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American Megafauna (2nd Edition)

By: Sierra Madre Games

Type: Boxed Game

Product Line: Board Games (Sierra Madre Games)

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Product Info

Title
American Megafauna (2nd Edition)
Publisher
Category
Publish Year
2001
Dimensions
8.75x11.75x2"
NKG Part #
2147353979
MFG. Part #
SMG20A
Type
Boxed Game
Age Range
9 Years and Up
# Players
1 - 4 Players
Game Length
90 - 360 Minutes

Description

American Megafauna pits dinosaurs against mammals in ancient America. The game is designed for two to four players, from ages 9 to adult, or can be played solitaire. It recreates the titanic contest of these two types of prehistoric beasts from the Triassic to the present. The contest initially appeared to be won by the dinosaurs, which strutted triumphant for 170 million years, only to be overthrown in what must be the upset of the eon, by the mammals. Yet the contest is not over.

This is a game of ecology, evolution, and DNA. Players start as one of four nondescript archetypes, but can branch out to new species from this basic type by bidding on genotype and DNA cards as they are revealed. For auction "currency," players use gene coins from a "gene pool." DNA cards allow players to create strange animals, from cud-chewing crocodiles with antlers, to saber-tooth meat-eating camels.

In the advanced version, the continent of Laurentia is occasionally flooded or glaciated; greenhouse levels change; and the three Milankovich cycles are handled by cards that occur with historical probabilities. Biome cards, including cycad prairies, mountains, ice sheets, and mangrove swamps, appear on the map in succession according to "climax" ratings.