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The Search for Lost Species (Kickstarter – Early Copy Pledge)
Thousands of plants and animals have been discovered but haven’t been seen for decades and could be on the brink of extinction. In order to save these species, we must first find them again. The Search for Lost Species is a game about this real-world search. You are scientists on an expedition to find one of those lost species, focusing on those in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
The organization Re:wild has compiled a list of lost species around the world at www.rewild.org/lost-species. They engage in expeditions with numerous partners to find these Lost Species, and encourage others to conduct their own expeditions to rediscover these amazing Lost Species. In this deduction game, you’ll work to locate these lost species and put them back on the map!
Features:
Follow up to the hit game The Search for Planet X, one of the 2021 SXSW Tabletop Games of the Year!
Use logic and deduction to search for species thought to be extinct.
Report your sightings through the free app to determine if they are confirmed
Double-sided board provides two different island maps to explore.
6 different Lost Species to find!
Eco friendly production!
—description from the publisher
| Ages | 13+ |
|---|---|
| Players | Solo, 2 Players, 3 Players, 4 Players |
| Play Time | 60m – 75m |
| Designer | Ben Rosset, Matthew O'Malley |
| Mechanics | Action Points, Deduction |
| Theme | Deduction, Puzzle |
| Publisher | Origames, Renegade Game Studios |
joewyka
If you are okay with everyone playing half the game on their phones, then this presents a very good deductive challenge. The board is an island of hexes of 3 land types. There is a long island, which is slightly easier, and a round island. Every species, including the lost species which can change from game to game, has a rule that they will always follow. Rules can relate to configuration, position in relation to other species, or position on certain terrain types. These rules never change from game to game. Every game also has a set of research topics that can be researched in the two towns on each map which add additional information regarding the specific locations of species in the specific game you are playing. These research topics are created by the app after the map is set. Actions mostly involve moving your scientist around the island to survey by foot or boat, set a camera trap, research in a town and maybe hire some help. Actions take variable amounts of time and the player who is furthest back on the time track always goes next. Players record their discoveries on a sheet behind a screen and the game ends when a player correctly guesses the location of the lost species as well as what is in two adjacent hexes (if anything). As in Planet X, the person who guesses correctly first does not necessarily win, but is likely to. You can collect points throughout the game by confirming the location of species and making that information public. This public disclosure helps to move the game at a good pace as information starts falling into line. This is just another excellent title, like Planet X, as long as you are okay combining apps with your board play.
EasyLuckyFree
Temporary 10 until I play it and give it a real review, which should be quite soon. This is mainly just to counteract the imbecilic "software, not tabletop game." review below. Hilariously, they've taken the time out of their lives to give 137 1-star reviews to app assisted games ? Grow up. There are plenty of game styles I don't enjoy, but I choose not to play them rather that claiming they aren't real games. Just go play one of the vast swathe of "real" games that meet your outmoded purity requirements. Gatekeepers are the bane of this wonderful hobby.
Danzo
Lost Species improves in many ways on Planet X, which was already a great deduction game. There's a bit more to the deduction, with all the new map elements and the Town Cards mechanism. I've found that I get more information out of paying attention to other people's actions than I did in Planet X. The victory points can be tight in lost species, which makes taking a punt on copying someone else's theories a lot more worthwhile and makes the Town Cards a difficult choice between endgame scoring vs extra information now. Overall Lost Species feels like a more interesting and interactive game than Planet X. Lost Species does have some issues though. It is a bit more fiddly than Planet X. The wording of the research clues can be quite clunky and confusing at times: 2 out of 3 games so far have had a player unable to understand a clue, whereas I don't recall that happening in any of my 15 games of Planet X. Still, at the moment I find the experience to be worth these downsides.