Dino Kontra Dino
Dino Kontra Dino Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Contents
- 45 dinosaur cards
- 30 event cards
- 1 dinosaur figure
Cards
There are two kinds of cards in the game: dinosaur cards and event cards.
Dinosaur cards: Each card shows four icons representing the dinosaur's most important traits:
- Predation
- Size
- Speed
- Adaptability
Each trait can appear from 1 to 5 times on a card.
A dinosaur card contains the following elements: the dinosaur's name, a description of the dinosaur, its ordinal number, and its trait icons. The example card printed in the rulebook is the Cetiosaurus, number 12, with the description: "The herbivorous Cetiosaurus could not chew its food, so it swallowed stones. Contractions of its stomach moved the stones, which crushed the food inside its body."
Event cards: Event cards have two sides. The front shows the event's name and a short description. The back contains an additional description and the trait icon(s) that a dinosaur needs in order to survive that event.
Goal of the Game
Your goal is to collect as many event cards as possible.
Setup
Shuffle the deck of dinosaur cards thoroughly. Deal 3 dinosaur cards to each player, in such a way that each player sees only the cards they have been dealt. The remaining dinosaur cards form the draw pile.
Shuffle the event cards and place the deck in the middle of the table so that the text on the front of the top card is visible to every player. Take care not to reveal the back of the card, which shows the trait icons. Until the event is resolved, the card should lie front side up.
The youngest player receives the dinosaur figure.
Playing the Game
The game is played in a series of rounds. In each round, one card is resolved: the card currently on top of the event deck.
At the start of a round, the players read the event and then decide which of the dinosaurs in their hand (out of the 3 they hold) will best handle the situation. Each player chooses one dinosaur card and places it face down in front of them.
When all players have done this, the dinosaur cards are revealed. The players then turn over the event card and read the back: a short description of the situation and the trait icon(s) needed to win the event.
Now the players check which of the dinosaurs they played has the most icons of the required trait. If the event card shows two trait icons, their values are added together. The player whose dinosaur has the most icons of the required traits wins the round and takes the event card.
Ties: If players are tied, the player who holds the dinosaur figure wins. If none of the tied players holds the figure, the tied player closest to the figure holder, going clockwise, wins.
The player who wins the event takes the event card and also takes the dinosaur figure. If the same player wins the next round as well, the figure stays with them.
After the winner has been determined, discard all the dinosaur cards that took part in the event. Every player then draws one card from the dinosaur draw pile. Before the next event is resolved, each player must have exactly 3 dinosaur cards in hand. The next event on top of the event deck is then resolved in the same way.
Example 1
The event being resolved is "Forest Fire". The trait that will allow the dinosaurs to survive is speed. Tomek places a Brachylophosaurus, which has 4 speed icons. Kasia chooses a Coelurus, which has 5 speed icons. Kasia wins the event.
Example 2
The event being resolved is "Competing Species". The required traits are predation and adaptability. Tomek chooses a Dilophosaurus, which has 4 predation icons and 2 adaptability icons. Kasia plays a Psittacosaurus, which has 2 predation icons and 4 adaptability icons. The players are tied, because the sum of the required icons on their dinosaurs is the same. However, Tomek also holds the dinosaur figure, which allows him to win the event.
End of the Game
When the dinosaur draw pile has no cards left, or has too few cards for the game to continue (that is, when not all players would receive a new card), the game is nearing its end. Put the dinosaur cards that remain in the draw pile back into the box. Then resolve the last two events, since the players each have two dinosaur cards left. After these are resolved, the players proceed to scoring.
Scoring and Winning
The player who has collected the most event cards wins the game.
If there is a tie, the winner is the player who has collected the most event cards bearing the predation icon. If there is still a tie among several players, the number of event cards bearing the size icon is checked, then the number bearing the speed icon, and finally the number bearing the adaptability icon. If this still does not produce a winner, the tied players share the victory.
Example: Tomek and Kasia each have 11 event cards, and Andrzej has 9. Tomek and Kasia therefore compare with each other for the win. Kasia has collected 6 event cards with the predation icon, while Tomek has only 2, so she wins the game.