Publisher
Happy Meeple Games
45-60
minutes
€41
cost
2-5
players
Game overview
In Fossilis, you work as a palaeontologist to dig up bones. These bones can then be used to assemble dinosaur skeletons!
You can perform a number of actions in a turn. One of them is move on the excavation board. On this board, you can push tiles to clear excavations. The material that is pushed off the board is added to your supply and used to buy cards that give you good bonuses. If you're standing next to a space with visible bones and you decide to dig them up, take the tweezers and pick out the bone you want. With these bones, you can start restoring dinosaur skeletons. Each dinosaur card shows how many and which bones you need. These dinosaur skeletons will earn you lots of points at the end. Each dinosaur card also has icons on it that you can use to make sets that will earn you even more points.
The game is further divided into a number of rounds. A round is over when all the plaster has been taken from an event card; the event card is then turned over and executed. At the end of the game, you receive points for your dinosaur cards and sets that you have made. The player with the most points wins the game!
Our thoughts
Fossilis is a unique board game that comes pretty close to real toys. It is a thematic game with special components and unique gameplay. Playing Fossilis really feels like an activity instead of a board game. With Fossilis you really get to 'play'. A perfect moment to feel like a child again!
Fossilis is a special board game thanks to its unique elements and also its unique gameplay. The components in the game are of good quality and certainly do not disappoint. The small components are sometimes a bit 'fiddly', but all components contribute to the unique game experience. Sure, picking a small bone out of a small compartment with mini tweezers can be tricky, but it's also a lot of fun! While playing Fossilis, you really feel like a child again who is excited about new toys. The only downside to the components is the game board. The game board is built in a unique way and even the set up is nice, but it has a drawback. While playing, it is difficult to see which bones are in the holes. Especially with a large table, this can be difficult. Except for this small flaw, we are very enthusiastic about the production and all components.
The gameplay of Fossilis is at least as unique as its components. As mentioned before, the game really feels like an activity. The game therefore lasts a bit long, but we enjoy ourselves every time. It is a totally different experience than we are used to with board games. Fossilis is therefore certainly unique in its kind and offers a fine set of collection games. The gameplay is fun and tactical, and in addition to its originality, it also offers enough challenge and depth. You have to play Fossilis a few times to find out the best way to score points. We quickly found out that it is better to score incomplete dinosaurs than complete ones. It is quite difficult to collect the bones. Especially when you go for the 'more expensive' dinosaurs that are worth more points, you will only be able to score 2 or 3. This can be seen as a small flaw in the gameplay, but on the other hand you can also take advantage of it.
We think Fossilis is a special and unique game on several levels. Not only in terms of components and gameplay, but also in replayability. The game comes with no less than 6 mini expansions that all change the game in their own way. This ensures a lot of replayability! In this way, you can keep the game fresh and unique for a long time. For us, this is certainly a reason to keep Fossilis in our collection for a long time. As paleontologists and board game fans, we certainly want to continue exploring the wonderful world of Fossilis!
Pros and cons
+ Unique components and gameplay
+ Very thematic
+ Feels like a toy for adults!
+ Good replayability
- Components are fiddly
- Scoring cards feels a bit unbalanced
Use the code 'SPELLENPLANK' for a 10% discount on your order!
or:
This game has been kindly gifted to us for review purposes by Happy Meeple Games.
