Ian's Evolution Game
Ian - Evolution Rules - 10/3/07
This evolution simulation game is designed to demonstrate many of the factors at play in evolution. By asking people to take the roll of a species and help guide it into the future, it attempts to connect people emotionally with the evolutionary process while teaching them some interesting evolutionary concepts and vocabulary. Because evolution takes place on such a vast scale, the numbers have been simplified a bit. Each turn represents approximately two million years.
Similarly, each time they gain or lose one member of their population, that represents one million individual creatures. Each card is said to be an ‘adaptation’. Also, players are encouraged to name their species and give explanations for how they behave and what they look like.
Setup: Shuffle the cards and deal out five cards to each player. Each player then plays one basic food card, labeled with an (F), and one basic locomotion card, labeled with an (L). If any player is unable to play one of these, they play whichever they are able to (if any), then discard their hand and draw five new cards. Once each player has played their cards, they draw until they have a full hand of five cards. Each player is assumed to start the game with all of their attributes at zero except for their level on the food chain (determined by your basic food card). The habitat starts at Water = 5 and Heat = 5. Each player starts with a population of 25 (million).
Basic Play: At the beginning of each turn several dice rolls are made: the population roll, the predator roll, and the climate roll. The first roll, the population roll, determines how much your population increases. The exact roll depends on your Generations attribute (see Generations). The second roll, the predator roll, determines how many of you are killed off due to predators. The exact roll depends on you Food Chain Level (see Food Chain). These two rolls are made at the beginning of every turn with the exception of the first turn. The final roll is called the climate roll. This roll determines how the temperature and humidity of the surrounding habitat is changing (see Climate).
Each turn, a player does three things: Makes die rolls, plays a card, and discards/ draws new cards. The dice rolls are mandatory, but both of the others are optional with a few restrictions. You may only play one card per turn. After that, you can discard up to two cards if you wish to. At the end of the turn you draw cards until you have a full hand of five. If you wish to, you may elect to not play a card on your turn, but instead discard any number of cards (even your entire hand). If the deck ever runs out of cards, shuffle the discards and recycle them back into the deck.
Attributes: There are seven different attributes that each species you control has. Collection is your ability to find food. A high Collection means your species has plenty of resources and is able to thrive and expand. Evasion is your ability to avoid predators and other hazardous wildlife. A high Evasion allows you to cut down (or avoid completely) the number of you that are killed each turn.
Generations represents how quickly your species reproduces. With more generations each turn, your population will increase at a faster rate. Selection is your ability to select strong and healthy mates. A high Selection will increase the effectiveness of every new trait you gain. Heat Survival and Cold Survival represent your ability to withstand extreme weather conditions. High levels of either attribute will allow your species to continue to last even if the climate changes drastically. Finally, there is your Food Chain Level. Your Food Chain Level is determined by what type of food you eat and affects how many creatures consider you prey. The higher your Food Chain Level, the fewer predators you’ll have to avoid. However, if you are at the same level on the food chain as another species, you will have to compete with them for the same food sources, slowing your growth.
Collection: If your Collection score times ten is higher than your population, roll twice as many dice during your Population Roll.
Evasion: Every time you make a predator roll, subtract your Evasion from the result.
Generations: Each point you have in Generations increases the size of the die you roll for your population roll. At zero you roll a four-sided die, at one you roll a six-sided die, at two your roll an eight-sided die, and at three you roll a ten-sided die. When you get to four, add a four-sided die to the first die. With each increase in generations, advance that die along the same progression as the first, adding yet another die when you reach eight points in Generations.
Selection: For each point you have in Selection, increase the positive effects of all cards you play by one. So, two points in Selection would double any +2 effects and triple any +1 effects. This only effects cards played after you increase your Selection score.
So, increasing your Selection score does not immediately increase your other attributes. Also, if a card increases Selection and another attribute at the same time, the other attribute is not affected by the increase in Selection.
Heat Survival: Whenever you would lose population due to high temperature, lower the number that you would lose by one for each point you have in Heat Survival.
(see Climate)
Cold Survival: Whenever you would lose population due to low temperature, lower the number that you would lose by one for each point you have in Heat Survival.(see Climate)
Food Chain Level: Your Food Chain Level determines what dies is used for your predator roll. If it’s at one, you roll a ten-sided die. For each level up from there, you roll a die with two fewer sides. The lowest possible die you can roll is a four-sided die.
