Cubosaurs makes collecting dinosaurs a problem in which more is not always better. Each species scores in its own way: one may reward a pair, another may be valuable as a single card, while too many copies can reduce a score. Players have to judge the cards they keep and the hand they will pass to an opponent.
Fabien Tanguy designed the card game, illustrated by Kristiaan der Nederlanden and published by Catch Up Games in 2022. It supports two to five players, takes about twenty minutes and offers a basic game plus a more interactive DNA evolution mode. The bright geometric animals are easy to read across a table, while the scoring rules create the real puzzle.
Taking or passing a hand
At the start of a turn, a player either draws a card or receives the hand passed by the previous player. They must take the entire hand into their collection or pass it on. Passing has a cost: the player adds one card from their own collection to the hand, and that card must be a type not already present in the hand. If no legal card is available, the hand has to be kept.
When the deck is empty, everyone scores the collection. The first round usually uses clockwise passing. A second round reverses direction and begins with the player who scored least. The two round totals decide the winner. The rules recommend three rounds with two players, where each person otherwise has much more control over what returns to them.
Why a herd can be a liability
The value of a dinosaur depends on how many copies a player collects. A first card can be useful and a fourth can push the set into negative points. Velociraptor cards come in grey and black pairs, and an unmatched card carries a penalty. Egg cards depend on who has the majority of a shown type, so watching another player’s collection can matter as much as managing your own.
The dilemma changes as hands move around the table. A set you do not want may become valuable to the next player, and a card added to make a legal pass can improve an opponent’s collection. With four or five players, the hand may grow and its likely destination becomes harder to predict. A two-player game is more controlled, so the recommended third round gives the match room to change.
The optional DNA mode
DNA icons can be ignored in the basic game. In the advanced mode, players collect DNA tokens and spend them on evolution tiles. Some abilities happen immediately; others change how collections score. The tiles can let a player swap, remove or give a card, or pass a hand without the usual addition.
These effects make the table more interactive. A player may keep tokens for points or spend them to alter a difficult collection. The timing question adds depth, but it also gives opponents more direct ways to disrupt a plan. New players can begin without the tiles and add them once everyone understands the set-scoring rules.
A family game, not a dinosaur habitat
The cards use recognisable names such as Tyrannosaurus, Stegosaurus and Pentaceratops, but the species did not form one real community. Some lived in different periods or regions. A card labelled “pterodactyl” depicts a pterosaur, which is not a dinosaur. DNA tokens are a game currency, not a model of inheritance or population change.
That separation is useful to keep clear. The artwork turns prehistoric animals into a common visual language for collecting sets. It does not claim to show a food web, social group or accurate ecosystem. The dinosaur board games catalogue links Cubosaurs with other tabletop titles; the same review also appears in the dinosaur games for kids catalogue because its short rules and family format suit younger players with help.
Who may enjoy it?
Cubosaurs works for a small family or group looking for a quick drafting game with simple turns and meaningful choices. Most of the complexity comes from remembering which sets gain or lose points. The base rules are easy to teach; DNA tiles add direct interaction for a group that wants more disruption.
For younger players, it helps to play one round without the advanced tiles and talk through the scoring together. Older players may enjoy trying to predict which hand an opponent wants or deciding whether a risky set is worth collecting. The game’s short length makes a poor round easy to recover from, while its changing hands keep the same scoring puzzle from playing exactly the same way twice.
Frequently asked questions
How many players can play Cubosaurs?
The game supports two to five players. For two players, the rules recommend three rounds instead of two.
Do you need the DNA evolution tiles to play?
No. They are part of the advanced mode; the basic game ignores the DNA icons.
Can a player pass only some of the cards in a hand?
No. A player takes the whole hand or adds one eligible card from their collection and passes the whole hand on.
Do the Cubosaurs cards show a real prehistoric community?
No. The game combines animals from different times and regions as scoring sets. Its pterosaur card and DNA tokens are also game abstractions.