Then, in Phase 2, players can purchase attractions for their parks, upgrade their own tableaus, or hire specialists who provide unique abilities and/or extra workers.Įach player takes 2 turns in this phase, either buying from the market or passing and taking money. Pass, and use the Scientist as a worker in Phase 3Įssentially, Phase 1 is the preparatory step, in which players gather resources and prepare for the rest of the round.Increase the amount of DNA the player can store.Take a dinosaur recipe tile, which shows a specific set of DNA needed to create a dinosaur.Claim a die, which typically provides DNA.Depending upon where they are placed, Scientists can be used to: In turn order, they alternate placing them on available hex spaces. Then, the dice are placed at the top of the Phase 1 board.Įach player has 3 hexagonal “Scientist” tokens, numbered 1-3. (DNA and money are the main resources of the game.) Each die has a unique combination of faces, most of which show 1 or more DNA icons. To begin each round, players roll a number of dice. I love that they are made to look like amber. For starters, each round of the game is broken into 5 phases (well, 4 phases and a cleanup step). Primarily, players earn points by expanding their parks and attracting patrons, but I will get to that later. The goal of Dinosaur Island is to earn the most points. Instead, I will give a general overview and do my best to convey the overall “vibe” of the game. Now before I dive in, I should say that Dinosaur Island has more minutiae than I can cover in ~1,200 words, so I won’t be describing every aspect of play. To do this, they harvest and combine dinosaur DNA, acquire “recipes” to create dinosaurs, use workers to perform tasks, and of course, construct the raddest park around! In Dinosaur Island, 1-4 players compete to build the best prehistoric theme park. It is a deeply thematic game that encapsulates an entire IP, minus the official name.
Reviewĭinosaur Island is to Jurassic Park what Dead of Winter is to The Walking Dead. Dinosaur Island brings the theme of Jurassic Park to life while offering a thoughtful strategic experience. Now, in 2020, publisher Pandasaurus Games is re-releasing the game at a lower price point and with all-new dinosaur pieces. Dinosaur Island made a major splash when it came out in 2017, and its popularity has remained steady ever since.