Anyone who’s seen Jurassic Park knows that dinosaurs and theme parks do not mix well. However, no one seems to have told the rich bigwigs inside Tiny Epic Dinosaurs, because these greedy bidders are looking for their next big attraction! In the world of Tiny Epic Dinosaurs, modern science has advanced enough to allow us to recreate our prehistoric dino friends. This gives independent ranchers a new role in breeding and wrangling these dangerous reptiles. As a player of the board game, you’ll have to combine dinosaur ranching, resource management, and worker placement if you want to build the best dino farm on the market.
6 Rounds, 6 Phases, Countless Dinosaurs
Tiny Epic Dinosaurs assigns each player their own team of ranchers to control. The goal of the game is to obtain dinosaurs in order to breed and sell them to the highest bidders to use for high thrill theme parks. The game is played over the course of six different rounds, each consisting of six unique phases. The first phase requires you to harvest any resources in your farm that the dinosaurs aren’t already eating.
The second phase is where you really put your ranchers to work, assigning them a multitude of tasks aimed at acquiring and breeding more dinosaurs. You’ll capture and buy new dinosaurs, build up barriers to hold them, research technologies and new breeds of dinosaur, boost your farm’s security or supplies, and more. You’ll have to figure out the best strategy for breeding the most dinosaurs if you want to blow the other ranches out of the water.
In the third phase, your ranchers will return to finish their work at the farm, while the fourth phase has you arrange your ranch however you want. Arranging your ranch is important in order to make sure the dinosaurs are properly placed in the correct barriers to ensure they don’t escape.
Once everything is set, it’s time to feed the dinosaurs. Phase five requires you to feed each and every dinosaur because any dinosaur that doesn’t get fed will escape and threaten the safety of your farm. Dinosaurs are dangerous cattle, and breeding them is not without its risks! Finally, the sixth and final phase of each round has you breed matching dinosaurs. Each pair of matching dinosaurs that is properly enclosed gives you one more baby dino to add to your farm.
Winning the Game
To claim victory in Tiny Epic Dinosaurs, you’ll need to earn the highest number of victory points at the end of six rounds. While breeding new dinosaurs is an excellent way to collect points, you can also earn points through research developments as well as any public or private contracts you acquire. Each player gets a private contract at the beginning and middle of the game with specific rules on completing it. You’ll also need to complete these private contracts at the same time as a public contract. This can make it tricky when you’re racing against someone else trying to complete the same public contract.
The Laboratory Mini Expansion
Tiny Epic Dinosaurs comes with a Laboratory mini expansion that provides each player with an additional board. This board gives you a map connected by blue, green, and red lines that lead to spaces that offer you extra bonuses from dinosaurs to research cards. Players will have to collect matching colored tiles in order to move along the lines. This adds a puzzle-like quality to the game that makes the strategy even more intricate.
Don’t Underestimate Those Tiny Epic Dinosaurs!
Tiny Epic Dinosaurs is playable by 1-4 players, which is definitely a bonus for kids who like single-player board games. It’s also suitable for ages 14 and up, so it’s more appropriate for teenagers and adults than it is for younger kids. Playing time lasts around 30 minutes to an hour. Tiny Epic Dinosaurs has plenty of opportunity for strategy, especially when you add the Laboratory mini expansion to it. You’ll love the cute little dinosaur tokens that come with the game, as they’re each carefully crafted to represent different colored dinosaurs. If you take a walk on the wild side and buy Tiny Epic Dinosaurs, you won’t regret it. Buy a copy or two today!
