Nature: a redesign of the award-winning Evolution board game

Delivery Update - the most anticipated game of GenCon!
over 1 year ago – Mon, Jun 30, 2025 at 07:22:28 PM

Dear Backers,

I'm thrilled to announce the first wave of games are starting to get delivered! This dream of mine has been 5 years in the making. It feels good.

Please have patience if you are not in this first wave. We're doing everything we can to deliver these games as quickly as possible.

Updated Delivery Timelines

Chile, Peru, Mauritius, Colombia, Bolivia, French Guiana, Russia

• Already shipped. Your games will be arriving soon if they have not already been delivered.

United States, Mexico

• Estimated Delivery of Nature Big Box Deluxe:  This week
• Estimated Delivery of Nature Big Box:  Next week
• Estimated Delivery of Nature retail:  In 2 weeks

China, Hong Kong, Taiwan

• Estimated Delivery: July

Australia, Canada

• Estimated Delivery: Late August

New Zealand

• Estimated Delivery: September

Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam

• Estimated Delivery: Late August

India, Philippines, Thailand

• Estimated Delivery: Late August / September

Indonesia, Israel, UAE

• Estimated Delivery: September

Europe

• Estimated Delivery: September and October

Kuwait, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Brazil

• Estimated Delivery: October

A Note of Caution:

Please don't store the Predator Meeples in the same container as the Snow Leopard. There have been reports of them not getting along. (meanness envy perhaps)

The Most Anticipated GenCon Release

Thanks to our wonderful Kickstarter community, Nature is currently listed as the most anticipated new release of GenCon! 

I really like the how that sounds. Can I say that again?

• THE
• MOST
• ANTICIPATED
• NEW RELEASE
• OF GENCON 2025!!

That makes me so happy.

If you haven't done so, please go to BoardGameGeek.com and click on the green "Thumbs Up" button and the "Must Have" button next to Nature.  This will help make the launch a smashing success!

And once you've played Nature a few times, please go to the Nature page to rate the game. These little things help a small publisher like us get more visibility.

Extra Container

Some people have been posting questions about the extra container. We provided an extra container so you can put bananas on both sides of the table. Or perhaps to keep your Predator Meeples away from the Snow Leopard like I'm doing in the photo above. It's up to you.

Cheers, Dominic Crapuchettes

Community Chest
over 1 year ago – Thu, Jun 26, 2025 at 12:16:37 PM

Hi All,

Due to a manufacturing error, a few Big Box games were packed with predator meeples.

If you happen to receive one, consider yourself exceptionally fortunate. Pause for a moment. Reflect on life. The universe is mysterious and fragile—and today, it smiled on you.

Hug your loved ones. Let them know you care.

Cheers! Dominic Crapuchettes

PS Some of the early games are starting to go out! I will post a timeline update on Monday.

Nature Digital Update
over 1 year ago – Mon, Jun 23, 2025 at 09:16:40 AM

Hi All,

Scott here from the Nature Digital Team. We've been hard at work on the digital version of the game, and we'll be sharing some big updates going forward.

Nature Digital Update

In addition to featuring multiplayer and AI opponents, Nature Digital includes a full campaign mode with challenges to overcome, achievements to unlock, and bosses to take down!

The Nature Campaign is Live! You can now play through the campaign in the Nature Digital Beta.

To Access: Log in with your Backer Survey email and select Campaign. Need help? Email [email protected] or contact @Customersaurus in the NorthStar Discord community.

Skill Challenges: The campaign includes new challenges that modify the rules and objectives, forcing you to adapt your strategy. For example, in the Egg Challenge, you must win the game AND take 2 or more eggs in the same round.

New Achievement System: Earn three stars on any Challenge to capture a unique animal for your Safari Photo Book. Like this Kiwi... he's such a good egg!

Community Challenges

A BIG THANKS to our Discord community for creating and helping refine the challenges— you create much tougher ones than we do! 

Challenge Submission Guidelines: We need ideas for the Natural Disasters, Arctic Tundra, and Rainforest modules. Submit your ideas with this spreadsheet or in the NorthStar Discord community. If we use your idea, you'll get game credits!

Describe your challenge in 15 words or less. The best ones force completely different strategies.

Sneek Peek: Here's a peek at the new art for the Flight Module.

Digital Release Update: 

Our goal is to align the digital and cardboard releases to prevent confusion. Nature, Jurassic, and Flight will launch together shortly after the cardboard release in August—a rare simultaneous launch for the board game industry! The free-to-try digital game should make it easier to hook your friends and get Nature to the table. 

Beta Release Timeline:

• Nature Campaign, Flight Campaign, Jurassic Campaign: 2025 Q2 release
• Backer Multiplayer Sessions: 2025 Q2/Q3 
• Arctic Tundra/Natural Disasters module: 2025 Q3/Q4 release
• Amazon Rainforest module: 2025 Q4/Q1 release

Public Release Timeline:

• Nature core, Flight module, Jurassic module: 2025 Q3 release
• Arctic Tundra/Natural Disasters module: 2025 Q4 release
• Amazon Rainforest module: 2026 Q1 release

Your Help is Needed!

1. Play the campaign:  This helps us refine the difficulty of the achievement goals.
2. Wishlist on Steam:  Steam promotes games based on the wishlist count, ensuring a busy multiplayer at launch

Download beta: Nature Digital Game link

Thank You! Your participation in Multiplayer Happy Hours and challenge development has elevated Nature. These challenges are literally game-changers.

