HAPPY LITTLE DINOSAURS
My wife and I got introduced to this game right before Christmas and immediately we decided that “we got to have this.” It is a quick game that is super easy to learn and is full of little sayings that will make you laugh and smile.
The base game is for 2-4 players and contains 97 cards (disaster & point) with four dinosaur player boards and dinosaur meeples to match, plus the rule book. The box says that it takes 30-60 minutes to play but once you learn the game, even a higher player count game can finish even quicker than that.
We were able to teach both my mother and sister the game in separate back to back games and each game took about 15 minutes to complete.
BGG Description
Lately, it feels like we’re all just dinosaurs trying to avoid the falling meteors. In this game, you’ll try to dodge all of life’s little disasters. You might fall into a pit of hot lava or get ghosted by your dino date, but the dino who survives it all wins the game!
In Happy Little Dinosaurs, the first person to reach 50 points, or be the last Dinosaur standing, wins the game! During each round, you’ll flip a Disaster card featuring a Natural, Predatory, or Emotional disaster. Each player will play a Point card in hopes of collecting points and avoiding the disaster.
You will work to avoid all of life’s little disasters and laugh as they happen to your friends. If you collect 3 Disaster cards of the same type OR 3 different types of Disaster cards, you will be out of the game. Point cards feature weapons, trinkets, and good luck charms that you use to collect points and avoid disasters. Each card has a point value between 0 and 9 that you will use when scoring a round. You can use Instant cards at different points during the game to tip the odds in your favor or save your Dinosaur from certain death.
Player boards include your Dinosaur's traits, an Escape Route you use to track your score, and a Disaster Area where you will collect Disaster cards. You'll move your Dinosaur meeple along the Escape Route on your player board to track your score. Will you successfully dodge the disasters or get eaten by a prehistoric whale? Only the cards can decide.
Weight 1.83/5
What we like about the game
We like that each player’s dinosaur character has different traits that will either boost or subtract one point from their point card scores based on what type of disaster card is played on top of the different point card and instant card effects. We also like that only the top scoring player of the round gets to score the winning point card total (the lowest point total gets the disaster card) and that each player also receives points for each disaster card they have.
The 2 player modification of removing certain sets of cards from the point card deck does indeed keep it more balanced and the number of disaster cards needed to “send you to the tar pits” is fine as well.
The simple cartoony artwork on each card also adds to the “happy” effect of the game.
1st EXPANSION: PERILS OF PUBERTY
This expansion adds 54 additional cards to the base game. 16 disaster cards and 38 point cards and not every card is new, there are repeated cards from the base game.
BGG Description
This expansion adds 54 new cards to the base game, all themed around dinosaur puberty. Your dinosaurs can now face all kinds of new and terrifying problems, including hormones, peer pressure, acne, and worse! Meteors, tar pits, and predators were bad enough—will you survive puberty on top of it all?
The base game is required to play.
No weight is given for this expansion
What we like about the expansion
The artwork for this set follows the base game, three of the disaster cards add a new twist in which they count as 2 disasters instead of one, and the new effects on the point cards a fun to use.
What we don’t like about the expansion
There is not rules guidance for this so the assumption is that we just add the cards to the two decks. Also, there is not special marking on the cards to distinguish them from the base game cards.
2nd EXPANSION: 5-6 PLAYER EXPANSION
If you want to play with additional players and/or you want two new dinosaurs to select from, look no further than this expansion. Adding 50 additional cards to the base game. 14 disaster cards and 36 point cards and, just like with Perils of Puberty, not every card is new, there are repeated cards from the base game.
BGG Description
This pack expands Happy Little Dinosaurs to six players by adding two dinosaur player boards and the corresponding meeples, as well as fifty cards.
What we like about the expansion
The first thing to mention is that all the cards are marked with a symbol (the heads of the two new characters) so that when you put the game away you can separate the card quickly. Speaking of the cards, the new disaster cards are amusing but do not any more double disasters like in the Perils of Puberty expansion and the new point card effects are awesome. The new effects I feel would be too powerful to use in a lower player count game (maybe four player but no less than that).
The new characters, Pterry Dactyl & Raging Raptor, each have the three disaster symbols to either boost or subtract from your point card scoring. One symbol on each card gives either a plus/minus 2 and the other two symbols are plus/minus 1. The meeples that go with each character looks great as well.
What we are not sure about the expansion
Since we have not actually played with the higher player count (we have used the characters though), what we are not sure about is the new rule that states the top two point earners score or more if the second highest had two or more people that tied. If only one player scores the most and everyone else tied, the sudden death tiebreaker rules apply to everyone else to see who gets the disaster card.
We are going to assume this rule change is so game will still play in the 30 to 60 minute time.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, we really love this game and how quick it plays. Hence the reason why it is on our 10 x10 Challenge for this year. It is a nice family friendly game that young and old can truly enjoy. The big question is will your dinosaur be able to escape the pending fate of the other dinosaurs or will you be joinging them for a “spa day at the pits?”
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