Finding Ecosystems in Keystone: North America
Create ecosystems of different animals and plants across a series of assignments in Keystone: North America.
There are some solo games I fully understand my excitement over. In the case of Keystone: North America, it was the animals! So it wasn’t surprising when the package arrived and I was thrilled to see the cover. Yet as I got it to the table and opened the box, I said out loud, “I immediately love it.” High praise! I was about to find out if it would last!
Game Overview
Game Name: Keystone: North America
Publication Year: 2022
Designers: Jeffrey Joyce and Isaac Vega
Artists: Irem Erbilir, Alyssa Menold, and Yan Tamba
Publisher: Rose Gauntlet Entertainment
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
A book of solo assignments provides challenges with various goals. Ecosystems are created across different habitats with flora and fauna of different values. Research tokens may be added, while synergy tokens add a lot. It all comes together in a beautiful world filled with nature!
First Play
August 24, 2022
Complexity
2
Latest Play
December 13, 2023
Expansions
0
Setup Time
5 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
22
Play Time
20 Minutes
High Score
174
Game Area
26" x 26"
Low Score
50
The Joy of Nature
Keep in mind that I have the deluxe version, which includes the neoprene central mat and illustrated player boards. Not necessary, yet absolutely beautiful!
Although I love going out into nature on walks, I know I’ll never get close to any wild animals… As it should be!
Nature-themed games that feature so many different species are a way for me to enjoy these animals even more. Don’t think I’ll ever waltz up to a wolf, thank you. Ha ha!
The player boards were simply gorgeous, and I felt like I could keep searching for all of the different creatures.
Gameplay Basics
Each turn, I could either add a card from the display to my board, or utilize an action. The latter often added research tokens, which helped add more victory points at the end.
I needed to create rows and columns of species from the same habitats in numerical order. So 1-2-3-4, or 2-3-4-5. Easy! But not always so, as I was to find out quickly.
Some animals and plants only had a single habitat, while others, like the Red Wolf, provided more options.
It was a clever puzzle that didn’t require a lot of thought, but by no means did the ecosystems build themselves!
Solo Assignments
Fun times! The included solo booklet featured a campaign of 20 separate assignments, or challenges.
Each had its own narrative introduction, plus unique setups, gameplay rules, and victory conditions. I was taken in by the story right away. Simple and charming!
This wasn’t a single-use campaign, either. Assignments could be played again and again, particularly those that were the most challenging or enjoyable.
Starting out was something that resembled a simple sort of tutorial, yet I was ready to dive in for lots of fun!
Complete Ecosystems
Even if I was playing with some of the most basic rules, I had a thoroughly awesome time! I carefully planned out the rows and columns, which didn’t always cooperate.
Whereas the early game was wide open, I enjoyed the slow tension of seeing the different areas close up.
I needed specific cards in a few spots, and had to make do with missing some scoring opportunities. Yet I ended up with a very respectable score for my first play.
The bonuses from research tokens and keystone species helped out a lot. And what a beautiful final board!
A Close Look at a Card
It was the Red Wolf that played a major role in adding to my victory points. First, I had a research token that added to the score for the corresponding row and column.
Looking above, I had the largest possible rows and columns. Normally, those would be worth 4 victory points each. Yet the research tokens each added 1 more point.
Not quite done yet! The keystone icon near the upper right counted this score again… Per keystone!
So the Red Wolf’s column was worth 12 victory points, while the row was 20 victory points. Very helpful, indeed!
Are There Too Many Nature-Themed Games?
From time to time, I see this question brought up when a new game centered around animals or nature comes out. In my mind, there can never be too many! Actually, although the art style was very different, I thought this one might remind me a little too much of Meadow. That’s another nature game I loved from the start for many reasons.
Interestingly enough, I think I might actually prefer this one! And that doesn’t mean that I need to replace anything in my collection. Each game will typically do something different with its set of mechanics and choices. I could compare this one to many other games, but it stands on its own. It felt familiar and entirely new, all at once.
The hardest part of the hobby is figuring out how to keep a collection from expanding too much. I’ve passed on plenty of nature-themed games in the past, while others haven’t always worked out for me. That’s as much a part of the hobby as playing. Learning about preferences in games, which may very well evolve over time, is important.
