I have had Bios Genesis, Bios Megafauna, and Bios Origins sitting on my shelves since they came out, too intimidated by the rulebooks, always thinking "One day I'll dive into these" but that just wasn't happening. The two things that saved them from the cull pile were Phil Eklund (love his designs in the Pax series along with Neanderthal and Greenland) and the size of the boxes (didn't take up that much space). When I got this one it was the breakthrough for me. I started with the Caterpillar game, the one you can play with kids or non-gamers and it was very straight forward and easy to digest. I quickly moved into the Cocoon game, which added a few more rules in, gave you a little more to think about, but wasn't overwhelming. After that, Butterfly, which again, added a few new rules and it wasn't overwhelming. Having taken all those steps, I finally watched the HC Teach and play through of Bios Megafauna and realized with Mesofauna under my belt, I was already 80% of the way to Megafauna. From there the flood gates opened and I now know how to play the entire Bios Series. Next on my list is High Frontier, though I know that's an entirely different beast, this has all given me confidence I can do it, and given me the tools to learn it. Thanks for the video! This video is tempting me to try this one out solo now.
@@darrensmith8487 Yes it is, except you have it backwards. Bios: Genesis leads to Bios: Megafauna or Bios: Mesofauna or a combined game of Bios: Megafauna and Bios: Mesofauna Bios: Megafauna leads to Bios: Origins Bios: Mesofauna leads to Bios: Origins Bios: Mesofauna / Bios: Megafauna combined game to Bios: Origins Bios: Origins leads to High Frontier High Frontier (with Modules) to Interstellar (2023 release)
Don’t be worried about High Frontier, I think it has a bit of a reputation from previous editions, but the latest has well written rules with a simpler Race for Glory version as a stepping stone to the full core rules. And for the core rules there is a really good Heavy Cardboard teach and play. I found Bios Genesis was harder to figure out, so if you’ve got the others sorted I reckon you’ll be fine.
I have all 4 BIOSes. I think Genesis is simplest one to start because solo mode is just coop. There are multiple videos about Genesis solo but I think there is no correct one, with crystal catastrophe variant (maybe they are for older version of Genesis?). I wonder can this solo mode be used also in Megafauna? Probably yes, because you can merge Meso with Mega. And for the Origins there is interesting solo variant on bgg (original solo is not using many components, it's simplified game).
Thank you, Ricky. I've been interested in other Bios titles, but never really caught the "bug" for them like your video has done for me in this one. Looking forward to more of your solo play, and adding Mesofauna to my list...
This was awesome man! Not just a solo but also teach while you play!! I love that style. Like Murr, I had the same trepidation for learning this, including additional solo rules. Looking forward to EP2 and hopefully one day can learn some other Eklund's from you!
That was a fantastic surprise to see Mesofauna video. I wonder could you also cover other BIOS and Pax games in the future, for example there is not a single video about Pax Ren solo anywhere.
thank you. I have covered a few other PAX/BIOS games, but this is the first of the 2nd edition BIOS trilogy I have covered. I don't have a copy of Pax Run unfortunately, so that one is probably not one I'll be able to show soon......
@@BoxofDelights I would love to watch any BIOS/Pax solo playthrough from you :) also your solo mode for Pax Pamir is awesome, I like your idea to boost Automa's power to balance lack of her intelligence :) I was thinking can similar method be used with other BIOS/Pax games somehow
Pedanticisim in this age of self-study: 'chitin' is pronounced (in both the US and UK) as 'KY-tin'. I think we learn so much of this sort of thing out of the classroom, reading without some person teaching us, that such errors are becoming more common to non-specialists.
you should have heard the pronunciations I edited out.... (meanwhile, thank you for the correction... and, for what it's worth, it's been 30 years since I've been in a classroom, so I wouldn't blame modern education).
Good question: there is no such rule; but QB will "attempt to add to the Portrait" as her secondary action; a silhouette will not add to her portrait, so QB will not choose those as part of her secondary action. However, when looking to speciate (as her primary action), then she absolutely will. Does this answer? R.R.
@@BoxofDelights aah. I thought speciate was optional for us normal players. Are you saying that it's mandatory for QB if it's on the card? But sounds like it's a deduction from the speciate rule for QB that you base it on.I feel like I may be splitting hairs here. then again speciate cards are more valuable in a sense.
