As a continuation of last week's board game rules post, here is the text for the Return of the Dinosaurs Board Game:
Return of the Dinosaurs
Spear's Games No. 20005
A game for 2 to 4 players aged 4+
Contents:
Double-sided board
Pack of 24 'fact' cards
4 dinosaur figures
Special die
Pack of 32 'dig' cards
4 counters
The Dinosaur Dig
You will need: The playing board
4 dinosaur playing pieces
32 'dig' cards (with orange backs)
the die
Aim of the game
This game is for younger players, and the aim of the game is to be the first player to collect the 4 cards that make up the picture of a whole dinosaur - head, front legs, back legs, and tail. Pieces are collected by landing on a pile of cards and 'digging'.
Preparation
Place the playing board between all the players with the 'Dig' side face up (see diagram on page 3). Take the pack of orange-backed 'dig' cards and shuffle them well. Deal them out into four piles of eight cards each and place a pile on each of the orange spaces on the board. Each player chooses a dinosaur and places it on one of the four piles. Take the die and off you go ...
Playing the game
The youngest player begins, and play continues in a clockwise direction. The first player rolls the die and moves their dinosaur round the board that number of spaces following the direction of the dinosaur footprints. Only the card piles and the craters count as spaces.
If a player lands on a pile of cards, they roll the die again and count down that number of cards to find the card that they should take. So, if a player rolls a 3, they put the top card to the bottom of the pile, and the same with the next card, and then take the third card. They put the card face up in front of them and give the die to the next player.
No player can have more than two cards of any type (head, body, tail etc.). If a player picks up a card they have two of already, the card is put back in the pile and the pile shuffled.
No more than one dinosaur can be on one space at the same time. If your move would land you on a space occupied by another dinosaur, then move to the next available space.
Winning the game
The first player to collect the four different cards that make up a complete dinosaur is the winner. For a longer game, be the first player to collect two complete dinosaurs.
Escape from the Volcano
You will need: the playing board
4 dinosaur figures
pack of 24 'fact' cards (blue backs)
the die
4 red counters
Aim of the game
This is a game for older players, as reading is required. The aim of this game is to escape from the erupting volcano in the centre of the board. This is done by winning battles with the other dinosaurs.
Preparation
Put the playing board between all the players with the volcano side face up. (see diagram on page 3). Take the pack of blue-backed 'fact' cards and shuffle them well. Deal out six cards to each player and place any remaining cards to one side.
Each player chooses a dinosaur and takes a counter. Place the dinosaur on one of the squares with a yellow arrow and put the counter on the circular picture of your dinosaur's head, at the beginning of the volcano track. Take the die and you're off ...
About the fact cards
Battling the dinosaurs is done using the 'fact' cards. If you look at one of the cards you will see a picture of a dinosaur, and some facts about it - its name and how to pronounce it, when it lived, its age, weight, length, and ferocity, as well as some idea of what it ate.
The four categories in the middle of the card are colour coded and these colours relate to the four spaces in the corners of the board. When you land on one of these spaces you can battle all the other players using your strongest cards in that category.
Playing the game
The youngest player starts, and play continues clockwise. Roll the die and move your dinosaur that number of spaces in the direction of the arrows. When you land on one of the four corner squares you must challenge all the other players to a dinosaur battle.
Each player chooses a card from their hand and puts it face up in the centre. The player landing on the space starts. The player who wins is the one who plays the card with the highest value in the category of that corner square. They take the cards they have won, place them to one side, and move their counter one space along the volcano track. If two or more players put down a card with the same value, the hand is tied and no one wins.
No more than one dinosaur can be on one space at the same time. If a move would land a player on a space occupied by another dinosaur, then they must move to the next available space.
After six battles, the player whose turn it was on the last battle shuffles all the cards together and deals them out again. The game continues as before, starting with the player to his or her left.
Winning the game
The winner is the first player to win ten battles and therefore escape from the volcano.
About the Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs lived on the Earth for around 150 million years, first appearing around 230 million years ago. It is difficult to imagine such a long period of time, but if we think of each of those years as just one hour, then the Battle of Hastings took place just over a month ago, King Tutankamen reigned in Egypt around four and a half months ago and the first real humans were living something like eleven and a half years ago. However, even on this basis, the first dinosaurs appeared over twenty six thousand years ago, and the last ones died out about seven thousand years ago.
