Genesis
Genesis Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- Game Rules (English, French)
- Board (with 14x10 spaces, depicting 22 volcanoes, tar pits, a river and scoring track)
- 4 counters (reptile, dinosaur, mammal, man—one for each player)
- 52 Reptile tiles (13 tiles each in 4 terrains)
- 52 Dinosaur tiles (13 tiles each in 4 terrains)
- 52 Mammal tiles (13 tiles each in 4 terrains)
- 52 Man tiles (13 tiles each in 4 terrains)
- 2 dice
The four species are reptile, dinosaur, mammal, and man.
Preparation
Lay out the board. With two players, do not use the spaces to the right of the river. With three or four players, use the entire board.
Each player selects one of the species (reptile, dinosaur, mammal, man) and places the counter and the corresponding 52 tiles in front of him. It is helpful, but not necessary, to sort the tiles by color. Leave any unused tiles and counters in the box. Note: Each player represents a species, not a color. The color identifies the terrain that the species occupies.
Play
Select one player to begin, then progress clockwise. This player will take the first turn, then play rotates clockwise.
Start your turn by rolling both dice. The four colors on the dice represent different terrain types (green = forest, yellow = savannah, grey = mountain, blue = wetland), while a multi-color result is wild and can represent any of the four terrains.
The four terrains are forest, wetland, savannah, and mountain.
After you roll the dice, place two of your tiles of the corresponding terrains onto any two vacant spaces on the board. You may not place a tile onto an occupied space or on a volcano or tar pit. For each wild result rolled, you are free to place any terrain type you wish.
If you have already used up all the tiles of a specific terrain, you are free to place any of your remaining tiles instead.
After rolling the dice, you may choose to place a single tile of any one terrain instead of applying the result of the dice.
After placing one or two of your species tiles, end your turn by passing the dice clockwise to the next player.
Objective
As the game progresses, the board will be filled with tiles forming areas of the same terrain. Each player attempts to dominate these areas by having the largest herd in the area. Herds consist of a single tile or any number of connected (i.e., adjacent) tiles of one species; tiles that touch only at the corners are not connected. Tiles of the same species that are not connected are separate herds.
Example: The illustration above and to the right shows five areas. The forest on the left (the green area) contains six tiles: a herd of three mammals, a herd of two dinosaurs and a single human. The savannah (gold) in the middle contains five tiles: a herd of three dinosaurs, a single dinosaur and a single mammal. The wetland (blue) contains eight tiles: two herds of two humans each, a herd of two dinosaurs and a herd of two reptiles. The savannah to the upper right contains two tiles: a single man and a single mammal. The mountain area off to the right (red) contains three tiles: all reptiles.
Scoring: In the forest of the above diagram, the herd of three mammals scores 4 points and the herd of two dinosaurs scores 2 points. In the savannah, the herd of three dinosaurs scores 4 points, and the two single tiles share second place and score 1 point each. In the wetland, the four tied herds share 6 points (for first and second), resulting in 1 point per herd. Therefore the human player scores a total of 2 points, and the dinosaur and reptile players each score 1 point. In the smaller savannah, nobody scores because the area does not meet the minimum requirement of three adjacent tiles. In the mountain area, the solitary reptiles score the total 6 points for both first and second place.
Game End
The game ends the moment that the board no longer contains an area of three connected vacant spaces. The players place their counters on the zero space of the scoring track, then score points for their herds.
Scoring
Scoring occurs according to the following rules:
- Scoring Areas: For an area to be scored, it must contain at least three tiles, although the tiles may belong to different players. The board will generally contain multiple areas of the same terrain. These areas are all scored separately.
- Herds Score: Within each area, the largest herd scores 4 points and the second largest herd scores 2 points. Move the players' counters along the scoring track accordingly. If a player has the largest and second largest herds in an area or that player has the only herd in an area, that player scores 6 points. If two or more players are tied for the largest herd within an area, the tied players divide a total of 6 points (for first and second place) between them, and the player with the second largest herd does not score. If there is a single largest herd but a tie for the second largest herd, the tied players divide the 2 points for second between them. All fractions are rounded down.
- Bonus Scoring: The single largest area on the board has its score tripled (12 for first and 6 for second largest herd), and the largest areas for the three other terrains (colors) have their score doubled (8 for first and 4 for second largest herd). If there is a tie for the largest area, then no area scores triple. If there is a tie for largest area of a particular terrain, then no area of this terrain scores double.
- Recommendation: When scoring, first determine the single largest area and score it, then score all other areas of that terrain. Thereafter score the areas of the other three terrains, always starting with its largest area.
The player with the most points wins.
The River
The river defines the border of a two player game and has no other effect on play. The spaces to the right of the river are not used in a two player game.
Map Features
Players may not place a tile on the volcano or tar pit.
Credits
Many thanks to all playtesters, in particular David Farquhar, Martin Butcher, Ross Inglis, Kevin Jacklin, Chris Lawson and Ivan Towlson.