In addition, if there is another player with a species at the same food chain level as you, both of you halve your population growth each turn. That is, after you make your population roll, halve the result (rounded up).
Climate: The final thing you have to worry about is the habitat you live in. Your habitat is represented by two numbers. The first of these numbers is the Water Level, the other is the Heat Level. Both of these range from zero to ten with five being the neutral position. So, if they were both at zero your habitat would be frigidly cold and exceedingly dry.
If they were both at ten, your habitat would be exceedingly hot and underwater. These numbers are affected by the climate roll. Starting on the second turn, climate rolls are made. At the beginning of the game you should decide whether one person is designated as the person who rolls for climate or if you alternate. The climate roll consists of rolling two four-sided dice. One of these dice represents what effect occurs on the weather, the other represents how many more turns it will be until the next weather change. The effect this roll has on the weather is determined as follows: A roll of one lowers the Heat of the habitat, a roll of two raises the Heat, a roll of three lowers the Water of the habitat, and a roll of four raises the Water. Each roll can only raise or lower the habitat’s attribute by one.
Play then continues as usual for a number of turns equal to the number on the second die.
Heat: For each level of Heat above or below five, every species loses an amount of their population each turn. The amount that is lost is determined by how far from five the Heat level is. You only lose one population each turn at a Heat level of four or six, but this number doubles for each level further from five. So, you lose two each turn at a level of seven or three, four each turn at a level of eight or two, eight each turn at a level of nine or one, and a whopping sixteen each turn if you ever reach a level of ten or zero. However, Cold Survival subtracts from this loss when the Heat score is below five, and Heat Survival subtracts from this loss when the Heat score is above five.
Water: For most purposes, the Water level seems to have little effect on the game. However, if it ever gets too far away from five, the results can be disastrous (or very beneficial). If the water level reaches eight or above, there are no longer any trees.
There is just a small amount of rocky land. Any species with a primary food or locomotion requiring trees loses ten population each turn until the water level goes back down, or it can find some other source of food. If the Water level ever reaches ten, there is also no land. If you don’t have water access, you lose twenty population each turn. Similarly, if the Water level ever reaches two or below, the climate is too dry for trees. Any species with primary food or locomotion requiring trees or water loses ten population each turn. Also, unsurprisingly, if the Water reaches zero, then every species without land access loses twenty population each turn.
Speciation: Whenever you play a card, you may choose to have that card affect only some of your species.
This allows you to have some of your species adapted for different situations and allows you to play more than one basic food or locomotion card (as long as none of your population uses both). If, however, any of your population has two or more adaptations that are different than those of another portion of your population, they are considered different species.
You still control both of them and you can still only play one card each turn, but you make population and predator rolls for each one separately. It is possible to have some of you population belong to both species. In this case, they are included in the calculations of both the other two species and are considered to be a part of both of them.
Extinction: If you no longer have any population left, you are officially extinct. Too bad for you.
You can still calculate your score as if the game were over (well, for you it is). Chances are, you probably won’t win. But, if everybody else goes extinct too, it’s a possibility.
Natural Disasters (optional): Throughout history, there have been times when sudden changes in climate have caused massive numbers of creatures to die out.
If you truly want to experience evolution the hard way, you may add in the optional rule that every time you make a climate roll, you also roll a ten-sided die. If this extra die roll ever gives a result of one, roll a six-sided die to randomly choose between these six disastrous climate changes: 1) Glaciation:
lower the habitat’s Heat by five. 2) Heat Wave: raise the habitat’s Heat by five. 3) Drought: lower the habitat’s Water by five. 4) Flooding: raise the habitat’s Water by five. 5) Meteor Collision: Every species loses ten population, then roll two eight sided dice. Raise the habitat’s Heat by the value shown on one and lower the habitat’s Water by the value shown on the other. 6) Oh S***: roll again twice. If you get this a second time, just re-roll that die once. Things can only get so evil.
Finishing the Game: The game ends after all the cards have been played, or after fifty turns (or if everybody is extinct). Calculate how many points you earned as follows: Each card you have in play is worth two points. Each point of Population you have is worth one point. Each surviving species you have at the end of the game is worth twenty points. Add up the totals and declare a winner. You don’t necessarily have to declare the person who got the most points the winner, but it’s recommended.