Evolve or Perish: The Board Game

Evolve or Perish is a board game – not from the makers of Monopoly, but from ETE, the Evolution of the Terrestrial Ecosystems Program, at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Paleontologists Cindy Looy and Ivo Duijnstee asked me to work with them to create it. We had collaborated before – Cindy was a paleobotanical consultant for When Fish Got Feet and When Dinos Dawned.

Evolve or Perish is a Chutes and Ladders-style game in which you have to be adaptable enough to survive 630 million years of evolution of life in the sea and on land. Watch out for those big extinctions, they will make you go back many squares! The game is available in English, Spanish, Catalan, and Italian. You can download the game here:

https://naturalhistory.si.edu/education/teaching-resources/paleontology/evolve-or-perish-board-game

As long as you have a printer, a die (the singular of dice :-) and someone to play with, you’re all set. Enjoy!