Wouter & Ymke 
Imagine a time in history when the pursuit of scientific glory led two prominent paleontologists on a fierce and competitive journey to unearth the mysteries of prehistoric life. This relentless competition, known as the Bone Wars, forms the historical backdrop of this game, where you find yourself in the world of dinosaur discoveries and scientific prestige. Each player competes to gain the highest reputation points by aiding the research of both Edward Cope and Othniel Marsh, two legendary figures in the world of paleontology.
👥 1-4 players, ages 12+
⌛ Playing time: 60-120 minutes
📝 Designer: Wim Goossens
🎨 Artwork: Laura Bevon
🏢 Publisher: Game Brewer (prototype copy provided)
https://gamebrewer.com/
The crowdfunding campaign for Bone Wars launches on Gamefound on September 18.
Initially, each player chooses to support the research of either Marsh or Cope. As the game progresses, you can switch allegiances to gather more points during the scoring phases. You’ll need to carefully balance your loyalty towards both paleontologists, as switching allegiances at the right moment could be the key to victory.
🔄 Central to the gameplay is executing actions where players must place a card (team, species, or paleontologist) from their hand in the first available slot under their player board. Before performing the action, the activation fee denoted on the chosen action slot and team card must be paid. Here is a closer look at the two types of actions you can perform:
⛏️ Team Actions are triggered when you play either a team or a species card from your hand. The played card grants you a specific number of action points, which can be used to perform actions at your team’s location on the board. These actions include unearthing bones, finding new species cards, executing dig site operations, extending excavations, relocating your team, and setting up base camps. When built, these base camps offer two benefits: the flexibility to conduct a dig site activity where a base camp is present, and the unlocking of special bonuses on your player board, enhancing either your team’s mobility or your archive’s storage capacity.
📚 Paleontologist Actions are triggered by playing a paleontologist or a species card, allowing you to publish or debunk papers, claim awards, or make minor finds. Publishing papers involves discarding bone tokens to assemble skeletons depicted on your species cards, archiving the species cards, and adding a paper tile to the bookshelf. Debunking papers requires players to discard matching bone tokens. This action allows a paper tile from the opposing patron to be flipped in favor of your current patron on the bookshelf. Claiming awards and making minor finds are two actions that allow you to secure loyalty points and access beneficial bonuses, either by meeting specific conditions to place award markers or by aligning species cards with corresponding archive envelopes and minor find tiles.
💼 Deciding to pass signifies the end of your action phase, leading you into preparation for the subsequent round. This phase involves choosing a new profession, selecting a patron and grant for the next round, and receiving loyalty bonuses from your current patron.
🏆 As you proceed through the game, which is spread over four rounds, you’ll also encounter scoring phases at the end of the 2nd and 4th rounds. Your score is measured in reputation points, which accumulate through your actions, but most of these points are garnered based on your loyalty standings during those mid and end-game scorings.
Designed by Wim Goossens, who you might know for his previous game, Oak, and brought to life by the Belgian publisher Game Brewer, Bone Wars is a eurogame for 1-4 players, with gameplay that can stretch between 60-120 minutes.
🦕 The heart of this game is centered around the Great Dinosaur Rush. We appreciated delving deeper into the world of Othniel Marsh and Edward Cope. These figures, revered in the field of paleontology, had an intense rivalry. Their ambition pushed them to various extremes, including bribing, theft, and even sabotage. An interesting note: the rulebook doesn’t just lay down game mechanics but also sheds light on this historical event, enhancing the immersion factor.
⚖️ The integration of this rivalry into the game is quite evident. The game mechanisms, especially the double-layered scoring, emphasize the fluctuating loyalties towards Marsh and Cope. It’s not just about accumulating points for one side; you must strategically gain favor with both to stand a chance at victory. Throughout the game, multiple actions allow for loyalty switching, something that’s always important to consider.
▶️ For players, choices abound. In a turn, a player faces a wide array of possible actions, which might initially be overwhelming. It’s a process to familiarize oneself with these actions and their subsequent repercussions, which means newcomers might experience a bit of decision paralysis initially.
⚙️ Digging deeper into the gameplay, there are three different card types – team, paleontologist, or species. The latter offers flexibility, permitting players to opt for either a team or paleontologist action. However, species cards are invaluable for other game aspects like publishing or debunking research. This makes them a double-edged sword of opportunity and cost. Another central component is the bookshelf, representing the published papers. It serves as a metric, determining the weight of your loyalty to the patrons.
⛏️ Diving into the actions, a player using a team card is allotted a set of action points. These points are spent across six actions, dictated by the placement of your team marker on the dig sites. The ability to move your team comes as a part of the action, which can be enhanced further by creating base camps. The game’s depth lies not just in the variety but in the decisions: do you spend two action points to acquire a precious species card, or diversify your actions?
🏛 There’s also a passing mechanism that’s far from passive. You decide on a university, which determines not just a benefit but also your patron of choice. Added to this is the decision on the profession track, influencing income, cards, round bonuses, and even the next round’s player order.
👥 In our gameplay sessions, we found that Bone Wars adapts well to various group sizes, ranging from two to four players. Although we have not explored the solo-play mode, we anticipate it to be well-aligned with the multiplayer experiences. We must mention Laura Bevon, whose artistic contributions significantly enhance the game’s thematic presence. Despite working with a prototype version, the components show a promising hint of quality.
💭 Bone Wars presents itself as a solid eurogame with a robust thematic foundation. Those who prefer the heavier side of games might appreciate this one. There’s a crowdfunding campaign set for this game on Gamefound come September 18. If what we’ve shared piques your interest, you might want to explore the campaign further.
📝 Disclaimer: Our review is based on a prototype. Thus, aspects might see changes in the final product. We’d like to thank Game Brewer for providing this early-access opportunity.
