Paleontologists assemble! There are dinosaur fossils all around us just waiting to be uncovered. All you have to do is sharpen your chisels and get to work! Oh … and make sure you collect the most impressive collection of fossils. Only one of you can be the very best!

What Is It?

An area control game where players use their chisels to section off pieces of a huge slab of rock containing various fossils. The player with the most chisels in an area when a piece breaks off gets first dibs on the fossils they want. As they collect sets of fossils and reveal completed dinosaurs, players will earn amber which can be used for special actions to propel them ahead, or saved for points at the end. Once the slab is all claimed, the game ends and players tally their scores from the dinos, plants, and amber they have in front of them. The player with the most points wins!

Who Is It For?

  • 2 – 5 Players
  • Ages 10 +
  • Fans of the theme as the mechanics work well with it
  • Fans of area control with a little bit of a twist

PROS

  • Aesthetics – Nice table presence
  • Components – Very good quality tiles, cards/player boards, amber, and chisel pieces; Cute 1st player marker
  • Rules – Easy to learn from, good examples/images
  • Theme – Meshes with mechanics well
  • Smooth gameplay
  • Face up & face down tiles add a little variety to each game, as well as a bit of intriguing mystery while playing

CONS

  • Components – The only issue I have with the player boards is that it wants dull chisels on the right and sharp ones on the left, but I naturally want to move dull to sharp left to right, so it was unnecessarily confusing
  • Resource Cards – Some seem more useful than others, as some are much more situational, so it can be disappointing if you don’t get the opportunity to use one you were dealt.
  • Can cause AP with some players as they try to puzzle out their best options for where to place chisels
  • Amber can be difficult to get if you aren’t finishing dinos, which makes it hard to use the field leader actions; it seems like it should be a bigger part of the game, but in some plays rarely gets used

Final Thoughts

I thought this was a very thematic game with super cute, high quality components and smooth gameplay. On the other hand, while the slab changes each time you set it up, the game feels a bit ‘samey’ with each play. It’s pretty light and quick though, and easy to pull out with just about any group!

Additional Information:
My Final Rating – 6/10
Designer – Kevin Lanzing
Artists – Andrew Bosley, Crimzon Studio
Publisher – 25th Century Games
MSRP – $30.00
Website

*I was provided a copy of this game to do this review*

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