Primordial Soup Glossary – Lexicon

Welcome to the Primordial Soup Glossary!

I’m here to help you navigate the fascinating world of scientific terms, a lexicon designed to unravel the mysteries of life’s origins. Together, we will explore a diverse range of key concepts with clarity and simplicity – just for you!

Ingredients of Life

Let’s begin by investigating the fundamental building blocks of life itself. The first ingredient we encounter is amino acids. These remarkable molecules are the foundation of proteins, playing an essential role in structure and function. Second on our list are nucleotides, the structural units of DNA and RNA, containing the vital genetic information that resides in every living organism. We cannot forget about sugars, crucial for cellular energy production and serving as building blocks for larger molecules like starch and cellulose.

The Primordial Environment

Now, let’s delve into the intriguing environment where life first emerged. Within the atmosphere, gases such as nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and water vapor were abundant, providing the necessary elements for life’s formation. Next, we have volcanic activity, a fiery force that released heat, energy, and vital compounds into ancient oceans. Deep-sea hydrothermal vents, mineral-rich chimneys on the seafloor, also played a part, offering a haven for early life in their warm, chemically diverse waters.

Life’s Origins

Within this primordial realm, the miracle of life had its humble beginnings. Scientists propose that abiogenesis, the natural process of life emerging from non-living matter, initiated this magnificent journey. These theories suggest that within the ‘primordial soup,’ where the elements of life mingled, simple organic compounds merged and transformed, ultimately leading to the emergence of the first living entities. This process, known as chemical evolution, gave rise to the remarkable phenomenon we now recognize as life on Earth.

Evolutionary Dynamics

The primordial soup was a dynamic environment, rich in possibilities for further development. In this evocative setting, mutations occurred, allowing organisms to adapt to change over time. Beneficial mutations provided an advantage, leading to natural selection, the mechanism responsible for the survival and proliferation of species. Gradually, these processes shaped the diverse array of life we encounter today.

Closing Thoughts

Now that we’ve explored the tantalizing world of the primordial soup, I hope you feel empowered with knowledge and curiosity. This glossary is a gateway to understanding the fascinating concepts that underpin life as we know it. So, dive in, explore, and let the sheer marvel of scientific discovery inspire you!

Hey there! I’ve got an alphabetical index right here that lists some important terms you’ll encounter in the game.

Ascending Order, Descending Order

When it’s an Ascending Order phase, the player who’s in last place on the Scoring Ladder goes first. Then, the player in next-to-last place goes, and so on, until the player in first place goes last.

In a Descending Order phase, it’s the opposite. The player in first place goes first, and then everyone else follows in order until the person in last place takes their turn.

Biological Points

Biological Points (BPs) are a way to measure how healthy a tribe of amoebas is. You can use BPs to make amoebas split into more amoebas or to buy Genes.

You can also spend BPs to cover the difference between the number of Mutation Points you have and the thickness of the Ozone Layer.

The Compass and Movement

The Compass at the center of the board is a crucial tool that determines which direction the amoebas move based on a roll of the dice. When you roll a 1 – 4, each number corresponds to a specific direction. If you roll a 5, the amoeba doesn’t move at all. And if you roll a 6, you get to choose any direction you want for the amoeba to move.

The Compass also displays the current *Direction of Drift, which influences the movement of the amoebas.

Damaging and Death

Amoebas can collect Damage Points (DP) if they are unable to eat. When an amoeba is first born, it has no Damage Points. If an amoeba collects a second Damage Point in a round and is unmutated, it dies. These Damage Points are a result of the amoeba’s inability to sustain itself.

When an amoeba dies during phase 5, it is considered a Natural Death. Whether the death is caused by an accumulation of Damage Points or the aggression of a particular gene, it is still classified as a Natural Death.

I removed the amoeba from the board and gave it back to its owner. In its place, I put two Foodstuff cubes of EACH color. Sometimes, amoebas die in a violent way. This happens during phase 1 when another amoeba with the gene struggle for survival attacks.

In this case, I also remove the amoeba from the board, but I only replace it with one cube of each color. This is because the attacking amoeba has already fed on its victim.

Let’s talk about directions now. There are 4 basic directions in Primordial Soup: North, South, West, and East. Amoebas can only move in one of these directions and are not allowed to move diagonally.

You’ll find the four directions printed on the Compass in the center of the board. They are numbered from 1 to 4. If the number is 5, the amoeba has to stay still. But if it’s a 6, you get to choose the direction freely.

Lastly, let’s discuss drift.

When I’m not actively moving, I become what’s known as a passive amoeba. In this state, I don’t exert control over my movements. Instead, I freely drift in the direction shown by the red-shaded area on the Compass.

Let’s talk about Environment Cards now. In the game, there are 11 of these cards. Each card displays two important pieces of information: the Direction of Drift and the Ozone Layer Thickness.—–

Feeding

When it comes to feeding, I, an amoeba without any special capability, have a simple rule – I eat 3 Foodstuff cubes per turn, but I never eat cubes of my own color. However, things change depending on the number of players. If there are 4 players, I eat one cube of each of the other 3 colors. But if there are only 3 players, I eat 2 cubes of one color and one cube of another color. The player gets to decide which colors I eat.

