Wouter & Ymke 
Build and manage your own private ecosystem, all with one goal: try to make as many dinosaurs (and eggs) as possible!
2-5 players, ages 10+
Playing time: 30-45 minutes
Designer: Kasper Lapp
Artist: Gica Tam
Publisher: Pandasaurus Games
https://pandasaurusgames.com/
You might know designer Kasper Lapp from one of his previous games, Magic Maze, but both games play completely differently.
The rulebook is very clear with a lot of examples, and gameplay is straightforward, this is one of those family level games that can be played with practically everyone.
On your turn, you pick one of the available tiles and add it to your ecosystem. When the column you choose from is now empty, an animal activation occurs: prey will expand, but predators will hunt prey. When the column with the dinosaur marker gets triggered, they also activate and will need to feed, giving you possibly more eggs!
I found the game to be a tough balancing act: on one side, you need to have enough prey so you want them to expand; but on the other side, predators will eat prey and also earn you points when they get eaten by dinosaurs. A challenging puzzle where good timing can be crucial.
For some people gameplay may be too abstract, but it didn’t really bother me, I just really wanted to keep my dino’s alive 😀
If you’re just like me, a sucker for beautiful wooden components, just take a look at these animeeples! They’re amazing!