Best, Scott Rencher

Timelines Details and GenCon Release
over 1 year ago – Mon, Jun 02, 2025 at 10:58:46 AM

Hi everyone,

Many of you have been disappointed about the timeline for fulfillment. We will address this below, but first, we want you to know that we will not sell Nature Big Box anywhere until our worldwide KS customers have received their games.

Blockbuster Launch

Our goal is a blockbuster launch for Nature. With your help, friends will be excited when you bring it to the table. 

A successful launch will also enable a steady stream of innovative modules over the next decade. Our next module, Climate, is already shaping up to be my favorite! Join our Discord community to see the discussion and chat with the official Nature playtest team.

GenCon Preview - We Need Your Help

You can make a huge difference with just one click. Simply click the thumbs-up icon next to Nature on the BGG GenCon Preview. Thanks for your support!

Timeline Update

It's important to us that backers in each region get their games before they are available at retail in their region. Now that Sam is back from vacation, I have some more clarity about what is affecting the delivery timeline. 

Manufacturing delays (4 - 5 months):

• Managing 8 different boxed versions with our small team was challenging.
• Game mechanics refinement (2 months)
• Converting to 100% biodegradable materials—no plastic! (2+ months)
• US tariff complications consumed weeks of attention from us and Chinese manufacturers.

Shipping delays:

• Because of the 90 day tariff reprieve in the US, most of the cargo ships worldwide are getting paid double, triple, and even quadruple normal rates to fulfill the immediate US demand. This makes it difficult to book cargo ships to every other part of the world. It's impossible to know how much of a delay this will entail, but an estimate of that delay was incorporated into the previous update's release schedule.

Fulfillment delays:

• Every fulfillment company has it's own timeline. They will put us in the timeline as soon as they have our products in their warehouse. We are not big enough to affect that timeline. 
• We're using board game fulfillment companies in most every region except the US, which means they will be fulfilling other Kickstarter campaigns throughout the year.
• Our US warehouse / fulfillment company does not cater to the board game industry, and July is an especially light time for them. They will be able to start fulfillment as soon as they receive our product. We also have more sway with them since we do business with them on a daily basis. 
• We need our games to arrive in the US during the 90 day reprieve. Additionally, we've already spend $40,000 for the Nature GenCon launch, so we cannot miss that date.

I hope this helps fill out the worldwide supply chain picture. I'm happy to answer questions in the comments below.

Cheers, Dominic Crapuchettes

Nature Digital, Updated Timeline, Climate Module
over 1 year ago – Tue, May 20, 2025 at 11:30:10 AM

Dear Backers,

We're thrilled to share some exciting progress on Nature. It's shaping up to be one of 2025's most anticipated board game releases thanks to YOUR incredible support! This update covers our production timeline challenges, digital version developments, and a sneak peek at the upcoming Climate module.

Production & Shipping Update

The first wave of games will be ready to leave the printers on May 30th, but we want to be transparent about the current landscape. The logistics industry continues to face unprecedented challenges:

• Over the past month, many ships were turned away at ports because companies did not want to pay the 145% tariffs.
• The current 90 day reprieve has created an intense rush as companies scramble to secure container space.
• Major retailers like Walmart and Target are securing most available shipping capacity.
• Container prices have skyrocketed alongside the scarcity of available ships.

Amidst this uncertainty, here is our best estimate on when the games will get delivered. We will keep you updated with more precise dates as soon as we have confirmed information from our logistics partners.

United States, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan

• Estimated Delivery: July 

Canada, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam

• Estimated Delivery: August

India, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Australia, NZ, Israel, UAE

• Estimated Delivery: September

Chile, Peru, Mauritius, Colombia, Bolivia, French Guiana, Russia

• Estimated Delivery: Late September

Europe

• Estimated Delivery: September and October

Kuwait, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Brazil

• Estimated Delivery: October

Nature Digital

The campaign for Nature and Flight is ready to play! If you backed Nature Digital, you don't need to wait for your game to arrive to start having fun. The digital game is not affected by the shipping shortage!

• Active Community: Join our thriving Discord community where players are giving feedback and posting their personal wish lists.
• Your Voice Matters: Now is the perfect time to share your ideas, while we can still incorporate your feedback into the final product.

STEAM Wishlist

Don't forget to add Nature to your Steam wishlist. The size of this wishlist determines how much visibility will be given to Nature digital at launch.

Climate Module Preview

The official Nature playtest team has been testing the Climate module for the past month, and it's clearly going to be fantastic! Evolution Climate is the pinnacle of the Evolution series and we've been improving upon that experience. 

The Climate Artist

We're thrilled to announce that Jacqui Davis, the immensely talented artist behind Paint the Roses, will be the featured artist for the Climate module. You can explore her stunning portfolio at jacquidavis.com.

A Peek Behind the Curtains

What goes into designing a module? Here's a peek at my development process:

While these development spreadsheets look intimidating, the end result will be a smooth, easy-to-teach experience. Nature Climate will launch on Kickstarter in October and make its official debut at GenCon 2026!

California Trip

I returned from California on Sunday where I visited Catherine Hamilton, met up with industry folk (@PaulaDeming, @RuelGaviola, @GoingAnalogShow), saw my childhood home which recently burned down Altadena, and attended the 104th birthday party of my great aunt. It was a much needed break with old friends!

Thank You!

Your continued patience and enthusiasm mean everything to us. Nature is becoming everything we dreamed it could be, and we can't wait to get it into your hands.

Getting more excited for launch every day!

Cheers, Dominic Crapuchettes