North Star Games has launched Nature, a standalone board game in the popular Evolution series. Designed as a strategic game focused on adapting species in a dynamic ecosystem, Nature brings new gameplay elements while building on the foundations of the previous titles in the series.
In Nature, players guide species as they compete for survival in a world where food is limited, and predators are an ongoing threat. The objective is to grow and sustain your species by adapting them to the changing environment. Players can earn points by maintaining their species’ populations while facing challenges such as starvation and predation.
The game is designed to be accessible, with streamlined mechanics that make it easy to teach and play. Players have the option to increase their species’ body size, population, or assign traits that help them thrive in the ecosystem. Traits like Fast can help species evade predators, while Opportunistic allows them to take advantage of food-rich environments.
During each round, players must adapt their species in the first phase and then compete for food in the feeding phase. The species with the best adaptations will survive and flourish, while others may struggle, face extinction, or be forced to adapt further.
A key feature of Nature is its modular system, which allows players to customize and expand the game. Five modules—Flight, Jurassic, Natural Disasters, Arctic Tundra, and Amazon Rainforest—are available at launch, each adding unique traits, species, and challenges to the game. These modules can be mixed and matched, allowing for over 20 distinct ecosystem configurations.
Modules can introduce new dynamics to the gameplay, such as adding apex predators in the Jurassic module or incorporating environmental events through the Natural Disasters module. Players can adjust the complexity and style of play by selecting different modules, creating a tailored experience for each game.
North Star Games has committed to supporting the Nature game system for the next decade. This includes releasing 1–2 new modules per year, with upcoming expansions such as the Climate and Disease modules in development. These additions will increase the number of possible ecosystem combinations to over 100, further enhancing the game’s depth and complexity.
In addition to expanding the gameplay, North Star Games has made efforts to produce Nature with sustainability in mind. The company has outlined its environmental commitments to ensure the game is produced in an environmentally responsible way.
The Kickstarter campaign for Nature is currently live and runs until October 25. The project has already raised over $165,00 from more than 1,250 backers, surpassing its initial goal of $25,000. Backers have the opportunity to support the project and receive exclusive rewards, including all five initial modules in a special big box edition.
Source: Tabletop Gaming News
