Premise
It’s the age of the dinosaurs!
In what may look like a small game, Chomp packs a punch, as the aim of the game is to build the best habitat and provide the best sources of food for your favourite dinosaur herds. Limited to just eight rounds, players must try to get their hands on the very best cards to score the highest points at the end of the game.
The Game
Premise
It’s the age of the dinosaurs!
In what may look like a small game, Chomp packs a punch, as the aim of the game is to build the best habitat and provide the best sources of food for your favourite dinosaur herds. Limited to just eight rounds, players must try to get their hands on the very best cards to score the highest points at the end of the game.
The Game
Made up of 36 cards, Chomp’s cards have dual sides, which have very different implications for your gameplay. On one side, there will be landscapes made up of illustrations featuring dinosaur herds, vegetation, tar pits, and tasty prey. On the other side, there will be end-of-game goals. Landscapes will be broken up into two or three segments, separated by sharp, mountainous rock formations.
As with natural history, Chomp provides players with a selection of carnivorous and herbivorous dinosaurs to add to a player’s growing landscape. Distinguished by small, medium, and large sizes, and have strict requirements. Herbivores require an abundance of vegetation to graze on, while carnivores eat prey, alongside smaller carnivores. By placing dinosaurs next to a feeding location, this will allow access for the entire herd. Failure to feed your dinosaurs will cause the herd to go extinct.
A fast-paced tactical game, Chomp pushes players to think before they act, always aiming to be one step ahead of their opponent. Up for grabs at any time will be a selection of 6 cards laid out on the table – 3 landscape and 3 end-of-game goal cards – until the rounds end. Each time a card is selected and another is chosen to replace it from the deck, it must match that of the previous card. Placing the card for the player’s landscape is a careful decision. It may be beneficial to position the card adjacent to another card for feeding dinosaurs. The player may even wish to hide segments that would damage points scoring, such as the tar pits. This would therefore prevent herds from becoming extinct. It is important to note that once a card has been placed for the player’s landscape, it cannot be moved again.
It can be challenging to find the correct balance between collecting landscape and end-of-game goal cards. Collect too many landscape cards, and then the points may lack a prominent boost that the end-of-game goal cards can bring for the tactical placement of certain cards. While collecting too many end-of-game goal cards, the landscape will be too small and thus perhaps lacking in the necessary numbers of dinosaur herds and other important components. It could be beneficial to the player to select a small number of end-of-game goal cards near the beginning of the gameplay to push the aims of the landscape.
Chomp is as fun as it is rewarding. Building a landscape for the growing community of dinosaur herds, providing them with viable feeding options and preventing the threat of extinction truly gives the impression that you are making progress in this rapid-fire game. With clear and engaging end-of-game goals, players will work hard to push themselves to meet their aims. When playing against others with similar challenging goals, they will face difficult choices and unwanted realisations, all in the name of making the best for the growing landscape. As the cards run low, there will come a gentle feeling of desperation to snatch up the most profitable cards before they disappear.
With the duality of each card, there is a great sense of replayability. On each playthrough, there is only a fraction of the components seen at any time. This gave the impression that for each scoring process, the results for this game would be different each time Chomp was played. Scoring is based on a variety of conditions: the size of dinosaurs, feeding conditions, and where they are within the landscape.
For such a small game, Chomp is a delight to behold. Bold, bright, and beautiful, the design of the game is very eye-catching – the perfect gift for any dinosaur lover. Challenging and thought-provoking, this game will push players to make difficult decisions. Players might be surprised by the level of challenge, others – like me – will find it refreshing.
Chomp: a game in a small box that feels like a big box game. It’s rawr-some!
