Game Overview
Adaptation is a fast paced board game for 2-6 players which lasts for 90-150 minutes and is recommended for ages 10 and up. In Adaptation you have 7 turns to alter the evolution of a species to adapt it to its environment. The player with the most points at the end of 7 turns is the winner. Each turn is split into 6 phases which are explained below.
In short, the game is about choosing a set of adaptations and trying to collect the necessary resources to ‘score’ those adaptations. In addition, players are able to influence the resources available in the exploration phase, and are able to compete for dominance of habitats to gain bonus points. The path to victory comes with wise adaptation choices, tactical drafting choices in the competition phase, and the use of well-timed abilities.
Setting the Scene
In Adaptation you are a genomancer; an interstellar being that uses mysterious artefacts to interfere with the course of evolution itself. Genomancers travel from world to world, accelerating the evolution of the local life forms for curiosity and sport. You are not alone though, you must compete with the ambitious projects of your peers and in the end only one species can dominate each world.
In your travels you have come upon a world like no other. A world with biomes as diverse as the creatures which inhabit it. Once this was the home of an advanced civilization built on the back of sophisticated, if anachronistic, technology. The world is scattered in equal parts with ruins of coal powered machinery and magical gem powered structures. While this civilization met its end long ago, its impact on the course of evolution here is still in full swing. Strange creatures have adapted the wrecks into their very makeup, half animal – half machine mixes, all competing for the resources of this world.
This is the strange and wondrous paradise in which you must compete. Can you take these strange creatures and evolve them to be better than any of the creations of your peers? Adapt, compete, repeat; that is your mantra and only careful planning will win you this fight. Best is relative; as the environment and competition shifts and changes so must your species, in the end it will be your choice of adaptations which bring you victory or defeat. Good luck genomancer…
