The Frogames review
Cards and evolution: hungry species compete for the watering hole and hunt each other
Two plants are left in the watering hole, your species has three hungry populations, and your opponent's hunter has a hunting value equal to your defence.
Around a small watering hole, you guide your species through an ecosystem where food is scarce and predators are on the prowl. Your aim is to help them grow with traits such as ‘Claws’, ‘Fast’ or ‘Fangs’.
Each round, you first play cards as population, size or a trait. Then, taking turns, you feed a species by foraging plants or hunting. The plants run out, and anyone left hungry dies. After 4 rounds, the player with the most food behind their screen wins, plus 2 points for each surviving species.
Released in 2025, it was designed by Dominic Crapuchettes, creator of the ‘Evolution’ series. The Italian edition is published by Pendragon Games, with illustrations by Catherine Hamilton.
Category:Gioco di strategia · Gioco per famiglie · Gioco in solitario · Animali · Carte
At a glance
Why we like it. Every card can become population, size, a trait or food, and every choice matters because the watering hole empties for everyone. An extinct species doesn't knock anyone out: lost population and size are reborn in the next round's species.
Good to know. With four players, the round of feeding turns gets longer and there's a wait between one of your actions and the next; for 5-6 players, the rulebook recommends the simultaneous variant.
What kind of gameFrogScore + Luck5 cards drawn each round StrategyEvery card has three uses InteractionHunting and a shared watering hole PaceFeeding goes round the whole table Replayability4 food values, 8 traits Rated by Frogames · from the rules · what the levels mean
We set the levels by reading the rules, always with the same yardstick: a 3 means the same on every game.
- you decide
- mostly you
- half and half
- often chance
- chance decides
- one choice per turn
- plan a few turns
- plan half the game
- build for later
- the whole game is a plan
- each to their own
- you compete for things
- you get in the way
- you hit each other
- you attack each other
- lots of waiting
- long turns
- medium turns
- short turns
- you play together
- always the same
- card order changes
- part of it changes
- a lot changes
- every game is different
Playing it solo
Official solo mode · rules p. pp. 2-8Rani, an automated opponent driven by 6 solo cards, one for each of her species.
Score more points than Rani by the end of the fourth round.
If Rani has more points than you at the end of the game.
You draw her cards one at a time and assign them by following the icons, borders and priority lists on the solo cards.
1Set up as for two players: the watering hole's food is the card value times 2. 2You always adapt first, then play Rani's face-down hand. 3Rani forages first if she can and discards cards to add plants. 4Her hunters choose the prey that costs her the least population.
Five levels: Mouse, Rabbit, Fox, Tiger, Snow Leopard; they change the cards Rani draws and her starting population.
Four rounds, adapting, feeding and scoring with food and surviving species all stay the same as in the base game. Rani starts with two species and switches priority list when she loses population.
Setup A screen for Rani, the 6 solo cards shuffled, and a difficulty level.You need Nothing: the 6 solo cards are in the box.
How to play
Watch a game
Official rulebook (PDF) →- 1Play cardsEach card becomes population, size or a trait for the species of your choice.
- 2Feed a speciesOn your turn, forage plants from the watering hole or hunt with a hunter species.
- 3Defend your populationSize and traits boost your defence against opposing hunters.
- 4Stockpile foodAfter 4 rounds: 1 point per food, 2 per surviving species.
What’s in the box
- 6 solo cards
Questions about Nature
Does Nature work with two?+
Yes, Nature plays with the standard rules at two. The only difference is the watering hole's food: the value of the card drawn during setup is multiplied by 2. On BGG, 62% recommend it at two, but the preferred count is 3 or 4.
Does Nature hold up over lots of plays?+
Yes, because the cards are shuffled and the traits combine in ever-different ways. The watering hole's food changes too, set by a card with 4 possible values. The box includes the simultaneous variant, extra rounds and the solo mode; the modules sold separately change the ecosystem.
How much text is there to read in Nature?+
This edition of Nature is in Italian. Each trait card has one line of effect text to read, and the language dependence listed on BGG is moderate.
Is Nature hard to learn?+
No: Nature has three card actions and two phases per round. The complexity comes from trait combinations, the hunting rules and mandatory triggered traits. Its BGG weight is 2.17 out of 5.
How much space does Nature need?+
Nature needs a table with the watering hole in the middle and room in front of each player for their row of species. Each species has a size dial, population tokens and up to 3 trait cards; a new one is added every round.
Can Nature be played with 5 or 6?+
Yes, Nature's rulebook covers 5-6 players with the simultaneous variant. In the adaptation phase, everyone plays their cards at the same time, without looking at others' choices, to cut down on waiting.
How do you win at Nature?+
The player with the most points after 4 rounds wins. Each food that fed a population is worth 1 point, and each surviving species 2 points. In a tie, the player with the most traits on surviving species wins.
Can Nature be played solo?+
Yes, Nature has an official solo mode against Rani, an automated opponent. Rani uses 6 solo cards with priority lists and has five difficulty levels, from Mouse to Snow Leopard.
Is there player elimination in Nature?+
No, nobody is knocked out of Nature. A species can go extinct, but each round a new species arrives and receives the population and size lost in the previous round.
How much does luck matter in Nature?+
In Nature, the luck lies in the draw: each round you get 5 cards from a shuffled deck. Foraging and hunting have fixed outcomes, with no dice, and every card can be used in three ways or saved for later.
How long does a game of Nature take?+
A game of Nature lasts 30-45 minutes, split into 4 rounds. The rules allow extra rounds: each one adds about 20 minutes.
Is Nature suitable for children?+
Nature is recommended for ages 10 and up. The animal theme and the contested watering hole are instantly accessible, while hunting and triggered traits require attention to hunting and defence values.
“One watering hole, four rounds and species hunting each other: all of evolution in three quarters of an hour.”
Who is behind Nature
Who designed it, who drew it, who publishes it, and what else they made.
All the BoardGameGeek data released 2025 · #3590 overall · #1191 tra i Family · Powered by BoardGameGeek +
- Rating
- 6,85/10 · 1486 ratings
- Rank
- #3590 overall · #1191 in Family
- Complexity
- 2,17/5
- Year
- 2025
- Designers
- Dominic Crapuchettes
- Artists
- Catherine Hamilton, Alyssa McCarthy, Nina Pommelin
- Categories
- Animali, Carte
- Mechanics
- Chaining, Hand Management, Move Through Deck, Simulation, Solo / Solitaire Game, Variable Set-up
- Language dependence
- Medio
Powered by BoardGameGeek
Nature in short. Card game for 1–4 players by Dominic Crapuchettes, released in 2025 and published in Italy by Pendragon Games. A game lasts 30–45 minutes, for ages 10 and up. It takes ‘Evolution’ in a leaner form: species to grow, a watering hole to fight over and hunters to defend against, with an official solo mode against an automated opponent. Italian edition, available at Frogames.it
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