@@ceauke Speciate is indeed optional for regular players. QB works differently. QB has a primary action, which is to Speciate: always to speciate. If she doesn't want to speciate, or there are no speciate cards available, she will instead perform her secondary action, which is to add to her portrait. To add to her portrait she must select a card that adds to her portrait; she cannot select a card that only speciates, since it only speciates and does not add to her portrait. So, QB does 1. speciate if she can and if the speciate roll says she will (in the video, you will see me roll a die at the start of each of her turns for this); and then 2. add to her portrait if she cannot speciate. If she cannot do 1 or 2 then she switches to her 3rd option, which is to populate. So, she will only populate if she cannot speciate and cannot add to her portrait. Hopefully this helps? R.R.
I should add: QB always immediately promotes every card she takes, so if she takes a speciate card, she can't leave it unpromoted as a simple mutation: hence why if it has a species silhouette on it, it will only/always be used to speciate.
During setup, you have a free choice. During normal play, the sacrificial mother is chosen first, and then QB can only select a species that can inhabit that space (which means swimmers need a swamp or lake and parasites need a host to be valid choices), and after that, if multiple are valid, it is cheapest, and if the card has more than one then they go for the one that has Traits, otherwise it's a free choice.
it’s not as bad as it looks as it goes; I’m going much more slowly than it actually takes in order to explain everything. But it is certainly a little longer to do the AI turn.
Fantastic setup and explanation (as always). The feeling of this being a 2023 purchase I'm sure will grow the more you showcase this little beauty.
I have had Bios Genesis, Bios Megafauna, and Bios Origins sitting on my shelves since they came out, too intimidated by the rulebooks, always thinking "One day I'll dive into these" but that just wasn't happening. The two things that saved them from the cull pile were Phil Eklund (love his designs in the Pax series along with Neanderthal and Greenland) and the size of the boxes (didn't take up that much space).
When I got this one it was the breakthrough for me.
I started with the Caterpillar game, the one you can play with kids or non-gamers and it was very straight forward and easy to digest. I quickly moved into the Cocoon game, which added a few more rules in, gave you a little more to think about, but wasn't overwhelming. After that, Butterfly, which again, added a few new rules and it wasn't overwhelming.
Having taken all those steps, I finally watched the HC Teach and play through of Bios Megafauna and realized with Mesofauna under my belt, I was already 80% of the way to Megafauna. From there the flood gates opened and I now know how to play the entire Bios Series. Next on my list is High Frontier, though I know that's an entirely different beast, this has all given me confidence I can do it, and given me the tools to learn it.
Thanks for the video! This video is tempting me to try this one out solo now.
I remember reading that you could use the results of origins to change the setup of megafauna. Do you know if that is true for mesofauna?
@@darrensmith8487 Yes it is, except you have it backwards.
Bios: Genesis leads to Bios: Megafauna or Bios: Mesofauna or a combined game of Bios: Megafauna and Bios: Mesofauna
Bios: Megafauna leads to Bios: Origins
Bios: Mesofauna leads to Bios: Origins
Bios: Mesofauna / Bios: Megafauna combined game to Bios: Origins
Bios: Origins leads to High Frontier
High Frontier (with Modules) to Interstellar (2023 release)
Don’t be worried about High Frontier, I think it has a bit of a reputation from previous editions, but the latest has well written rules with a simpler Race for Glory version as a stepping stone to the full core rules. And for the core rules there is a really good Heavy Cardboard teach and play. I found Bios Genesis was harder to figure out, so if you’ve got the others sorted I reckon you’ll be fine.
@@MurrRockstroh whoops, I meant genesis to meso. Thanks.
I have all 4 BIOSes. I think Genesis is simplest one to start because solo mode is just coop. There are multiple videos about Genesis solo but I think there is no correct one, with crystal catastrophe variant (maybe they are for older version of Genesis?). I wonder can this solo mode be used also in Megafauna? Probably yes, because you can merge Meso with Mega. And for the Origins there is interesting solo variant on bgg (original solo is not using many components, it's simplified game).
Thank you, Ricky. I've been interested in other Bios titles, but never really caught the "bug" for them like your video has done for me in this one. Looking forward to more of your solo play, and adding Mesofauna to my list...
