Dominant Species

90,000 B.C. — A great ice age is fast approaching. Another titanic struggle for global supremacy has unwittingly commenced between the varying animal species. Dominant Species is a game that abstractly recreates a tiny portion of ancient history: the ponderous encroachment of an ice age and what that entails for the living creatures trying to adapt to the slowly-changing earth. Each player will assume the role of one of six major animal classes — mammal, reptile, bird, amphibian, arachnid or insect. Each begins the game more or less in a state of natural balance in relation to one another. But that won`t last: It is indeed “survival of the fittest.” Through wily action pawn placement, players will strive to become dominant on as many different terrain tiles as possible in order to claim powerful card effects. Players will also want to propagate their individual species in order to earn victory points for their particular animal. Players will be aided in these endeavors via speciation, migration and adaptation actions, among others. All of this eventually leads to the end game — the final ascent of the ice age — where the player having accumulated the most victory points will have his animal crowned the Dominant Species. But somebody better become dominant quickly, because it`s getting mighty cold…. Details Number of players: 2 to 6 Manufacturer: GMT Games 16-page full-color rulebook, one 22 x 34 inch mounted game board, six Animal Displays, 27 cards, 35 large and 14 small hexagonal tiles used to create ?Earth?, 270 wooden cubes in six colors representing the Species belonging to the six Animal groups, 60 wooden cylinders used for the Animals? Action Pawns, 60 wooden cones used as the Animals? Domination markers, 108 round markers representing the Earth?s resources, called ?Elements?, 12 square markers used to show each Animal?s ?Initiative? (turn order), one cloth bag