The name 'dinosaur' come from the Greek words meaning 'terrible lizard'. The name was given to them by the paleontologist Sir Richard Owen in 1841. Owen thought that all dinosaurs were the same 'family' of reptiles, but we know now that there were actually two types - Saurischia (such as the Tyrannosaurus Rex) which had a bone structure similar to today's lizards and Ornithischia (such as the Stegosaurus) which were more closely related to today's birds !
Here are some details regarding the dinosaurs that come with your game :
Stegosaurus
This plant-eating dinosaur dates from the Upper Jurassic period, which makes it nearly 180 million years old. It was 7.5 metres long and weighed around 3.5 tonnes. The large plates sticking out of its back are thought to have helped it regulate its body temperature. The Stegosaurus is perhaps best known for having had three 'brains' - it had extra nerve ganglia at the top and bottom of its spine, which were used to control the head and the tail.
Apatosaurus
Better known as 'Brontosaurus', or 'Thunder Lizard', Apatosaurus measured an average of 21 metres, or 70 feet in length, and weighed in at 30 tonnes. A plant eater, Apatosaurus also flourished in the Jurassic period, around 140 million years ago.
Triceratops
Triceratops is from a sub-order of Ornithischia called the ceratopsians, characterised by their large, horned skulls. Triceratops was the largest of these, measuring in at 9 metres and weighing around 10 tonnes. Remains of this dinosaur have been found in sites across America and Canada dating from the Upper Cretaceous period - around 130 to 80 million years ago.
Ceratosaurus
This fearsome meat-eater stood on two legs and was around 3 metres long, but could grow larger. It lived in both America and Africa during the Upper Jurassic period. It would have preyed on slower, weaker dinosaurs and other animals.
Camarasaurus
This is the dinosaur which is pictured on the cards in the 'Dinosaur Dig' game. Camarasaurus was a massive saurapod which grew up to 17.5 metres long. A gentle plant eater, it lived in the Upper Jurassic period, around 180 to 150 million years ago.
Return of the Dinosaurs
Spear's Games No. 20005
A game for 2 to 4 players aged 4+
Contents:
Double-sided board
Pack of 24 'fact' cards
4 dinosaur figures
Special die
Pack of 32 'dig' cards
4 counters
The Dinosaur Dig
You will need: The playing board
4 dinosaur playing pieces
32 'dig' cards (with orange backs)
the die
Aim of the game
This game is for younger players, and the aim of the game is to be the first player to collect the 4 cards that make up the picture of a whole dinosaur - head, front legs, back legs, and tail. Pieces are collected by landing on a pile of cards and 'digging'.
Preparation
Place the playing board between all the players with the 'Dig' side face up (see diagram on page 3). Take the pack of orange-backed 'dig' cards and shuffle them well. Deal them out into four piles of eight cards each and place a pile on each of the orange spaces on the board. Each player chooses a dinosaur and places it on one of the four piles. Take the die and off you go ...
Playing the game
The youngest player begins, and play continues in a clockwise direction. The first player rolls the die and moves their dinosaur round the board that number of spaces following the direction of the dinosaur footprints. Only the card piles and the craters count as spaces.
If a player lands on a pile of cards, they roll the die again and count down that number of cards to find the card that they should take. So, if a player rolls a 3, they put the top card to the bottom of the pile, and the same with the next card, and then take the third card. They put the card face up in front of them and give the die to the next player.
No player can have more than two cards of any type (head, body, tail etc.). If a player picks up a card they have two of already, the card is put back in the pile and the pile shuffled.
No more than one dinosaur can be on one space at the same time. If your move would land you on a space occupied by another dinosaur, then move to the next available space.
Winning the game
The first player to collect the four different cards that make up a complete dinosaur is the winner. For a longer game, be the first player to collect two complete dinosaurs.
Escape from the Volcano
You will need: the playing board
4 dinosaur figures
pack of 24 'fact' cards (blue backs)
the die
4 red counters
Aim of the game
This is a game for older players, as reading is required. The aim of this game is to escape from the erupting volcano in the centre of the board. This is done by winning battles with the other dinosaurs.
