We’re all dinosaur fans. No argument allowed. I haven’t met anyone who doesn’t love Jurassic Park or those dino Transformers which I ended up obsessing over in the 80’s, or potato snacks in the shape of T-Rexes. (T-Rexi? Plurals are so hard), those old Dino Crisis games on the PS1 (that game was pure terror, man). I mean, can you think of anything that can’t be improved with a velociraptor slapped on it? Lunch boxes, watches, cereal boxes, jigsaw puzzles, face paint. And, obviously, board games, and I’ve got one for you right here.
Sauros comes to you from Tangerine Games, the team that brought you the amazing Peaks (and if you haven’t added Peaks to your collection, then you need to get on with it). This one is a tile draft and placement game for 2-5 players and should play in about 30-60 minutes. It’s a trick-taking game in which players are playing tiles from their hand into the central play area in order to win tricks.
You know what? I just got an image in my head. Got a feeling you did too, let's see if they match. There's a quintet of dinos, a mix and match of species - one of those tri-horned ones, the one with the long neck, a round one of some type, that little chicken-like thing, and a T-Rex struggling with its little arms, all pulling tricks with their tiles. What do you mean, that's not what you were thinking? What were you thinking, then? My God, you're a disgrace.
Players take turns placing tiles, as well as the trump tile (if they win it) onto their playmats. The game features five asymmetric player mats with their own unique scoring conditions, with each representing one of the five dinosaurs present in Sauros. Pick your favourite, or try a different beast each game until you find one to suit.
I flat out love the tile design. Neon dino outlines on jet black? Yes please (although I hear this particular design is exclusive to the Kickstarter edition, so maybe don’t wait for retail). Tangerine Games always run an excellent, clear campaign without a stack of confusing and expensive options, and this won’t be an exception. Want notification of when the campaign goes live? Of course you do, so stick your name down here.