In the Footsteps of Darwin

At its core, In the Footsteps of Darwin is a beautifully designed tile drafting and set collection game. The game is for 2-5 players with a realistic play time of about 30-40 minutes.

Setting the scene

The year is 1856. Many years after his expedition around the world, Charles Darwin has enlisted your help to complete the writing of his book ‘The Origin of Species’.
As a young naturalist eager for discovery, you will follow in the footsteps of Darwin by embarking on the Beagle in search of new information about animal life – roaming across continents Darwin has yet to have visited.The goal is to contribute the most information to the Origin of Species, which is determined at the end of the game by scoring more victory points than your opponents. Points are scored throughout your journey by studying animals, developing theories and publishing your findings.

Gameplay

The game is played across a set number of rounds and ends when each player has collected a total of 12 tiles for their notebook.
Each turn players perform two steps in the following order:
1. Study an animal or take inspiration from a character.
2. Continue the voyage of the Beagle.

Step 1 involves players choosing either an animal or character tile from the display to add to their notebook. Players may only choose one of three tiles in the column or row that the Beagle is facing. The tile is then placed in the correct space on the player’s notebook – if it is an animal, it needs to be placed in the space with the matching ecosystem and class icon. Some tiles have end of game points listed on them, whilst others have immediate bonuses that players can carry out before moving on to step 2. The voyage of the Beagle begins at the top of the centre most column of the tile display. In Step 2 of a players turn, it continues its journey by following the arrows around the edge of the grid, moving either 1, 2 or 3 spaces depending on whether the player takes the 1st, 2nd or 3rd tile away from the ship.

Players also start with a guide token at the beginning of the game and can hire more guides along their journey. Guides can be used in two ways: to help sail the Beagle to a previous or future destination – meaning that players can move the ship backwards of forwards one space before choosing a tile; or taking the ‘probe’ action and replacing the tiles in the column/row a player is choosing from.

Throughout their journey players can study multiple animals of the same class and ecosystem to help them develop theories and score extra points. When players have studied and completed a set of animals in either a class or ecosystem category, they can publish their work – receiving a 5-point publication token which can also be added to their point total at the end of the game.

Tip! – Theories and Publications are great for giving players direction. Knowing which tiles to start collecting can be a tricky part of the game, so having one or a few of these to focus on and work towards is a good way of building up points for the endgame. The end of the game is triggered when there are no tiles left in the draw pile to replace the display, which by this point players should have all collected 12 for their notebook. Victory points are calculated by adding up your discoveries (points on animal tiles), charts (points = number of compasses you have collected), publications written, theories developed, and 2 victory points to whoever has control of the Darwin token.

Components

A review of this game would not be complete without mentioning the fascinating artwork. The beautiful watercolour paintings are reflective of the Beagles real life artist in residence – Conrad Marten, and not only catch your eye on the box but permeate throughout all components of the game. The illustrations are clean and precise, with a satisfying natural and thematic colour palette.
The thick cardboard of the game tiles and the wooden Beagle miniature make for sturdy quality components that you won’t worry about getting tatted or flimsy after a few plays.

Final thoughts

The simplicity of this game makes It easy to teach and quick to learn. It’s not the kind of high-tension game that has you sweating on the edge of your seat each round. It’s fun, relaxed and whilst still providing opportunities for challenge, it doesn’t get bogged down with complexity. It’s what I would call a great gateway game – perfect for introducing newcomers to the table, as well as appealing to avid gamers looking for more of a shorter length game. You can choose to play the game collecting your favourite animals and the prettiest tiles, or you can spend time thinking more strategically to work out which tiles will be the most point effective.

The rulebook and appendix also make for some interesting reading if you want to find out a bit about Darwin’s actual journey and work on the Beagle, as well as some short anecdotes about the many animals included on the tiles in the game. My only concern is with the game’s replay ability. For the moment it is enjoyable, and I am well into a double-digit amount of plays, but I wonder if the game will become stale once you’ve worked out the best way to score points – following the same strategy and collecting the same sorts of tiles each game. There is an additional list of 10 game achievements to complete at the back of the rule book, but I can’t imagine this lasting long – especially if you are the kind of person to get a new game and play it every day in the first few weeks of owning it!