Something incredible has happened: scientists have cloned dinosaurs! After years of research and experiments, they’ve managed to bring ancient reptiles back to life… and now they need somewhere to go. Massive dinosaur parks are being built all over the world, and yours simply has to be the best.

The Game Draftosaurus

This is a vibrant and engaging family game about dinosaurs, dino parks, and tough decisions. Almost immediately after its release, it was nominated for several prestigious board game awards. Build your own dinosaur park and make it the most exciting place in the world!

Gameplay

The rules of Draftosaurus couldn’t be simpler, and each game consists of two rounds, lasting just 15 minutes. At the start of each round, you draw six dinosaur figures from a special bag and conceal them in your hands, keeping them hidden from other players. On each turn, you’ll choose one dinosaur from your stash and place it in the appropriate enclosure, passing the remaining dinosaurs to the player on your left.

Of course, there are a few challenges. For starters, all enclosures are different. Some can hold only one dinosaur, others can house several but must contain the same species, and a third type acts as an isolation pen—at the end of the game, the dinosaur there will need to be moved elsewhere. The dino park boards are double-sided, with six unique enclosures on each side. Pick a side before the game and pay close attention when placing your dinosaurs—victory depends on it!

Additionally, the game includes a die that determines the most critical aspect of each turn: where you can place your dinosaur. To the left or right of the river? In the forest zone or the meadow zone? Each zone has three enclosures. The choice is yours! However, sometimes the die demands you place a dinosaur in an empty enclosure or one without T-Rexes, which can get tricky—especially late in the game when your park is teeming with dinosaurs of all kinds.

Good news: the player rolling the die can ignore its instructions and place their dinosaur in any enclosure. Bad news: the die passes clockwise, so you won’t always get to roll it, and you’ll still need to follow placement rules eventually. But there’s always a choice—even if an enclosure isn’t an option, you can make your dinosaur a swimmer and send it to the river, earning victory points that way too!

Once you’ve run out of dinosaurs in your hand, draw new ones from the bag and keep playing. By the end of the game, your dino park will house exactly 12 figures—the player who earns the most victory points with them wins!