These cards can be played throughout the game and boost or damage an ecosystem. In addition, players can move cards around their ecosystem during their turn. However, do so carefully because it could cause problems.

The game uses the terms “eats” and “eaten by” as simplified stand ins for “receives energy from” and “provides energy to.” Food webs and trophic levels are all about the way energy moves through ecologies. Producers make up the foundation of these webs by converting the energy of the sun into sugars. There is no sunlight card and biomes are assumed to have access to the sun’s energy. “Decaying biomass” just means it eats any dead tissues from the other organisms in the food web. This means the organism is a scavenger/decomposer/detritivore (SD) and should be placed on the second row above primary producers when you want that card to act in the (SD) role. This is because in terms of trophic levels, detritus (decaying biomass) is seen as level one, the same as plants, so things that eat the decaying biomass are level two, the same as primary consumers. There is no specific card for this, as long as there are any other cards in a biome, cards with (SD) are able to sit in the primary consumer level and “feed” off that decaying biomass.What’s the difference between purchasing a new card with unwanted cards from your hand versus cards you already played on the table? If the Producer card is destroyed, all cards above it must be discarded unless they can move to another viable Biome that the player has created. Biome cards each have their own bonus associated with it. These bonuses may be fulfilled when there are cards in each of the five roles. But while this is a fun way to play, we think Ecologies works best as a group game. Ecologies can be played with up to six people. In group games, the game wants the first player to earn 12 victory points. The C cards, or consumer cards, do not have to be placed immediately over their food source, as one food source may effectively support numerous other organisms. The textbox on the card will show what it eats and what it is eaten by, so an effective food web can be created.

Ecologies is no ordinary card game! In this game, each player will build an ecosystem. It’s done by using biomes and various organisms to ensure your ecosystem stays strong and thrives. Players earn points with their organism cards. The player earns the points as long as the cards are viable in their current ecosystem, meaning they have food and aren’t harmed. Once one player makes 12 points or more, they win. Ecologies Card Game – Educational and Enlightening! Once drawn, the player can trade the cards with other players. Players can trade any card in their hand, and there are no restrictions on how trades can work. Meaning you can trade two cards for three and vice-versa. When are players allowed to rearrange their cards? Can they purposely turn healthy ecologies on and off this way?Ecologies does have a bit of a learning curve and is more complex than many other card games. Because of this, it’s recommended for older children aged 12 plus. So, it would make a fun family game for older children and could even help children develop their STEM skills. What You’ll Need To Play? The points system is based on ecological trophic levels. The producers (plants) are worth less and as you make your way up the pyramid organisms are worth more, as it takes a lot of energy to sustain them. In real life only roughly 10% of the energy makes it from one level to the next, meaning you have to have acres of land and hundreds of animals just to sustain one apex predator. The first player of the game is chosen by the group, there is no specific rule for this. The player will then take their turn in four distinct steps. The same pattern must be completed with each play for each player. Ecologies is an awesome, educational game that allows for each player to build their own in-depth ecosystem. These systems are sensitive, and one wrong move can cause the whole thing to crumble, losing all the points associated with it.