Overview
Released in 2017, 1-4 players, 90-120 minutes
Designer(s)
Jonathan Gilmour, Brian Lewis
Why We Love It
Let's genetically engineer some dinosaurs and build them their very own theme park! Do I hear the 90's calling? What could possibly go wrong?!
This funky, nostalgia-inducing worker placement and dice-drafting game (complete with slap-bracelet first player marker) comes with impressive dinosaur meeples and has huge table presence. Take note: this giant footprint game in no way offers a quick, easy set-up and tear-down! But if you're prepared to invest the time, this game has a truly fun vibe and flows beautifully.
In Dinosaur Island, you will progress through phases of collecting dino DNA, building theme park attractions, adding workers, creating dinosaurs, refining DNA, adding visitors and dealing with safety issues. It's very important to keep a close eye on your threat level and security level - beware ESCAPING DINOS! And yes, those escaped dinos WILL eat your innocent park visitors if left unchecked!
A variety of end-game objectives makes it easy to keep the game fresh and these objectives also allow you to vary the game length to some degree with a choice of short, medium, or long objectives.
The neon art and overall style of this game is so fun! There are few games with this level of flair and aesthetic, especially if you have the Deluxe Edition with a huge variety of Dinosaur Meeples, Scientists, metal coins, etc. This game has a LOT going on - in a four player game, there are no fewer than 11 boards on the table! That being said, it is not overly complex and turns progress smoothly from one phase to the next. If you love a solid worker-placement game with lots of flair and theme, check this one out!
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