My pleasure. Thank you for watching. Hope you enjoy the rest of the game! best wishes, Ricky
This was awesome man! Not just a solo but also teach while you play!! I love that style. Like Murr, I had the same trepidation for learning this, including additional solo rules. Looking forward to EP2 and hopefully one day can learn some other Eklund's from you!
thank you - my pleasure ! Hope you enjoy the rest of the series... R.R>
The game has been sitting on my shelf for months waiting for a solo playthrough.. Christmas came early! :-D
That was a fantastic surprise to see Mesofauna video. I wonder could you also cover other BIOS and Pax games in the future, for example there is not a single video about Pax Ren solo anywhere.
thank you. I have covered a few other PAX/BIOS games, but this is the first of the 2nd edition BIOS trilogy I have covered. I don't have a copy of Pax Run unfortunately, so that one is probably not one I'll be able to show soon......
@@BoxofDelights I would love to watch any BIOS/Pax solo playthrough from you :)
also your solo mode for Pax Pamir is awesome, I like your idea to boost Automa's power to balance lack of her intelligence :) I was thinking can similar method be used with other BIOS/Pax games somehow
Pedanticisim in this age of self-study: 'chitin' is pronounced (in both the US and UK) as 'KY-tin'. I think we learn so much of this sort of thing out of the classroom, reading without some person teaching us, that such errors are becoming more common to non-specialists.
you should have heard the pronunciations I edited out.... (meanwhile, thank you for the correction... and, for what it's worth, it's been 30 years since I've been in a classroom, so I wouldn't blame modern education).
@@BoxofDelights My father always said, with respect to the spoken word, as long as your message is communicated it doesn't matter how it's done.
Hey mr Box. Where in the rulebook does it say QB will not pick a mutation with a silhouette? Cant find it in the normal rulebook or living rules.
Good question: there is no such rule; but QB will "attempt to add to the Portrait" as her secondary action; a silhouette will not add to her portrait, so QB will not choose those as part of her secondary action. However, when looking to speciate (as her primary action), then she absolutely will. Does this answer? R.R.
@@BoxofDelights aah. I thought speciate was optional for us normal players. Are you saying that it's mandatory for QB if it's on the card? But sounds like it's a deduction from the speciate rule for QB that you base it on.I feel like I may be splitting hairs here. then again speciate cards are more valuable in a sense.
@@ceauke Speciate is indeed optional for regular players. QB works differently. QB has a primary action, which is to Speciate: always to speciate. If she doesn't want to speciate, or there are no speciate cards available, she will instead perform her secondary action, which is to add to her portrait. To add to her portrait she must select a card that adds to her portrait; she cannot select a card that only speciates, since it only speciates and does not add to her portrait. So, QB does 1. speciate if she can and if the speciate roll says she will (in the video, you will see me roll a die at the start of each of her turns for this); and then 2. add to her portrait if she cannot speciate. If she cannot do 1 or 2 then she switches to her 3rd option, which is to populate. So, she will only populate if she cannot speciate and cannot add to her portrait. Hopefully this helps? R.R.
I should add: QB always immediately promotes every card she takes, so if she takes a speciate card, she can't leave it unpromoted as a simple mutation: hence why if it has a species silhouette on it, it will only/always be used to speciate.
@@BoxofDelights Thanks man, very clear!
Is there a rule which dictates which species will be chosen by QB? The swimmer would have also been a valid choice, right?
During setup, you have a free choice. During normal play, the sacrificial mother is chosen first, and then QB can only select a species that can inhabit that space (which means swimmers need a swamp or lake and parasites need a host to be valid choices), and after that, if multiple are valid, it is cheapest, and if the card has more than one then they go for the one that has Traits, otherwise it's a free choice.
@@BoxofDelights Thanks. Excellent explanation
So the second episode is gone again? :)
sorry, yes: I only disabled it for a while: checking a rule! Waiting to get an answer before finishing the series....
10 Seconds on your turn 4 Million Hours on the AI turn. Easy PASS on this game
it’s not as bad as it looks as it goes; I’m going much more slowly than it actually takes in order to explain everything. But it is certainly a little longer to do the AI turn.
I think this is a game for people enjoying simulations, in that aspect it's similar to COIN solo for example.