An incredible new dinosaur graveyard has been discovered, and if the early findings are any indication, it could be a treasure trove of fossils and bones like the world has never seen! In Fossilis, 2 to 5 players become paleontologists working the dig site with shovels, whisk brooms, and chisels looking for a find that could make their career.
Each round, players get two actions to dig at the site or make an extraction. As they remove the top layers of sand, clay, and stone, they'll discover trace fossils, which can be exchanged for tools, the plaster necessary to extract bones, and discovery points. As they delve deeper, precious bones will be exposed. They can make a careful extraction if they have the right amount of plaster, but sometimes shifting the earth to cover up a find and slow down the competition is the right move. Bones on their own can be valuable, but museums are really interested in more complete specimens. Sets of bones can be exchanged for museum cards worth big points!
Fossilis features a unique 3D dig site board, with recessed pockets filled with dinosaur bones, and thick, chunky terrain tiles that cover the dig site. Players have to use strategy, timing, and a little bit of luck if they want to make the best discoveries, get their name in all the paleontology journals, and of course, win the game.
—description from the publisher
Note: The Kickstarter edition supports solo play and includes other game related content. It may be found here Fossilis: Kickstarter Edition.
- Stunning, chunky components (large stones)
- Family-friendly and accessible
- Strong table presence
- Higher price for a family-weight title
- Fossil collecting and archeology
- Paleontological dig site
- Family-friendly educational vibe
- Fossilus
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- grid movement — Move digging tokens to reveal bones efficiently.
- set collection — Assemble bones/cards to meet scoring conditions.
- tile placement — Place bones on a grid to form patterns and collect bonuses.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a great game
- it's a hit
- it's beautiful it's got great chunky components
- the sweet spot
- it's a puzzle
- it's a fun game
- it's the love of the game
References (from this video)
- 3D board
- Unique looking
- First KTBG game for hosts
- Truly underrated
- Moving 3D tiles
- Tweezers component
- Does not get enough love
- Digging for dinosaur bones
- Dinosaur excavation
- Archaeological discovery
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- contract fulfillment — Construct dinosaurs from bones
- dexterity — Use tweezers to extract bones
- Resource management — Dig through sand and stone for bones
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Once we discovered how to really play Azul we started playing 8 times
- If someone ask me to give a favorite I have to give you a list
- It all depends on if you're learning the game the right way
- Fossilis is truly underrated
- This is Phil Walker-Harding y'all you know one of the 3,000 games he made in like one day
- We want the whole family we want them all