After I’ve eaten, it’s time to excrete. I, the amoeba, excrete two cubes of my own color. But here’s the catch – if I can’t find enough to eat or if I can’t find the right combination of colors, I starve. That means I eat nothing, excrete nothing, and even get a Damage Point. Tough luck!

Finish Zone

Ahh, the Finish Zone! It’s the final stretch, marked by the last 10 spaces of the Scoring Ladder. You can easily spot it because it’s printed in a darker color than the rest. Pay attention, because the game ends when one or more markers reach the Finish Zone at the end of a round. Exciting stuff!

Foodstuff Cubes

Let me explain the basics of the game to you. The amoebas, which are small organisms, need to have enough Foodstuff cubes in order to survive. They also produce more Foodstuff cubes that can be used by other amoebas. If an amoeba dies, it leaves behind the Foodstuff cubes that it was made of.

Now let’s talk about the Game Board.

The Game Board has a few important features. First, there is the Primordial Soup, which takes up 19 spaces. In the center of the board, there is an island with a Compass on it. The Compass shows the Direction of Drift during each round of the game.

The island is off-limits to the amoebas. Along the edge of the board, there is the Scoring Ladder.

Finally, let’s discuss how the Game End.

The game comes to an end after the Scoring phase, which is the sixth phase of the game. This happens when one or more markers reach the dark colored Finish Zone of the Scoring Ladder.

So here’s the deal: the game ends either when all of the Environment Cards have been turned over, or at the end of the Scoring phase of the round in which the last Environment Card is turned over. If you’re the player whose marker is the furthest along on the Scoring Ladder, congratulations! You win the game.

Gene Defects

Now, let’s talk about gene defects. If the total number of mutation points on the cards you have is more than the Ozone Layer Thickness on the current Environment Card, well, you’ve got a little problem on your hands. You’ll have to pay the difference between the two, and you can do that either by giving up some Genes or paying with some BPs.

Let me give you an example to make it clearer. Let’s say you have the Genes streamline, division rate, and speed. If you add up the mutation points on these cards, you get 4 + 3 + 5 = 12. Now, if the Ozone Layer Thickness on the current Environment Card is just 6, you’ll have to cough up the difference, which in this case is 6 points. There are a couple of ways you can do this. You could give up 6 BPs or you could return the Speed Gene (which is worth 3 points) along with 3 BPs.

If I don’t have any free BPs, I’m out of luck. I’ll have to give up two cards, even if their value is higher than the 6 points I have to give up. Unfortunately, there’s no cash back scheme in play here!

Hey there, Gene Card!

Each Gene card gives my amoebas extra capabilities. Forget about the regular rules – the Gene Card’s rule takes over. I can find more details about these special capabilities in the reference booklets.

Before I can take a Gene card, I have to pay its price in BPs. Each card also comes with a Mutation Point value.

If the total Mutation Points on my Genes surpass the current Ozone Layer Thickness, I’ll end up with a Gene Defect (check out the Gene Defects section for more). Oh, and just a heads up – I can’t buy a second copy of a Gene I already have. Gotta keep things fresh, you know!

Advanced Genes: If you want to get one of these special Genes (which are marked with a red title), you have to trade in a basic Gene and pay BPs. Just keep in mind that you need to have owned the basic Gene for at least one round. Oh, and once you have an Advanced Gene, you can’t trade for the basic Gene needed to get it anymore.

For example: If you want to get the Advanced Gene called “persistence,” you’ll need to give up the basic Gene “speed” and pay 4 BPs. But here’s the catch – once you get SPEED, you can’t trade it for persistence in the same phase.

Once you have the persistence Gene, you won’t be able to acquire the speed Gene anymore. Movement: This is the opposite of Drifting. It costs 1 BP, but it’s not always successful because the direction of movement is determined by a roll of the dice.

Numerical Order

When I play the game, I have to remember to move my amoebas in order, starting with number one and going to number seven. It’s important to know that amoebas that aren’t on the board don’t count.

If I want to put an amoeba on the board, I can choose any available one, no matter what number it is.

Now, let’s talk about the ozone layer thickness. The thicker the ozone layer, the less likely there will be unwanted gene defects. The thickness of the layer changes every round, and that’s shown on the current environment card.

Scoring is an important part of the game, and we use a scoring ladder to track our progress. Each player has a score marker on the ladder, and only one marker can be on each space at a time. The movement of the markers on the ladder is determined by the advance table.

If I see a marker or markers in the dark Finish Zone of the Scoring Ladder at the end of a round, that means the game is over. And you know what? The winner is the player who’s made it the farthest into that zone.

Not Enough Food

We don’t have an endless supply of Foodstuff cubes. There’s a limit. So if there aren’t enough cubes left to replace, let’s say, a dead amoeba, we’re out of luck. Those missing cubes aren’t getting replaced, and that space won’t have as many cubes as it should have.

Hungry Amoebas

If an amoeba can’t find enough Foodstuff cubes in phase 1 of a round, or it doesn’t find the right combination of cubes, it’s in trouble. It’s going hungry. It won’t eat anything, won’t excrete anything, and guess what? It’s getting one Damage Point.