Perhaps, the more pertinent way to approach this is to consider how many nature-themed games are in your collection. Are there any that have been replaced? Does the theme feel like it’s overwhelming everything else? That would be the time to think carefully! In general, I think the more game options there are, the more players will find games they love.
Synergy and Goals
The synergy tokens added up. There were a few ways to collect these, but it was mainly about placing cards next to matching habitats. I collected plenty of victory points!
A secret objective card also gave me goals to work towards. 24 victory points were available if I completed them all.
Many of these were harder than they looked. I didn’t always want a certain type of card, but it could help me.
Just as the play area slowly grew tighter and tighter, these goals gave me more reasons to pause near the end. What was actually the best card choice? Very clever mechanics.
Accurate Ecosystems
It wasn’t possible to maximize every row and column. But I still managed to find ways to do well and score more.
This little corner wasn’t worth a lot of victory points. The way the plants and animals lived together felt very natural, though. Watch out for the crab… Or eat it? Ha!
In some ways, numbers and icons played a big role. Yet I didn’t find myself ignoring the artwork and general idea of building ecosystems. Every animal mattered.
Although there wasn’t a matching booklet, I enjoyed seeing which species had the keystone classification.
Playing Again
Despite winning the assignment, I wanted to try it again. 20 total assignments will offer enough variety, but I want to be sure I appreciate each new layer of the challenge.
My next play was very different, actually! With so many different species, I didn’t see a lot of overlap and had to adapt to various habitats… Not all of which worked out!
I made up for some sub-optimal cards with plenty of synergy tokens, often choosing the cheapest card.
My final score wasn’t a big deal, though: I simply sat there and enjoyed taking in the various artwork for a bit!
Session Overview
Play Number: 1 and 2
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Assignment 1
Outcome: 106 and 106 (2 Wins)
Consistency was the name of the game! And it was actually the Red Fox, which came out right near the end, that helped pull together an ecosystem. So much fun! It was simply a joy to admire the artwork and work through the puzzle. Seeing as this was only the first assignment, I eagerly prepared to dive into some more. Sealed envelopes, too?! Lots more to write about this one!
%
20 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
8
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
8
Originality
Design & Theme
7
Quality
Components & Rules
8
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
8
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
4
+ Pros (Positives)
- Every illustration is colorful and beautiful in a way that allows them all to flow together in a charming play area.
- Assignments provide a fun, wholesome narrative about exploring nature and trying to protect the ecosystems.
- Choices are fairly open during the early rounds, yet finding ways to align the right cards can be quite tricky.
- Double-sided action tiles offer interesting decisions, particularly when using all of the ones that are flipped.
- Play time flies by with meaningful choices that don’t take forever to make and a clear gameplay sequence.
- There is a lot to see in the play area with multiple cards, but everything feels intuitive after a couple of plays.
– Cons (Negatives)
- The placement of the icons on the cards takes a little time to get used to in order to identify important features.
- Synergy tokens are double-sided, yet it can be tedious to keep track of them all when they stack up quickly.
- The rules are generally straightforward and easy, but a quick reference or summary would have been helpful.
- All of the secret objective cards follow the same general formula so that they don’t feel particularly unique.
Victory Conditions
Complete the Assignment
- Overall Goal Progress 88%
Goals and Milestones
Complete Assignment 1.
Complete Assignment 2.
Complete Assignment 3.
Complete Assignment 4.
Complete Assignment 5.
Complete Assignment 6.
Complete Assignment 7.
Complete Assignment 8.
Continue the Conversation
What do you think of Keystone: North America? Are there any other solo games with a wonderful nature theme? I was probably already biased in favor of the game based on its artwork, yet it truly held up. Even playing through the first assignment again seemed like it could be fun with all the variety. For now, it’s time to check out what’s ahead!
This game wasn’t on my radar at all but it really looks like a very nice nature themed game! I was always keen on getting Meadow but maybe I have to reconsider now! Makes me wonder if there will be a Keystone: Europe one day though?
By the way, love the format you came up with, keep up the good work!
It’s really a very pleasant sort of solo game! I have plenty of posts lined up about the assignments as they get progressively more challenging with different requirements. Every play is still pretty light and relaxing, though… Perfect for lining up with the nature theme!
Thanks so much for the kind words, too! This format helps me out, but I’ve always hoped it would be easy to follow with useful information. Appreciate you stopping by and commenting!