Dino Survival FAQ & Rules

Dino Survival is a strategic card game where players build habitats of prehistoric animals, interact using card abilities, and race to reach the required point total to win. It blends real paleontology with accessible strategy and player interaction.

You win by holding the required number of points for one full round.

• 2 players: 20 points
• 3 players: 15 points
• 4 players: 10 points
• Single player: 15 points

The youngest player goes first. Turn order proceeds clockwise. Players cannot be skipped.

Turn: the active player’s actions.

Round: the time between the end of your last turn and the start of your next turn.

This matters most for effects like Defend and certain Extinction Events.

Each card includes: Name, Environment, Diet, Points, Era, Type, Effect, and Description.

Only the Effect text changes gameplay. The Description is educational flavor.

No—correct pronunciation isn’t required. If everyone knows which card you mean, you’re good.

Environment controls what cards can interact with each other.

• Cards usually only target cards in the same environment unless the Effect says otherwise.
• Cards can have multiple environments—only one needs to match.

Color key: Green = Land • Blue = Water • White = Air

Gems determine how many points a card is worth.

• Multiplayer: red and green gems both count toward your score.
• Single player: green gems count for the player; red gems count for the carnivores.

Some effects restrict what can be targeted based on point value.

When you play a card with Eat, you may choose another player’s card in play and discard it. Eat can target any point value.

Attack lets you discard a card in play that:

• is in the same environment, and
• has equal or lower points than the card you just played.

The target can belong to any player.

A defending card cannot be eaten or attacked for one full round.

Tracking tip: Activate the card (turn it sideways), then Rest it (return upright) after one round.

• Forage: draw from the top of the deck.
• Scavenge: draw from the top of the discard pile (discard is face up).

Immune means this card cannot be targeted by effects that match the listed criteria. Example: Titanosaurs cannot be targeted by carnivores.

Trade lets you switch the card you just played with any card already in play. Trade cannot target cards in a player’s hand.

You choose another player and swap one card each.

• The other player does not choose the card they receive.
• You may not look at the front of the other player’s cards—only the backs.

Yes. Normally, players are limited to 7 cards in hand unless an effect changes it.

Unlimited Hand removes the hand size limit and prevents discarding at the end of your turn.

If Unlimited Hand is removed and you have more than 7 cards, you do not discard immediately. Extra cards are discarded at the end of your next turn unless Unlimited Hand returns.

Bounce returns a card of the same environment to its owner’s hand. You can target any player (including yourself). Bounce does not affect Extinction Events.

Seize lets you take 1 random card from another player’s hand without seeing it. That player may draw 1 card from the deck or discard pile.

Swarm allows players to immediately play a card of the same name or type as the Swarm card.

• The player who triggered Swarm plays first.
• Other players may play applicable cards afterward (clockwise if needed).
• All Swarm plays resolve during the active player’s turn.
• Any additional effects on those cards also resolve.

Spawn allows the player to play extra cards as indicated. If no restrictions are listed, any card may be played.

In the original Dino Survival, herbivores had green gems and carnivores had red gems. This changed in the Cambrian Explosion due to trophic levels and game balance.

Not all carnivores are apex predators—some feed low on the food chain (similar to baleen whales). When true herbivores were hard to represent (many were microscopic), some lower-trophic animals were given green gems to keep the game balanced. Clear apex predators like Anomalocaris always receive red gems.