Chimera Isle 2011

On a small island in the Pacific live strange creatures like none other. Uncharted and untouched by Man, Chimera Isle might seem a paradise. But even in paradise, the law of the jungle is absolute. Survival is a daily struggle, and only the strong survive.

The players in Chimera Isle are capricious nature spirits, observing and subtly influencing the ecosystem. Natural selection is only a game to these immortal beings, who wager on the fortunes of the eponymous "Chimeras". The strongest creatures will thrive while the weakest go extinct, making room for newer and stranger upstarts. Don't get too attached, as the law of the jungle is brutal and survival is never guaranteed.

This is a voting and speculation game for 3-4 players. Each "chimera" is a unique creation of one head, body, and tail, drawn randomly from a deck. All chimeras are competing to win the habitats in a second deck, as the alternative is extinction. Players guide their progress by voting for which chimera is the "fittest" for each habitat. In between voting rounds, players speculate on the fates of the chimeras by buying shares in these creatures. The "voting game" influences the "investment game", and the result is a scoring round at the end of each "age" of play. After three ages, the highest-scoring player wins.