Board game After Us from the online store Woodcat

Many believe that humanity will eventually destroy itself. Many authors have already fantasized about this: in books, digital games, and even board games. Why then shouldn't nature prevail over the planet after the end of human civilization? Some of the most advanced animals, primates, could very well replace humans—they are organized, capable of evolving, and even use the waste left behind by humans. And our beloved apes will do all of this in the board game After Us. Gather your gang, establish cooperation between them, and develop your pack beyond your opponents.

Orangutan for president!

Welcome to the post-apocalyptic world of the board game After Us. Lead a small flock of 8 tamarins and recruit new primates throughout the game. The key is to ensure they work well together—this will provide resources for activating other abilities or recruiting new primates, as well as victory points to help you get closer to victory.

The board game After Us consists of 3 phases:

• Monkey advice.
• Attracting new monkeys.
• Rest.

During the Monkey Council phase, players simultaneously reveal the top four cards from their logs and place them in front of them in any order. It's important that the frames on two adjacent monkeys be closed—this allows them to be activated and gain various benefits in the form of resources and victory points.

Once all players have laid out their cards as they see fit, it's time to listen to the Monkey Council. At this point, players activate all of their frames as they wish, from left to right: first the top row, then the middle row, and finally the bottom row.

The second phase, Attract New Apes, begins after all players have heard their Ape Councils. First, in this phase, one of the Action Discs must be played. Players reveal their Action Discs simultaneously and can play this phase again in parallel. The Action Disc indicates which type of Ape (orangutans, gorillas, explorers, or chimpanzees) can be attracted for 3 or 6 specific food resources (more resources means a higher-level card). Attracted Apes always go to the top of the log, so this card will be in your Ape Council for the next round. You can also perform a specific action or gain the resources depicted on the chosen disc. For 2 resources of the same type, you can copy the action to your opponent's disc.

The Rest phase is the shortest. Here, you simply place your played cards on the discard pile and prepare for the next round. The game continues until one player reaches 80 victory points.

It's also important to note that each monkey species has a specific specialization. For example, travelers are better at scoring victory points, orangutans specialize in constantly replenishing energy tokens, chimpanzees are very fond of repeating other actions, and gorillas generate rage. What is this rage good for, I wonder? For 4 rage (you mark it on your player board), you can permanently remove cards from your log, receiving a small bonus for doing so.

And what would we do without the remnants of human civilization, item cards that all players can use for energy tokens? All sorts of mopeds, boomboxes, and minibars can be quite useful if used wisely!

Monkeys rule the world

After Us isn't as simple a game as it might seem at first glance. The rules are simple, but that doesn't make it any easier on your brain as the game progresses. There's a fair amount of randomness in the game, as you constantly have to figure out how to unite all your monkeys to your advantage. And it's this logical puzzle that keeps you coming back to this post-apocalyptic world to reconquer the Earth. The game's design is also excellent. You can even play the game solo if you prefer!

Specifications:

• Number of players: 1-6.
• Age: 10+.
• Game duration: 40–60 minutes.
• Section: Expert.