To maintain dramatic tension in the end-game, don't allow the players to be certain that the game is about to end. That works for other games. Not Habitat. To accomplish this:
Each time a stack of discs is depleted, put a "Comet Disc" in the bag. If three Comets are on the track at the same time, the game is over.
Each stack of terrain tiles should have one tile, shuffled into the bottom three copies in the stack, which ends the game when revealed.
Players don't know how to make moves that advantage themselves until halfway through their first game. Most successful games have this problem, but it's avoidable.
A simplified pre-designed "intro setup" will be crucial for new players to get comfortable with the system.
Accommodate what everyone intuitively expects about nature. For instance, if a predator has no prey when it needs to eat, it should starve and leave the game board.
The default scoring system is now simplified. If there are going to be end-game bonus multipliers, they should be introduced in subsequent play-throughs. Allow experienced players to mix and match from a selection of complex variants in the back of the rulebook.
"When a terrain tile leaves the board, it is awarded to a player as a fossil."
"When it leaves the board."
"When it leaves. Leaves." <-- Pantomiming picking up a tile off the board. The 12th time this question was asked by the same player. I think the fossilization rule has a problem.
This game is definitely ready for me to stop using the generic discs that I use for many of my prototypes. The mechanics have come along far enough in development to spend the time on graphic design to enhance the theme, which in this game is very strong and unique.
"The best Euro-style game I have played at Protospiel this year."
