some Bios: Megafauna, and I was only too happy to oblige. This wasn't received all that well compared to High Frontier and Origins: How We Became Human back when it came out, but it's still a personal favorite - a couple hundred million years of evolutionary history in about 45-60 minutes. We narrowly manage to avoid the earth turning into a frozen ball of ice - both our archetypes went extinct early on after a CO2 level drop made it very cold, but a comet impact and a volcanic eruptions later and we're back in business. My browsers managed to edge out her carnivores by a slim margin. #bgg #boardgame #sierramadregames #biosmegafauna