Doomlings is a colorful 2-6 player card game about the cycle of life and the end of the world. Navigate catastrophes and strengthen your species while trying to be the best to survive against other players.
A copy of this game was provided for the purposes of this review.
In Doomlings, you play through the life cycle of new species, playing trait cards to strengthen your species or weaken your opponents. There are five trait card types denoted by color, and every card has different actions or benefits as well as point values. Your goal is to create the strongest species which is determined by having the most points at the end.
The game is played in rounds, with every round having a tone setting card known as an age card. During each phase, a new rule is applied to that round, for example you cannot play blue trait cards or draw two cards at the start of your turn, keep one. Once every player has taken a turn, a new age card is drawn to signify a new round. The age cards also contain catastrophes, and t’s three strikes and you’re out for the catastrophes, with the third to be revealed triggering the end game, aka the end of the world. Catastrophes have big, usually negative, effects on the players like reducing the hand size for players to forcing card discards.
The game is really easy to learn and play. I felt comfortable with the rules and mechanics after just the first round, and it was easy to set up and play again and again. I primarily played with two-players, which makes for pretty quick games. Even with more players, rounds can move pretty quickly since it all depends on player pacing of their turns.
Trait cards can give you the ability to strengthen yourself or negate your opponents, with actions like swapping hands, canceling actions, forcing discards, and more. I personally do not always love to play games that has players directly impacting others strategy and outcome as it can easily become frustrating over fun, but there is enough variables and unpredictability with this game outside of player influence that makes a chaotic situation the norm. Speaking of strategy…
I would not say that this is a strategy heavy game as luck does play a role in what cards you draw and what era cards you get plus catastrophe pacing. You may have a game where you get two catastrophes back to back, which can make or break your plan depending on what the actions tell you. I had a few games where my tactics were constantly rocked by the era cards and bad card draws. It really is like life itself, full of unpredictability despite all your strategy.
Doomlings has a ton of replay ability even when you just have the base game since there are so many different cards between the ages, catastrophes, and traits. And you can further expand on it with deluxe versions and expansions, making this a solid game choice to bring out again and again when wanting something casual and easy to play.
Overall, I really enjoyed Doomlings and would happily play it again, especially when wanting a casual card game where the depth comes from the multitude of cards that can be played. It may be a little luck heavy for some, but flexible strategy is still a key part of gameplay.
You can find Doomlings online as well as major retailers and your local game store.