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The game uses the terms “eats” and “eaten by” as simplified stand ins for “receives energy from” and “provides energy to.” Food webs and trophic levels are all about the way energy moves through ecologies. Producers make up the foundation of these webs by converting the energy of the sun into sugars. There is no sunlight card and biomes are assumed to have access to the sun’s energy. “Decaying biomass” just means it eats any dead tissues from the other organisms in the food web. This means the organism is a scavenger/decomposer/detritivore (SD) and should be placed on the second row above primary producers when you want that card to act in the (SD) role. This is because in terms of trophic levels, detritus (decaying biomass) is seen as level one, the same as plants, so things that eat the decaying biomass are level two, the same as primary consumers. There is no specific card for this, as long as there are any other cards in a biome, cards with (SD) are able to sit in the primary consumer level and “feed” off that decaying biomass. The game takes inspiration from titles like Settlers of Catan, Agricola, and Dominion. Real science is integral to the game, as it is used in the classroom to teach real concepts to biology students. While it is scientific enough for the classroom, it is also strategic enough for game night.
Does the tropical forest healthy ecology bonus allow a player to see an opponent’s cards when stealing? Due to the nature of the game, you can play Ecologies on your own. You’re battling against the cards and trying to build your working ecosystem, so if you’re looking for a fun single-player game, give Ecologies a try. This card is added to one of your food webs and prevents other players from interacting with the food web you chose. This means they can no longer play cards on your web or destroy any of the organisms in that web. They can’t interact with the ecology at all. You can still add cards however, and even destroy the ecology if you wish, but no one else can interfere with it.Do you still have gameplay questions about Ecologies? Here are some of the most common questions we get asked: The C cards, or consumer cards, do not have to be placed immediately over their food source, as one food source may effectively support numerous other organisms. The textbox on the card will show what it eats and what it is eaten by, so an effective food web can be created. This might sound like quite an easy target, but Ecologies can be quite a long in-depth game. If you enjoy the item management involved in many popular RPG board games or the intricate gameplay of strategy games, then you’ll be sure to enjoy Ecologies. No, it is a powerful defensive perk, but has several limitations. While the bonus protects all your organisms in every biome from destruction, it does not protect against negative cards in general. For example, other players can still play “parasitism” or “biomagnification of pollutants.” The bonus really only prevents opponents from pointing to one of your organisms and saying “I’m using my special card or ability to destroy this.” In fact, using “biomagnification of pollutants” on a healthy desert ecology would drop the maximum trophic level of the desert to C2 and therefore render it unhealthy. This would immediately remove the healthy ecology bonus and allow for targeted destruction of organisms. In effect, the biomagnification card is a counter to the healthy ecology bonus. The points system is based on ecological trophic levels. The producers (plants) are worth less and as you make your way up the pyramid organisms are worth more, as it takes a lot of energy to sustain them. In real life only roughly 10% of the energy makes it from one level to the next, meaning you have to have acres of land and hundreds of animals just to sustain one apex predator.
Ecologies isn’t a simple game to play, but it isn’t as complex as it might first appear either. So, don’t be put off if you struggle in your first few games. To start playing Ecologies, one player should be chosen to go first. Ecologies does have a bit of a learning curve and is more complex than many other card games. Because of this, it’s recommended for older children aged 12 plus. So, it would make a fun family game for older children and could even help children develop their STEM skills. What You’ll Need To Play? The first player of the game is chosen by the group, there is no specific rule for this. The player will then take their turn in four distinct steps. The same pattern must be completed with each play for each player. Once a biome card has been put down, you can develop it further by using creature cards. Creatures need to match the color and abbreviation of the biome to be played. After adding creatures, you will need to add food sources called consumer cards. Gameplay is rooted in authentic science, as it is used in the classroom to teach real concepts to biology students. While it is scientific enough for the classroom, it is also strategic enough for any game night.Players may move their organism cards around their food web during their turn. Producers can never be moved, but cards that have numerous roles may be shifted. This must be done carefully, as a whole food web can collapse if something drastic changes. If a card is without a food source, it must be discarded. After the previous step, the player can put down up to two cards from their hand to help build their ecosystem. If the Producer card is destroyed, all cards above it must be discarded unless they can move to another viable Biome that the player has created. Biome cards each have their own bonus associated with it. These bonuses may be fulfilled when there are cards in each of the five roles. If you’d like to maintain the same game length and feel, we recommend choosing 10 factor cards and 7 different biomes. After a Biome Card has been played, organism cards may start to build the food web and Ecology. After the Biome Card, a Producer Card must be played. These two cards will create the foundation in which the entire food web will sit. Each card played into a Biome must match the Biome’s color and abbreviation , or else it will not survive!
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