Have you ever wanted to go to Jurassic Park? I was one of those strange dinosaur kids that knew the name of every dinosaur by the time I was five. However, once I saw the film and Jeff Goldblum’s trick about the water - there was no way you could put me in a park with that madness unfolding.

Dinosaur World Box // Pandasaurus Games

Luckily for us board gamers, we have a backup plan that doesn't require us to leave our own homes. It is the same tactic I took to become a master surgeon and to outswim a shark with my friends. And that is to check out the board game, and Pandasaurus Games has now added Dinosaur Island to their pre-order section on their website.

There has been a crazy scientific discovery, uncovering dinosaur cloning. So you can now Stegosaurus to your heart’s content - but do not go too far Triceratops-ing. What I mean by that, is that there are dino-parks setting up everywhere, and you are just about to open your own. How will you stand out from the crowd? The doors are opening and people are keen to see what your biggest attraction is, and it is down to you to create a park like no other (insert Jurassic Park theme tune).

Dinosaur World Gameplay // Pandasaurus Games

We’re not silly, we are opening a Dino-tastic park without naivety. We have all achieved an important sense of paranoia after witnessing a t-rex pull somebody from a toilet, therefore there is always the chance that your dino-park will go terribly, terribly wrong. Therefore, enforcing a waiver of some kind of life-or-death freak accident to your patrons is the first step before you show them all the Dinosaur World can offer.

Worker Tiles // Dinosaur World

Players will need to get their staff in order to prepare for the worst. During a round, players will need to allocate workers to keep the clock ticking over with as little friction as possible. This would equate to a season’s worth of work for these awesome employees. Now, these employees are no simple folk - they truly have important tasks to complete including gathering DNA, cloning, getting new attractions and most importantly. Making sure that nobody gets eaten. The more that park runs like a well-oiled machine, the more victory points will be achieved.

Dinosaur Meeple // Dinosaur World

Deaths are inevitable, but you have covered yourself with a waiver - so your park is in no threat. But be sure to always ensure that your park is the safest and you’ll be flying ahead of your competitors as fast as a Pterodactyl on the hunt.

Along with the core game, there are also several expansions and add-ons available on the Pandasaurus Games website.

Hybrid Pack Expansion // Dinosaur World

The Hybrid Pack allows players to mix and match with some dirty dino DNA to create some brand new Dinos out of wealth, greed, and all those victory points you are going to rack up! Before you look at playing the Hybrid Expansion, I just wanted to give you a tip. If you are thinking about cross-breeding anything, try not to cross the raptor with the T-Rex. Heard from a neighbouring park that it didn’t end too well.

Ice Age Pack Expansion // Dinosaur World

The Ice Age Pack switches up your residents. Not just dinosaurs anymore, there are some pre-historic mammals making way. With different objectives such as spatial placement, players will need to consider the needs of the mammal before providing them with a permanent home.

Water Pack Expansion // Dinosaur Island

The final expansion, the Water Pack adds stunning aquatic dinosaurs to your growing park. However, these creatures may be out of the way of your touchy-feely customers: meaning danger. But more workers will be required to keep the tanks clean - otherwise, the attractions will become algae infested in no time.

Add-On Pack // Dinosaur Island

The add-on Pack allows players to incorporate solo mode, and this is what excites me the most. It adds special solo mode cards, 68 beautiful Dinosaur meeples with heat-transfer artwork, and 6 Special Building tiles that were unlocked during the Dinosaur World Kickstarter campaign.

The base game, expansions and add-on pack is now sitting in the pre-order section of their website next to a ton of Gen-Con pickup release. The pages do say “available this fall”, but I can anticipate that once GenCon is out the way, this will be their next focal point!

What do you think of Dinosaur World? Will you be able to open a dangerous dino-themed park without many casualties?