Preparation
Put the playing board between all the players with the volcano side face up. (see diagram on page 3). Take the pack of blue-backed 'fact' cards and shuffle them well. Deal out six cards to each player and place any remaining cards to one side.
Each player chooses a dinosaur and takes a counter. Place the dinosaur on one of the squares with a yellow arrow and put the counter on the circular picture of your dinosaur's head, at the beginning of the volcano track. Take the die and you're off ...
About the fact cards
Battling the dinosaurs is done using the 'fact' cards. If you look at one of the cards you will see a picture of a dinosaur, and some facts about it - its name and how to pronounce it, when it lived, its age, weight, length, and ferocity, as well as some idea of what it ate.
The four categories in the middle of the card are colour coded and these colours relate to the four spaces in the corners of the board. When you land on one of these spaces you can battle all the other players using your strongest cards in that category.
Playing the game
The youngest player starts, and play continues clockwise. Roll the die and move your dinosaur that number of spaces in the direction of the arrows. When you land on one of the four corner squares you must challenge all the other players to a dinosaur battle.
Each player chooses a card from their hand and puts it face up in the centre. The player landing on the space starts. The player who wins is the one who plays the card with the highest value in the category of that corner square. They take the cards they have won, place them to one side, and move their counter one space along the volcano track. If two or more players put down a card with the same value, the hand is tied and no one wins.
No more than one dinosaur can be on one space at the same time. If a move would land a player on a space occupied by another dinosaur, then they must move to the next available space.
After six battles, the player whose turn it was on the last battle shuffles all the cards together and deals them out again. The game continues as before, starting with the player to his or her left.
Winning the game
The winner is the first player to win ten battles and therefore escape from the volcano.
About the Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs lived on the Earth for around 150 million years, first appearing around 230 million years ago. It is difficult to imagine such a long period of time, but if we think of each of those years as just one hour, then the Battle of Hastings took place just over a month ago, King Tutankamen reigned in Egypt around four and a half months ago and the first real humans were living something like eleven and a half years ago. However, even on this basis, the first dinosaurs appeared over twenty six thousand years ago, and the last ones died out about seven thousand years ago.
The name 'dinosaur' come from the Greek words meaning 'terrible lizard'. The name was given to them by the paleontologist Sir Richard Owen in 1841. Owen thought that all dinosaurs were the same 'family' of reptiles, but we know now that there were actually two types - Saurischia (such as the Tyrannosaurus Rex) which had a bone structure similar to today's lizards and Ornithischia (such as the Stegosaurus) which were more closely related to today's birds !
Here are some details regarding the dinosaurs that come with your game :
Stegosaurus
This plant-eating dinosaur dates from the Upper Jurassic period, which makes it nearly 180 million years old. It was 7.5 metres long and weighed around 3.5 tonnes. The large plates sticking out of its back are thought to have helped it regulate its body temperature. The Stegosaurus is perhaps best known for having had three 'brains' - it had extra nerve ganglia at the top and bottom of its spine, which were used to control the head and the tail.
Apatosaurus
Better known as 'Brontosaurus', or 'Thunder Lizard', Apatosaurus measured an average of 21 metres, or 70 feet in length, and weighed in at 30 tonnes. A plant eater, Apatosaurus also flourished in the Jurassic period, around 140 million years ago.
Triceratops
Triceratops is from a sub-order of Ornithischia called the ceratopsians, characterised by their large, horned skulls. Triceratops was the largest of these, measuring in at 9 metres and weighing around 10 tonnes. Remains of this dinosaur have been found in sites across America and Canada dating from the Upper Cretaceous period - around 130 to 80 million years ago.
Ceratosaurus
This fearsome meat-eater stood on two legs and was around 3 metres long, but could grow larger. It lived in both America and Africa during the Upper Jurassic period. It would have preyed on slower, weaker dinosaurs and other animals.
Camarasaurus
This is the dinosaur which is pictured on the cards in the 'Dinosaur Dig' game. Camarasaurus was a massive saurapod which grew up to 17.5 metres long. A gentle plant eater, it lived in the Upper Jurassic period, around 180 to 150 million years ago.