Home > Categories > Games & Puzzles > Board Games > Go Extinct! review
The game set includes a deck of 54 illustrated animal cards (two of each of 26 unique cards) and a simplified, yet accurate, evolutionary tree board used for reference during play. Intended for use in homes, classrooms, museums, and other science programs.
Based loosely on Go Fish, the goal is for players to collect as many sets of closely related animals as possible. The sets are "clades" of closely-related animals on the evolutionary tree board, which players use for reference. Players take turns asking another player for cards, and if they do not have a matching card, they say "Go Extinct!". The gameplay is more strategic than Go Fish because players can ask either for a specific card or a matching card at any level of the tree hierarchy, thus trading off the specificity of the result for the likelihood of a match.
The game is designed to be fast-paced and fun, while familiarizing players with different animal species, common classifying traits, and the 'nested sets' nature of the evolutionary tree.
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Go Extinct is a game that I purchased, a few years ago now, because it popped up as being on special at half the price. Whilst it isn't a game that hits the table often, it is one that I would have been ok with paying full price as it isn't too 'heavy', it is educational and a few years later, the kids still enjoy having a game or two of it. At the base of it, this is an adaptation of the game, Go Fish, where you ask another player if they have certain cards in their hands and use those to complete your clades aka sets. The sets do range in size and obviously the larger sets are worth more points at the end of the game.
The game comes with a large board that shows the evolution tree, this is VERY handy as it means you don't have to know what creature belongs in what group. When seeking a card, you have two options, the first is you can ask for a type, such as Holey Heads but this means that you could be given one card out of eleven possibilities, asking for a Shell Shocker opens it up to even more cards, or you can limit and ask for say Retro Posers and only have three possible cards. If you wish, you can ask a player for one specific card, and this is when you get a second turn, if they have it. It does have the same downside as Go Fish, in that the last player or two can then sweep up the cards with ease (as when the deck runs out they must give you up to three cards).
This is a good little game, very easy to learn but also provides a bit of education.
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