From: davidf@HQ.Ileaf.COM (David Fristrom)
Subject: Re: Opinions on Tyrrano Ex
Reply-To: davidf@HQ.Ileaf.COM (David Fristrom)
Organization: Interleaf, Inc.
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 92 17:55:16 GMT

In article <rreed.19hs@terapin.com> rreed@terapin.com (Rick Reed) writes:
> Just seen this game and was considering getting it, but it looks like AH has
> packaged it as some sort of educational game.  A quote from the back of the box
> read, "Education was never so sugar coated!".
> 
> Opinions?  Game looked interesting.  I'm hoping it's simple but not simple
> minded!
> 

Simple but not simple minded is a good description -- I would
definitely recommend the game (although the price (I paid $35) is a
bit steep, even with the nice graphics).  It is for two to four
players, and while it is better with more players, it does work with
only two.

The board centers on a square grid (the "Primeval World").  Each
player has a row on the grid.  At the beginning or a turn, each player
picks a new species card, and places it on the lowest value column of
his or her row (the row may still have species left from previous
turns).  Then comes the environment phase, when players try to change
the environment to be friendly to their species (more about this
later).  Then the combat phase, when players can use their species to
attack other species, trying to force them into extinction.  Finally,
all surviving species advance one column, and players earn points
based on what columns they have species in.

The heart of the game is the environment phase.  Each species card has
three environment symbols (out of a set of seven), indicating what
environments the species likes.  These environment symbols are
abstract things like Water, Grass, Trees, Sun, etc.  In addition to
the symbols on the cards, there are 84 counters with symbols, used to
decide the current environment.

The board has four environment spaces; at the start of the game a
random symbol is drawn for each space, indicating the initial
environment.  Each environment space has an associated evolution
space, which starts the game empty.  In addition, each player randomly
draws 12 symbols at the beginning of each turn.

In the environment phase, there are several rounds, during which each
player in turn may move.  A player may pass, or trade in unwanted
symbols for new ones, but the usual move is to place one or two
symbols face down on the evolution spaces.  This may trigger an
environmental change, according to a simple rule: whenever the number
of symbols in an evolution space outnumber the symbols in the
associated environment space, the symbols on the environment space are
discarded, and which ever type of symbol in the evolution space has
a plurality moves up into the environment space.

For example, say an environment space starts with a Forest symbol.
Player A places two Fish symbols face down in the evolution space.
Since those two symbols outnumber the one Forest symbol, the Forest is
discarded, the two Fish are turned over, and they are moved into the
environmental space.  The environment has now changed from Forest to
Fish.  Then player B places a Forest and a Sun face down in the
environment space.  This doesn't trigger a change, as the two face
down symbols don't outnumber the two face up Fishes.  But player C
then plays two face down Waters.  The four symbols (Forest, Sun, and
two Waters) in the evolution space now outnumber the two Fish, so the
Fish are discarded and the two Waters are advanced to become the new
environment, and the Forest and Sun are turned back to face down and
remain to support future changes.  (Of course, in a real game there
are four different environment spaces where moves could be made.)

The environment has three different effects on the species.  First, if
a player manages to change the environment so that all three of a
species preferred environments are showing, then the species increases
in strength (which will help it in combat).  Second, if at the end of
the environment phase none of a species' preferred environments are
showing, then the species goes extinct.  Finally, the number of
current environments that match the species' preferences at the end of
the phase determines the species frequency for that turn, which is
also important in combat.

I like the way the environment rules force players to work for victory
indirectly.  Although the ultimate goal is to advance your species,
you can't do that directly.  All you can do is try to make sure that
the environment is beneficial for your species.  This can be
complicated if you have several species with different needs (an
important strategy question is whether you should choose species with
similar needs, allowing you to concentrate on creating those
environments, or complementary needs, so that you are sure to have at
least one happy species).  Player interaction is also important, as
you usually can't create a desirable environment single-handedly, but
your needs may diverge  -- players A and B may both want Sun, but A
wants Fish while B and C want Grass, etc.  Although the rules are
simple, there seems to be plenty of strategy.

It really isn't an educational game -- the only educational content
(since the game isn't, in fact, a good simulation of evolution) is
that the species cards have short descriptive paragraphs on the back,
which aren't even particularly accurate.

The rules estimate that it takes an hour per player to complete, which
seems about right, although it could vary widely depending upon how
long people take to make decisions.  The Avalon Hill edition is an
English translation of a popular German game of the same name; if
anyone out there is familiar with the German edition I'd be interested
to hear if there have been any rules changes.

David Fristrom		|
Interleaf, Inc.		| "Mud, mud, glorious mud,
davidf@ileaf.com	|   Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood"
Newsgroups: rec.games.board