Jurassic Parts Preview

Pulling together an entire prehistoric skeleton is no easy task, especially when everyone is competing for those precious bones. Jurassic Parts is a new area control game from 25th Century Games (Space Explorers, Christmas Lights and Kingswood).

Two to four players are working to collect fossils and piece together full dino skeletons for points at the end of the game. Players begin their turn by sharpening 3 chisels and using these to break through rock and break away fossils from the rest of the hex shaped board. Some fossils will be visible during the game and some will be flipped upside down waiting to be discovered.

Divide and Conquer

Similar to most area control games, the player with the most influence in an area will get the coolest bounty. When an area of the board is fully divided by chisels, those hexagons breakaway from the rest of the dig site. This is where the number of chisels everyone contributed comes into play.

The player with the most chisels used in that break gets 50% of the tiles that broke away. Ties are broken based on who the active player is. The player with the second most chisels involved will get 50% of what is left. Leftover tiles will go to the Field Leader. There are plenty of times where contributing a single chisel to an area that is almost complete can give you just what you need.

In Jurassic Parts, you’ll get to interact with the Field Leader to purchase leftover fossils or gain perks during a turn. Amber is the currency in the game and is earned by selling fossils to the Field Leader or completing a dinosaur build.

More Than Controlling the Land

We have a couple go-to area control games in our collection like Blue Lagoon and Roam. But there’s something different about Jurassic Parts. The way that the board breaks apart and fossils are divided among the contributors works so well. You want to dump all your chisels into an area that has the fossils you need while not ignoring the rest of the board.

Having the amber currency system in the game that allows you to get perks from the Field Leader feels really good. The game has some depth and there are plenty of chances to move in on another player’s territory to disrupt their plan.

Players ultimately want to piece together full dinosaurs in order to score the most points. You can also hunt for plant fossils which award points based on how many you collect. This is a great way to earn points even when completing a full dinosaur eludes you.

Jurassic Parts is an excellent game for families or your group of gaming friends. The board will never look the same and the game brings out the competitive side in everyone we’ve played with. The game also includes item cards that give you a one-time ability to use during the game. Used at the right time, these can be incredibly useful.

Jurassic Parts is being funded through Kickstarter until February 12, 2020. If you want to check out a playthrough of the game, we played the full game with Chad Elkins of 25th Century Games.

Visit the Jurassic Parts Kickstarter campaign today!

25th Century Games provided us with a prototype copy of Jurassic Parts prior to their Kickstarter campaign. This in no way influenced our opinion of the game. Previews are a glimpse into an upcoming game with the pros and cons that we experienced prior to production of the game.

Ryan Gutowski

I'm a huge fan of strategy games and pretty much anything that involves "city building". My love of board games goes back to my childhood and passion for building relationships with others.

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