Outline for teaching the Wildlife rules

(Method based on Mario Lanza's The Finer Points Of Teaching Rules.)

1. Set up the board and components.


2. Distill the game down to a few sentences. (Less than a minute.)

"Each of us will be a different species, like Mammoth, Crocodile, or Bird. We will be moving, reproducing, and attacking. You will receive points for the regions that you dominate."


3. Paint an overview for the whole game. (1 to 3 minutes.)

"On your turn, you play 3 cards. There are three kinds of cards: Do Action, Upgrade Action, and Take Ability. The Do Action card lets you do one of the actions on your matrix -- for example, if you play a Mountains card, your action is Expand, so you can move a creature to the board. The Upgrade Action card lets you upgrade one of the actions on your matrix. The Take Ability card lets you take one of these special ability cards.

"Then it's the next person's turn. You play 3 cards. Then you play 3 cards. And so on. Scoring. When a region fills up, the creature that finished it gets a 3-point bonus (show). When another region fills up, the creature that finished it gets a 3-point bonus. When another region fills up, the creature that finished it gets a 3-point bonus. When another region fills up, the creature that finished it gets a 4-point bonus, and we score all the regions. We do this region (show): 5 points if you fill the region, 4 points if you're the only creature in the region, 3 points if you share the region but are in first place, 2 points if you are in second place, 1 point if you are in third place. We do this region: 5 points if you fill the region, 4 points if you're the only creature in the region, 3 points if you share the region but are in first place, 2 points if you are in second place, 1 point if you are in third place. And so on for all the regions. Then we score 10 points for the biggest connected group, 7 points for the second biggest group, 5 points for the third biggest group, 3 points for the fourth biggest group, and 1 point for the fifth biggest group. Then we score 4 points for the most upgrades, 2 points for the second most upgrades. Then we score 4 points for the most ability cards, 2 points for the second most ability cards. Then we score 4 points for the most food, 2 points for the second most food.

"When another region fills up, the creature that finished it gets a 3-point bonus. When another region fills up, the creature that finished it gets a 3-point bonus. When another region fills up, the creature that finished it gets a 3-point bonus. When another region fills up, the creature that finished it gets a 4-point bonus, and we score all the regions again. We score this region. Then we score this region. Then we score this region. We score the biggest connected groups, the most upgrades, the most ability cards, the most food.

"When another region fills up, the creature that finished it gets a 3-point bonus. When another region fills up, the creature that finished it gets a 3-point bonus. When another region fills up, the creature that finished it gets a 4-point bonus, and we score all the regions again. We score this region. Then we score this region. Then we score this region. We score the biggest connected groups, the most upgrades, the most ability cards, the most food. And the game ends.

4. Expand the overview using details—the finer points.

"There are three kinds of actions: Migrate, Expand, and Attack. Migrate lets you move a creature one space, or through a connected group. Expand is the same as Migrate, plus you can bring a creature onto the board. Attack is the same as Migrate and Expand, plus you can kick an opponent off if the region is full.

"These are upgrade cards. They allow you to turn a No Action region into a Migrate region. Or a Migrate region into an Expand region. Or an Expand region into an Attack region.

"On your turn you play three cards. You choose either to use the card, or auction it off. For example, if you want to auction off this card, I might bid 3 foods, then you might bid 4 foods, then you might pass, then you might bid 10 foods. If you win then you use the card immediately. The minimum bid is 3 foods.On your turn, you must auction at least one of your cards.

"Also on your turn, you get one free Migrate. Also, you can spend 3 foods to gain 1 point. You can use your ability cards (once per turn). Finally, you refresh back to 10 cards.


5. Cover the exceptions, if any.

"These cards let you take an ability. There are five kinds of abilities. Aggressiveness lets you attack even if the region is not full. Intelligence lets you play 4 cards on your turn, not 3. Mobility lets you move one of your creatures on the board to any other space on the board (as long as it's not a No Action space). (If there is another creature there, you trade places). Defense lets you prevent an attack on one of your creatures. Food lets you score two points on every turn.

"You can have a maximum of two of the same ability, no more (example).

"What happens when you want a certain ability card (like Mobility) but it's not there? Take it from the player with the most points.

"Auctions. If you win an auction but don't have enough food chips, you can spend one point to gain 3 foods, or two points to gain 6 foods.

"Game end. Normally the game ends when the 11th region has been filled up. But it also ends when a player runs out of creatures.


6. Teach basic strategies and offer "fair warning." (1 or 2 minutes.)