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Description
Twenty years after his expedition around the world, Charles Darwin is writing On the Origin of Species. He wants to gather new information about animal life, particularly about continents he hardly explored. Who other than young naturalists, eager for discovery, could help the renowned scholar finish writing his most famous work?
In In the Footsteps of Darwin, players are junior naturalists who have just arrived aboard the Beagle to help Charles Darwin finish his book On the Origin of Species. During this journey, you will study animals, carry out cartographic surveys, publish your findings, and develop theories. Starting with the naturalist controlling the Darwin token, naturalists take turns in clockwise order, performing these two steps in order:
Study an animal or take inspiration from a character: Choose one of the three tiles facing the Beagle and place it onto your naturalist's notebook. It may be either an animal to study or a character from the Beagle's previous journey who will inspire you. Gain the bonuses depicted or any additional scoring bonuses triggered by the tile's placement.
Voyage of the Beagle: After placing a tile on your notebook, move the Beagle as many spaces forward as the distance between the Beagle and the tile you just selected (1-3 spaces), then draw a new tile to replace the empty space on the journey board.
Your goal is to score more points than your opponents to determine who contributed the most to On the Origin of Species.
—description from publisher
Year Published
2023
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 6
This page: 6
Sentiment:
pos 5 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 1
Showing 1–6 of 6
Video INpQZqAzIXQ
game_review at 0:02 sentiment: negative
video_pk 13600 · mention_pk 39725
Click to watch at 0:02 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
negative
Pros
- good introduction to basic set collection
- beautiful production and artwork
- compact 30-minute runtime
- easy to teach and light to play
- nice components that feel museum-like
Cons
- very light with minimal player interaction
- no real tension or swing in scoring
- limited longevity and replay value
- rules don't provide urgency to complete lines
- not bringing anything new compared to similar games
Thematic elements
- set collection, expedition drafting, historical scientific exploration
- Beagle voyage era, Darwinism, natural history exploration
- educational, museum-like
Comparison games
- Trekking Through History
- Feriferous
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- grid placement — place drafted tiles on your 4x4 personal board, matching symbols to score
- resource tokens and endgame scoring — manage compasses, portrait tokens, and Darwin tokens to maximize points
- row/column exhaustion and overlap — lock in endgame bonuses by completing lines and possibly overlapping duplicates to gain flags
- set collection — collect tiles of species and continents to score via end-game tokens and flags
- tile drafting — draft one of three tiles from the current Beagle-relative row/column
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this game is extremely light and simple
- it's a nice introduction to some very basic set collection methods
- there are a few little tricks you can pull off here
- the interaction in the game is minimal
- I can't recommend it
- this one's pulled off to a higher standard in a smaller box
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video jxt0ddH7MVI
Dice Tower review at 0:55 sentiment: positive
video_pk 6594 · mention_pk 19569
Click to watch at 0:55 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- very popular
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- history
- science
Comparison games
- In the Footsteps of Marie Curie
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Welcome back to the Dice Tours. We take a look at another shelf in the Dice Tower Library.
- if you like games about delivering the mail, this is it
- Just a solid game of quick, snappy turns
- AIA, what a great game about shipping. This is a fantastic, terrific game.
- You like Dominion, but you want it for dice. This is your game.
- Very very popular games all them. That's why there's two of each.
- Although, frankly, you should always play with the expansion.
- I just really am loving SETI. Fantastic game.
- I do like this game. I have a soft spot for it.
- Vast, not as popular as its successor, root
- My favorite game here is The Great Museum Caper. Nope. I forgot Magical Athletes there. Magical Athlete is amazing.
- I just love Tumbling Dice.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video xVP-dmrNy3E
Our Family Plays Games general_discussion at 25:49 sentiment: positive
video_pk 3910 · mention_pk 11436
Click to watch at 25:49 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Appealing subject matter for biology/history enthusiasts
- Compact Euro feel with approachable rules
Cons
- Darwin branding may feel overused to some players
Thematic elements
- evolution, natural history, exploration
- Darwinian era – exploration and evolution as thematic backdrop.
- card-driven Euro with thematic flavor
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- card drafting — Players draft action cards to influence exploration and Darwinian outcomes.
- set collection — Players collect sets of evolutionary traits or discovery cards to score.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- It's a Twist y'all it's a Twist.
- I am the librarian custodian of our game.
- Need some help, I can help you.
- We gotta match Creature Comforts for me too.
- Ding, ding—we're matching our creature comforts.
- The heart of the episode... we're going to talk about relationships and board games.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video ZEmXlUxzoNs
Before You Play playthrough at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 2585 · mention_pk 7646
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- fast, lightweight game
- casual-friendly theme
- beautiful components and insert
- multiple scoring paths
Cons
- limited player count (2 players in this version)
- potential luck factor
Thematic elements
- Darwin's theory of evolution; natural history; exploration
- Global voyage aboard HMS Beagle during Darwin's voyage, 19th-century natural history exploration
- educational, documentary, light competitive play
Comparison games
- Calico
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Beagle movement and guides — Beagle moves based on tile distance; guides adjust Beagle or allow redrawing.
- end-of-game scoring via rows/columns and theories — completing lines and collecting theory tiles yields points.
- set collection / region-based scoring — tiles represent animals and researchers, scored via journal placement.
- tile drafting — players select tiles from a shared display in front of the Beagle.
- tile placement and journaling — tiles are placed into journals with bonuses and end-of-game scoring.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a 20 to 30 minute game
- it's very fast, it feels casual to play
- the insert also holds everything nice and snug
- I definitely prefer playing with more players, three-player is better
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 6T4fwVl5IY4
Our Family Plays Games game_review at 14:46 sentiment: positive
video_pk 663 · mention_pk 1927
Click to watch at 14:46 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Solid family-friendly theme and approachable rules
- Quality components and strong educational angle
Cons
- Some players may want more depth or variability
- Theme could be more integrated into mechanics
Thematic elements
- Darwin-era taxonomy and discovery
- Historical exploration era; naturalist expedition
- educational yet approachable for families
Comparison games
- Neotopia
- Life of Amazonia
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- set collection / discovery — Players gather knowledge and specimens to complete discovery objectives.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Black History Month yes in addition to Black History Month but the thing is with MRA you know the king cake is in the New Orleans MRA colors of green yellow and purple.
- Sea Salt and Paper so I I got my hopes up okay Sea Salt and Paper so I got my hopes up.
- This is the cutest little game yes it is I love it so much we had a lot of fun with it.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video NOwFlH6KVu0
Our Family Plays Games top_10_list at 25:10 sentiment: positive
video_pk 360 · mention_pk 1093
Click to watch at 25:10 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Beautiful components and thematic appeal
- Accessible to family players
Cons
- Rules can be dense for younger players
Thematic elements
- tableau-building and exploration of natural history
- Natural history exploration in the footsteps of Darwin
- educational and thematic
Comparison games
- Wingspan
- Photosynthesis
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Open drafting / drafting choices — Draft from a shared pool to optimize scoring.
- tableau-building — Players assemble cards to form valuable combinations.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- It's a sweet spot that's a sweet spot.
- It's worth every penny and looks beautiful on the table.
- We love you bye everybody.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–6 of 6