Expansions and Alternative Layouts for Food Chain Island

Stack animals and activate clever abilities in a numeric puzzle of steadily growing meals with Food Chain Island.
Time for a fun return to a delightful island… Filled with hungry animals and lots of predators! I enjoyed Food Chain Island when I first played it, and it felt time to add in a few expansions. Additionally, the alternative setup layouts looked like they would add to the puzzle. So off I paddled to my solo table, hopeful that everyone would be fed!
Game Overview
Game Name: Food Chain Island
Publication Year: 2020
Designer: Scott Almes
Artist: Annie Wilkinson
Publisher: Button Shy
Solo Mode: Designed for Solo (Included in the Base Game)
From a starting grid of animal cards, the goal is to stack them up to end up with a single animal at the end. Yet each animal can’t skip too far backwards in the chain, and unique abilities add some challenges. Despite the focus on animals getting eaten, it’s a charming experience!
First Play
November 25, 2020
Complexity
2
Latest Play
November 2, 2024
Expansions
2
Setup Time
Almost None
Lifetime Plays
16
Play Time
10 Minutes
High Score
1
Game Area
20" x 16"
Low Score
8
Exploring New Layouts
There were expansions to add in, yet one of the biggest tips to improve the game is to try an alternative starting layout. Lots to try out here with some neat implications.
Even shifting the standard grid just a bit can make an enormous difference. Animals usually need to be adjacent to stack together, so empty spaces can be problematic.
Awesome new challenges! I was excited about the simple change to setup and the potential depth of strategies.
This remains a lightweight sort of game, but it has enough teeth to keep it interesting… And dangerous? Ha ha!
A Brand New Island
Additional animals showed up to give me a modified difficulty level that I defined as “standard” for myself.
I enjoyed the additions! The water animal gave me a single way to help me out, while I had a new challenge from the skies. Rather rude aerial visitors made it difficult. Ha ha!
This layout might look simple, yet it introduced a lot more to my decisions. Those empty spaces had to be taken into account, and I found that this was so much better.
If the standard game 4×4 grid feels too easy or boring, the last page might be the best part of the rulebook!
Just a Polar Bear
With a little luck and a lot of thought, I was pretty excited when I realized I was in store for a victory!
The high-value animals often have special conditions that aren’t as easy to plan for. I even resolved my aerial visitor early on, so it was just down to planning movement.
Spatial puzzles sometimes don’t work for me, yet I love this one! Sure, the animals all get eaten, yet the art is more endearing than alarming. They’re just napping…
I figured I would move onto another layout to keep things fresh, although I could have stuck with this grid again.
Shifting to a New Grid
If you look at this layout, it should look familiar… It involves another subtle change from the 4×4 grid. But my goodness! This turned into an extreme challenge for me.
The edge animals had to be gathered up, yet the central region was just as difficult to manage with the abilities.
Don’t get me started on the flying animals, either! They lived up to their “tough” title, and although I lost a lot, I loved the level of this challenge. Kept me engaged!
I can just imagine how the other layouts might shift my perspective, and suddenly, this game has lots of life in it!
In Appreciation of Simple Changes and Variety
I wouldn’t say I went into this session thinking I was tired of the game, but I felt a little locked into my thinking with the fixed 4×4 grid. The alternative starting layouts seemed easy enough to implement and there was little risk.
Such a fun time, and an excellent addition! Base games can sometimes get stale at a certain point, and small changes are most appreciated. I enjoy expansions, too, yet including simple ways to achieve more variability is awesome. These new grids gave me a lot more to think about without requiring more than changing the initial grid shape.
Honestly, I think the new layouts add more to this game than the expansions themselves. That’s a very subjective opinion, yet I feel like I’ve seen the expansion content… Yet there are still plenty of other grids to explore. Very cool!
Session Overview
Play Number: 13-16
Expansion 1: Food Chain Island: Friendly Waters
Expansion 2: Food Chain Island: Tough Skies
Solo Mode: Designed for Solo (Included in the Base Game)
Play Details: Standard Difficulty Level
Outcome: 1, 8, 5, 5 (1 Win & 3 Losses)
Well, maybe I didn’t plan very well here… I activated abilities in the wrong order and ended up with the tiger blocking a lot of final meals. Whoops! I had a wonderful time exploring some of these new layouts, and look forward to the fun of future challenges on the island!
%
10 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
10
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
10
Originality
Design & Theme
7
Quality
Components & Rules
10
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
9
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
3
+ Pros (Positives)
- The artwork is bright and charming, despite all of the animals eating each other in a calm, comical sort of way.
- Planning out how to stack animals is a very fun puzzle that requires some thought without being overwhelming.
- Using different grid layouts changes the game a lot and helps add a layer of variety that’s simple to implement.
- Some animals are better to activate earlier or later, and these choices have a meaningful impact on gameplay.
- Most of the rules are very straightforward and don’t require much more than looking up an ability now and then.
- Earning a victory requires some practice and experience, as lucking into a win would take a huge amount of luck.
– Cons (Negatives)
- Every now and then, it can be easy to forget which animal was last used and which ability is currently active.
- Without the alternative starting layouts, the 4×4 grid can get a little stale and repetitive over the course of play.
- The expansions add some variety and new choices, yet the flying animals can add a little too much overhead.
- Some degree of luck is often needed to get the stacks started, and creating an impossible situation is possible.
Victory Conditions
End with 1 Stack of Animals
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Score 1 point.
Win at least 1 game at the easy difficulty level.
Win at least 1 game at the standard difficulty level.
Continue the Conversation
What do you enjoy the most about Food Chain Island? Have you tried out any of the expansions or alternate setup layouts? Changing up the grid is such a simple part of setup that elevated the game experience for me a lot! It’s nice to be able to add new ways to think through the strategies of stacking the animals. Just need to plan ahead for these meals!
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