Primordial Soup (board game)
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Designers Doris Matthäus & Frank Nestel | | |
| Players | 3 to 4 (5-6 with extension) | |
|---|---|---|
| Setup time | approx. 10 minutes | |
| Playing time | 90+ minutes | |
| Chance | Medium | |
| Age range | 12 years and up | |
| Skills | Dice rolling, Bidding, Capture | |
Primordial Soup is a board game designed by Doris Matthäus & Frank Nestel and published by Z-Man Games. It was first published in 1997 in Germany by Doris & Frank under the name Ursuppe and this original version won 2nd prize in the 1998 Deutscher Spiele Preis.
Theme
Each player guides a
A key feature of the game is its self-balancing
Objective
Each turn each species scores points based upon its population and genes. The game ends when a player reaches 42 points or when the last environment card is drawn. This usually happens after 5-10 rounds so the game lasts 1–2 hours.
Equipment
- A game board with spaces representing the primordial soup, a scoring track, and a compass diagram.
- Two dice.
- 28 pegged discs representing amoebas, in four sets of different colors and shapes.
- 37 biological point tokens.
- 25 beads for marking damage.
- 55 foodstuff cubes in each color.
- 4 score markers.
- 33 gene cards.
- 11 environment cards which indicate the direction of drift and the thickness of the ozone layer.
- Game rules and reference sheets.
Reception
The reviewer from Pyramid #29 (Jan./Feb., 1998) stated that "Ursuppe is a very fine, fun game for three or four players from the game design company/team of Doris & Frank."[1]
Ursuppe came in 2nd for the Deutscher Spiele Preis in 1998.[2]
The game won the "Family strategy" Games 100 in 2006.[3]
Reviews
- Games#212 (Vol 29, #6) 2005 August
References
- ^ "Pyramid: Pyramid Pick: Ursuppe". www.sjgames.com.
- ^ "Preisträger – SPIEL Messe".
- ^ "2006 Buyer's Guide To Games". Games. Vol. 29, no. 216. GAMES Publications. December 2005. pp. 35–47.
External links
