Description

Description from the designer:

Trilobites are among the most successful animals to ever live on Earth, lasting for over 250 million years and spanning the globe. They mostly lived on the sea floor in shallow oceans, but some varieties lived in deeper water and on land in tidal regions. They were highly diversified in physiology, habitat, and behavior – ranging from inches to feet in length, some foraging, some hunting, some filter feeding, and some grazing. Their closest living relative is the Horseshoe Crab, but all true trilobites went extinct by the end of the Permian.

Trilobite Dice recreates competition between different strains of trilobites as they populate the ocean shallows. It is a cross between connection games (like Hex, Twixt, or Gonnect) and tactical dice games (like Roll Through the Ages, Octo Dice, or Pandemic: The Cure). It can be played competitively with 2 players or solo against an automated ‘imposter’. Trilobite Dice is a print-and-play game, using consumable sheets of paper each game.

Players take turns rolling and rerolling special dice. The results of the dice provide resources to be allocate towards various special effects, including once-per-game bonus effects, ongoing special powers, and additional dice to roll on future turns. The players use these effects and powers to populate a hex map with their species, aiming to connect two opposite sides of the board before their opponent does so. Some effects, such as buying extra dice, increase a player’s hunger rating, which must be overcome before the player can win, so players must balance multiple objectives. The primary form of interaction between players is on the hex board, but some special powers create additional forms of interaction and alternate win conditions. The game can be played in basic form, with just 20 special effects available, or advanced form with over 50 special effects to choose from (including more complex powers that combine to support additional tricks and strategies).